History Repeats

Another problem that stands out in the books of Kings is that history repeats. When political leaders do evil that is not repented of, the same sins will pop up again in later generations.

The best example is the sins of Jeroboam. He was one of Solomon’s officials who was put in charge of the forced labour of one of the largest tribes. When Solomon’s son Rehoboam chose to be a harsher leader than his father, Jeroboam led a rebellion against him. Rehoboam was left controlling Judah and Benjamin. Jeroboam became the leader of the ten tribes of the northern Kingdom of Israel. Unfortunately, Jeroboam chose to do evil and worship idols. He set up golden calves and offered sacrifices to them.

Although he was challenged by prophets from God, Jeroboam persisted with evil.

Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways… This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth (1 Kings 13:34-35).

Jeroboam became the benchmark of evil kings in Israel. His son Nadab followed in his ways.

He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit (1 Kings 15:26).

The son followed the pattern of behaviour of his father.

Nadab was overthrown by Baasha, but he continued down the same path.

He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit (1 Kings 15:34).

A prophet came and challenged Baasha, but he refused to listen.

Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani to Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the LORD... becoming like the house of Jeroboam—and also because he destroyed it (1 Kings 16:7).

This refusal to heed the warning of the prophet began a sequence of kings of Israel, who each fell into the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat.

Zimri (1 Kings 16:19).
Omri (1 Kings 16:25).
Ahab (1 Kings 16:31).
Ahaziah (1 Kings 22:53).
Jehu (2 Kings 10:29).
Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:2).
Jehoash (2 Kings 13:11).
Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:24).
Zechariah (2 Kings 15:9).
Menahem (2 Kings 15:17).
Pekahiah (2 Kings 15:24).
Pekah (2 Kings 15:28).
Hoshea (2 Kings 17:2).

During Hoshea’s reign, the Assyrians invaded and destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel.

Each of these kings copied their father’s behaviour, but we need to understand that the author of Kings had a two-agent understanding of the operation of the universe. The did not understand the way that the spiritual powers of evil operate. When a king falls into sin, he gives an evil spirit control in his life. The king has authority over his sons, so the same spirit continues to exercise control over the king’s successor. After a couple of generations, the spiritual power (government-spirit) has established a stronghold over the kingdom. If the people support the king who has sinned, as happened in Israel, the stronghold is strengthened.

Each of these kings in the list above walked in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat. This is another way of saying that each of these kings was controlled by the evil government-spirit that got established in the nation when Jeroboam was king. The control of this evil spirit eventually caused the destruction of the nation.

I read a comment on social media that people are not responsible for things that happened before they are born. That is true. But things that happened before they were born can have a huge impact on their lives without their being aware of it.

If I live in a nation where the political leaders who led it have slipped into sin, they will quite likely have given an evil government-spirit control over the nation. If subsequent leaders have not repented of that sin (changed their thinking and condemned the actions of their predecessors) they will most likely have continued walking in the sin. This will have allowed the evil government-spirit to establish a stronghold in the nation. If the people continue to support their leaders that stronghold will be strengthened.

God have us the book of Kings so that we would understand this truth. It is why a regular reassessment of a nation’s history is important. If the people and their leaders don’t acknowledge the sins of the founders and previous leaders of their nation and break the stronghold by repenting, the government-spirits that they allowed in will continue to influence the nation. When people get angry about those who are examining their nations history and pretend that everything was fine, they are strengthening the position of the government-spirits that control their nation.

In New Zealand, successive governments broke the Treaty of Waitangi, which was established by agreement between Maori and the crown in 1840. In the last few decades, governments have acknowledged these failings and apologised. This has broken one part of the power of the government-spirits that were allowed in by their predecessors’ actions.

Failure to acknowledge and reject (repent) the sins of previous governments expose a nation to evil government-spirts and eventually leads to destruction of the nation. The founders of the United States gave the spirits of power, violence, war and deception a place in their nation. Succeeding leaders have allowed these government-spirits to establish a stronghold. The people have strengthened these spirits by honouring these leaders and deliberately ignoring their sins or saying that they do not matter. But they do.

