I recently read an article that said most Americans will vote in the upcoming election based more on their fear of what one candidate might do, if elected, than their confidence in their chosen individual. What’s more, over seventy percent of us fear AI will use social media to influence the presidential outcome. Many worry that they can no longer tell fake content from real. They hold even less confidence in other people’s ability to differentiate between authentic and fictitious material.
When one considers all these factors, and the increasing hostility and division within our country, it’s no wonder so many of us feel anxious and unsettled.
But no matter how out of control our country appears, our all-powerful, all-knowing, loving, and ever-present God remains on the throne. No one who occupies the Oval Office, fills the Senate, or sits on the Supreme Court’s bench can or will thwart His hope-filled plans for the world or us, His children.
Scripture validates this divine promise again and again: Nations and rulers rise and fall, but the Lord’s love and grace reigns supreme. We’ll see this truth revealed as we consider the circumstances surrounding four Old Testament kings, their successes and failings, and God’s faithfulness to His own.
For around 450 years, the Lord led the Israelites through a series of judges. During this time, Scripture records a sad cycle of rebellion and wickedness, national oppression, desperate cries for mercy, God’s intervention and a season of divinely orchestrated peace, followed by the people’s rebellion. This period ended when the last judge, a just and honorable prophet named Samuel, became old and appointed his sons to take on his role.
However, these men lacked their father’s integrity. According to 1 Samuel 8:3, “They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.” Understandably, this concerned the elders of Israel, and so, together, they approached Samuel to ask for a king. Although the Lord warned them against this, they remained firm in their demands. And so, God told Samuel to give the people what they wanted.
Yet, despite their blatant disregard for the Lord’s guidance, He remained intimately involved in selecting their king. He used a series of seemingly mundane circumstances to bring a man named Saul to Samuel, told Samuel to anoint him, and then empowered Saul with His Holy Spirit.
What evidence of grace. What’s more, even after Saul disobeyed God and spiraled into moral decay and insanity, the Lord still protected the nation and molded their next king, a man named David. The Lord’s faithfulness over a thousand years ago reminds us of His consistent care for us, even when we, or our fellow Americans, make foolish choices or feel there’s no wise option from which to choose.
Later, David’s son Solomon rose to the throne and began his reign well. Soon, however, his lust for women turned his heart increasingly wicked. After his death, the people rebelled against his son and made Jeroboam, a man who’d served Solomon, their king. At this point, the nation became divided, with Jeroboam over the northern king of Israel while Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruled over the southern kingdom of Judah.
Jeroboam became an evil king who built pagan shrines and high places in the land and instituted idolatrous festivals.
Not long after, these two nations went to war. 2 Chronicles 13:3 tells us “Abijah” – of Judah – “went into battle with an army of four hundred thousand able fighting men, and Jeroboam drew up a battle line against him with eight hundred thousand able troops.” But notice what Abijah said, when he gathered his troops. Standing atop a mountain, he proclaimed:
“As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the Lord our God. But you have forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed” (2 Chron. 13:10-12).
God came through. When Israel ambushed Judah from the front and rear, they cried out to the Lord, the priests blew their trumpets, and the men raised the battle cry. Scripture states, “The Israelites were subdued on that occasion, and the people of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors” (2 Chron. 13:18).
Humanly speaking, they were outmanned 2-1. But as Romans 8:31 states, “If God is for us, who can be against us.” This means we can stand confident, regardless of the threat before us or how ill-equipped our leaders appear to fight it, knowing the Almighty Commander of Heaven’s Armies stands beside us.
One doesn’t need to read much of Scripture to realize that the forces of darkness have long attempted to thwart God’s plans and destroy His people. According to Scripture, this relentless battle rages beneath every external conflict, big or small. As Ephesians 6:12 states, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
From the Bible’s earliest pages, God promised to one day redeem the mess humanity created and to “crush” the serpent’s power. As time progressed, He revealed more details regarding His plans. In Genesis, we learned He’d bless all the earth through the offspring of a man named Abraham. His sons in turn birthed the twelve tribes of Israel, from which God would establish an everlasting reign through the Messiah, or “Anointed One.” While I doubt the devil understood God’s plan to bring salvation through the Son, biblical history reveals how fiercely he fought the Lord’s redemption story.
At one point, he and his minions probably thought they’d won. Mid-ninth century BC, when king Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah learned her son had been assassinated, she usurped the throne and attempted to destroy the dynasty of Judah. But a princess acted quickly and saved the infant who stood next in the royal line. Of this event, we read:
“When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him. He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land” (2 Kings 11:1-3).
In the seventh year, the priest rose up, gathered the nation’s commanders, Levites, and heads of families, crowned the seven-year-old king, and destroyed the evil queen. Thus, through them, God saved the Messianic line. Not even a vicious tyrant spurred by battalions of demons can thwart God’s plans.
In Christ, His every promise is yes and amen, as good as done.
I have a tendency to view my circumstances through human limitations rather than through the lens of God’s power and grace. When events don’t play out as I anticipate or hope, I can feel stuck and discouraged. But I’m learning, when it comes to God, to expect the unexpected. The Bible demonstrates again and again that He is not bound by time, location, circumstances, or world powers.
One of my favorite examples of His providence comes from Ezra 1. God’s people had spent seven decades living in a foreign land. But through a prophet, God assured them their exile would eventually end.
In Jeremiah, speaking of Israel, we read:
“This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. ‘But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will make it desolate forever’” (Jeremiah 25:11-12).
“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place’” (Jeremiah 29:10).
Ezra tells of the time when God began to make good on His promise:
“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: ‘This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem’” (Ezra 1:1-4).
God didn’t just bring His people back to their homeland. He also lavished them with provisions — at the hand of a pagan king! Ezra 1:11 states, “In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.”
This reminds us that God can use anyone, including the most unlikely leaders, to further His hope-filled, restorative story and provide for His people.
Throughout Scripture, leaders have risen and fallen, some good, others incredibly evil. Yet, God’s plans remain as immovable as His heart for His children. Therefore, while it’s normal to feel unsettled when our world seems chaotic and the political climate uncertain, we can confidently speak this truth to our timid hearts: Our God will not fail, and darkness will never win.
For more discussion on viewing political uncertainty through a biblical lens, catch the Faith Over Fear podcast episode titled “Faith-filled Faithfulness in Political Uncertainty.”
Jennifer Slattery is a writer and speaker who co-hosts the Faith Over Fear podcast and, along with a team of 6, the Your Daily Bible Verse podcast. She’s addressed women’s groups, Bible studies, and taught at writers conferences across the nation. She’s the author of Building a Family and numerous other titles and maintains a devotional blog at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLou
She’s passionate about helping people experience Christ’s freedom in all areas of their lives. Visit her online to learn more about her speaking or to book her for your next women’s event, and sign up for her free quarterly newsletter HERE and make sure to connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and GodTube.
He is a cross pendant.
He is engraved with a unique Number.
He will mail it out from Jerusalem.
He will be sent to your Side.
Emmanuel
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