This series of devotionals has not dealt with the determinism associated with John Calvin, but one of our fundamental assumptions is that Calvin was wrong and pressed the sovereignty of God to an extreme such that he essentially destroyed the idea of freewill in mankind. Man has freewill.
And sometimes that freewill brings men to government positions that are contrary to the will of God. First, God has, in fact, ordained that man have some type of secular government: “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God” (Rom. 13:1-2). The other two institutions from the mind of God, the church and the family, do not regulate the behavior of non-Christians. The secular government does that.
It is also true that if God desires to set certain individuals into government positions, He has the ability to do that. “This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers and the decision is a command of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Dan. 4:17). Daniel is, of course, speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, whom God could take out of office if He chose, which He does at the end of chapter 5!
God did raise up nations, such as Assyria and Babylon, and used them for disciplinary actions against His people, Israel. He also raised up Persia, Greece, and Rome in order to prepare the world for the coming of His Son (Galatians 4:4). But to go beyond these nations, which were directly related to the coming of the Messiah, and apply Daniel 4 to every leader of all nations of all times is to go beyond the text.
While it might be true that God raised up Joe Biden at the right time for His purposes, or it might be true that God raised up Donald Trump at the right time for His purposes, it is also absolutely true that we don’t know.
When Israel clamored for a king in 1 Samuel 8, God had already been preparing to give them a king. But He wanted a king after His heart, not a king after Israel’s desires. The prophet Samuel was distraught over Israel’s wish, but God told Samuel: “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them” (8:7). Giving them a king at that point was not God’s will, but He submitted to the request of Israel and gave them King Saul. He would later dethrone Saul and give Israel David, the man God wanted.
We need to be careful that we don’t make God the Divine “Rubber-Stamper” of all things Americans vote for! Just because a man is in the White House does not mean he is a servant in God’s house.
Paul Holland
