Writing in his seminal Fifty Years in the Church of Rome, Catholic priest Charles Chiniquy describes his encounters with Abraham Lincoln. The priest greatly marveled at Lincoln's humility. He always came away baffled at the man's unassuming nature, simplicity, and down to earth comportment. At these meetings, Chiniquy always felt he was in the presence of greatness, (though Lincoln was merely a small town lawyer at the time of their initial meetings). He wondered why Lincoln had this aura of virtue, commanding presence, calm dignity, selflessness, and impeccable mannerisms, no matter the station in life of the person he was interacting with. It was only much later, that Chiniquy discovered Lincoln's secret. The man invested a great deal of time reading and meditating on the word of God, the Bible. The noble Lincoln was at the time, the only lawyer willing to take up Chiniquy's case. The priest had been framed and falsely accused on trumped up charges by some treacherous colleagues from his own church.
Abraham Lincoln was fully submitted to the overlordship of God Almighty in his life. He was not unduly worried about the consequences of standing up to Chiniquy's devious, vengeful enemies. His only concern was that Chiniquy got justice. His own safety was of secondary concern. So very selfless! The tall, gaunt lawyer from Springfield, Illinois, eventually won the case for Chiniquy. Lincoln was however, puzzled over Chiniquy's weeping as the favourable verdict was read out in the courtroom. He wondered why Chiniquy did not seem happy over the verdict. "Are you not happy that you have won the case?" he asked. "Yes indeed I am overjoyed, but sir, you have now earned the implacable enmity of Rome. I weep at the knowledge of what this victory is going to cost you..."
When they again met much later in Washington, D.C., Lincoln (now President) informed Chiniquy of the several attempts on his life that had already been made. He told Chiniquy that he did not expect divine intervention to continue in his favour forever. He was therefore resigned to the fact that sooner or later, Rome's agents would succeed in eliminating him. And this, they did. On April 14, 1865, US President Abraham Lincoln became the first American president to die at the hands of an assassin. The president was watching a play from the Presidential Loge of Ford's Theatre in Washington, when he was shot at close range. His wife was beside him. He died shortly thereafter of his gunshot wounds. The killer? One John Wilkes Booth. But who was Booth? He was an actor, but also a Jesuit trained assassin. He was a radical, trained, indoctrinated, and guided by the hand of Rome. But I digress.
We see the same pattern of uncommon humility in Moshe's life. Moshe was one of the greatest prophets to ever come from the Hebrews. He was indeed a type of Messiah, leading Elohim's people out of Egypt - "...out of the iron smelting furnace..." (Deuteronomy 4:20). Moshe was a Lawgiver. Yet for all his lofty position, Moshe was an extremely humble man! The Bible tells us of this servant of Elohim: "Now the man Moses was very meek, more meek than all people who were on the surface of the earth..." (Numbers 12:3). In Hebrew, the word for "meek" is עָנָו (anav), which can also be translated as humble, gentle, or lowly. It often describes someone who is afflicted, bearing a heavy burden, or in a state of humility. The concept of meekness in Hebrew thought emphasizes a gentle and submissive spirit, particularly in relation to God and others. Out there in the dreadful, waterless desert, millions looked up to him for leadership, guidance, and solutions to a multitude of daily challenges. Weighty responsibilities indeed. Such were Moshe's circumstances. When Dathan, Korah and Abiram challenged his authority, Moshe's recourse was not to defend himself. Instead, he fell face down before God, imploring him to take up the matter (Numbers 16:4). He was a man that fully understood his inadequacies and wholly depended on Elohim in his leadership journey.
We therefore see that despite his exalted position as the intermediary between God and the Israelites, Moshe's life was one of extreme humility. In spite of the fact that he conversed with deity face to face, Moshe's character remained (or morphed to) that of a self effacing, self deprecating man. He was a man fully submitted to, and obedient to God Almighty.
Whereas Lincoln only read about God in the Bible (and it had a profound effect upon his life), Moshe was, on the other hand, a man with direct encounters with the Holy One of Israel. Moshe's meetings with God totally transformed the man. He was the very first student of the Law he was to go and teach the children of Israel. In humble humility and full submission, he was able to plead: "If I have found favour in your eyes, TEACH ME YOUR WAYS..." (Exodus 33:13). Faced with the Golden Calf apostasy, a growing rebellion and an angry Elohim, Moshe entreated: "...if your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here..." (Exodus 33:15, NKJV). Moshe realised that it was futile to attempt the great journey without the support, guidance, Presence and protection of Adonai.
