God Rules in the Kingdoms of Men

Nebuchadnezzar, king of the mighty Babylonian Empire, remembered the words of God but it was too late. Walking the roof of his palace, he boasted to himself “is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30 ESV) He then remembered the prophet Daniel’s interpretation of a troubling dream foretelling the great king being humbled by God for a period of time until he recognized that “the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will,” (Daniel 4:25 ESV). God raised Nebuchadnezzar to power for his own purposes and his great empire would fall at a time of God’s choosing.

God Raises and Destroys Kingdoms

This central thought, “God rules in the kingdoms of men,” fills the Bible. It is demonstrated in visions of Daniel foretelling the rise of the Persian, Greek, and Roman empires. Isaiah and Jeremiah contain many prophesies of the rise and fall of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Moabites, Ammonites, Ethiopians, Egyptians, and others. When God divided Israel into Israel and Judah, God determined what person would divide the kingdom, the proportion of tribal division, and the preservation of David’s family rule in Jerusalem, 1 Kings 11:30-36. God punished the northern tribes (Israel) by raising the Assyrian Empire to take them into captivity and later bringing the Babylonian Empire to power to subjugate Judah and punish other nations. Yet God was in control of the situation and determined the time of Judean captivity (70 years) and raised Cyrus to power to allow the Jews to return to their homeland (Jeremiah 29:4, 10-14; Isaiah 44:28-45:7). God brings kingdoms into power. Romans 13:1 and 1 Peter 2:13-14 tell us that the authorities exist because of God and they are sent by Him for His purposes.

Some Kingdoms are Oppressive to the Faithful

Even though authorities exist because of God, this does does not mean that it will always be peaceful and calm for the Christian. The Christians in the first few centuries were persecuted by local and national leaders because of their faith. Jesus was delivered to political powers to be crucified. Presented before Pilate to be crucified, Jesus reminded Pilate that the power to condemn or release was given to him by God, John 19:7-11. Jesus warned his apostles that they would be brought before kings and political leaders and persecuted.

Why Would God Allow Oppressive or Wicked Kingdoms?

  1. Opportunity for the gospel: In his warning to the apostles, Jesus said that they would have opportunity to share the gospel with the kings and rulers, Luke 21:10-19. Paul stood before many leaders and proclaimed the message to those with whom he might never have had an audience with otherwise (Acts 22-26). Through his “oppression” Paul was able to teach the whole palace guard (Philippians 1:12-13) and there were believers in Caesar’s household (Philippians 4:22). The persecution of the church in the early chapters of Acts scattered Christians who went everywhere preaching the word, Acts 8:4.
  2. Magnify the wickedness of mankind: When people will not retain God in their knowledge, their hearts become darkened and they become oppressive and fleshly (Romans 1). Some of the most wicked nations, like Nazi Germany, remind us what can happen when a nation bows down to the idols of power, oppression, eugenics, and hatred. There have been evil political movements carried out in the name of God, such as the Inquisition and the “holy” wars of the Middle Ages, but the focus was on political power and struggle with a facade of, or misapplication of, a godly cause. Jesus said that His kingdom was not like these earthly kingdoms and its power did not reside in the armaments of men, Matthew 20:25-28; John 18:26. Evil kingdoms remind us how bad mankind can be and the importance of vanquishing evil in our hearts and the world’s need for the gospel.

The Christian Role in Earthly Kingdoms

When the Herodians challenged Jesus on service to the government, He told them to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God what belongs to Him, Mark 12:13-17. Peter echoed this obligation in 1 Peter 2:13-17 in the exhortation to render obedience and honor to the government for God’s glory. Even though the Caesar occupied the highest religious office in the idolatry of Rome, the Christians still had to honor and respect him and obey the laws. Paul equated resisting the government to resisting God, Romans 13:1-7. Obedience and respect is not based on whether we agree with the laws the ruling party, but in obedience to God. Acknowledging God’s overarching rule, we obey those who are his ministers below.

The only exception to obedience to the government is when “Caesar demands what is God’s.” When the political power requires the Christian to act in a way that disobeys God, the Christian must obey God. The Jewish leaders forbade Peter and John to preach the gospel but Jesus gave the great commission to take the gospel to the world. Therefore, when confronted by the Sanhedrin, Peter and John said, “we must obey God rather than men,” Acts 5:27-29. When the Caesar’s demanded Christians sacrifice and worship them, the Christians had to resist even through they would faithfully obey other laws that were not in conflict.

