I've been asked quite a bit lately about whether or not God chooses political leaders or if He leaves that up to us. Below is text from an email I sent last week to a friend at church who brought up a question like this...
You bring up a great question about God's control over the political process. When Obama visited Israel a few months ago, he wrote a prayer and put it in the cracks of the Wailing Wall as people have done for many centuries. Somebody actually plucked his prayer out of the wall and gave it to the media (which Rabbis condemned). His prayer was simply, "Lord, make me an instrument of your will." I have no doubt that God will answer that prayer one way or another.
What does the Bible say about all of this? As for specific passages that suggest God's sovereignty over those in political power, Jesus' encounter with Pilate is as good as any, but more than one passage or verse, it seems like the whole of Scripture points to this notion that God is sovereign over the affairs of men (including political powers). For example, God raised up a pagan pharoah and hardened his heart so that God's greatness could be shown. God allowed both righteous and unrighteous kings to rule over Israel. God promised David a royal lineage that would never be broken which showed God's power to choose kings for all generations. We see in Proverbs that "promotion comes from the Lord" and many other examples in both the Old and New Testaments that God has power over placing rulers in their roles.
The mystery in all of this is that there are also many passages which point to our free will and our personal responsibility to make decisions, to act justly, to fight for the oppressed, etc. Ultimately, I'm convinced that the epic debate to clearly define the balance between God's Sovereignty and our personal free will to set the course for our own lives and leaders is a mystery that we will never fully understand until we get to heaven. I am also confident that God is in control of the master plan and I'm certain that he wasn't (nor has He ever been) surprised by the results of the election. Right now, our focus should be on praying for our leaders and doing all we can to point this lost and broken world to Jesus Christ who is the only Savior capable of bringing the "Change" that we all so desperately need.
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3 comments:
I love this conversation... I don't know if it is just the fun of good natured argument/conversation or if I am truly drawn to the topic... I am a believer that if God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginnig and the end, then isn't it fair to say that God knows what is going to happen bewtween the beginning and the end? Then that leads us to the whole predestination question... was Barack Obama born to be President or did he make choices in his life that led him to become President? If you are disposed to believe the latter, then I might argue that God may have set up all the situations to ensure Barack Obama would choose to run for President and thus in turn become the POTUS. ARGHHHHH.... I could go on and on and on...
You mention that God is in control of the master plan. Gil mentions that God knows what is going to happen in between. May I bring to the discussion the fact that God does not impose His will on us. Adam & Eve made the wrong choice. Israel wanted a king like all the other countries. God was disappointed, but gave them what they were asking for. I would say that God gave Americans what they asked for, but not necessarily what He wanted or what is best for us. You are absolutely correct, we must now pray. For in the last days men will call good evil and evil good. The incoming administration is championing the murder of unborn babies and marriage of homosexuals as good. I have never seen a more clear and direct attack on God's creation of life and marriage presented as a good thing. We must certainly pray...pray as it says in Chronicles that the people of this country turn from their wicked ways so God will heal our land.
Dave!
Great blog post man. I especially like the part about focusing our passion on seeking and saving the lost.
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