Ready to move ahead?My personal paradigm is the Christian worldview. How does that relate to all this? Or is there only one Christian worldview? Even the early founders had different perspectives on that.George Washington was believed to be a Christian. Many of the others were Deists. They believed in God, but not necessarily a personal God that loved them and acted in our world. Some had poor ethical and moral frameworks. Thomas Paine wrote the famous paper that mobilized the people when things were at their darkest; yet Paine himself was anti-Christian. Yet they all had a common concern to birth a nation where each person had the right to be really free.The early founders were angry at England for imposing a heavy tax burden on the colonists. In addition, from a spiritual perspective, they were heavily influenced by the Protestant Reformation and didn’t want any Church of England telling them how to worship. As taxes climbed higher (shades of 2010) they rebelled to extent of putting their lives on the line to get their freedom.What form of government? If you look at the Bible, you won’t see any scriptures that give any commands on this. The Israelites started with a Theocracy, but wanted a King like their neighbors. This eventually gave way to the Israelites choosing a government form of Federalism. This type can be defined as a system of national government in which power is divided between a central authority and a number of regions with limited self-governing authority. This is about the most effective type of government humans can choose.The Israelites were a federation of twelve tribes, each with its own identity. Moses appointed elders to serve the people, and Moses with the elders were the Executive and Judicial branch of their government. There was no Legislative branch. The elders and Moses were not paid for their services. When a King was elected, it had to be the approval of all the tribes.After Solomon died, Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, came to Shechem to be anointed King. The people voted with their feet.
“And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him. For the Levites left their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the LORD. Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places, for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made. And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the LORD God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years. “2 Chron 11:13-17 NKJV
Jeroboam had fled to Egypt.For three years the Israelites and their King honored the Lord and all went fine. Now Jeroboam returns and, with the elders, approaches Rehoboam and speaks for the people to Rehoboam to reduce the heavy tax burden that Solomon had imposed on them.
“And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”|1 Kings 12:7 NKJV
The King is supposed to serve the people, not the other way around. Rehoboam consults his own “yes men” who advise him to increase taxes and he will be more famous than his father.
”…and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!” So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from God, that the LORD might fulfill His word, which He had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.”2 Chron 10:14-15 NKJV
The people voted with their feet.
“ Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:‘What share have we in David?We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.Every man to your tents, O Israel!Now see to your own house, O David!’So all Israel departed to their tents.”2 Chron 10:16 NKJV
The Kingdom is split, and Jeroboam goes off as King with the ten Northern tribes. The people voted with their feet.Like Rehoboam, in America the political leaders have lost their following today. Our leaders have become geldings only following money and the noise of the crowd.