How we respect and obey the government is an example to non-believers! The world will observe our respect for authority in our obedience to laws we consider inconvenient or disagreeable. They will observe when we pay our taxes and fulfill other obligations to glorify God, not out of fear of the government’s “sword.” They will also observe whether we are respectful of our leaders (“Honor the king”) or spew hateful personal venom towards those with whom we disagree. They will observe if we are respectful of those with whom we disagree. Ultimately, they will see whether the fruits of the Spirit permeate our life as citizens of an earthly kingdom.

Our Greatest Citizenship is in Heaven

As much as we may love our homeland, we must remember that the greatest citizenship is heavenly, Philippians 3:20-21; Hebrews 11:13-16; and Ephesians 2:19-22. We live as pilgrims, exiles, and aliens in this world and that includes worldly citizenship. The nations of this earth will rise and fall but the kingdom of heaven remains forever. Let your greatest loyalty and service be for the banner of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Be more concerned with advancing the gospel into the hearts of men than an earthly agenda in an ever changing political climate. I do not believe it is wrong to be involved in the earthly political system, but do not let it be your god and do not expect it to accomplish the work of moral change that is inherent in the gospel’s power.

Related Post: 5 Reasons I Don’t Get Freaked Out During an Election Year

Bible Class Books Can Be A Waste of the Lord’s Money

I have attended many church business meetings considering purchases for furnishings, the outdoors, classroom supplies, material for edification, gospel meetings or special services (with associated advertising efforts), and a host of worthy matters. Inevitably some decision arises where members express the concern that it is a waste of the Lord’s money (money contributed to the local church on the first day of the week). I contend that Bible Class books are a waste of this money that is to be used for benevolence, edification, and evangelism.

From Freefoto.com. Free for Commercial Use

Looking at an online bookstore I found some very educational material by Robert Harkrider for about $6.95 per book. Bob and Sandra Waldron published excellent books on the history and geography of the Bible that will take you on an insightful journey through the Bible for about $9.95-14.95 per book. These books reflect extensive study, organization, and writing by true Bible scholars. Even question books at the low cost of $3-4 per book would still fall into this category of wasted money.

Why is this a waste of the Lord’s Money?

Growing up, my mom’s greatest frustration was when we would “throw our money away.” Buying candy and playing coin-operated video games seemed like a wise investment of funds to my ten year-old mind but fell into her “thrown away money” category along with unnecessary fees for late library books or movies, gas used on wasted trips, and food purchased but not eaten. As a father I have adopted her view. We hate to see hard earned money wasted. It is frustrating to see Christians contribute hard earned funds and see it wasted. But you say Bible class books are useful material and provide direction for the class, how could it be a waste of the Lord’s money?

Lost Books: Few things frustrate me more than students–adults and kids–losing their class books by the second or third class period. By the middle and end of the quarter some are using replacement books or the visitor copy. The average class quarter is three months! Some students are costing $15-30 per quarter (serial offenders then are wasting $45-120 per year). Anyone who is responsible for ordering class material has known the frustration of counting the members and adding copies for visitors then reordering books after the first month because some brethren need a book. It is especially frustrating for those who have to copy, collate, and assemble class books (a boring  job) to hear a teacher say “we need you to print some more books for our class.” Several years ago I spent hours making a class book (not counting the many hours writing it) and told the class that I would email them an Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word copy of the material if they lost their book and they could reprint copies to their heart’s desire. Some chose to share a book with their neighbor instead.

Unused Books: The often unspoken disappointment of teachers (and I am speaking it here) is walking around an empty classroom or auditorium seeing Bibles and class books left behind for retrieval at the next class period. You know that lesson will not be read and those questions will not be answered in preparation for the next class. Once I asked an adult class to turn to the question page, close their eyes, and hold their pages up and out so that only I could see them. Sadly, a large percentage of the lessons were blank. I wonder if their children had completed lessons?