If the people refuse to examine their history and pretend it was always good, the stronghold of these evil government-spirits will be strengthened, and they will eventually destroy the nation they control because they love evil more than they love their nation.

History and Truth

Christians in several western nations, and particularly the United States are getting really agitated about attempts to reassess the history of their nation. Teaching history to high school students is becoming a really divisive issue.

I have been reading through 1 and 2 Kings. One thing that stands out is that God has a different standard for history to many of his people. The biblical account of the history of Israel tells the story of the chosen nation warts and all. Almost all of the kings failed to meet God’s standards. Some did terrible things. Most of the history of the nation that Yahweh had rescued from slavery and established in a new land was blemished by the people forgetting him and chasing after idols that could do nothing for them.

David is Israel’s greatest king, but he committed murder and adultery and regularly disobeyed God. Yet he is portrayed as a type of Jesus. Abraham is another example. He was the father of his nation, yet he regularly failed to trust God. He corrupted his inheritance by having a dalliance with a slave girl and then casting her aside. He frequently lied to important people. Yet God covenanted with him to be the father of his nation. God promised that he would bless the entire world through this man who was a serial liar.

I can only conclude that God prefers the truth when recording the history of a nation.

Christians do not need to be afraid of the truth when assessing the history of their nation. We don’t need to pretend that bad things did not happen. Any blessing that we received was due to the grace of God, not our goodness. So bad things in our history don’t matter.

If the people of a nation want God's blessing, they will need to be honest about their past. Pretending it was better than it was fool's no one, least of all God. The only valid response to an ugly past is repentance, ie a dramatic change of thinking about it.

The United States has been a force for good at times, but its political leaders and have passed some terrible laws and its military forces have done some ugly stuff at times. Pretending this is not true is arrogance. Hiding the truth from your children is teaching them to believe a lie. That is no basis for life.

My Political History (4)

The next big shock was realising that there is no Executive in the Torah. There was no one appointed to implement government programs. There was no bureaucracy to carry out political programs.

One reason why there is no Executive is that there is no compulsory taxation in the Torah. All giving to the community was voluntary. There was an expectation that people would be generous to the poor and needy, but there was no agency to enforce that.

This means that two of the three standard arms of government in most political theologies, the legislative body and the executive, are missing from God system of government.

An important step was realising that God does not want kings. He allowed Samuel to appoint a king for Israel, but he was clear that they were copying the surrounding nations, not doing something that God commanded (1 Samuel 8). Samuel warned that the king would do harm and the people would suffer.

I discovered that Moses role, apart from being a prophet, was to be a temporary military leader. When the nation was attacked and the people gathered to defend it, they would agree on a person to lead them. That was a temporary role. When the enemy was defeated, the military leader would go back to their home and become an ordinary person.

Kings are really permanent military leaders. They tend to become dangerous, because they are tainted by war, but gain lots of power.

I have put all these ideas together in my book called Government of God. I explain how it can work in the modern world. If you are interested in politics, political theology, the Kingdom of God, or how to form a new society, then you should read this book.

Readers looking for solutions through political power will find it hard to receive this book. Written down here, the key insights seem fairly simple, and perhaps obvious, but it took me twenty years to understand their significance. I had to give up my faith in politics, all politics, and that is hard for a politics junky.

I had wanted to write this book for a long time, but I could not do it until I got the full picture that God wanted to give me. It might take almost as long for God’s people to lose their faith in politics, and are ready to receive it. Some big names and nations might have to fall before that happens.

My Political History (3)

The next big step was understanding that the spiritual powers of evil have used politics to leverage their power on earth. Although they were defeated by the cross, they have maintained their authority on earth by using spiritual principalities and powers to control political power and empires on earth. Every town, city, nation and region on earth is controlled by a principality or power in the spiritual realms.

Their authority on earth is perpetuated by a hierarchy of authority.

• The principalities and powers in the spiritual realms control the political powers on earth, such as kings, emperors and other political leaders. The personalities may change over time, but the spiritual powers remain in control.
• These kings and political leaders have authority over large groups of people, so this gives them immense authority on earth.
• The people look to their political leaders to solve the problems that disturb their lives, so they mostly submit to them. They should be looking to the Kingdom of God for their salvation, and to the Jesus as their king.
• Political leaders and kings use military force and political coercion to control their people. This gives the principalities their power an point of entrance to control them.

