Fit To Be King
This morning I was reading Deuteronomy 17 and by the time I finished the chapter I realized Paul’s words to Timothy in 3: 10-17 had come true for me again. Paul explains to Timothy how Scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. After multiple seminary degrees and six years in the pastorate, I still fall far short of the glory of God and stand corrected again by the Word of God.
I have avoided voting for many years now because of 1 Sam 8 where Israel demands a king because Samuel’s sons are corrupt and Israel is weak, disorganized, and unified in their disbelief and non-reliance upon God. God tells Samuel not to be disheartened because it is not Samuel Israel is rejecting, but God himself.
To make it more clear, the conditions within Israel were a direct reflection of their lack of faith in God. This can be read much more explicitly in Deuteronomy 28 where Moses outlines the blessings and the curses for obedience and disobedience. I wish this chapter was stuck to every refrigerator in the world.
Israel demanded a king in 1 Sam 8 that would be like the surrounding kings; a king who would raise armies, provide central and consolidated leadership, and judge Israel. God’s response to this is to describe the kind of king they wanted.
This kind of king would take their sons for his army and put them to work for him. They would not be free.
The harvest? It is for the king.
The ore and wood gathered every year? Those would be for the king and his instruments of war.
Private property? That would become the king’s property, which he will give to his favored men.
The king would take his own tax, which would be separate from the Lord’s tithe, as the men, women, and servants become laborers and servants of the king and his ruling class.
The description of the king Israel demanded is terrible. Reading these words drove me from voting years ago because the words of God, for the unfit king, describe every ruler in the world today.
Why would any Christian throw their support behind men and women who clamor to do all the things God says kings should not do?
The rulers of today clamor to build armies and send them abroad. They claim the first fruits of everyone’s labor and have laid claim to all possessions, making the residents of each nation-state serfs who work for the political class on large plantations.
The modern king’s demand far more than 10%. The modern kings demand 50% and more for their coffers when you add up the mass of taxes being levied and it continues to be increased every year.
This is why I stopped voting. There were no viable Godly kings I could support. This is still the case, so I will continue not voting, however, this does not mean we should not have a king, which brings us back to Deuteronomy 17: 14-20. Here we find the qualifications of a Godly king with authority to lead.
In a literal and spiritual sense, this King is Jesus. Jesus is the only man fit to be king over all men and He sits on His throne right now and leads for all who believe in Him.
But, is there a “normal” kind of person fit to be king? How would we pick them if there was?
This is a decision that takes extreme caution and awareness, it cannot be decided based on who can generate the most financial support, win pseudo-debates, or make the grandest promises to the widest swath of people.
The Godly king of Deuteronomy 17 is chosen by God. So we must spend time in prayer seeking God’s will to identify this man.
Israel had to select an Israelite for king; they could not select a foreigner to rule them.
This king could not multiply his forces, his wealth, or take multiple wives for himself.
This king must be a one-woman man without desires for empire, concubines, or wealth gathering.
There is one other necessary component for this king. When he takes the throne he must handwrite the Pentateuch and spend time every day committed to its study and the application of God’s law.
This is the kind of man I could support.
Frankly, I do not think it is possible in the modern welfare/warfare State to select a Godly king. I think good leader selection is impossible in the modern nation-state.
Our cultures are no longer uniform. We have become a hodgepodge of people with different thoughts and different beliefs and different desires. How can disorganized people seek the will of God when they do not have the same beliefs and cannot even communicate these beliefs due to political and religious hatreds? It simply cannot happen.
In the current circumstances, only the worst selections can rise to the top and this has been proven with every election cycle. Only the worst win.
The options for leadership today are shrewd, empire-seeking, and wealth-gathering people who cannot be trusted. They lie with every breath, seek empire and power, and want to use their power to stand on the necks of their enemies while enriching their friends.
The politician is not a Godly king and they are unfit to rule. Christians should not support them because we should know better! The single issue we have for unity in elections is Scripture and God’s description of what it takes to be King. There is only one man fit for this crown. I vote for Jesus and will accept no other.
About the Author
Ian Minielly is a full-time vocational pastor. He considers himself an “oddball” in ministry for his peaceful understanding of the Kingdom of God and how limited of a role Christians should have with the State.
Regarding how he came to this stance, he says:
God spared me and showed great mercy in opening my eyes to love, and against war and the State. To see the great work God did in me, previously I spent more than seven years as an intelligence analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency, focused on Counter-Proliferation of WMD material and systems.
Prior to that, I spent more than nine years in the infantry and Special Forces (I was a Green Beret). Once I became a believer, I found the biblical expectations of God were in opposition to my profession in the military and my nationalism. God slowly peeled this understanding back and I left the army and nationalism.
Ian has published three books, Emily's Tears, Revoked Consent, and The Genetic God, which are available on Amazon.
He also has a YouTube channel if you would like to see him in action!