If many in the congregation will leave their class books in the church building or car or lose them quickly, then it is wasteful for the church to continue to spend money purchasing the material. If 90 class books are ordered (for members, visitors, and replacement copies) and 60% will be unused or lost, then $540 will be wasted that quarter, $2,160 for the year.

Fantasy Solutions

I have some fantasy solutions to address the problem. They are fantasy solutions because I doubt anyone would actually do it; but a man can dream.

Solution 1: At the end of  the last class for the quarter  announce the topic for the next quarter and direct the students to a bookstore to purchase the material. After the shock and silent outrage sets in, tell the class that if they will bring a completed class book to the teacher immediately after class, the church will purchase the next quarter class book for them. After students purchase at least one quarter of material themselves to turn in (completed) at the end of the quarter, they might realize the cost involved and the educational value of completing the material.

Solution 2: There are two classrooms. Someone is posted at the door to the first classroom and those who show a completed lesson (or are visiting) are allowed to enter. Those who have lost books or have not completed their lessons go to the second classroom. In the first classroom the students have an engaging class on the topic because they know the material and perhaps have brought questions developed in the preparation of the lesson. The teacher doesn’t have to teach what was supposed to be prepared ahead of time so the class can get into the material at a greater depth. In the second classroom there is no teacher but a facilitator and the class can discuss whatever jumps in their head. Brother “I Think”, Sister “Preacher So-and-So used to say”, and Brother Internet, who does a quick commentary reference and concordance search and spouts off what the search returned, can opine to their hearts content. It won’t really matter what they discuss since there is no prepared material to know whether the discussion is on track or not, or even scriptural for that matter. It will be full of discussion though, and that can’t be a bad thing!

How Bible Class Books Can Be A Wise Purchase

Keep them: Bible class books are not cheap either in finished product cost or the labor of someone to print and assemble. Keep up with your class book. Kids in public school are given several books and are expected to keep them for a whole school year–nine months! Generally we just have to keep books for a third of that time. Great books like the ones mentioned above are great resources to keep permanently and one can build a useful library with good class books (especially with completed questions and notations of lessons learned).

Use them: A class is enhanced when students come prepared, having read the texts, answered the questions to reinforce their understanding of the subject, and developed their own questions or observations to share with the class. Consider that preparing such a lesson in this way will take longer to complete than the time it takes to ride to the church building.

If we keep the books, the church will not have to purchase more material than necessary, exhibiting wise stewardship of the Lord’s money. If we use the books, then the money will be expended for edification, not an illusion of it, and a wise use of the Lord’s money.

The Saint Jesus Saw In A Sinner

A medical MRI exposes bone, muscle, and organs in detailed three dimensional pictures for detailed examination. The doctor sees every normal and abnormal feature to find what is wrong and determine a course of treatment. Imagine a spiritual MRI exposing memories of words spoken and actions taken, and the inner thoughts that you share with no one. In the presence of God, the thoughtful person realizes his own unworthiness and inferiority.

When God spoke to Job of his great power and wisdom, Job said he would cover his mouth and say nothing else, Job 40:3-5. When the prophet Isaiah beheld the glory of God, he cried out for he was “a man of unclean lips dwelling among unclean people” (Isaiah 6:1-7). The apostle had a similar experience with Jesus on the shores of Galilee.

In Luke 5, Peter allowed Jesus to preach from his boat to a large multitude on the shore. I imagine the powerful words of truth echoing off the water to the eager multitude and Peter listening attentively in the boat, perhaps mending his nets after the long night of fishing. Jesus asked Peter to go fishing again. Peter and the other fishermen had an unsuccessful night having caught no fish and his words suggested that fishing now would produce no better result. Encouraged by Jesus, Peter lowered the nets and caught so many fish that James and John were called to bring back the bounty. Peter returns to the shore amazed but troubled.

Peter saw Jesus as he really was

Peter heard the words of Jesus. The preaching of Jesus caused guards sent to arrest him to return empty handed marveling that no one spoke like Jesus, John 7:46. Jesus amazed the people by speaking with authority, Matthew 7:28-29. The preaching of Jesus pricks the heart and leads hearers to examine themselves. The reputation of Jesus’ power had spread throughout the region and Peter witnessed that power in his own boat. Peter did not see a great teacher; he saw the Son of God.

