The ancient people of Israel cried out, “Give us a king.” The desire for a king displeased Samuel, but Yahweh allowed Samuel to appoint a king over Israel. The desire for a king was an expression of idolatry. “The LORD said to Samuel, ‘they have rejected Me from being king over them… they have forsaken Me and served other gods'” (1 Samuel 8:5-8). The perennial temptation of humanity is to exalt human leaders to divine status. Admiration easily becomes adoration.
In the theology of Israel, the king was the adopted son of Yahweh. Psalm 2 is a coronation hymn and reflects the relationship between Yahweh and the king:
But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.“
Israelite theology was distinct among the nations of the Ancient Near East, which insisted that their kings were descended from the gods. Not so with ancient Israel. The kings of Israel were tragically human.
Even though the office of king was sanctioned by Yahweh the kings of Israel were failures. Saul “acted foolishly” by rebelling against the word of Yahweh and was dethroned (1 Samuel 13:13-14). His successor was his son-in-law, David, a man after God’s heart and the heroic warrior of Israel. But, like too many successful leaders David succumbed to temptation (2 Samuel 11:1ff). When confronted by the Prophet Nathan, David cried out, “I have sinned against the Lord’ (2 Samuel 12:13). Psalm 51 is traditionally attributed as David’s prayer of repentance in which he laments, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation!” (51:12). But David’s joy was not restored. Even though he was forgiven, the consequences of his sin were great in that his family was profoundly dysfunctional. His son, Absalom, led a revolt. David died a broken man. Solomon ascended to the throne. Even though Solomon built the great Temple in Jerusalem, he was a serial idolater (1 Kings 11:1ff). In fact, the history of the kings of Israel demonstrates the failure of the royal dynasty. With the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC, the last of the Davidic kings, Zedekiah, witnessed the execution of his sons, was blinded, and carried away in chains to Babylon (2 Kings 25:7). Toxic leadership always leads to destruction.
The prophets of Yahweh, agents of the Word of Yahweh, were often at odds with the corrupt kings. They did not unconditionally support the kings of Israel. Divine adoption did not exempt the kings from prophetic criticism or divine judgement. Jeremiah declared that Israel’s status as God’s covenant people would not protect them from prophetic criticism or the judgement of God. He lived to witness the destruction of the Jerusalem and the exile of the people.
Those who dare speak for God must understand that their primary allegiance is to God’s righteousness and God’s kingdom.
Government often reflects the narcissism of a highly toxic leader and the willful collusion of court prophets and a deluded populace. But, we must resist the temptation of idolatry.
In the years prior to the ascension of Constantine, the Roman Empire persecuted Christians. With the ascension of Constantine, Christianity was legalized and protected. Constantine converted to Christianity and called the Council of Nicaea to encourage the Christian bishops to come to some agreement on their doctrine of Christ. The myth is that the bishops capitulated to Constantine. They did not. Those who survived the persecution of Diocletian did not surrender to their benefactor – Constantine. Instead, they rejected his preference for Arianism (Jesus is the first-born created Son of God) and insisted that Jesus is “true god” of the same substance of the Father. This is not theological “hair-splitting,” this is truth-telling. The Gospel must never be compromised in favor of political expediency. We must be ever vigilant in the pursuit of truth.
Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth (Revelation 1:5). He is “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God” (1 Timothy 1:17); the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15). Whereas, the kings of Israel ultimately failed in their covenant responsibilities Jesus Christ was truly after God’s heart declaring “not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). He was tempted by the same idolatry of all kings before him, but he resisted (Matthew 4:8-10). Because of his perfect obedience to the will of the Father, Jesus is declared to be “the Faithful and True witness” of God (Revelation 1:5; 3:14; 19:11).
Christian faith and devotion trumps politics. Christians should be engaged in political discourse, but we must be very careful that our faith informs our politics rather than our politics shaping our faith. Christians must resist the idolatry of divinizing political creeds.
This post is a reworking of two previous posts: The Idolatry of Politics and Trump, Constantine, and the Religious Right.
