Second Samuel 22-24

God’s message to me: One nation, Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. Government is at it’s best when it serves in the fear of the Lord. When we elect leaders who do not feat Him or allow them to be elected because of our apathy over weak leadership from those who oppose unGodly men, we deserve the pain we will suffer as a result.

Promises: I can do all things through Christ who Strengthens me. David knew and proclaimed that the Lord was the source of his strength. God gave him the strength and skill to defeat his enemies and delivered him through supernatural means from those enemies to strong for David to take on himself. It was God’s power that made enemies cower in fear at David’s presence. It was God’s power that overcame rebellion among the Israelites. It was God’s will which led David’s enemies to destruction.

Commands: The last words of David were the orders of God to leaders. Leaders must rule in the fear of God. Leaders must be just. Leaders are an example which shines like morning light and refreshes like fresh grass and the clean air after a rain. Rebellion must be dealt with decisively and with force so that it does not spread, clearing the rebels like removing weeds from the garden.

Timeless principles: When government abuses it’s power all the people suffer. Our own system of holding a census every 10 years is based on the law of Israel that calls for a census every 10 years. When David called for a census when it wasn’t due the result was a plague that wiped out about 2/3 of the fighting men of Israel. We should consider this when members of our government distort the constitutional rule of the census to use polling, ongoing census outside of the 10 year limit, or the requirement of information they are not entitled to being taken with the census. It seems like such a little thing that many would go along with the idea and not argue but, here we can see a biblical example of such abuse and the potential for it to cause harm.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: The stories of the rulers of Israel give us many principles for government. In fact it is easy to see parallels between the lessons of the old testament and the US Constitution. It is important to note that David did not simply take things from the people for public use. We can apply these principle by applying the constitution and forcing our political leaders to obey it. For example: “Amendment 5“ (the last line) “... nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

more to learn for in-depth study: Read the Founding documents of the United States of America. You can get a free copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States for free from the Heritage Foundation by visiting https://secure.heritage.org/bookstore/. This isn’t an order and it’s not required to complete your study but, if you want to see how our founders felt about God and His place in government, these documents will help a great deal. You should also read the Federalist Papers and other writing of the founder such as the speeches of our early presidents which can be found online.

tomorrow: First Kings 1