National Leaders – The Kingdom Curriculum XIX (5)

National Leaders

“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them.” Deuteronomy 17:18, 19

In ancient Israel God clearly intended that the administration of justice according to His Law should begin at the top–with the civil and religious leaders. Both kings and priests were expected to know and obey the Law of God, thus creating a kind of symbiosis between the ecclesiastical and civil spheres, to ensure the blessings of God to the nation.

In our day of “separation of Church and State” it is difficult to see how what Moses envisioned in this text could be practiced with any degree of consistency. However, as believers we must not simply throw up our hands and say, when it comes to the type of justice under which we shall live, “Oh well, whatever.”

In a democracy “we the people” wield real political power. It is our duty to argue, persuade, and insist of our leaders that they adopt policies and enact legislation that reflect the requirements of justice as revealed in the Law of God. Again, we must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves in auguring for our views; it will be necessary for us to explain the prudential reasons why we believe this or that policy should be preferred above others.

But the Law of God is infinitely wise and consistently focused on bringing good to men; therefore, it is not beyond our ability to discover ways of demonstrating the benefit a community or nation can expect from enacting wise and just laws, even those which reflect the Law of God.

Further, when we have political leaders at the national (or local) level who make a show of their faith in Jesus Christ–whether true or merely a posture–we should be emboldened to hold those officials accountable to the Word of God in their lives and practice as national leaders. We must not allow national leaders to make God in their own image and use Him as they will (Ps. 50:16-22); rather, if they insist on professing faith in Him, then we must feel free, indeed, obliged, to hold them accountable to the Word of Him Whom they claim to believe.

Reading and meditating on the Law of God is every believer’s duty and privilege (Ps. 1). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compendium of the commandments and precepts of God’s Law, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.