Ordained Rebellion

6 min read

4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. 5 When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said.

“For which of us?” asked Jehu.

“For you, commander,” he replied.

6 Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head and declared, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the LORD’s people Israel.’ ”
— 2 Kings 9:4-6

In a monarchy, there is no democratic process for selecting a country’s leaders. If a king is a terrible leader, what choice do the people have, except to either take it or to rebel?

Of course, it is not usually the general population that rebels, but the military leadership, as we see here in this text.

And in this episode, God has anointed Jehu, one of the military commanders, to rebel against the king, Jehoram. But this may be confusing, given the Apostle Paul’s guidance to be obedient toward authorities (Romans 13:1).

So is it OK to be disobedient to governing authorities when they are executing policies that contradict the word of God, or should we follow Paul’s guidance and remain obedient to governing authorities?

One thing to keep in minds is that God would never want His people to participate in idolatry. The accounts of Daniel and his friends commend their civil disobedience, especially since doing so put their lives at risk.

But then, there is the story of Naaman, an enemy general. Not only did Elisha heal him of his leprosy, but when Naaman asked Elisha to pray for him because he had to bow to the Aramean god whenever he escorted the king in their temple, Elisha told him to go in peace.

The differences between those two situations are worth reflecting about. For my part, I would want to err on the side of not committing idolatry, no matter what. At the same time, I would pray for those who ask for prayer on these matters. Most of all, none of us should be so judgmental. God is Judge (Romans 14:10).

We are incredibly blessed in this country to be able to worship God freely and to call on the name of Jesus freely. But it’s pretty obvious, I think, that we live in a corrupt society. A corrupt society is going to elect corrupt governing authorities.

And yet, living in a free country, we ought to exercise our right to elect our governing authorities with a clear conscience. Not only that, if anyone is disgusted enough with the system to stand up and protest, we have the freedom to do so in peace.

Whatever the case, we should exercise our conscience with the knowledge that God is absolutely sovereign. That doesn’t make our vote irrelevant.

Father, I thank you for allowing us to live in a country where we can worship You freely. Forgive me for whenever I feel uncomfortable about wearing a shirt with a Christian message on it. Forgive me also for not trusting Your sovereign grace in political matters. But be merciful to this nation. We have become more and more corrupt and turned our backs to You. Save us, oh God and lead us into Your righteousness. In Jesus’s name. Amen.