Prior to the Fall of Man, God was the sole government on earth. Human government became necessary only when sin entered the garden. Family government was the first human system of government, but human governance eventually outgrew the family, and then people who didn’t care so much about the family stepped into power. Even so, Israel lived well under limited human government, and its people enjoyed self-reliance and a tight-knit sense of community.
When God brought Israel out of (Big Government) Egypt, He gave them 10 basic rules, and based all the other laws around the principles in those rules. When they came into the Promised Land, the people still enjoyed relatively limited government (reference the book of Judges). Soon, however, they began to demand a king. Why? Because they wanted to be like everyone else: “appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam 8:5). Of course, God had already rejected the idea of a strong centralized government when He brought Israel out of Egypt, and when Israel stupidly clamored for a king, they were advocating a tyrannical government based not on God’s rule, but on the rule of one man.
JRK and WDK argue that on the whole it was the kings (“man-inspired government,” as they call it) who taught Israel to sin. It wasn’t the patriarchy and it wasn’t the judges. JRK / WDK write that “it was government under kings that institutionalized sin.” They note that “the saintly prophet Jeremiah lamented the evil that corrupt kings and corrupt religious leaders of his day had brought upon Judah.”
This is where we find ourselves today. We have sold our souls for security, and the evil our government has laid on us enslaves us all. Why? Because we asked for it. As the old saying goes, “you get the government you deserve.” What a pathetic commentary on our nation.
I've read this book. It's good and it's written to Christians. But it really calls you out and make you think about politics.
ReplyDeleteI never thought if Egypt as big government but it's true. So that means God doesn't like big gov, right?
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