Peter saw himself as he really was

Jesus’ power and holy teaching cut Peter to the heart. Peter begged Jesus to depart from his sinful presence. Peter was not holy like Jesus and considered himself unworthy to be in the presence of such righteousness. Like lepers forced to warn others to avoid their defiled diseased bodies, Peter warned Jesus to depart from his spiritually wretched body.

Jesus saw Peter as he really was

Jesus didn’t contradict Peter’s self-condemnation. Jesus knew the hearts of men and knew Peter’s sinfulness. Though Peter begged Jesus to depart from him, Jesus invited Peter to follow him as a disciple. Far from being repulsed by Peter, Jesus wanted Peter to remain in his presence.

Jesus saw Peter as he could be

Jesus looked beyond the boats, the fish and the sea to a future Peter casting the net of the gospel into the mass of humanity to catch the souls of men. Peter the sinner would be transformed into a godly servant doing great work in the Lord’s kingdom. Peter’s heart was pricked by the presence of Jesus and he would prick the hearts of others by preaching the gospel of Jesus, Acts 2:36-38. Jesus saw the man Peter would be before Peter would see it in himself.

What Jesus sees in us

When we experience the presence of Jesus through his word, we are exposed for who we really are. If we do not resist him, his word will peel away the illusions we have about ourselves and expose our sinfulness in the brightness of his light. Do not fear this intimate dissection of the inward person (Hebrews 4:12-13) but understand that facing the sinful self is necessary to heal the cancer of sin within.

Instead of driving us from his presence, Jesus calls us to follow him. When we obey his gospel, the filth of rebellion and disease of sin is cleansed with his holy sacrificial blood and we are transformed to reflect his glory in our lives, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. We reflect his light into the dark world (Matthew 5:14-16). Our sinful self becomes part of our past and we are declared righteous though we do not deserve such a title, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

Jesus can use us, as he did Peter, to accomplish great things in the kingdom. We can rescue others from the darkness and slavery of sin by sharing the gospel. We can build up fellow Christians and rescue those who stray from him, James 5:19-20. We can see in others what they do not see in themselves and encourage them to follow Jesus.

Jesus sees us as we can be when we see Jesus as he is.

The Widow and the Hypocrites

It sounds like the beginning of a joke, “a widow and some hypocritical scribes went to the temple…” but it describes a contrast of characters that Jesus addressed in Mark 12:38-44. He warned his disciples about the hypocritical scribes and commended the simple actions of an impoverished widow. Consider the sharp contrast between the widow and the scribes

Seeking Society’s Attention vs. Ignored by Society

The scribes loved to hear the sound of their names and the prestige accorded them by the multitudes. They loved to walk through the marketplace and receive greetings that indicated that they were on a higher spiritual level. It was this same condemnation Jesus leveled against those who love to be called by spiritual titles: reverend, rabbi, father, and teacher (Matthew 23:1-12). Even today men covet such titles and wear them as badges of honor and pride instead of being content with the name Christian that all saints wear. The scribes also loved the seats of prominence in the worship and social gatherings. They loved to have the attention of society and played the part of a righteous person though they were corrupt within.

Contrasted to these hypocrites who were praised by society, the simple act of giving a couple of small coins in the treasury was almost unnoticed. Jesus had to draw the attention of the apostles to her act of generosity. While the rich are drawing the eyes of the people in the temple, the widow appears to be moving as a shadow among them, giving a small amount, and disappearing into the mass of worshipers. Yet the Lord noticed her gift and praised her service to his apostles.

Oppressor vs. the Oppressed

Jesus charged the hypocritical scribes with devouring widow’s houses. They used the prominence they enjoyed in society, and perhaps their knowledge of the law, to take advantage of the widows. They should have pleaded the widow’s cause (Isaiah 1:17) and not oppressed them (Zechariah 7:10). These who were weak needed the protection of the scribes but they were victims to their schemes.

It may be, since these stories appear so close in context, that this widow was a victim of the scribes. If so, what great faith of this woman who though “men of God” took advantage of her she did not lose faith in God and continued to serve Him with the little she possessed. It reminds us that the hypocrisy of others, even people esteemed as great people of faith, does not allow us to be unfaithful. God knows the heart of every man and woman. If Jesus could see and judge the scribes as hypocrites on earth, how much more when all are gathered to his throne and every thought, intent, and action is laid open before him. Never let another’s hypocrisy stop your obedience.

