People throughout history have realized that society needs government—otherwise, it’s every man for himself. The stronger prey on the weaker. The evil take advantage of others. The situation descends into chaos. But the trouble is, human governments bring their own problems.
This world is terribly confused about government. On one hand, a growing number of people look to the government to provide their every need. On the other, many are increasingly frustrated over misguided policies and view the government as a meddler—or an enemy.
The major reason that this world’s systems of government fail is that they are concocted and administered by human beings under the sway of Satan the devil.
God has a perfect system of governance. He reveals it to us in His Holy Bible, largely within the laws He codified for man! Yet men discard this divine wisdom and fall prey to the influence of an evil being who hatesGod’s government more than anything! This is Satan’s world, and he works incredibly hard to undermine it. Not only has Satan subjected humanity to oppressive, inept, selfish governments for millennia, he is deceiving us into hating and rejecting all forms of authority—especially God’s family government. Look around you. Satan’s society continually broadcasts blatantly anti-government messages: In the media, the husband and father is portrayed as an immature wimp; at work, the boss as an idiot; and in government, officials are savagely ridiculed.
It’s important to realize just how anti-God all of these ideas about government really are!
It’s also important we realize just how different God’s government is—even within a physical nation—from any other government.
Government is simply an organized system of administering and enforcing law. The law tells you how to live; the government administers and enforces that law. Men’s governments administer man’s laws; God’s government administers God’s law. You don’t have God’s government if it is not enforcing God’s law. God’s law also includes many provisions that tell us how to administer and enforce that law properly.
There are two sides to the coin of government: leading and following. God’s law addresses both. It tells leaders how to lead in a godly way. It tells followers how to respond properly. When God’s eternal spiritual law is followed, you end up with a beautiful, harmonious relationship between leader and follower. This relationship enables us to resolve conflicts and accomplish things smoothly and harmoniously.
Let’s first consider the role of the follower in God’s government, since that is the role we all step into first.
The Follower
Read Exodus 22:28 to see the attitude God instructs us to have toward government. The word gods here is Elohim, which is one Hebrew name for God. Revile means to be slight, trifling, to be lightly esteemed; to make light [like making jokes]; to treat with contempt or dishonor. God doesn’t want us having that attitude toward Him. But notice the link with our attitude toward “the ruler.” Ruler in this verse means one lifted up, chief, prince, captain, leader—a public official. This verse shows an important connection: Our attitude toward the government in the land affects our attitude toward God! That is why Satan attacks this so much.
“Satan broadcasts in feelings, moods, attitudes and emotions. Primarily these negative emotions are aimed at God’s government. That is how Satan destroys God’s government,” Gerald Flurry writes. “God’s government is the most important issue to God! And it must be in our minds too! … The thrust of all Satan’s broadcasting is against what? Government—government—government! He broadcasts against our Head—Jesus Christ. He hates God’s government and inspires men to have the same attitude” (God’s Family Government).
Western society, in particular, pressures us to disparage our leaders, to revile and make light of them. It encourages us to have a “healthy disrespect” of government. Those attitudes can influence our approach to our boss, to government within the family, to God’s ministry and even to God Himself!
Review Exodus 21:17 to see how highly God esteems government within the family.
Satan implants within us a resentment of authority from the beginning, even when we are infants. This means we have to fight these attitudes our entire lives. God’s law works to point us in the right direction from the beginning.Then it keeps us on the right path, building within us a proper respect for government.
Note the laws in Deuteronomy 17 related to judges in Israel. Read verses 8-9 to see how God instructed the people to use this judicial system. God gave authority to the priests and judges to help the people resolve difficult issues. Government is a gift to administer and enforce God’s law of love. Read Ephesians 4:11-13 to see the corollary in the New Testament: God establishes ministers as “gifts” for the people, to help usher them toward perfection.
Read in Deuteronomy 17:10-11 how God commands people to respond to the judgment rendered.
God is trying to prepare His people for life in His eternal Family. We are going to be under God’s government forever! That is why it is so important that we get this right, that we learn how to follow government and prove ourselves to be faithful followers. In the Church today, God must be able to govern His people through His ministry.
Read verses 12-13 to see how God handled disobedience in unconverted Israel. If people don’t respect and follow those whom God invests with authority, God’s government breaks down and the law of love cannot be properly administered and enforced. Clearly, this is very serious to God.
Government for the People
The principle of God’s government is based on the fact that God is at the top. It is government for the people, but it is not by the people. The authority emanates from God, and He delegates it to whom He chooses in order to administer and enforce His law.
In Deuteronomy’s first four chapters, Moses delivered a sermon to the Israelites about their history. Notice Deuteronomy 1:9-10. Moses was acting as God’s sole representative, administering His government, but the job was too big for him. Read verses 13-15 to see the God-inspired solution. This is the pattern for God’s government throughout the Bible. It is government from the top down, with God at the top, working through one man, and people filling various offices under that man. The pyramidal government structure alone doesn’t make it God’s government—plenty of worldly organizations use that. What makes it God’s government is that it has God at the top!
In a 1974 member letter, Herbert W. Armstrong talked about this administration of godly government: “Here is government from the top (God) on down. … Under the Eternal God in authority was Moses. Under Moses a number of rulers, each over thousands (it could have been several thousands under each ruler). Under each ruler of a thousand, rulers over hundreds. Under each ruler of a hundred, rulers of fifties, and under each of them rulers of tens. It was rule from the top down—that is, from God—it was the government of God!” (May 2, 1974).
The Leader
Many people have come to believe that the character of a leader doesn’t matter—what matters is that he knows how to lead. To God, this notion is ludicrous.
