God and Government

Christians believe that God is the King of all Creation.

How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth (Ps 47:11)!

For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods (Ps 95:3).

The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over
all (Ps 103:19).

The fact that God is a king means that he is very interested in the principles of government. Governing is the main role of a king. God is the king above all kings, so he must be the world’s top authority on good government.

If God is an expert on government, we would that he has shared his wisdom about government in the scriptures. The only place in the scriptures where he gives a full system of government is in Exodus and Deuteronomy. If we want God’s wisdom about government, we have to go back there.

The essence of government is good law. Every culture recognises the need for good laws. If God is an expert on government he must be an expert on law. He wants good government on earth, so we would expect him have revealed a good system of law to us. He is perfectly wise, so his laws will be the best laws available.

I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame (Ps 119:46).

The law of the LORD is perfect (Ps 19:7).

God’s system of perfect law is revealed in Exodus and Deuteronomy, all ready for us to use.

Modern debates about government focus on the election of governments. The emphasis is on developing a good system for writing laws. If God has already provided the best laws available, this is a waste of effort. Human legislators will always produce sub-optimal laws, so arguments about how politicians should be appointed are irrelevant. God has already given us the perfect laws that are essential for good government.