This hierarchy of authority allows the spiritual powers of evil to exercise authority on earth, despite their defeat by the cross. The principalities and powers have authority over all the spirits living in the nation or region they control. These follower spirits listen and obey their commands.

Christians frequently talk about principalities and powers, but they have not understood the implications of their power. Kings and political leader are easy for principalities and are dominated by a principality or power, because they are vulnerable to pride and control. They make it easy for the spiritual powers of evil to control a nation. Many Christians assume that other nations are controlled by principalities and powers (Iran and North Korea) but they do not understand that a principality or power controls their own nation by manipulating political power. This is why political action always disappoints.

My Political History (2)

The next big insight was that there is no parliament or congress in the Torah. This dramatically changes political theology. God does not want parliaments writing laws, even if the parliamentarians are believers trying to seek God’s will. Law is such an important issue that God decided to cut out the middle man. When Israel was becoming a nation in the new land they needed a set of laws, so they could live together in peace.

God revealed his Laws for Society directly to his people through Moses. He spoke to Moses on the mountain and he wrote down God’s laws. God is perfectly wise, so the laws that he gives will be the best possible laws that could exist. Because we have his laws, we do not need any other laws. We do not need a parliament or congress to make up new laws.

The laws were applied by local judges who emerged within their communities. They were not appointed by someone from outside. Their wisdom was recognised in their community, so people would ask them to apply God’s law to their disagreement.

The judging processes were voluntary. Judges could not enforce their decisions. There was no process for that in the Torah. People would accept a judge’s decision because they accepted their wisdom. If they rejected the judge's verdict, the judge could not make them comply with it.

Discerning the law was important. We need to know which parts of God’s law are universal and permanent, and which were just for the children of Israel. The key is a set of laws in Exodus 21:1 to Exodus 22:15 which are addressed to every person. I call these the Laws for Society, as they provide a basis for people to live together in relative harmony. All societies need these laws.

The remainder of the Torah is cases illustrating the application of the Laws for Society, or laws that were specific to the children of Israel. I doubt that I would have discovered the Laws for Society if I had not committed to loving God’s law, as Psalm 119 suggests.

My Political History (1)

When I was young I was very interested in politics. I went to my first political meeting in my late teens. Many of the problems in the world are caused by politics. It seemed like solutions would be political.

When I went to university, I studied political science for a couple of years, but I found it was a dry well. There are a huge variety of political systems, but none seem to work well. The common answer was that we should persist with the government we have, because anything else would be worst. This was disappointing.

Once I became a Christian, I realised that the solution had to involve Jesus. Every society needs laws, so I spent a long time thinking about how a parliament could produce laws that were consistent with God’s will. The only way that seemed possible, if most of the members of the parliament were followers of Jesus. If that did happen, and it is not common, the people who were not Christians would hate having Christian laws imposes upon them. I realised that imposing Christian laws cannot work, but without them, society will deteriorate. There seemed to be no workable solution.

I committed to solving this conundrum. I went to theological college for three years to get a sound understanding of theology. I learned NT Greek. I read several histories of political thought to understand how we had got to where we are today. I worked for thirty years on the edge of the political system; close enough to see how it worked, but not close enough to be distracted by power. Over several decades God showed me the answers to the questions that were bugging me. I was totally surprised by where he led me.

Over many years of study, a few insights radically changed my thinking about politics.

1. The first thing I discovered was that the New Testament does not contain a political theology. There are a few relevant verses, but they only hint at what God wants. If you want a political theology you need to go back to the Torah in Exodus and Deuteronomy. If we want God’s political theology, if we have to study God’s law.

2. Secondly, I needed a change in attitude to the Torah. I read it, but I was quite ambivalent about it, because I assumed that Jesus had made it redundant (although point 1 means that is not the case). One time, I was reading Psalm 119, the penny dropped. I always understood it as applying to the whole of God’s law, but I suddenly realised it was a Psalm in honour of God’s law.

Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.
Your commands are always with me
and make me wiser than my enemies.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.
I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me (Psalm 119:57-102).

