There is the repeated declaration throughout God’s instruction book that He is the ultimate King over our nations and our world. For example:

For the Lord Most High is to be feared [and worshipped with awe-inspiring reverence and obedience]; He is a great King over all the earth (Psalm 47:2).

King Jehoshaphat (873 to 848 B.C.) acknowledged this truth when he prayed to God:

O Lord, God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, there is no one able to stand against You (2 Chronicles 20:6).

Throughout, there is the often-repeated declaration:

The Lord reigns! (Psalm 93:1, 97:1, 99:1)

One servant of God expressed it this way:

God is King of all the earth. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne. The nobles of the peoples have assembled with the people of the God of Abraham. For the leaders of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted (Psalm 47:7-9).

How does the Statesman deal with the reality of an unseen ruler over him or her? The reality is that God is not only King over the nations, but King over the kings and decision-makers of the earth. There are implications. First, all human rulers govern as His subordinates. And they are accountable to Him. As such, He expects those humans to operate as His hands and feet in the administration of nations and peoples. Therefore, He expects that they should work in harmony with Him, consulting Him in their decisions. In fact, they must operate under His guidance.

In an effort to appreciate this issue, consider if you had a subordinate who never consulted you, how confident would you be that this individual was fulfilling your intentions? You could be certain that the subordinate was not doing your will. Likewise, if we do not consult the ultimate King over us, we can be assured we are not doing His will.

One king prayed with this reality in mind during a time of national distress:

Lord of Hosts, … You are God—You alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. Now, Lord our God, save us … so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord—You alone (Isaiah 37:16,20).

We have two ways we can respond to this essential truth that God is the ultimate King under whom we serve:

1. We can ignore it and pretend He does not exist.
2. We can acknowledge our need to submit to His rulership over our lives and actions.

Let us return to King Jehoshaphat’s understanding when he prayed to God:

Power and might are in Your hand, there is no one able to take a stand against You (2 Chronicles 20:6).

King Jehoshaphat was reminding us that we must view ourselves as accountable to the ultimate ruler under whom we serve. This is true not only for the ultimate human governor of a nation, but for all who serve under that governor. We have the example when God’s spokesman warned the king in a warning that was addressed to “you and your officers” (Jeremiah 22:2). Thus, all who serve are accountable to our ultimate Ruler. Furthermore, the head administrator is accountable not only for one’s own actions, but for those of all subordinates. We are accountable for the Government being God’s instrument from the highest to the lowliest official.

God is not only the ultimate ruler. He is the perfect ruler. As such, God then becomes a model for those who rule as His subordinates. We need to learn what His thinking is regarding governing. As one example, we learn from God’s words to one king:

This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Don’t exploit or brutalize the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Don’t shed innocent blood in this place (Jeremiah 22:3). 

Justice in all its forms is a high priority. Disobedience, even through ignorance, results in reprimand and disciplinary action.  Following the above instruction was this warning:

“If you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“that this house will become a ruin” (Jeremiah 22:5).

REFLECTION FOR THE STATESMAN.  Can I recognize God as the ultimate ruler over my nation and view myself as sub-governor to Him? How would He govern if He were doing it instead of me? What steps would the ultimate King over my nation have me to take? For the sake of myself and my nation and my people, do I dare pretend that the God of the Universe has no requirements for me in my administration on His behalf? Does the realization that there is another governor ultimately responsible for my nation lift the pressure off me if I should endeavour to be His instrument?

How can I get to know God better, including His plans for me? King Solomon admonished:

The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).

The motivation for taking this step in increasing our reverence for Him is:

The [reverent] fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether (Psalm 19:9).

The benefit of obedience to God and seeking to obey His instructions:

The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning (Psalm 25:14).

The wonderful thing is that God’s counsel is openly revealed to those committed to obedience to Him.

The post The Statesman Serving Under the Ultimate King appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

I believe everyone is familiar with the encounter that David had with Goliath. David was a teenager. Goliath was a 9’9” tall, seasoned, powerful warrior. Everyone knows that David fearlessly felled this giant with a pebble employing a slingshot, perhaps the crudest of all instruments. However, I am convinced that there is more to the story. When David asked to be the one to fight the giant, he repeatedly referred to “the living God”. It is worth considering what David meant by his expression “the living God”. And I am convinced that it is this perspective that is the key to his miraculous success – one that we can appropriate for our own life and service.