Self-Seeking vs. Generosity

As mentioned before, the scribes craved attention instead of giving glory to God. The rich gave to the treasury from their abundance (the extra) but held onto their wealth for their own pleasure. The poor widow gave out of her necessity because she esteemed spiritual treasures of greater value than physical treasures.

Important Lessons For Us

  1. Do we want people to praise us for who we are or what we do for them or are we happy if only God knows who we are?
  2. Are we giving from our abundance or are we sacrificing in order to give to God? This would include money, time, and our selves.
  3. Would we continue serving God even if others were esteeming hypocritical people as godly men and women?
  4. Can we be happy with only God knowing what we do in service to Him?  Remember, the widow’s generous gift would have gone unnoticed by men except Jesus brought their attention to it while the scribes and the rich were the objects of the attention of others.

Let us do all things to God’s glory and seek no glory for ourselves.

Why Don’t We Want What We Need?

Like a child who plays with the box instead of the precious gift inside, we don’t often realize what is most valuable and important. Like a person who loses money in a scam or spends a fortune for fool’s gold, we can miss a great treasure if we cannot tell the genuine from the fake.

A paralyzed man, brought with great effort by his friends to Jesus, was told “Your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:1-8). The greatest problem this man had was not his paralysis, but his sinfulness. Jesus solved his greatest problem; however, an observer might have pitied him since he was not immediately healed. Jesus gave him the better thing first. If you were the paralyzed man would you have been satisfied leaving the presence of Jesus with your sins forgiven but your legs unhealed? Yet, he would have received the greatest gift even if he was forgiven but not healed! Thankfully for him, he was spiritually and physically healed.

We don’t always want the better things

The rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-25) came to Jesus asking about eternal life. When told that he would need to forsake his earthly possessions in order to possess it he was disappointed and turned from Jesus. He thought he wanted eternal life but in reality he wanted his earthly treasures. He forsook the better, eternal things for the temporary, earthly things. Now his possessions are gone and he is in eternity. He should have wanted what he needed: eternal life and a spirit without covetousness.

The multitude that followed Jesus as recorded in John 6 tasted the greatest spiritual food: the message of heaven from the Son of God. He spent much time teaching them and fed them miraculously, multiplying bread and fish in abundance. Jesus left them that night and crossed the Sea of Galilee. The multitude awoke to find him gone and loaded boats to chase Him across the sea. Jesus confronted their shallowness and rebuked them for seeking the physical bread instead of the spiritual bread. When Jesus tried to persuade them to seek the spiritual food they turned their back on Him. They were short sighted and missed an eternal feast because Jesus wouldn’t give them daily bread for their stomachs.

Sometimes we develop a preference for the physical things because they are seen. The spiritual cannot be seen and often we must wait for the greater things. Ultimately, we have a problem because we don’t want what we need.

Struggle between wants and needs

The woman at the Samarian well (John 4) also sought physical relief, desiring the water that would keep her from coming to the well every day. Jesus had eternal gifts but she was seeking physical answers. Jesus’ remark about her relationships may have indicated her attempts to fill her emptiness with relationships. However, seeing her real need and the ability of Jesus to fill that need, she desired what she truly needed: Jesus and the eternal water He offered. As one commentator noted, those who thirst for the physical water wake up thirsty every day and those who try to satisfy spiritual thirst with physical means wake up thirsty every day. Earthly pleasures, relationships, and other attempts to fill the spiritual hunger will not satisfy and the hunger will remain. Only the eternal can fill the emptiness.

Satisfying our deepest need

When many in the multitude turned from Jesus, He asked His apostles if they wanted to turn away. They knew that only Jesus had the food to nourish their deepest hunger and said, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:66-68). Those are blessed and filled who hunger and thirst for righteousness, Matthew 5:6. We are rich when we store up heavenly treasures, Matthew 6:19-21.

He must not be just a part of our life but to be our life, Colossians 3:1-4. When He is our life, that hunger can be filled. We must want it more than the things of this world. We must want the words of eternal life, the righteousness that can fill us and satisfy our hunger, and the spiritual treasures on earth and in heaven. We must make sure that we truly want what we really need.