As we come up on Election Day (November 4 this year) for mid-term elections, it is perhaps appropriate that this coming Sunday and the next bring us to a couple chapters in Proverbs that speak a lot about human government. In Proverbs government specifically takes the form of a king, but much of what is said applies to anyone who has a position of leadership in government or in other areas of human life.
The first part of Proverbs 28, down to verse 16, speaks a lot about rulers, especially in relation to responsibility to the poor. There is also an emphasis on “the law,” torah in Hebrew, stating its importance for a well-ordered and righteous life.
All of this is connected with one’s relationship with God in what I take to be a key verse, verse 5, “The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.” Though the last part of the verse is certainly biblical hyperbole–few of us who claim to seek God would claim a perfect understanding of justice–there is the deep conviction that what is good and right is best understood by those who look ultimately for the Good in God.
The last part of the chapter looks at some of the consequences of choosing what is just and righteous versus the consequences of choosing what is evil. The first part of verse 28 seems particularly relevant to what is happening in Syria and Iraq, “When the wicked prevail, people go into hiding…” As we vote, may we seek God and choose in light of what Scripture teaches about who He is and what He desires for human life. And then maybe we won’t have to go into hiding here anytime soon.