According to the Psalmist David, “The Lord sits as king forever and ever,” And to the begotten Son The Father says; “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness: therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions” (Psalms 10:16;:.29:10: Hebrews 1:8-9).
Now since the Lord sits as King forever and ever, are Christians duplicating the wickedness committed by the children of Israel when they said to Samuel, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:5-7).
Many Christians do not see eye to eye, and are in total disagreement when comes to politics and Christianity. Many share different views and opinions despite the plea made by the apostle Paul saying, “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1Corinthians 1:10).
The problem with our society is that, most people do not believe in absolute truth, absolute authority, they rather the system which allows every man to walk after the imagination of his/her own heart and every man doing what seems right in his /her own eyes. Unfortunately most people do not realize, or are completely ignorant of the fact that there are only two ways that regulates man’s life. One is the straight and narrow way, the absolute way, the way of the Spirit. And the other is the broad and wide gate, the way of the flesh, where everyone walks according to the imagination of their evil heart and does what seems right in their own eyes.
The lesser of two Evils
It is not because God sanctioned and approved the appointment of a human king over His people, when they rejected Him as King, and the appointment of Saul as their king that one should assumed that this is what God requires of His people. This is simply what is called the lesser of two evils. Meaning that, instead of God totally forsaking His people for their rejection of Him as King also as Healer, He allows them the option to make their choice and reap the consequences or the repercussions of their actions.
Rejecting God as King and appointing a human king is not a substitute for God’s Kingship. God has never relinquished His supreme authority as King. A substitute is a replacement of something which is not presently available, or someone acting in the place of another. But God never gave the children of Israel a king as a substitute for Himself, for this is what the Lord says, “I am the Lord that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 42:8).
What we have today is an alternative, a lesser of two evils which is a choice between rejecting the Lord as King, Healer, Helper, Provider and having a human being as king, healer, helper etc. According to Samuel the reason why the Lord tolerates this it is; “For the sake of His great name the Lord will not reject His people, because the Lord was pleased to make them His own” (1Samuel 12:22).
The Lord, the God of Israel also said, “I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you. But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your calamities and distresses. And you have said; ‘No, set a king over us: So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans” (1Samuel 10:17-19).
The Lord also said through the prophet Isaiah, “For My name’s sake I will defer My anger, and for My praise I will restrain it from you, so that I do not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it: for how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another” (Isaiah 48:9-11).
The Psalmist David, Nehemiah and Ezekiel, all echoed a similar sentiment. For example the Psalmist David wrote; “But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away and did not stir up all His wrath, for He remembered that they were but flesh a breath that passes away and does not come again. How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy” (Psalms 78:38-42; Nehemiah 9:29-31; Ezekiel 20:9, 14, 22, 44).
The alternative which God gave to the children of Israel is conditional and very clear. It is written, “Even though the Lord your God was your king. Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. If you fear the Lord and serve and obey Him and do not rebel against His commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God , good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against His commands, His hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers” (1Samuel 12:12-15).
The condition is simply this, “If both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God – good! But if you and your king do not obey the Lord, and you rebel against His commands, His hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day (1Samuel 8:18).
So the question is, did the people do a good thing by rejecting God as their King, and asked for a king like the other nations? Absolutely not! Because, at the coronation of Saul, when they gathered together and saw the great sign that was manifested before them because, the Lord had send thunder and rain at the time of the wheat harvest, they realized that they had done evil in the sight of the Lord, when they asked for a king. Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.” Samuel replied, “Do not be afraid, you have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless” (1Samuel12:16-20).
The irony of truth is, when we reject the Lord, whether as King, Healer, Helper, Protector, Provider etc. He allows us to reap the fruit of our doings; if we are fortunate to have competent personals in the right position and able to perform effectively we reap the benefits. If on the other hand, we have inefficient leaders or personals we will reap the consequences.
The same is true with physicians, if we have the resources to secure the services of a good physician and can afford to pay for their services and treatments and things works well, good for us, but in case we are unable to meet the demands it will be hard luck for us, because the bottom line is, “our faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
But be assured that the Lord has not relinquished His positions, neither does He shares His glory with another, He remains King, Healer, Provider, Helper, Protector, Deliverer, forever and ever throughout all generations.
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To be continued
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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