How are we to live with this government I found a scripture that addresses that question, [Ecclesiastes 19:16-17] “ Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!” Some governments (some administrations ), are hard to live with. They are headed by persons who are either incompetent, impulsive, simpleminded, or naive, vain, insecure, or even untrustworthy and weak in their personal lives. Now that we are aware of the implications , we can see how much of the turmoil and trouble that we go through stems from the insecurity, from the untrustworthy character, really, of the man who is President at that time. That is what these words of Scripture represent as well. Some governments are weak; they do not have the kind of leadership we would like to see. With such leadership oftentimes there is a hierarchy of officials who are given over to self-indulgence and self-serving. This is reflected in the phrase, your princes feast in the morning. In the Hebrew culture the morning was to be given over to the judging of the needs and problems of the people; late afternoon and evening was the time for feasting. But here were men who indulged themselves all through the day, neglecting their duties to do so. Some administrations are like that, even in a democratic nation such as ours. But we can also get good government. the next verse tells us, Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of free men. Literally, the phrase, son of free men, ought, perhaps, to be translated, You king is a free man. That is, he is free to be what he ought to be. He has control of himself; he is not a slave to his moods or his impulses. His subordinates also reflect that. They are responsible people who take care of their duties and feast at the proper time, and then only to gain strength, not merely to get drunk. The point of all this is in the next two verses, which tell those who are seeking to be wise with the wisdom of God how to react to government whether it is good or bad. What should we do? Here are a couple of proverbs to guide us (Ecclesiastes 10:18 ) “By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.” Does your house leak? If it does, you now know the reason for it! I had a leak in my roof for two and a half years before someone finally fixed it, so I have to acknowledge that the verse is true. Here the Searcher compares the nation to a house. In the context, the application here is that a people who are given over to industriousness, hard work and profitable though demanding labor, are laying the foundation for steadiness in a government, no matter what the leader is like. Without that foundation of hard work and readiness to work the roof falls in; the house leaks. Then a nation is insecure, and subject to invasion. That sounds up to date, doesnt it? The idea is that money supplies everything that is needed; and that money comes from hard and profitable work. The way to enjoy the normal pleasures of life as well as the way a nation keeps strong and healthy is for its people to be given over to a willingness to work, not just receiving from the government. This what the word is saying to us today.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 12:52:53 +0000
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