What Was The Role Of Government In Bible Times?

What role does the government play in our society, in the Christian’s life and in the times in which the Bible was written?

Man’s Kingdom

In the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, mankind chose to decide what is right and what is wrong in his own eyes (Gen 3) and ever since we’ve reaped the consequences. All we need do is look at the world that’s full of natural disasters, diseases, terrorist’s attacks, murder, wars, and corruption to know that it’s not worked out well for us. Since then, corruption has reached from the lowest levels of human society to the governmental rulers of the world. Solomon warned that “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit” (Prov 16:2) and “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart” (Prov 21:2). One thing mankind has proven is that he cannot rule over himself without invoking tremendous amounts of suffering on the world. The problem is what seems right to man is not at all what’s right before God.

The Sovereignty of God

Where mankind rules, God overrules. Where mankind is supreme, God has total supremacy. Even with so much dishonesty in the rulers of the world today, God can use wicked rulers as a way of disciplining a nation as the history of Israel shows when they split into the Northern Kingdom called Israel and the Southern Kingdom, called Judah (known today as the Jews). God gave them wicked rulers so that they might repent and turn again to Him. He uses evil for His own good purposes (Gen 50:20). Even though we believe we are ruling ourselves, and we are responsible for the way in which we do it, the fact is that “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Prov 16:9). Mankind likes to think they’re in complete control of their destiny but Solomon writes, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand” (Prov 19:21) because “The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples” (Psalm 33:10) and “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:11). Regarding any nation, God declares “I will pluck up and break down and destroy it” but “if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it” (Jer 18:7-8) but if they won’t, then it will not go well for that nation. If it is His will, God “changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Dan 2:21).

God’s Laws verses Man’s Laws

Romans 13 is probably the best place to find out about governmental rule during biblical times and it’s still 100% applicable to our society today. Those whom God has placed in authority over us are His sovereign representatives, for good or for bad, and if we are disobedient to those in authority, we are living in disobedience to God. They are all intricately connected as Paul writes “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Rom 12:1-2). God expects everyone to subject themselves to the laws and authorities of the land; from top to bottom. There is only exception and it’s where God’s laws and man’s laws come into conflict with one another. If the government asks us to do something that is contrary to our faith in Christ, then we can have good conscience in disobeying the authorities because we know it’s God’s will. God’s laws are higher than man’s laws. The law of man rules but God law overrules when it goes against His law. When Peter and the apostles were told not teach about Jesus any more, they disobeyed that command and Peter told them why, saying “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Just before this, the authorities would “warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened” (Acts 4:17-21).

God Ordained Authority

God uses mankind to help control evil. For example, the local police officer “is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Rom 13:4). It’s almost like God pulled you over and not the police officer because you were going too fast and breaking the law. That is clearly not God’s will. They act in the place of God on earth as His rod of correction for lawbreakers since “the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing” (Rom 13:6). Our community has rock-solid police protection. One of our local police officers is named Bill and he regularly joins us at our local prayer vigil for the community prayer requests every night. To the community (and to me), he and his family are very well respected. Bill also happens to be a Christian and I thank God for him and his family but also for our local chief of police and force, and all those who place themselves in harm’s way in order to protect us. This most certainly included the military. They all bear the sword for God, whether they know it or not, so we should always give “respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (Rom 13:7b).

Conclusion

The role of government in biblical times is the same as it is today because we are all essentially lawbreakers. Who hasn’t sped at least once? Who hasn’t yielded to traffic where there was a stop sign? Who hasn’t told a lie, stolen, committed adultery in the heart, and so many other things? Jesus spoke about what happens to the lawbreakers or the lawless ones in Matthew 7:23 “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” I beg you to consider repenting this very day and turning to Christ and trusting in Him. He obeyed the law perfectly and became sin for us (2^nd Cor 5:21).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.