THE ELECTION IS FINALLY HERE

"Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother" (Deuteronomy 17:15).

Does the Bible tell us anything about matters of politics, governance and elections? Can we rely on the Scriptures to guide us to the will of God in the way we choose our political leaders? To put it more directly, can the Bible help the believer decide on who to vote for in accordance with the will of God? The answer is a capital YES.

To begin with, we must accept that God has a will, a desire, a plan or a program for every aspect of our personal and communal affairs, including who becomes our leaders. At the beginning of the era of monarchy in biblical Israel, we find that God was always involved with the process of enthroning Kings. And in subsequent times, there were occasions when God expressly pointed out whom He wanted as king, an example being the emergence of Jehu on the throne of Israel (1 Kings 19:16). God always has a will as to who should rule us. We shall be a disappointment to God if we do not seek out that will and vote accordingly.

Our Scripture verse for today taken from Deuteronomy 17:15 is very direct.

Read it again. The leader is to be chosen by the people; but their choice is to be in accordance with the will of God, and to be made from among their brethren.

Several things come clear from today's Scripture. I urge you to take time to meditate on it and draw out the instructions of the Lord for yourself.

But I should really emphasise one very important lesson: that God has a choice, a desire or an idea of who He wants to be our king or political leader.

If the above is so, it is then the responsibility of the Christian to find out the mind of God on who to choose or vote for. Moses understood this and followed due process in choosing the military and political leader who would succeed him. Friends, the rest of the people may consider other factors but the primary determinant of a Christian's choice of who to vote

for must be the will of God. The Christian should not be led by the crowd or the direction of popular opinion. Only those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God, and my friend, politics is no exception.