Miscellaneous Lesson Understanding the Times Part 1 Presented Live, January 4, 2015 I. Introduction A. We live in a nation full of opinions 1. Many of those with opinions, have no viable basis for holding those opinions 2. It seems to me that a vast number of our fellow citizens are ignorant of anything that does not directly effect them, and sometimes even then B. What our country needs are those who: 1. Understand the times in which we live 2. And who know what is best for our country 3. That is the way our leaders used to think II. Consider the example of David A. David was in the process of setting up his new government after Saul s death B. He had waited so long for God to fulfill His promise and to make him king of Israel C. David had selected the city of Hebron to be his capitol D. But the nation that David was trying to rule was divided. 1. Some followed David, while others had remained loyal to Saul and his family 2. Now what should the victors do in claiming the throne and 3. What should those who had supported Saul do now? E. There was distrust among the people and no open desire for unity III. But God started working in the hearts of His people [I Chr. 12:23-40] A. And group after group of men started to cross over and join with David in his initial goal of a uniting Israel B. Most of those arriving were warriors and fighting men, ready to defend and fight Page 1 of 6
for the new kingdom C. But governing is not all about establishing authority and further conquest IV. There was an unusual troop of men that God sent to David A. They were from the tribe of Issachar [12:32] B. They didn t come with weapons or with reputations or skill in battle C. But the Scripture records two things about them: 1. They were men who understood the times, and 2. They had the knowledge of what their country should do V. Discerning what those two statements actually mean A. men who understood the times, 1. Understand hn"ybi biynah {bee-naw'} a. Meaning: 1) understanding, discernment 1a) act 1b) faculty 1c) object 1d) personified b. Origin:!yBi biyn {bene} Meaning: 1) to discern, understand, consider 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to perceive, discern 1a2) to understand, know (with the mind) 1a3) to observe, mark, give heed to, distinguish, consider 1a4) to have discernment, insight, understanding 1b) (Niphal) to be discerning, intelligent, discreet, have understanding 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to understand 1c2) to cause to understand, give understanding, teach 1d) (Hithpolel) to show oneself discerning or attentive, consider diligently 1e) (Polel) to teach, instruct 2) prudent, regard c. Discernment the act or process of exhibiting keen insight and good judgment. 2. Times t[e `eth {ayth} Meaning: 1) time 1a) time (of an event) 1b) time (usual) 1c) experiences, fortunes 1d) occurrence, occasion 3. To be able to perceive what is going on around you, 4. An understanding of current events, trends and needs, provides one with insight into the thoughts, attitudes and motivations of the people 5. Or to know where you have been and where you should be going B. with knowledge of what Israel should do 1. Knowledge [dy yada` {yaw-dah'} a. Meaning: 1) to know 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to know 1a1a) to know, learn to know 1a1b) to perceive 1a1c) to perceive and see, find out and discern 1a1d) to discriminate, distinguish 1a1e) to know by experience 1a1f) to recognise, admit, acknowledge, confess 1a1g) to consider 1a2) to know, be acquainted with 1a3) to know (a person carnally) 1a4) to know how, be skillful in 1a5) to have Page 2 of 6
VI. knowledge, be wise b. Grammar: Qal infinitive 2. Should do hf'[' `asah {aw-saw'} a. Meaning: 1) to do, fashion, accomplish, make 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to do, work, make, produce 1a1a) to do 1a1b) to work 1a1c) to deal (with) 1a1d) to act, act with effect, effect 1a2) to make 1a2a) to make 1a2b) to produce 1a2c) to prepare 1a2d) to make (an offering) 1a2e) to attend to, put in order 1a2f) to observe, celebrate 1a2g) to acquire (property) 1a2h) to appoint, ordain, institute 1a2i) to bring about 1a2j) to use 1a2k) to spend, pass 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be done 1b2) to be made 1b3) to be produced 1b4) to be offered 1b5) to be observed 1b6) to be used b. Grammar: Qal imperfect (1) The imperfect expresses an action, process or condition which is incomplete, and it has a wide range of meaning C. A leader must find advisors who understand the times and who know what is best for their nation and people Origin of Israel s Government A. Israel became a nation at Mount Sinai 1. What kind of government did it adopt? 2. Theocracy is defined as government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided B. Then there came a time when Israel changed their form of government 1. But God had provided for that change [see Deu. 17:14-20] a. English word Provision b. Used many times in the phrase Divine Providence c. This English word comes from the Latin word: providere which means to see ahead d. When the one who can really see ahead is involved He not only sees but makes provision for 2. What instructions had the Lord given to them once they had a king? 3. The king shall: a. Be chosen by the Lord [15] b. Be one of your countrymen and not a foreigner [15] (1) Countrymen xa' 'ach {awkh} Meaning: 1) brother 1a) brother of same parents 1b) half-brother (same father) 1c) relative, kinship, same tribe 1d) each to the other (reciprocal relationship) 1e) (fig.) of resemblance (2) most would understand this to mean one who is a natural Page 3 of 6
