Politics and God’s Government

POLITICS AND GOD’S GOVERNMENT 

The Book of Isaiah is a story is of a people who are meant to live in hope, turning to God, waiting for God, and being surprised by God’s goodness to them. 
After Solomon, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were divided. There were 20 kings of Israel in the north and not one of them did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and of the 20 kings of Judah in the south, only eight attempted to do what was right, and King Uzziah was in the top five of these. The Bible says of him;
“Uzziah set himself to seek God … and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.” (2Chronicles 26:5)

Isaiah begins to speak a message of warning and encouragement after King Uzziah dies (in Isaiah chapter 5), because when the King died God’s people turned away from trusting in God. Isaiah’s constant message of turning back to having hope in God all comes to a focus in Isaiah’s words of warning for their presumptuous attitude and desire for political power and control.

Isaiah 30:9 a people who lie, A people unwilling to listen to anything God tells them. They tell their spiritual leaders, "Don't bother us with irrelevancies."
They tell their preachers, "Don't waste our time on spiritual impracticalities.
Tell us what makes us feel better. Don't bore us with obsolete religion.
That stuff means nothing to us. Quit hounding us with The Holy One of Israel."

Therefore, thus says the Holy One of Israel, because of your rejecting me so that you trust in a headstrong dictator and rely on him, therefore, may this guilt be for you like a bulge in a high wall which suddenly breaks up and collapses. It shall break up like a clay vessel being smashed (That dictator was Pharaoh – worldly power)

Those words were said to God's people during a time when they had become tired of waiting for God to do something, and God was waiting for them to demonstrate that they trusted him. 
Israel and Judah’s kings had been playing politics for generations, siding with different nations against other rival nations. At this time God’s people were putting their trust in the worldly powers of Egypt and Assyria and playing them off against one another. But none of the nations could help God’s people or provide safety for them as they were only interested in using Israel to strengthen themselves against their enemies, and Israel had taken on a political role among the nations instead of taking on their role as God's spiritual representative, his servants, to exercise his Government in the world. They had rejected his government and authority over them. They had demanded that their spiritual leaders and prophets exercised political power instead of exercising God’s Government.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulders…. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,

The Bible says the Government will be upon his shoulders, not the politics. Government and politics are two different things. 
Politics is exercised by people in a state or nation, no matter what happens to be the lawfully recognized form of Government of the day – one governance, much politics, and God in the midst.
Politics Comes from the Greek word Polis which means the State and its citizens. Politics describes the strategic conflict between competing power bases within the states or nations – it is mostly people power, not God power. These political agencies and influence include the political parties, the media (all kinds in that zoo), special interest groups and lobby groups. We take the politics on our shoulders, and we are all involved in some way because we are the people, the citizens, but the Government is always upon his shoulders – God is in charge of history. When we personally are under the Governance of God – The Lordship of Christ, we can bring that into the political arena, whether it is the media or lobby groups, in a God Governance way. God gives his people a voice.

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
Psalm 75:6 For promotion comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one and sets up another.

Government means the recognised management of authority and responsibility for justice, law and order, and the care and well-being of the citizens within a state or nation. 
We bring ourselves under the Government and authority of God’s Word. If obedience to that authority is at odds with the recognized local authority we obey God but accept the legal consequences of the local authority. as Peter and John did when they preached the gospel in Jerusalem. 
Act 4:18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
Acts 12.3. This account tells the story of Peter and James being arrested by Herod who was an agent of Roman Governance (Caesar), for preaching the Gospel. Herod put James to death, and the people applauded him, so he arrested Peter, however God needed Peter out of prison so he sent an angel to release him. 
James and Peter did not organise a political protest, they took the governmental consequences and we see the two ends of the spectrum of their eventual end – death for James and miraculous liberty for Peter. The Government is upon God’s shoulders.

We saw the warnings of God to his people in the previous Scriptures in Isaiah 30:9 where he rebuked them for playing politics amongst the nations, and the threat of sending the Assyrians from the north to bring judgement upon them unless they gave up their independence and turned back to trusting in him. 

In the following verses of Isaiah 30 we see the desire of God’s heart of purpose of blessing for obedience for Israel, but a warning for disobedience; 

Isaiah 30:15 For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel “In returning and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and in trust and confidence in me shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling…

16. You've said, 'Nothing doing! We'll rush off on horseback!'
And God says to you ‘You'll rush off, all right! Just not far enough! And You've said, 'We'll ride off on fast horses!' 17. And God says ‘Do you think your pursuers ride old nags? Think again: A thousand of you will scatter before one attacker. Before a mere five you'll all run off. There'll be nothing left of you—a flagpole on a hill with no flag, a signpost on a roadside with the sign torn off."

But then comes the encouragement of God’s faithfulness to us. (Israel/Church)

18.' The lord waits to do good to you. He is almighty in power and is kindhearted towards you in your weakness. He is a God of true justice and right order in everything He does. If you wait for Him - with Him waiting for you - great things will happen to you as my people.' 

Verses 15 and 18 contain two of the clearest expressions of Isaiah’s message that God had been calling upon Israel/Judah since the days of King Uzziah.

It was now turn around time…

He called for a willingness on the nation's part to turn inward to its faith and to rest on God's grace and promises, but Israel were putting their trust in political power instead of in God. 
It would require quietness in the midst of turmoil and trust that God would control the great forces that were devastating the nations. That would be a courage or daring of a very different kind to their political strategies. The church today cannot trust in politicians to save them either, but we can trust in God to save politicians. The Bible tells us to pray for our leaders for this very reason.

1 Timothy 2:2 Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can live godly lives, in the way our Savior God wants us to live.
4. He wants not only us but everyone saved, I mean everyone, to get to know the truth…
8. Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God.
(Not weaponizing God’s name politically – the Third Commandment)

The final blessing in verse 18 is dedicated to those who are willing to listen and who wait; 
Vs.18.' The lord waits to do good to you. He is almighty in power and is kindhearted towards you in your weakness. He is a God of true justice and right order in everything He does. If you wait for Him - with Him waiting for you - great things will happen to you as my people.' 

He repeats to them that He will do good to them. He acknowledges that He has allowed them to go through tough times of disorder, adversity and suffering, and that He has even used it all for his purposes, but that now it is time for rest and peace to come to them, and that when they cry out to Him he will hear and act.

God had to wait till his people had come to that place of honestly admitting that their efforts and their wayward leaders and prophets had not brought them the freedom and safety and happiness they thought it would. They didn’t get the results they expected.
This is something that we all have to learn- the hard way- That God arranges history, not us – the Government is upon his shoulders. He actually waits for us! So what is He waiting for? He's waiting for us to wait for Him!
So why don't we wait? Well, just like them - we feel we can't just sit around and do nothing - we have to think of something to do. 

God certainly wants us to do the best that we can, and to be agents of godly change, taking on our role as God's spiritual representatives, his servants to the world. He is waiting for us as Church wherever and however it exists, to wait for him and on him, for our eyes to be opened to the opportunities that he places us in right in the midst of our day to day lives – family, friends, work, sport and recreation and the creative arts, health care and compassionate counselling, media, education, wherever he is setting us up to bring his wisdom and faith and love into any situation. His blessing and his power waits to be demonstrated. So pray for rulers and all who govern.

 

 

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