SCRIPTURE: But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” 1 Samuel 8:6-9 NIV
QUOTE: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” – 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (also final article of the Bill of Rights)
THOUGHT: God was king and parent and counselor to his people and their leaders once upon a time. Then, the people rejected him, asking for a human king. God said, ‘okay, but you’ll regret this someday.’ And so goes history. Hadn’t the people had enough of power-wielding Pharaohs? They know what it’s like to be enslaved, they know what it’s like to be miraculously freed, yet they tire of God as king.
At the founding of the United States was the full realization that what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights was not acceptable. The United States charter would say, against the tide of history, that power belongs to the citizens, not the government – and particularly not the federal government, which was limited to only what was outlined in the Constitution. We would be a people “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
President Lincoln called these words from the Declaration of Independence, “a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression.”
As they have inspired people around the world toward freedom and unalienable rights, may they inspire us, the people for whom they were written!
PRAYER: Oh God, establish your rule in our lives, that we may be great citizens of your kingdom as well as the country you’ve set us down in on earth. On earth as in heaven – your will be done.
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ABOUT ME:
Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.
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