The phrase “the living God” is a powerful expression. The addition of the word “living” implies active and involved. From this, we recognize that David viewed God as intimately involved in the lives of His children – involved in every aspect of our lives. We may interpret that David viewed God as hearing and responding, and with compassion and power in response to his needs. God demonstrated that David’s understanding and trust were not misplaced. There is no way we can explain in human terms what David accomplished during that encounter with Goliath.

We learn more about “the living God” and His interaction with fallen man as we watch David’s ensuing life unfold. David is an anomaly to us because when he was King, he allowed his view of God to lapse when he sinned with Bathsheba. And he paid dearly for that lapse. He was disciplined severely by his Lord for his disobedience, reminding him again that our Lord is “the living God”.

Even as David responded to God as he was confronted with his sin through God’s prophet, we see his view of our Master as the “living God”:

Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me…So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge…Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within. Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore the joy of Your salvation to me (Psalm 51:1-2,5-12).

When David pleaded with God “Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me”, he recognized that he could not take God’s presence on his behalf for granted. He understood the need for God’s forgiveness and the fact that he could not automatically expect this as a part of His being “the living God” – and certainly not as a result of our Lord being an object of worship. When David pleaded “God, create in me a clean heart”, the word he chose for “create” means not to improve something blemished or imperfect but rather to “create out of nothing”, recognizing that God would have to produce something for which there was not the raw material or a starting point within David’s life. There is nothing David could provide out of which God could create a clean heart. This would have to be a work of God alone.

Possibly, Psalm 23 is one of the tenderest songs that David wrote to God, written years after David’s sin with Bathsheba. In it, David expressed “He restores my soul” (23:3). Again, we see the view of “the living God”.

Listen to David’s heart expressed years after sinning with Bathsheba:

The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the LORD; for He laid its foundation on the seas and established it on the rivers…. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The LORD of Hosts, He is the King of glory. (Psalm 24:1-2,8-10)

Here, we see David expressing an intimate friendship, one that would reflect that God is “the living God”. Listen to the words of David later in his life:

A man’s steps are established by the LORD, and He takes pleasure in his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the LORD holds his hand. I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread. He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing. (Psalms 37:23-26)

These are the words of a man who experienced his Lord as “the living God” throughout a lifetime. We learn a lot from David’s life about this One who is “the living God”. He is intimately involved in our lives. He responds to our obedience to Him, and He disciplines us when we disobey Him. As “the living God”, He does not leave us to guess what He wants us to do. He makes it very clear as we call upon Him. In response, He promises to hold our hand. What more can a Statesman wish for?

David is considered to have been a good King, by God and man. He is representative of human beings with an imperfect nature desiring to do good for those he was called to serve. I propose for your consideration that his view of our Creator as “the living God” played a key part in his life and service. My challenge is for you to get to know God as David did and to have Him as your “living”, active partner throughout your life, guiding you and holding your hand.

The post The View of God Upon Which to Build Statesmanship appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

Returning to the foundational truth:

God is King of all the earth. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne (Psalms 47:7-8).

There is a special benefit for the Statesman that results from faith in the One who designed the system in which they serve. Therefore, it is beneficial to look at the implications of that faith. The Apostle Paul discussed giants of the faith in an interesting passage:

These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:13-16).

God was referring to the giants of the faith as being “foreigners and temporary residents” within nations upon the earth while living as a part of a greater kingdom and while looking forward to that greater kingdom. God, speaking to His obedient servants, tells us “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).

What difference can this make for the Statesman?

While discussing this issue with a small group of U.N. Ambassadors in a Bible study, one Ambassador explained that his foreign ministry, while briefing him before his assignment, cautioned him not to allow himself to become attracted by the allures of the culture where he would serve, rather always keeping his eye on his own country until he could return. Our God reminds us to take the same approach as we serve in His creation: not to allow ourselves to become attracted by the allures of the culture where we serve, but rather always keeping our eye on our ultimate home as we await our return.

