Stephen
Terry, Director
When Your World Is Falling Apart
Commentary
for the January 16, 2021 Sabbath School Lesson
"He restores my soul;
He leads me in the
paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your
staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table
before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head
with oil;
My cup runs over."
Psalm 23:3-5, NIV
It is hard not to
notice that the lesson titles for this quarter so far seem to be echoing real
life events unfolding around us. Ahaz, the embattled king was facing opposition
to his rule from Samaria and Syria, who wished to place their own king on the
throne in Jerusalem. Isaiah tried to get him to turn to God who would not let
that happen if he humbly served God and submitted to his leading. Unfortunately,
he chose his own way, plundering the temple of God for gold to send to Assyria
to get Tiglath Pileser III to attack the enemies that are at the gates of
Jerusalem. The Assyrians attack and capture Damascus and kill the Syrian king,
leaving Samaria without an ally against Jerusalem. So, they abandon their
siege, and Ahaz feels he has triumphed over his enemies, but Isaiah reveals he
has only sown the seeds for the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of
its citizens.
As I write this, we
have the last few days in office of a United States president, who feels besieged
by adversaries in the opposing political party. Rather than accept God's will
in the results of a national election, he has called upon those in his
electoral base to rise up and fight. This they have done, attacking the nation's
capitol, plundering, destroying, and murdering, while promising more of the
same in days to come. The president and his family and friends may find joy in
this result, but like Ahaz, he is only working to supply the seeds of
destruction of the country. The rulers of any country can never find safety and
security in the hands of violent armies. The armies that defend them today, can
easily turn against them tomorrow. Several Roman Caesars can attest to that. How
quickly that mob can turn was seen in the chants to hang the vice-president, a
member of the president's own political party. Now our president of the last
four years sits abandoned by much of mainstream society, isolated from social
media and a pariah to the rest of the government. Many fingers point in his
direction with the accusation that he has incited the insurrection and intended
to stage a coup to prevent the newly elected president from taking office. Does
he now appeal to an outside ruler to intervene as Ahaz did with Tiglath
Pileser? To do so would ensure the destruction of the United States as we know it
as assuredly as it brought about the destruction of Jerusalem. It could mean
the loss of the world's foremost democratic republic. Many Christians believe that
the establishment of the United States on these shores was ordained of God.
Yet, paradoxically, too many of these same Christians want now to tear it down.
The world as we know it certainly seems to be falling apart.
Perhaps there is a lesson in all of this for us. According to Paul's letter to
the Roman church, God sets up governments, and we should be obedient to those
governments.[i]
Some might argue, "But what if that government is opposed to God's will?"
First, no one can successfully oppose God's will. Second, Paul wrote this
letter at a time when Caesars were ruling the Roman Empire. These men were
worshipped as gods, and statues of them were set up everywhere as objects of
worship. They even tried to set up Caesar worship in the temple in Jerusalem. Likely,
most Jews living under Roman rule would have agreed that the Romans were not working
according to the will of God. If anyone could justifiably argue for insurrection
against a corrupt government, it was the Jews. In fact, they did so twice after
Christ's resurrection and ascension, once in 70 CE, and again in the early
second century. Both insurrections were ruthlessly put down with as many as a
million slain in the first revolt alone. The Christians, perhaps following a
similar understanding to what Paul expressed, did not take part in those
insurrections and were largely spared the repercussions. This contributed to a
large degree to the division that exists between Judaism and Christianity today
as well as a marked rise of anti-Semitism among Christians beginning around the
time of the second revolt. This is found in the writings of the Ante-Nicene church
fathers. Justin Martyr's "Dialogue with Trypho, A Jew" is one glaring example.
Doubtless this may have created a spiritual crisis for many Jews, for if the
government they resisted was not working according to God's will, why didn't
God assure the success of their rebellion? Perhaps it is because God does not
sanction rebellion. As Samuel told Saul, "Rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft."[ii]
If Paul's letter to Rome is any sign, perhaps God prefers to set up and pull
down rulers himself. Since he alone can see into the hearts of mankind, that
might be a safer way to go than changing governments at the hands of a chaotic
mob.
What then should the
Christian do when faced with an evil government? This may be difficult for many
modern Christians to figure out since so much of what we know and feel today
has been filtered through the church of the 4th century, when the
church and the state became one, and church ordinances also became state
ordinances. Therefore, some have felt that the birth of the United States based
on principles that would separate those entanglements was ordained of God. It
allowed the potential for a return to first century Christianity, free of state
control, but not independent of the state about secular matters. This principle
served us well for much of our checkered history. But even in those early days,
some, like the Puritans, did not want freedom of religion, they wanted the
state and religion to continue together, only they wanted it to be their
religion and no one else's. Perhaps it is that thread of intolerance from the
past. Perhaps it is something more modern. In any event, more and more who
consider themselves Christian, seem to be advocating for Triumphalism, the
establishment of one national religion over all others. To enforce such an idea
would naturally require the power of the state, a modern attempt to fully
achieve what was looked for through the Council of Nicaea.
But is this God's
intent? Maybe not. It becomes problematic when governments dictate religion. What
happens when one government chooses one religion or denomination over that of
the one chosen by another country. Do we then return to the European wars
between the Catholic and the Protestant countries of five hundred years ago? So
much death and so much destruction came from that. We only got a small taste of
that during the recent insurrection. Those who rise up, rioting against the
common good are evil, and it is the responsibility of government to keep good
order. But those who rise in insurrection against the government itself have gone
far beyond that and are trampling Paul's counsel in the dirt. They are attacking
the government which Paul claims was set up by God for the purpose of keeping
the very order the insurrectionists are subverting.
So, what is a
Christian to do in the face of a government whose legitimacy is in question? We
are not to find our peace in opposition to government. That is likely a dead-end
road, both figuratively and literally. The path for the Christian is to find
that peace in God, who not only should rule in our hearts but also rules over
governments. Too many American Christians are living by the proverb that God
helps those who help themselves. This proverb, found nowhere in the Bible,
comes instead from Benjamin Franklin, and can be used to justify all sorts of things,
from stealing an extra serving of dessert to robbing a bank. It does not come
from God but is instead a justification for selfishness at best and criminal
activity at its worst, sadly an all-too-common American trait.
As is quoted from the 23rd
Psalm at the beginning of this commentary, our assurance lies not in the force
of arms, but in the arms of God. We will enjoy blessings aplenty in the very
presence of those who would destroy us. Unlike King Ahaz, we need to understand
and accept that. God is in control. We do not need an armed insurrection to challenge
our government or its elected officials. Otherwise, we will bring about a
similar result to ancient Jerusalem's. Christians need to stop supporting the
idea that insurrection is defensible. It betrays their lack of faith in God's
supremacy, and instead shows their faith is only in their own strength rather
than his.