2 Samuel 23:3-4 “When one rules over men in righteousness,
when he rules in the fear of God,
he is like the light of morning at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain
that brings the grass from the earth.”

What a beautiful, evocative word picture! However, the contrast with rulers who do not rule in righteousness and the fear of the Lord immediately comes to mind. At the time the Lord spoke this to David the idea of representative government had not taken hold anywhere, so it was a choice between a ruler of some sort or anarchy. Given some of the rulers throughout history, anarchy is not without its advantages! However, anarchy is insecure at best, so here God is expressing the beauty of right government. Actually, the principle here can indeed be applied to representative government, but all of those in government need to be operating in righteousness and the fear of the Lord. America is of course the great example of the experiment of representative government, and a look at the past 250 years only confirms this principle. There have always been scoundrels in office and in the bureaucracy, but America’s prosperity and public good have always been in proportion to the number of people in government who were righteous and feared God, especially at the higher levels. Over the past 50 years that proportion has seemed to drop remarkably, to the point that today, such people seem far more to be the exception than the rule. When Americans have the privilege of choosing their representatives, they need to do so on the criteria of righteousness and the fear of the Lord. Failure to do so says tragic things about the character of the people, and brings tragic consequences.

Because I live in Japan it seems almost odd for me to feel as involved as I do in American government, but the Internet allows me to be as informed as practically anyone living in the US. The past few years have been an enormous, and at times painful, lesson in trusting God. I can vote (absentee) and sign online petitions, but the chief thing I can do is pray. My foundational prayer is of course that God’s Name be hallowed and His kingdom come as His will is done, but when it comes to specifics, I need to pray that those who do fear God will be elected, and that the electorate will fear God enough to really care about the issue. Sadly, that last is the source of the problem. I am to pray for a renewal of the fear of the Lord in everyone, and that it come as gently as possible. 9/11 was a wakeup call to that end, but the effect was sadly brief. I am to pray God’s grace and mercy on the nation, so that it may again be like the light of a cloudless dawn, for the glory of God.

Father, I find it interesting that I should feel so political now when for so much of my life I was almost completely apolitical. Help me not be distracted by all of that from the tasks You have for me day by day and moment by moment. Help me remember always both that the temporal is indeed temporary, and You are indeed God, and draw as many people as possible into active discipleship while there is time, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!