SPEAKER_01
0:20 As we inch closer and closer to this round of local and national elections, I can feel the collective sense of exhaustion and boredom with the whole process for many people in this country. 0:30 And as most of you know, an appallingly low percentage of Americans participate in politics and local and national elections. 0:36 And unfortunately, that applies to Christians as well. 0:39 I think one of the main reasons why Christians in particular don't vote at a much higher rate is because they've bought the lie from the pits of hell that it is inappropriate for Christians to be involved in the political process and that they should not vote. 0:51 So I want to keep hammering my thesis this week, and it's this it is incumbent upon Christians to vote and participate in the political sphere, because faithful stewardship of God's creation is an act of worship, and the dominion mandate does not end at the ballot box. 1:05 So this week on the Daily Blade, we've been looking at examples of men that operated in a political way and how that impacted God's kingdom and image bearers of God. 1:14 So far, we've discussed Joseph and Nehemiah, and today we're going to look at a couple of different figures, King David, but more specifically Nathan. 1:22 But before we even get to these two, we need to look at the interplay between church and state in ancient Israel. 1:29 So now the majority of American citizens, unfortunately, can't even pass a citizenship test, even if it was on like a fifth grade level. 1:35 And so we can rightly assume that most of them believe that the separation of church and state is something from the United States Constitution. 1:42 In actuality, as most of you know, it was in a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists. 1:47 I've mentioned this a lot, but I'll repeat it again here. 1:49 Thomas Jefferson's point was never that the church should stay out of the business of the state, but it was that the state could never be given the power and ability to control the church. 2:01 But we don't see that in ancient Israel. 2:03 We see throughout the Old Testament that Hebrew prophets modeled direct accountability with the political leaders of their day. 2:09 So Isaiah was not just a prophet, but he also directly advised the courts of King Uzziah and Hezekiah. 2:16 This is a clear sign that political influence and spiritual authority could coexist. 2:20 So now let's get to one of my favorite dialogues in the entirety of the Old Testament. 2:25 We need to go to 2 Samuel 12. 2:27 We're going to start in verse 1 and we're going to read this entire section here, and so you should definitely read it yourself this week. 2:31 I'll be reading from the ESV. 2:33 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. 2:35 He came to him and said to him, There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2:40 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought, and he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. 2:49 He used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup, and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 2:54 Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guests who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. 3:06 Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 3:19 Nathan said to David, You are the man. 3:23 Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul, and I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. 3:36 And if this were too little I would add to you as much more. 3:40 Why have you despised the word of the Lord to do what is evil in his sight? 3:45 You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 3:52 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. 3:59 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun. 4:12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. 4:17 David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord, and Nathan said to David, The Lord also has put away your sin. 4:24 You shall not die. 4:25 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die. 4:33 Then Nathan went to his house. 4:36 So it's a brutal story, but I do love it. 4:38 I love the boldness of Nathan. 4:40 I love that David immediately saw that Nathan was right. 4:43 We don't get the sense from the text that David responded in pride or anger. 4:47 He immediately saw that he was the man and that he was broken, that he was a sinner, that he needed to repent. 4:54 But we live in a political time where people will yell this slogan. 4:58 You've probably heard it. 4:59 Speak truth to power, speak truth to power. 5:02 Now, if we're being honest, almost 100% of the time that slogan is being screamed by a leftist progressive who is also being paid to protest on the sidewalk in the middle of a workday. 5:12 So what that person actually means is that they want enough people to yell at and shame the politicians that they disagree with so that they will kowtow to whatever their desires are. 5:22 But that's not actually speaking truth to power. 5:24 Because in the scenario I just laid out, the person on the other end isn't that powerful, as evidenced by the fact that they folded like a lawn chair just because some people yelled at them, right? 5:36 Now, what Nathan did to King David was actually speaking truth to power. 5:40 King David had the power of life and death over Nathan. 5:43 But Nathan knew he had to do the righteous, just, and moral thing, which was to point out David's hypocrisy and sin to his face. 5:52 Now it is highly unlikely that any of us will ever get into a face-to-face conversation with someone that has absolute earthly power like King David did, but we can still act in a way that Nathan did, in that very same way. 6:06 We can stand firm on the truths revealed in God's Word, and we can exclaim that truth to our local and national magistrates. 6:13 Furthermore, one way we can speak truth to power is by going and voting for candidates that more so align with biblical and godly morality. 6:22 So let's go to my thesis again. 6:24 It is incumbent upon Christians to vote and participate in the political sphere because faithful stewardship of God's creation is an act of worship, and the Dominion mandate does not end at the ballot box.