Evil King Ahab wanted the high-profile prophet Elijah dead. Drought had devastated Israel for three years. Elijah had predicted the drought, and it happened.
“After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year of the drought, saying, ‘Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth’.” (1 Kings 18:1)
But Elijah didn’t go to King Ahab right away. He got a mediator to set up that meeting.
The mediator was Ahab’s chief of staff, “in charge of the palace” (verse 3). He was a top-level employee of the most wicked government on Earth at the time.
He also was a follower of the living God.
Elijah knew this.
The state of government
Can faith-filled believers serve an evil government and a holy God at the same time?
Yes. This employee, Obadiah (not the same man as the prophet Obadiah), proves that it can be done.
Governments around the world are becoming ever more evil. The obvious examples are Russia, with Vladimir Putin’s devastating power grab in the Ukraine; China’s oppression of its own people and neighboring Taiwan; and a civil war in the Sudan that began last month between two former government allies who both now want to run the country. There are plenty of others.
Are there followers of the living God inside any of those regimes?
It’s hard to say. If there are, they can’t be open about it, because all of those governments suppress Christianity.
And then there’s the increasingly polarized United States, which isn’t so united anymore. While Christianity is openly allowed (as are all other faiths, including no faith), evil shows itself in many ways here:
- Abortion is the killing of unborn children (although that issue isn’t as simple as vocal opponents think it is).
- Our gun culture leads to far too many deaths and injuries through violence.
- We deny our identity by trying to change it (we can’t do that no matter how hard we try, despite what proponents say).
- Our isolationist, self-centered mindset denies the relationships that we need, on individual, societal, national and international levels.
- We search for love, meaning and purpose in life in all the wrong places – violent gangs, drugs, illicit sex – and not in our families or churches.
Can U.S. government employees serve the living God? Yes, they can. And do.
The state of mankind
Can Christians rise above partisan politics when living out their faith?
Depends who you ask. Christians who are passionate about political issues say yes. The rest of us aren’t so sure.
I look back on 2020 as a landmark year, as I’m sure many of you do. Three issues dominated the news that year: COVID; racism, sparked by the George Floyd killing; and a very contentious presidential election.
I found myself defending non-Christians against Christians on all three issues.
How did that happen?
We have lost our moral compass as a nation. All of us.
Which leads me back to my original question: Is it possible for us to serve an evil government and a holy God at the same time?
Serving authorities
Not only can we do that, we are commanded to do so by the apostle Paul in Romans 13.
Verse 1: Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
This is hard to stomach when government is evil – or, in the case of the United States, if we perceive it to be evil.
But this is our command.
Verse 2: Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Verses 3, 4 and 5 take this thought a step further:
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
This is the way government should work. Obadiah feared for his life (1 Kings 18:12) if Elijah did not fulfill his end of the bargain and show up for the meeting with Ahab, who wanted Elijah dead. Elijah promised Obadiah that he would show up for the meeting (1 Kings 18:15), and Obadiah trusted him.
Elijah and Ahab met. The next scene describes a dramatic showdown between Elijah and 450 of Ahab’s prophets – and Elijah’s God literally showed up and won the day.
Does God judge nations as a whole? Yes, He does. The Old Testament prophets testify to this. In Jeremiah 18:1-10, for example, God promised to judge Israel and then other nations as well.
Evil rulers and nations, therefore, will face their own Judgment Day.
It’s hard to wait, no question about it. But justice, real justice, will come.
In the meantime, we are to serve God and, as best we can, the secular governments that we pay taxes to. (Romans 13:6-7 commands us to pay those taxes.)
Serving each other
After talking about serving government, the apostle Paul continues with this, in verses 9 and 10:
The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
The next step, after willfully agreeing to serve our government, is to serve each other with our personal and social lives. Which is why social issues matter.
It’s a mindset. Serve God, serve leaders, serve each other. If we fight with any or all of those, we’ve broken the contract God set up for us with Jesus. (Paul explains this contract as well as anyone, fleshing out what Jesus talked about when Jesus walked among us.)
It’s hard. Obadiah knew it. Elijah knew it, too. Even in the face of adversity, they stayed true to their principles – and to their God.
If we in 21st century America did the same, we would solve most of our societal struggles. We would. Because God and justice are two sides of the same coin.
the liberal conservative 