These verses stunned me. I wanted to be wise in the political space. This Psalm explained that I would only get wisdom if I loved God’s law.

I resolved that I would love God’s law. I understand the love is not a feeling, but a decision, so I decided I would love God’s law and look for the good in it. I put all the laws into a spreadsheet, so that I could sort them by topic and theme to see how they fitted together and when they applied.

I would seek for the precious insights it contains. I believed that everything that had been put in the Torah by the Holy Spirit for a purpose. If I found something, I did not like, I would ask the Holy Spirit to show me what he was saying when he put the passage in the Torah. I did a three-year course in Old Testament Hebrew to understand the Torah better. Over a time, I began to understand God’s law in a totally different way. Loving it became natural. More important, the Holy Spirit gave me some amazing new insights. (I will describe them in my next post).

Linear or Circular

Many Christian believe that history is circular. Empires rise and fall. Nations wax and wane. History repeats. Seasons come and go.

This view is not true. God has a purpose, so his approach to history is linear. History has a beginning and an end. And there are key transformational events along the way. The calling of Abraham, giving of the law to Moses, Jesus death resurrection and ascension, the destruction of Jerusalem are examples of transformational events leading to the fulfilment of God’s ultimate purpose.

God’s view of history is linear. Sin is circular. The circularity of sin can be seen in the history of Israel. When things were going well, the children of Israel would forget about God. Forgetfulness led to rebellion, which caused God to withdraw and disaster to follow. When disaster struck the people cried out to God for help. He is merciful so he came and rescued them. Blessings would follow, but the people would soon forget and return to the circle of sin once more.

God’s purpose is leading his people from blessing to blessing, but mostly they get stuck in the circle of sin. This is why history seems to be circular, but that is not God’s plan.

Christians should not assume that history is going round in circles. Rather we should be looking for the next transition even in God’s plan, and make sure we are working with him to get there.

Unfortunately, the church often gets stuck in this circle, too.

Dimensions (7) Goal of History

Paul described God’s eternal purpose with the following words.

And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. (Eph 1:9-10).

Gods ultimate purpose is to bring heaven and earth together under Jesus. The Kingdom of God puts everything under Jesus. This Kingdom is God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. It is things on heaven and earth coming together. If heaven is up there and earth down here that cannot happen. However, if heaven consists of additional spiritual dimensions along side the physical dimension that we do not see, God’s purpose can be fulfilled now.

In the rest of the letter, Paul explains that this mystery is not an event that comes at the end of the age.

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known (Eph 3:10).

The mystery of God will be fulfilled now, through the church. If the heavens consists of additional spiritual dimensions alongside the physical world, then heaven and earth can come together now in the age.

Jesus cannot bridge these two worlds, because he took on human flesh. When he came to earth, he had to leave heaven. When he left earth, he ascended into heaven. However when Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, he poured out the Holy Spirit on his people (Acts 2:33).

The Holy Spirit is God, so he is at home in the spiritual world. We are at home in the physical world. When the Holy Spirit comes and lives in a Christian, the spiritual dimensions and the physical dimensions come together. If we walk in the Spirit, heaven and earth come together under Jesus in the way that Paul promised. The Holy Spirit is the perfect link between heaven and earth. They spiritual and the physical dimension of life come together. We just need more people on earth to open their hearts to him.

Heaven and earth came together when God poured his Spirit out on all flesh. When we are filled with the Spirit the spiritual and physical dimensions intersect.

History of Human Government (14) - Messianic Expectations

In Jesus time, the people of Israel were still looking for a king in David’s line. The problem was that they did not understand David’s calling. He was a military commander raised up to lead the nation in battle against their enemies. This was temporary role only needed when the people had repented and opened up the way for God to throw of the shackles of their oppressors (see Judges 2:10-19).

In Jesus time, the people were oppressed by the Romans. They wanted a military leader to set them free, but they were still hardened against God, so a military leader could not free them from bondage. This is why Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey'” (Matt 21:4,5).

Jesus was explaining that he had changed the ministry of David. He would not be a military leader, so he would not defend his people using military force. Rather he would defeat their enemies through the work of the Holy Spirit and proclamation of the gospel.

