Thoughts

How Were Government Leaders or Kings Elected In The Bible?

How were governmental leaders and kings chosen in the Bible? Was it by election or by God?

Government; Established by God

The Prophet Daniel nailed it in regards to Who it is that establishes kingdoms and their kings. He wrote it was God Who “changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings” (Dan 2:21), and Job wrote that “He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waistcloth on their hips” (Job 12:18) and even “pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong” (Job 12:21). Since God has not changed, these things are true today of nations. Clearly we see that all things are under the sovereign will of God, and even though evil appears, He can use that for good too (Gen 50:20; John 3:16). Solomon wrote, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Prov 21:1). In one case, a former enemy, the Assyrians, God “turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel” (Ezra 6:22). A former enemy of the Jews now helped them. Also, Ezra found great favor in the eyes of King Artaxerxes who gave Ezra the authority to govern in a godly manner (Ezra 7:25-26), which is why Ezra said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 7:27). He knew it was because God “extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me” (Ezra 7:28).

Slave to Prisoner to Pharaoh’s Commander

Joseph was a unique account where God used a lot of unfair accusations and false imprisonment to bring about much good and to save many lives (Gen 50:20). What was originally meant for evil put Joseph in a positon of doing a lot of good. Joseph made sure the bountiful harvests of the seven years of plenty would be stored for the coming seven-year famine that would devastate the region. Look at the chain of events where God was sovereignly using Joseph, good and bad. If Joseph’s brothers didn’t hate him, they wouldn’t have thrown him in a pit to die. If they hadn’t thrown Joseph into a pit to die, his brothers wouldn’t have sold him to slave traders. If Joseph hadn’t been sold to slave traders, he wouldn’t have been sold to Potiphar’s household. If He hadn’t been sold to Potiphar’s household, he wouldn’t have been unfairly accused and thrown into prison. If Joseph hadn’t been unfairly accused and thrown into prison, he wouldn’t have interpreted the two prisoner’s dreams. If Joseph hadn’t interpreted the two men’s dreams, he wouldn’t have had a chance to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, and if he hadn’t interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, he wouldn’t have been put second command of all Egypt; and if not for that, the great seven-year famine that came would have caused millions in the regions to die, including Jacob and the nation of Israel. When Joseph finally saw his brothers, he said, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen 50:20). Joseph didn’t deny that what they did was evil; he only shows that God can use evil for good. Just look at the cross (John 3:16).

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How Kings and Leaders were Chosen

Kings were always chosen by God. Saul was chosen by God. David was chosen by God. God told David that Solomon would reign in David’s place after his death. He never asked David’s opinion. It was God’s decision and that decision was final. And God has the means to bring about what He wants to come to pass, and uses men and women to do what He purposes, even if they’re not aware of it. God establishes and takes down nations (Dan 2:20-22), and He gives kingdoms to whomever He wills (Dan 2:37). Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar who once ruled a vast empire and an early superpower; “The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Dan 4:17). Clearly, God places leaders, kings, and prophets where He wills, (Jer 1, Isaiah 1, etc.). God puts people in a position of leadership and takes them out of it. Jesus told Pontius Pilate told Jesus that “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11), so even Pilate was one of God’s sovereign agents. Paul writes, “there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Rom 13:1-2), “for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience” (Rom 13:4-5), so even law enforcement officials are placed where they are for God’s purposes.

Who Elects?

As we previously read, God was working all along in Joseph’s life to ensure that many people would not perish, and that Israel would survive and be established as a great nation. They didn’t vote on it, although there was an election. The vote was God, 1. Polls closed. The number of times you read the word “elect” in the New Testament shows that even the children of God had been long ago foreordained by God. The Apostle Paul wrote that God “predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Eph 1:5), and “we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph 1:11). Stunning as it is, “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4), so this means that He chose what nation to place us in and what year and century to put us in. Unknown to them, those who don’t believe are placed as He sees wills. God “works all things according to the counsel of his will.” If “all things” means, all things, then that must include where God has placed the nations and chosen the leaders.

Conclusion

Who is it that elects governmental leaders, including kings of old and today, presidents or whatever else it’s called? God alone reigns supreme and His will is always done in heaven and here on earth, taking the evil and turning it to good. Jesus was (and is) good, but God allowed our evil to be placed on Him. That chastisement brought us peace (Isaiah 53:5), and we now have the peace of God (Rom 8:1), but if you’ve never trusted in Christ, all you have right now is the wrath of God abiding on you (John 3:36b).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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