As the political stage is being set for the 2016 U.S. presidential election, how should Christians engage?
One unexpectedly relevant guide can be found in the book of Judges, which, more than any other book in the Bible, describes a divinely-inspired form of leadership similar to our own. Between the era in which God spoke through Moses and the one in which God worked through kings like David came an era — lasting over four centuries — during which God raised up a series of individuals who had no predefined lineage, accomplishment, or gender marking them as leadership material. These judges were not judicial so much as military leaders, fulfilling a role strikingly similar to that of the American president.
Another notable commonality Americans share with the Israelites of Judges is the crisis in which we find ourselves. Apostasy, from the Greek word apostasia, means “an abandonment of one’s previous faith.” Then, as now, a nation was turning away from God.
Currently many right-leaning Christians believe we are defying God’s decrees, pointing to our nation’s recent redefinition of marriage to include same-sex unions plus a nationally-funded program profiting from abortions. Meanwhile, Christians on the left decry a nation unapologetically abandoning the ones God charges us to care for, including refugees, immigrants, and even planet Earth.
While Christians left and right argue about the evidence, both seem to agree we are denying God’s ways — resulting in a state of national if not global crisis. What may be missed in the fray is one clear condition, offered multiple times as a defining characteristic of apostasy in the book of Judges: “All the people did what was right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25).
Such self-defined righteousness triggered trials for the Israelites in Judges and I would argue this same spirit both drives and blinds Americans today. The good news: this is the exact state Israel repeatedly found itself in when God responded not once but twelve times by raising up a leader to steer the people back to Himself.
Our nation is democratic. If God raises up a leader, He will do so through the people. What can "We The People" glean from the book of Judges to help us discern such a leader?
Admittedly, in at least a couple of areas, Judges is not much help. In addition to no outward mark of God’s chosen leaders, Scripture largely leaves shrouded the events which marked their ascent, stating only, “The Lord raised up judges” (Judges 2:16).
But Scripture’s silence in these areas draws attention to another. If we back up a step before God raised them up, we uncover an important common theme in the accounts, one in which the people played a pivotal role: Each time, God’s response came after the people “cried out to the Lord” (3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:7; 10:10).
Prayer at its most powerful is a dialogue. We submit our heartfelt petitions to God and listen as He shares His heart with us. Letting this revelation bring us into alignment with His purposes, we release what seems right in our own eyes, thereby dismantling the spirit of apostasy that divides and decays.
Yet if I am honest, I almost never pray for wisdom regarding politics, instead relying on my limited powers of discernment to judge candidates and even entire political parties. Studying Judges convicts me of my error.
As trying as these times may be, we are not without a guide in Scripture — nor are we without hope. Scripture shows that God is larger than any crisis, and that He does not work through predefined people or paths to realize His plans. Through Christ, His Spirit works in our hearts, giving us wisdom to discern the good work He would have us do on His behalf — in this case, raising up the right leader.
As the political stage gets set for another U.S. presidential election, how should Christians engage?
Scripture implores: Prayerfully.
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