Gentleness was replacing military courage. Jesus would be a totally different king. His kingdom will not be established by military force, but through his death on the cross. Like David, Jesus would deliver his people, but he would do it in a different way.

History of Human Government (10) - David as King

The Jewish people tended to look upon David as the perfect king and the ideal government. David was a great person with a good heart. His Psalms are a testimony to his good relationship with God.

Despite having a good heart, David was not a good ruler of the people. He did not handle justice well. Absalom rose to power, because David did not provide judges to resolve claims for justice. Hewas able to make a place for himself, by getting justice for people who did not believe they would get justice from King David (2 Sam 15:2-4).

The truth is that David did all the things that Samuel warned a king would do. Samuel warned that the king would take the best property for himself. David had such great wealth and property that he needed twelve overseers to organize the people who worked it (1 Chron 27:25-31). Samuel warned that the King would take their daughters. David did worse; he took the wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah the Hittite, and then had him murdered. Samuel warned that the king would take all the young men for his army. David’s worst decision was taking a census of the people to find out how many soldiers he could include in his army (2 Sam 24). This sin brought judgement on the nation, as the king was their representative.

So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died (1 Sam 24:15).

King David was just doing what kings do, but his mistake cost 70,000 lives.

David’s experience proves that kingship is not an ideal form of government. David was a good man with a good heart, but even he could not make kingship work. A human king can never escape the traps of pride and hubris.

David knew that he was not the ideal king. He honoured the true king who would come in the future.

The LORD is King for ever and ever; (Ps 10:16).
For the kingdom is the LORD’s (Ps 22:28)
For God is the King of all the earth (Ps 47:7).
For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods (Ps 95:3).
Shout for joy before the LORD, the King (Ps 98:6).
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom (Ps 145:13).

History of Human Government (9) - David as Military Leader

The Lord told Nathan his purpose for David.

Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders [over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies (2 Sam 7:8-11).

The word translated as ruler is “nâgîyd”, which is a military term. It mean commander, not ruler. God did not appoint David to be a ruler or king, but as a temporary military commander to deal to the nations enemies. Israel had never fully taken the land of Canaan, so it was surrounded by enemies.

David was a very effective military leader. He demonstrated his military skills in the defeat of Goliath. He defeated the Jebusites and drove them out of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the enemies that threatened Israel. God was with David while he acted as military leader, so he was successful in war and established peace for his people.

Once David had established peace, Israel did not require a military commander any more. God would protect them, if they trusted in him. They would only need a military commander, if they turned away from God. This meant that David did not need a successor. Provided the people remained faithful to God, there was no task for David to do, because Israel was at peace. David did not understand this and started to act as a King. David failed as a king, because he was going beyond his calling from God. While he stuck to his calling as a military leaser, he was successful.

History of Human Government (8) - Permanent King

The people of Israel became dissatisfied with just having temporary military leaders. They were supposed to be a temporary solution, as when the people went back to serving God, the military leader would no longer be needed. The problem was that the people did not want to serve God.

But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways (Jud 2:19).

The natural inclination of Israel was towards corruption and following other gods. They refused to give up evil and their stubborn ways, so temporary military leaders did not work for them.

Israel had lost God’s protection so frequently, that they wanted permanent military protection. So they asked for a king like the nations around them.

We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles (1 Sam 8:19,20).

The king was not a totally new role, but a permanent form of the judge/military commander. Israel wanted a king, so they could live in permanent disobedience to God without threat of invasion. A military nation is not a godly nation.

The other problem with kingship was that it was not God’s idea. It was copied from the heathen nations around Israel. That was never going to be a good place to find good government.

Samuel warned the people that a king was not part of God’s plan for them in 1 Sam 8:10-17. These are shocking words. The nation that chooses a human king will end up in slavery. The young men will be forced to serve in the king’s army. The young women will forced to serve in the king’s palace. The king will take the best of the land for himself. He will tax all their income and make them poor.

Samuel was certain that the king would not be “God's servant to do you good” (Rom 13:4). The people hoped that the king would deliver them from the surrounding nations. Instead of setting them free, the king would make them his slaves.