In God’s government, each individual in office must be a righteous person who exhibits godly character. Throughout the Bible, God concerns Himself with character most of all—not talent, not charisma, not ambition, not some magical “ability to lead.” Study, for example, the qualifications for the ministry Paul discussed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. What good are other leadership qualities if the man leads people astray with a corrupt personal example?
The solution to all of mankind’s failed, Satan-influenced governments is the Kingdom of God. That godly government will consist of God beings with perfect character who are submitted to God. Nothing else will work! Human governments often act in their own interests. That is why they tend to get bigger and bigger, demanding more and more of the people’s resources. God’s government is different: It doesn’t act in its own interest because. God is at the top ,and God is love! God has outgoing concern for the benefit of those under His authority.
Those within God’s government are simply carrying out God’s wishes. Notice this point in Deuteronomy 1:17: “The judgment is God’s.” As we administer God’s government, we are administering His authority and carrying out His wishes.
See how God reinforces this point in Deuteronomy 4:1‑2. God commanded that no one add to or diminish His Word. Think about that: He didn’t want men coming up with laws, voting on laws or debating laws—He wanted them to simply administer His laws. Officers in God’s government are stewards carrying out God’s will.
Adherence to this principle determines the success of the government. Any government that departs from it is going to have problems.
God’s Monarchy
From Israel’s beginning, God was King. He installed prophets, priests, ministers and judges to carry out His will. While the nation obeyed Him, it was blessed. But when it disobeyed, curses began to descend on it. Rather than adhere more closely to God’s laws, however, the Israelites began to think they would be better off if they had a human king—a system of government like what the nations around them had. In 1 Samuel 8, out of rebellion and carnal discontent with God’s government, the people of Israel rejected God as their real, direct ruler. They demanded a man to be their ruler; God obliged them by giving them Saul. Once Saul rebelled, God gave them David, a man after His own heart.
All the way through, God’s top-down principle of government remained consistent—as it does to this day in God’s Church.
Study the laws God gave for Israel’s monarchy in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Take note of some particulars.
Verse 15 shows that the king is to be God’s choice. God didn’t institute anything like democracy—it was still God’s government. This verse also shows that God doesn’t want Israelites ruled by non-Israelites. In verse 16, God commands the king not to trust in his military. America has violated both of these laws today.
Reread verse 17 and note God’s concern with the character of Israel’s ruler. He wanted the king to turn his heart to Him—He didn’t want him led astray by a lust for women or riches. This again points to the New Testament counterpart where God demands that a minister be “the husband of one wife … not greedy of filthy lucre” (1 Timothy 3:2-3).
Reread Deuteronomy 17:18-20. God commanded that this man—sitting on the throne God established and governing His people—must be a diligent student of His law. Remember, God’s government is a system of administering and enforcing God’s law—and, we could add, educating people in that law. This is true within a family as much as it is within God’s physical or spiritual nation, the Church. Soon it will be true all over the Earth. God’s people will be kings and priests, ruling both church and state.
This is basically the extent of what God’s saints will be doing in the World Tomorrow: 1) educating people in God’s law; teaching people how to lead happy lives and to prosper and be blessed—individually, in their families, with their neighbors and in their nations; and 2) administering and enforcing God’s law, ensuring justice among the people by judging according to that law. (This involves bringing criminals to judgment, and protecting the people from outside aggressors. Within God’s nation, this ultimately includes destroying any foreign aggressors.) Within a church or nation, God’s government also operates a centralized system of worship.
The purpose of God’s government is extraordinary for its beautiful simplicity. We need to realize just how revolutionaryit is compared with all the flavors of government in Satan’s world.
What God’s Government Doesn’t Do
When the Israelites demanded a king, God gave Samuel important insights into the pitfalls of human governments, which Samuel relayed to the people. Read about these pitfalls in 1 Samuel 8:10-18. God warned that a human-led government would be oppressive. It would introduce burdensome taxes, becoming bloated and centralized. This is what human-led governments tend to do: They get bigger as they amass power, property and wealth—wealth that should remain in the hands of citizens.
God’s government is far more generous, far less intrusive, and far more interested in the prosperity and happiness of the people. Consider some things God’s government does not do—things that become very problematic when governments do them.
God’s government does not manage people’s money—neither for healthcare nor retirement. (Those programs are bringing America down. The socialistic mindset—that government will provide for you—contravenes God’s law. That is why it will fail.)
God’s government does not own or run businesses that compete with businesses run by private industry. God’s government facilitates wealth creation rather than interfering with it.
God’s government does not legislate new laws. God only has about 600 laws. Man’s governments, by contrast, constantly create new laws. In God’s system of administration, there is no legislature. In ancient Israel, if Moses needed guidance in a matter he could not discern from the existing law, he appealed to God, who gave him judgments in accordance with the existing law. That’s the way it was in ancient Israel—that’s how it will be in the World Tomorrow! James 4:12 says there is one Lawgiver—God. Governmental positions under the Lawgiver are administrative—administering the law of God that already exists. “Human regulations, designated as law by men, are often but temporary acts of appeasement to counteract the result of the failure to keep and administer the law of the Lord” (Howard Rand, Digest of the Divine Law).
God’s government is so simple. It teaches the law, and it administers and enforces the law. That is why God’s entire government—whether over a church or a nation, or the entire world—can operate on such a limited budget. It stays out of people’s business as they strive to keep the law. In the Millennium, people will tithe and give offerings the same as we do in God’s Church today. Wealth is going to grow. Justice, equity and peace will spread!
As God’s government teaches, administers and enforces God’s law—His way of life—the whole world will be able to enjoy the affection and love, the cooperation, the harmony, the serving and helping way of life—the way that God and the Word have enjoyed forever!