Which Leader to Follow?

KEY VERSE: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephes 6:12).

  The world has always feared dictators because dictators always use fear to control people. Kings are dictators. Some were fair but others horrendous. They all, however, had the power over life and death and freedom and servant-hood.

  During the time of the judges in Israel and Judah, for they had begun to diverge into regions much as the American North and South, all the other peoples had kings, but Israel did not. They did not depend on God and essentially governed themselves with judges who were military leaders and settled controversies with other peoples and within the Israelite nation.

  “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Jud 17:6). The judge system was maximum freedom. The only authority in Israel were judges and priests whose role was to keep “the Garden of Israel” safe and secure. Both of those groups were to serve and preserve the Israelites to keep them from outside harm, or harming themselves. “Serve and preserve” is just another way of saying, “dress and keep” the Garden of Israel (Gen 2:15), and Israel was surely the location of the Garden of Eden as tradition indicates, and scripture reveals. (I have written on that many times. See my blog or my book, The Skull of Adam.)

  In those days, the stronger nations were those whose gods appeared to be stronger. The pagan kingdoms feared Israel because Yahweh had demonstrated His power many times, and those nations knew that. In the time of Samuel, the Israelites had become evil and did not look to God for safety and security. At that time, mainly the Ammorites and Philistinians were a threat to Israel. The people were afraid and asked Samuel for a king to rule over them. Time and time again, God had demonstrated to Israel that He is a powerful and trustworthy king, but the people turned to other gods and worshiped them in high places. Rather than God, they felt they needed a king!

  Then the elders of the Israelites got what they asked for:

Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 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. (1 Sam 8:5-7)

  The Israelites had complete freedom as they could do whatever they pleased. God had covenanted with them to please Him and He would provide safety and security. Their pleasure was other gods to which they turned. God was sorely displeased with His chosen people, but He was graceful; He allowed them to have a king over themselves. Note that the Israelites traded their freedom for servitude to an earthly king, and had no idea who it would be. For them, any king would do!

  1 Samuel 8:10-18 describes kingship. God tells the elders that they would no longer be free but must serve the king. The description given describes the feudal fiefdom in its entirety. God was telling them that they were giving up their freedom for safety and security, and He even mentioned free things: “And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants” (1 Sam 8:14). Compare that to socialism with Karl Marx’s slogan: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

  It turns out that for Marxism to operate, they too need a “king” to judge who has the ability and who has the needs. Usually, it turned out not to be needs but wants. Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Mao turned out to be the various Marxist “kings.” Socialism has much in common with the feudal system of kings (See my latest book: A Day On the Democrat Plantation.) It turns out that the elders of the Israelites would trade away their freedom for the false security of having a king, along with nourishment they thought he would provide.

  God would not allow His people to be destroyed. He picked their king – Saul – who was not a righteous man, but God made him righteous. Saul showed humility and willingness (1 Sam 9:21). In God’s time, Saul would change: “And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man” (1 Sam 10:6). God would rebirth Saul and make him a new creature as he did his namesake – Saul to Paul – long afterward! Shortly, “the Spirit of God” came upon Saul (1 Sam 11:6). God did all the changing with commoner Saul into King Saul. Saul was willing at that time and humbled by it. His nature would change in time when his status got to him.

  Saul was not only at war with his enemies, but with their gods. Now is the time to mention other “gods.” First off, there can only be one god to be a god. Gods (small “g”) would have to be almighty and creators. If truly a god, only one real God would be required. Thusly, only Yahweh is the One True God. Who are the other gods? Some had powers as the pharaoh’s magicians demonstrated. The Philistines defeated Israel and demonstrated the power of their god as did the Ammonites.

  “Gods” of other peoples do have power! However, they are not gods. If you’ll reread the key verse, Paul said that Christians fight “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Likewise, the Hebrew people have always done that. Righteous people are at war with demons – dark angels – and it is spiritual warfare. The idea of “high places” is not only in the spiritual realm but evil in the world. Fiefdoms, socialism, slavery, Sharia Law, and division (people hating people and God) are examples of spiritual warfare. In the end of time, they will all join forces and battle against God and Christians.

  It’s not progressive Democrats who we should fear, but their “king.” The king of the world at the present is the Prince of the Power of the Air named Satan. Socialists and other evil forces are merely Satan’s servants. He is their father, the lying Devil, and like him, they will deceive to gain power for him and themselves! The war within the world at the present is us Christians and Jews against the others. We must take care to turn to God with our bequests, unlike the Israelites who turned to kings.

God supplied a king for their safety, and made a new man of him. Not a perfect new man but one willing! At the present time, Donald Trump sounds very much like King Saul, and I have written on that before in my blog. However, unlike King Yahweh, he is an imperfect king, but he is still anointed by God. In my blog, I wrote that after Saul, God provided a better version – a man after God’s own heart. That man was King David. Perhaps a President Pence will be the new “King David!”

Many people rejected Saul, and were wont to overthrow God’s choice. Like it or not, Trump was God’s choice, as was Obama. God uses evil and persecution to demonstrate that people need the Lord. I believe that Obama is the reason that Trump was miraculously elected. “Draining the swamp” was what Saul did with those who rejected him! That’s what Trump is doing.

  Socialism is evil and Democrat leaders are purveyors of evil! Let us be patient and see what God has in mind, as all the people now insist that they can do what is right in their own eyes whether it is same-sex marriage, hedonism, abortion, or free love.

  My intent this morning was to write on the spiritual change within Saul, but my typing fingers had other ideas. It became apparent to me that the main lesson in the story of Saul is that dependence on the government is folly whether it be Saul, Trump, or judges. We must have trust in the Lord for nourishment, safety, and security.

  Without God, Saul was nothing. Without God, Trump would be nothing. It is God who changes things and kings are his mere instruments. We must always credit God, which the Israelites did not, and understand that the person is only anointed to do what God wills. Trump needs prayer for God’s Will. Rather than harass the man as Saul’s opponents often did, we should ask that God guide and protect him from the forces of evil!