The worst thing was that Israel’s kings constantly provoked the nations, or joined in unholy alliances with them. This resulted in more wars. The history of Israel is the history of wars, where the people had to fight for the king. This produced a great deal of suffering for the nation.

The history of Israel demonstrates that good kings are usually succeeded by bad kings. Because their sons grow up in a privileged world, they generally do not have the character that such a powerful position needs. The trouble is that once power has been given to a king, the people can never get it back, even if his sons turn bad.

Where is your king, that he may save you? Where are your rulers in all your towns, of whom you said, Give me a king and princes'? So in my anger I gave you a king, and in my wrath I took him away. (Hos 13:10,11).

God gave Israel a king as punishment for disobedience, not for blessing.

Many Christians believe that human kingship is a good form of government. This is not true. God never blessed human kingship as an optimal form of government.

A King in heaven is great. A king on earth is dangerous.

History of Government (7) - Fighting Judges

A new stage of human government began with the book of Judges, but this was also a temporary solution to a perennial problem. When the people turned away from God, they lost God’s protection and were invaded by enemy nations.

Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders (Jud 2:16).

They needed a military leader to deliver them from these attacks. God took a recognised judge and turned him into a temporary military leader.

Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the LORD's commands. Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them (Jud 2:17-18).

The people would be come complacent and stop trusting in God. He would withdraw their protection and they would be invaded. When the nation repented, God would turn a judge into a military leader to rescue them from the invaders.

These fighting judges were not an ideal form of government. They were the response of a compassionate God to a people groaning under oppression and affliction. God only raised up a judge to lead the nation, when the nation was in trouble. They were a temporary solution to a serious problem. They were not the ideal form of government.

The title of these judges is a bit confusing. They started their careers as judges applying the law amongst the people, when God turned them into military leaders to deliver the people. A temporary military leader has a different role to a judge.

History of Government (6) - Judges

Moses brought about another important innovation in government. He established a system of honest judges to apply God’s law. Previously all disputes had been settled by tribal leaders.

In the wilderness, responsibility for hearing all cases fell to Moses, as he was the wisest leader. He was challenged by his father-in-law Jethro, who could see that Moses would be exhausted, if he continued with this huge responsibility. Moses needed a wake up call because he had missed God’s purpose (Ex 18).

The Bible is very precise about what Moses did.

So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials (Deut 1:15).

Moses organised the nation into an army structure of tens, hundreds and thousands, based on family and tribal affiliations. This military style organisation was essential, while the nation was marching to the promised land. He then took wise and respected tribal leaders and made the commanders over the tens, hundreds and thousands. The word commander is a military term.

These military commanders were the wisest people in their families and tribes, so they also served as judges.

They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves (Ex 18:26).

The important innovation that Moses made was to introduce performance standards for role of judging.

And I charged your judges at that time: Hear the disputes between your brothers and judge fairly, whether the case is between brother Israelites or between one of them and an alien. Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, for judgment belongs to God. (Deut 1:16-17).

Judges are acting for God, the perfect judge, so they must demonstrate wisdom and integrity. They must not be motivated by the fear of men.

This standard gave the people the freedom to take their cases to the judges with the greatest wisdom. If a judge made a bad decision, they could appeal to a judge with greater reputation for wisdom. This standard ensured that the best judges would be recognised and widely used.

The earliest judges functioned within a tribal environment. They would start off as leaders in their families and sub-tribes. The wisest of these local leaders would become judges. The best judges would rise to be appeal judges for their entire tribe.

This aspect of God’s government has never been revoked. The heart of godly government is wise judges applying God’s law.

History of Government (5) - Prophetic Moses

Moses was not a law maker. He had a prophetic role in the giving of the law. He received the law from God and passed it on to the people. His skill was in hearing God, not in making laws.

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. (Deut 34:10,11).

The prophetic role included signs and wonders when confronting Pharaoh with God’s words. The most important aspect of this prophetic ministry was hearing God speak and the most important words that Moses received was God's law.

This is another role that was completed with Moses. God’s law is perfect, so he only had to give it once. Joshua did not have this role. Jesus said

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished (Matt 5:18).