The Statesman faces the allure of many challenges due to the authority he or she wields. There is the accumulation of power. Jesus’s warning addresses the issue of our ultimate citizenship:

What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? (Matthew 16:26)

While serving, we must resist the temptation to accrue the benefits of exercising power.

Then, there is the issue of material possessions. As civilization began to move toward centralized governments, God provided the following guidelines:

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself … He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold (Deuteronomy 17:16-17).

– his heart will be led astray from the ultimate kingdom to which he will return.

This proceeds to instruct how the leader is to protect him- or herself:

When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow [citizens] and turn from the law to the right or to the left (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).

It involves continually focusing one’s mind on and focusing our heart on our citizenship in our ultimate Kingdom and our accountability to our Master at its head. This does so by focusing on the Law of that Kingdom which supersedes our earthly kingdom.

The application here seems relevant. While serving in an earthly kingdom, there seems a certain irony in a Government leader being a citizen of a kingdom other than his/her own nation.

I would submit to you that because of being a citizen of that higher kingdom – God’s Kingdom, I believe God is telling us that one can better serve the nation’s interests. God contrasts those whose ultimate citizenship is not in heaven:

Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself (Philippians 3:19-21).

The Statesman who knows his or her citizenship is in heaven has the valuable resource that keeps him or her from giving into the temptations faced by one who holds power in our world system. Hence, we are admonished:

Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth (Colossians 3:2).

We are admonished to continually focus our minds on the eternal Kingdom to which we will ultimately return after our brief service on this earth is completed.

Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.

Let us keep our minds focused on that Kingdom within which we look forward to spending eternity with our ultimate Master and Saviour. And may this help us to make our maximum contribution while on this earth!

The post The Citizenship of the Statesman appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

King David provides us with invaluable perspective when it comes to governing a nation within God’s current-day system.

Who is David? Is he King? Or is he the man who loved God as much as any man who ever walked on this earth? He is both.

Is he the one who sinned so badly that, even though he had hundreds of wives and mistresses, he desired another man’s wife, causing him to be responsible for that man’s death? Or is he the one who wrote the most beautiful love songs to our unseen Creator? He is both.

In spite of his human shortcomings, which he shares with all humanity, we are told:

David reigned over all Israel, administering justice and righteousness for all his people. (2 Samuel 8:15)

As we consider this King, let us reflect on his conclusions at the end of his life as expressed in 2 Samuel 23:1-4:

These are the last words of David: The declaration of David son of Jesse, the declaration of the man raised on high, the one anointed by the God of Jacob, the favorite singer of Israel: The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me, His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, “The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God, is like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, the glisten of rain on sprouting grass.”

I believe every leader should listen to David’s insights. King David has completed his governing responsibility which spanned 40 years. With his faults, he sought to walk closely with his God and, in the process, perhaps discerned the mind of God for those governing more than any other human being. Hence, his conviction of what his Master requires of those who serve in this position is worth noting:

“The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God.”

David understood the challenges that the administrator of a nation faces, based upon his experience of attempting to walk with God and to shepherd his people. He understood the seduction to power. He understood what it is to give in to that seduction which power affords. He understood what it is to betray the trust God gave him, and he understood God’s grace extended toward him to forgive him and restore him to his original heart’s desire to be God’s servant.

David understood what God’s perfect choice of a ruler would be like. I believe he looked forward to the day when that would become a reality through Jesus’ eventual reign. In the meantime, while waiting for that perfect day, he understood what God intends for our nations today:

“The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God.”

God has designed Government in such a way that imperfect man can effectively administer justice to imperfect humanity. David had two natures, like every governing official and like every human being. His failure came when he did not hold his selfish nature in check. Perhaps, he made the error of attempting to do this in his own strength. The Apostle Paul tells us clearly in Romans 8:12- 13:

So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

We must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to have victory over our selfish nature. We even need God’s power to obey Him. Let us seek God’s help daily in becoming the leader that God intends for our people:

“The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God.”

Please know of my desire to support you in this journey. You and I are both human beings who stumble. However, I am confident that our Creator and Lord desires for you to be:

“The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God.”

The post What the Statesman Can Learn from King David’s Insights on Governing appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.