I remember an early conversation with one of my sisters as I was considering the Christian life. I had made the comment that I didn’t think I was so bad. I’d lived a pretty decent life without too many terrible actions compared to a lot of other people i knew. And she gently told me the truth: we are not compared to other people; we are compared to Jesus — the sinless one who gave his life for us, so that we could have a life of relationship with the Holy God.
Those Old Testament people of God were always striving, always trying, always failing to be close to the Holy God of Israel. And it is by this Holy God that our actions are weighed, our thoughts are judged, our hearts are known according to their essential worth. That’s a scary thought because we can never be that holy perfection that God desires of us; we are sinful humans. Jesus died to provide that holiness for us. And yes, that means that there is no perfect human who could be president of the United States.
I don’t want someone who is perfect. I only want someone who is not proud or arrogant; someone who knows that his or her actions will be judged by the Holy God; someone humble enough to know that he or she does not have all the answers; someone who can admit they are wrong; a humble servant rather than an arrogant king.
In yesterday’s post we discussed God’s requirements for earthly kings in the Old Testament. Mostly those kings failed miserably.
But God’s plan included providing a perfect king for his people: Jesus, the god-man, who would spend three years discipling his motley crew of twelve, and then become the sacrifice for all people. Through his sacrifice, grace has come, and we no longer have to be constantly worried about displeasing God.
But in that short span of three years Jesus showed and taught us how to live: as a servant — humble and concerned about our neighbors, friends, and enemies over ourselves. It is the hardest principle for our selfish selves to get right, yet it changes everything when we manage it.
Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. — Nehemiah 9:34 (ESV)
This is going to be a Sunday School lesson, so hang on…or you can skip to the last paragraph here.
the king must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold,
the king must keep a copy of the Torah with him to be read throughout his life, so he would rule according to God’s laws and principles.
To us moderns, these seem obscure and antiquated and a bit quaint, but hold on and let’s think about them.
photo by William Krause from unsplash.com
First, the king is to be one of the people, not a foreigner who might hold interests from somewhere else above the people’s interests. He is to be completely in service to and beholden to the people.
Second, the king is not to acquire too many horses. Horses in that time came from Egypt, and the Israelites were not to go back to trade with the Egyptians. God had delivered them from Egypt and going back might tempt them to trade with the Egyptians and/or tempt them to long for their old lives. In addition, too many horses would set the king above the common people.
Third, he is not to have too many wives. It was common for kings to take wives of foreign countries to cement peace between nations, but many wives from foreign countries would influence the king in negative ways and negate loyalty to his own country. (Not to mention the distraction!)
Fourth, the king is not to accumulate too much gold and silver. Money. The root of all evil. A wealthy king would not be dependent on God, but on his own resources; and that wealth could lead the king down the wrong path of arrogance and self-importance.
Fifth, the king must keep that Torah close to him at all times so he would rule according to God’s principles, and so he would know the law. For how can a king rule justly and wisely if he does not know the law?
When the Israelites asked for a king like the other nations had, they got Saul (1 Samuel 8). He ruled them capriciously and by his own desires. He was not prepared to rule and suffered from mental illness. By contrast, the king after God’s own heart was David. He was not perfect, and he had sins and troubles a-plenty, but he loved God and was faithful. David was the imperfect human king who points us to the perfect king Jesus.
Here on earth we can’t expect to have a perfect king (and perhaps we got the one we deserved) but even looking at a few of those requirements Trump fails… He has had three wives and two of them have been foreign-born; he has too much wealth and it has gotten him into trouble. In fact, he has spent millions of his own dollars buying his way into the presidency.
And he does not know the law…
Encouraging a foreign head of state to investigate his political rival?
Refusal to produce witnesses or papers when subpoenaed?
Using the Justice Department to fight his own legal battles?
Encouraging election interference by a foreign country?
Attacks on the integrity of the voting system? Encouraging voters to vote twice?
Firing heads of independent agencies because they are investigating him?
Holding the Republican National Convention at the White House?
Insisting he is above the law?
In 2016 I downloaded the song Christ for President by Woody Guthrie recorded by Billy Bragg and Wilco. Lately, I’ve been humming it again. You can listen to it here. But since we can’t have Christ for President in this imperfect world, what kind of president do you want?
Let me repeat: For how can a king rule justly and wisely if he does not know the law?
quote by Albert Mohler, downloaded from Squarequotes.church
the circle of life 