Opus 2018-026: Forms of Government, part 3 of 5, King Me

Once you get past the time of the Judges the Bible assumes the existence of kings.  That runs all the way to Revelation so we see a monarchy considered normal.

How do we put it together?  Old fashioned kings with total power don’t seem to be the plan.  I am not sure they were ever the plan.  If you study ancient cultures, kings often had a name but no real power.  In the Bible a king was not God’s plan.  When Samuel was on his last legs the people were the ones who wanted a king.

(1 Samuel 8:5 KJV)  And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

There is something about conformity that gets us in trouble.  They didn’t want a king because they thought it was wise, they wanted to be like other nations.  God was not happy,

(1 Samuel 8:7 KJV)  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

From there on God tells Samuel all the things a king will subject them to.  Kings take the young for their own purposes, from soldiers to concubines.  Kings take the best of everything and a portion of what is left.  Can you spell eminent domain and taxes?

So, although the book of Proverbs and the rest of the Bible assumes kings, it is not God’s plan that a strong, powerful individual should tell us how to live our lives.

To be continued...

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