No More Kings

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian." Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you."--Judges 8:22-23

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations."...And the Lord said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them...."--I Sam. 8:4-7

Until the time of Saul's appointment as King, the Hebrew civil government consisted of a number of Judges (see Exodus 18). The Judges and the people looked to God as their Supreme Judge, Lawgiver and King (Isaiah 33:22). In time, the people began to desire a human king, like the nations around them. Gideon refused to be their king, and reminded them that that position belongs to God alone. The second time the people rejected God, he gave them their desire, with a firm warning of the consequences. They continued to reject God and Saul was appointed King. History has shown God's warning being fulfilled over and over again.

Moving forward 2500 years, God's people began to be persecuted for their faith by not only Kings, but by those who claimed to be serving God in the Church. These people were forced to flee to North America. The people governed themselves according to God's Word. Although they were still under the rule of kings, the physical distance provided them greater liberty. They were loyal to the king, but King George was not as loyal to his people. He violated British law in his colonies all over the world. British law, it seems, did not apply outside of Britain. He trampled on rights that were given to the people by God. The colonists in America had effectively been governing themselves by God's law for 200 years and were not willing to have their liberty trampled. So in 1776, the 13 sovereign colonies declared themselves independent of the crown.

Now, I know this is nothing new. However, it struck me the other day that this was a monumental event! For the first time since approximately 1100 BC, men once again recognized God as their King! As in the time of the Judges, men had rule by law (the law of the King, Jehovah God) rather than rule by man. This is a Republic.

What a heritage! It makes me so proud to be an American! It also grieves me to know that Americans have once again turned away from King Jehovah in search of an earthly king. We must repent, turn away from our self-serving ways and once again recognize Jehovah God as the Creator and Sustainer of life, our Judge, Lawgiver and King. We must once again become intimately familiar with the scriptures, submit every area of our lives to God, and look to Him rather than our elected representatives as the healer of our ailing nation. Only then will we be blessed. Only then will we have liberty.