Covenanting to Choose David Over Saul
How to Use Republican Democracy to Advance Towards a Godly Country
Good Morning,
Well, we are one week away from the big day, well at least here in America. I’ve read many books and articles about how the form of government we are blessed with here in the States can be found in the pages of the Holy Bible, and there is a sense in which that is true. Moses’ father-in-law Jethro could be described as the proto-Thomas Jefferson entering representative republicanism into the annals of Jewish history. Having one person stand-in for tens, hundreds, even thousands is a good way to get everyone’s opinion without having to hear from everyone.
For today’s prayer and worship help we are going to be taking a brief look as to whether or not an actual case can be made, and whether that actually matters. I say that because there are a lot of people who think it is daft to try and find political ideas in a religious text. They’ll say that God’s word is only for God’s people and we spoil it’s preciousness when we cast pearls before swine. It might be true that when you read me say that you think it means liberals. But actually there are rock-ribbed Reformed guys who would make that argument. However, we in the world where the earth contains the full testimony of Jesus Christ believe that not only can the Bible handle being used for the purpose of establishing its proper place in figuring out how to live in 2024 bizarro land, it actually does a better job than any of the Deists looking in the darkness and getting lucky.
The first place to go that we haven’t already tread is 2 Samuel 2. After the death of Saul at the hand of the Philistines the people of God were in need of a new king. Wait a minute? Didn’t I say we were going to talk about republican government? What’s this king business? Well, give me a second. Take a look at how the king comes to be king and then show me the error. Of course, a man in a filth field once told Arthur, King of the Britons, that you don’t vote for kings, and there is truth to that, but notice what happens in 2 Sam. 2:4-7:
Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, “The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.” So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, “You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him. And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.
To be sure the LORD had told Samuel that it was David who was to be the Lord’s anointed and good for David that it was from Judah that he came, since Jacob back in Genesis 49 had made the vow oath that from Judah’s loins would be the king over God’s covenant people. Helps to be born in the right place and to the right family sometimes. Yet, here the clear mandate for the authority of David is not only from the call of Jehovah through His prophet, but it is also the confirmation of the people. One of the interesting things about the passage above is that at this time David is not made king over everyone, he’s merely made the leader of Judah. There is a humility and lack of presumption on David’s part, as well as the Judahite clan. They do not presume to act for the whole. In obedience to the plan of God they choose the man whom the Lord had set aside. Their goal here is to witness merely to the others the principle shown by Joshua in his famous, As for me and my house. . . statement.
What this has to teach us about how we are to act in a representative democracy is that whenever it comes time to be selecting leaders we do need to be asking questions not so much about what family line the man comes from, as has too often been the case as of late, but does the one running for office meet the qualifications of the type of person God would have His people be ruled by in righteousness and truth. It’s interesting thinking about David’s elevation by Judah in this context. Remember, how did the son of Jesse come to be in this position? It was by Israel’s decision back in 1 Samuel 8 to demand a king like the nations had. They were afraid of the threat posed by their enemies and they wanted a leader who would protect them from the incursions of military forces. This required a certain type, or at least they thought. The ruggedly handsome Saul proved by a giant failure precisely because he did not fit God’s type for a man to rule well.
Thinking again about republican government, rule by consent of the governed, the reason why we find ourselves often in a lesser-of-two-evil election is because we think like 1 Samuel 8 Israelites way too often. We end up in a kind of Judas-esque situation trying to back a different horse at the last minute because what we thought we had is not what we actually wanted. Lots of finger-pointing and intercine battles commence and all is lost. We would be wise to consider, and ask, what the Lord wants before we start making decisions about what we want. Seems like that is a lesson we should have learned many times over at this point, yet here we are.
In closing, as those given the responsibility of choosing our leaders it is certainly a matter we should take way more seriously than we often do. For many folks my grandma’s age they still pull a lever straight ticket because of party, and in my grandma’s case because she still does not like Big Business nor the company script they saddle people with. Seeing this one example from the Scriptures concerning the way the lesser magistrate, in this case Judah, leads the way in order that all Israel may see God’s blessings on them, it is worth asking the question of ourselves, are we interested in a 2 Samuel 2 election or a 1 Samuel 8 one? If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice, as a wise poet once said, yet in this case it is clear that the former certainly seems like a better bet than the latter.
Here’s the last word:
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/what-we-owe-civil-authorities
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church