Many men and women succeeded Moses in the office of prophet, but they did not have the role of law giving. That was task was completed with Moses. Even Jesus did not have to change the law; he simply fulfilled some of it on our behalf.

The role of law-giver finished with Moses, and even his role was not one of law making. His task was to pass God’s law on to the people.

The role of law maker does not exist in the scriptures. All that is needed is judges to apply the law that God has given.

History of Government (4) - Moses

A new role of military leader emerged with Moses. During 400 years of slavery in Egypt, Israel has developed into a nation. God chose Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt into the promised land. This would not be easy, because the Egyptians did not want to lose their slaves, the Canaanites did not want to lose their land and the nations in between were afraid of the nation on the move. Moses was primarily a military leader with responsibility for leading the armies of Israel into the new land. This was the first time that the tribes of Israel acted together to form a combined army.

Moses had been trained as a leader in Egypt, but after a false start he escaped to wilderness, where he was called by God. The calling was clear.

The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey... So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt" (Ex 3:7-10).

God appointed Moses to be a military leader to bring the nation out of Egypt into the Promised Land. He was not called to be a king and his position was not a permanent one. Moses died when he had led Israel up to the edge of the promised land. Joshua was anointed to take Moses’ place and finish the task (Deut 31:1-8). With God’s help, Joshua conquered the promised land by defeating the kings in the South and then the kings of the North. He then divided the land among the tribes and families. The completed the task that Moses had begun.

No successor was appointed for Joshua (Jos 23). The reason is that the task that Moses started was now completed. Israel no longer needed a military leader. God had promised that if Israel obeyed him, he would keep them safe from their enemies (Deut 28:1-7). The Moses/Joshua model was not the optimal form of government. It was a temporarily military leadership model for a unique situation, which has not occurred again.

History of Government (3) - Tribalism

Abraham introduced family government to his extended family. This included providing work and income. He had an obligation to defend his family if they were attacked. He would settle disputes between different members of his family. This was tribal government. Abraham was an effective leader of his tribe, but even he got it wrong at times.

Family government has never been nullified by God. Families should still be providing protection and resolving disputes between their members.

Tribalism tends to get a bad press in the modern world. We forget that God established a tribal system and gave it his blessing. When the children of Israel went into the promised land, the entered as tribes. The tribes were allocated separate areas in Canaan.

Many Christians love this promise.

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deut 33:27)

Few notice that Deuteronomy 33 records God's blessing on the tribes of Israel.

God has promised to bless a tribal system. He has never promised to bless democracy. That should set us thinking.

History of Government (2) - Nimrod

The first human civil government to emerge was established by a man called Nimrod.

Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city) (Gen 10:8-12 NKJV).

Nimrod became the most powerful warrior on the earth. He established his kingdom in Babel and the surrounding towns. This is the first mention of a kingdom in the Bible. The name Nimrod comes from the expression “we will rebel”, so when the Bible refers to Nimrod “before the Lord” it means in opposition to the Lord.

Nimrod extended his kingdom to Babylon and Nineveh. This makes Nimrod the grandfather of all the early kingdoms and empires on earth. They were started by a rebel against God.

The fruit of this rebellion was the tower of Babel.

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth" (Gen 11:4).

Nimrod’s followers hoped to build a tower to heavens and make a name for themselves apart from God. This was the ultimate rebellion against their creator. God had no choice but to destroy this human government.

So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city (Gen 11:8).

Human government started in rebellion against God. We must be very careful about human government, because it has its roots in rebellion against God.

God’s law produces Justice
Man’s law leads to Tyranny

History of Government (1) - In the Beginning

What is the best form of government? This is a really important question. The Bible describes a number of different systems and most are condemned. We need to dig deeply to find God’s optimal form of civil government.

There was no need for government in the Garden of Eden. Everyone obeyed God, so there was no conflict. Sin had not yet entered in, so there was no theft or violence. Human government was not needed.

Once Adam and Eve sinned, crime and violence became a problem. Initially these problems were dealt with by families. Fathers are required to teach their children to obey God and live in harmony with each other. They must provide for their children and resolve disputes between them. I presume that Adam and Eve had no choice, but to send Cain away. That was his penalty for murder.