VII. born citizen 4. The king shall not: a. Have many horses [16] (1) multiply have many b. Lead the nation to return to Egypt [16] c. Have many wives [17] d. Have much silver and gold [17] 5. The king shall: a. Write his own copy of the Law [18] (1) on one scroll [18] (2) written in the presence of the Levitical priests [18] (3) he shall keep it with him [19] (4) he will read it daily [19] (5) he will learn to fear the Lord by reading it [19] (6) he will not place himself above his people [20] (7) he be obedient to the law [20] (8) his sons learn the Law from their father [20] 6. What God did in this passage was to create a constitutional monarchy 7. That is defined as governmental state in which a king is the chief executive but he is regulated by or rules in accordance with a constitution 8. That means that the king is as subject to the law in the same way as the commoner 9. This can be illustrated by the story of Ahab and Naboth [I Kings 21] a. Ahab was the king of Israel that is the Northern Kingdom [16:29] b. He was notoriously wicked [16:30-33] c. He also took part in a mixed marriage [16:31] d. He wanted Naboth s vineyard but Naboth refused to sell it to him e. The law protected Naboth s property rights and there was nothing that Ahab could do about it, because he was as subject to that law as Naboth was f. The king s wife was not familiar with this form of government, having grown up in the home a king ruling over a monarchy, not a constitutional monarchy g. Ethbaal s kingdom, Sidon, was ruled over by an absolute despot h. That is why she asks the question: what kind of a king are you? Now let s turn to our own country A. What kind of government are we suppose to have? 1. A constitutional republic a. That means a government of laws to which all leaders are subject Page 4 of 6
to the same extent as the common citizen 2. How did it come about that we arrived at such a governmental form? a. Divine providence b. If you study the writings of the founding fathers and keep track of the source of quotations they rely on most heavily you will find that they quote most frequently these four sources (The Origins of American Constitutionalism by Donald S. Lutz): (1) The Bible [34%] (2) Baron Montesquieu [8.3%] (3) William Blackstone [7.9%] (4) John Locke [2.9%] c. These last three are filled with Biblical thought d. And even more interesting is a determination of which book in the Bible that our founding fathers quoted most frequently Deuteronomy 3. Why is that? B. In the 16 th century [the 1700's] 1. Europe was laboring under a concept known as the divine right of kings a. That concept provided that God had placed each king on his throne b. And that He guided their actions c. So as a result, all of the king s actions were ordained by God d. If you opposed the actions of the king, you were opposing God 2. One of the most prominent and outspoken critics of this concept was a man named Samuel Rutherford, a Scottish minister who lived in Edinburgh, Scotland a. He wrote a pamphlet entitled: Rex Lex b. The Law and the Prince [King] or The Law is King c. And in it Rutherford claimed that the king should be under the law and not above it d. Rutherford was a Presbyterian minister and educator [St. Andrews] 3. One of his most prominent students was a man named John Knox Witherspoon a. He came to our country in its infancy b. He was both an educator and a Presbyterian minister, like his mentor before him c. He was the only clergyman to be a signatory the Declaration of Independence d. He later became a member of the Continental Congress 4. John Witherspoon was a prominent professor at the College of New Jersey Page 5 of 6
VIII. a. There he taught many of our primary founding fathers, the same principle and lessons that Samuel Rutherford had taught him b. That institution later changed its name to Princeton University C. Considering that background how did our Constitution come into being 1. The members of the Constitutional Convention designed a system that was very similar to the Biblical system a. The constitution was designed such that it could not be changed without: (1) a long and arduous process (2) super majorities of both the people, the states and/or the federal legislature (3) but no one group could do it alone b. God s word of course can never be changed 2. In order to prevent an absolute monarchy, a. No title of nobility was allowed [Art. 1, 9, 8] b. There were to be strictly enforced term limits for the president c. In 1798, Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying: In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution. 3. As in Deu. 17:15, the Constitution provides that only a natural born citizen of the United States can be elected to serve as president. [Art. II, 1, 5] D. These are some of the parallels between the government that God set up in His Word, and that our country developed in the Constitution Convention E. But upon recognizing these parallels, what should we do? How we should then live and think? A. We must become men and women who understand the times 1. To know our history 2. To recollect what has been paid for with blood 3. To come to understand what is important and what is not as important B. And we must become men and women who know what s best for our country C. Did God make a provision in His system, for when a king of Israel or its people would oven ride or ignore His constitution the Bible? 2015 - Believer s Bible Class, & Douglas W. Brady Page 6 of 6