So why the parallels between the lives of these two great leaders? Allow me the latitude to submit an opinion. In their own different ways, both men experienced the insignificance of their frail humanity in the presence of God Almighty. They realised that we (puny humans) are as nothing on divine scales. Without Heaven, our lives amount to nothing. Zero. Zilch! They realised that it is only when human life is fully submitted to God, that it amounts to anything of worth. The big lesson here is that we must first recognise the sovereignty of God in our lives. We must then strive (with the help of the Ruah ha Kodesh - the Holy Spirit) to obey God, his word and the institutions he has set up to govern how we spend our lives.
He holds up the example of the heavens for us to emulate. Exults the Psalmist: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands..." (Psalm 19:1, NIV). He goes on to show how the sun (despite its great power - burning the equivalent of five thousand billion nuclear bombs every single second) remains totally submitted to God! It is thus described as: "...a champion rejoicing to run his course..." (Psalm 19:5, NIV). The same obedience can be seen in the rest of God's stars (some of them thousands of times bigger than the sun)! Each and every evening, as the bright light of the sun fades and darkness sets in, God calls each of these luminous gemstones of beauty by name and they each respond. They all come out at precisely the time allocated for each of them (cf Psalm 147:4)! All are punctual! None disregards the divine summons or pussy foots around. Big and small, bright and faded, blue, white, yellow, red, and many shades in between, they all answer God's summons without failure! In glittering diamond studded array, the awesome host of heaven is etched against the mysterious, soft dove blue of the night sky. Each and every night! Perfect obedience!
But it goes much deeper. In prophecy, stars symbolically represent the angels of heaven. Declared Yahshua: "...The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." (Revelation 1:20, NIV, emphasis mine). We can therefore infer here that the same obedience to God exhibited by the sun and the physical stars, is replicated among the echelons of the countless billions of God's powerful and holy angels! These angels are ministering spirits put in charge of a thousand and one responsibilities in God's orderly cosmos. Some serve us, human believers who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14). Others are in charge of springs, lakes, forests, savannahs, the Taiga, mountain ranges, insects, birds, flowers, glaciers and snowfields, winds, rocks, fishes, islands, ocean currents, minerals, deserts, grains, volcanoes, fruits, different tribes of humanity (cf Daniel 12:1), etc. Some are guardian angels charged with overseeing individual human lives from cradle to grave! Oh how marvelous! And in all this complex tapestry, not one angel rebels against the Father! They are all completely in tune with the desires and will of Heaven!
And what is more, we, the Church of God here on earth, are actually expected to be just as obedient to Elohim! You see, God's family both on earth and in heaven is called by the same name: Church of God (cf Ephesians 3:14; 1 Corinthians, 11:16, 2 Corinthians 1:1, 1 Timothy 3:15).
And so, since the God of heaven is not the author of confusion (1Corinthians 14:33), he expects the same perfection exhibited in the heavens to be replicated here on earth. That is why Yahshua taught us to pray: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. May your Kingdom come. May YOUR WILL be done ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN." (Matthew 6:9-10, NIV, capitals supplied). That is why our Saviour commanded: "...be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect..." (Matthew 5:48).
In fact, Yahshua's own life here on earth was a detailed portrait of perfect submission and obedience to the heavenly Father. It is written of him: "...I have come to do your will, O God..." (Hebrews 10:7, Psalm 40:6-8). The apostle tells us that Yahshua was obedient unto death, even the shameful death of a lowly criminal (cf Philippians 2:5-8). Faced with an oncoming cruel ordeal of torture and death, Yahshua could have chosen to withdraw from having to die. Yet in Gethsemane he prayed: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done..." (Luke 22:42). The Master indicated that He had set an example that we should do as he had done (cf John 13:15). John says of Yahshua's life: "...in Him was LIFE and that life was the LIGHT of men..." (John 1:4, NIV, capitals supplied). Indeed only those that do the will of Heaven will see the Kingdom of God (cf Matthew 7:21). May Elohim help us live up to these high ideals!
It is in view of the foregoing that Elohim placed institutions of authority for purposes of orderly governance here on earth (Romans 13:1-5). He expects submission and obedience to these institutions whether in Church, in the family, in government, or in other secular circles such as the workplace, the military, business, industry, at school, etc.
This submission must begin in the mind. Wrote the Apostle Shaul: "...the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete." (2 Corinthians 10:4-6, full caps mine).
In other words, the Apostle is saying that the battle is first and foremost a spiritual one. It is a battle of the mind. The believer must fight and take into captivity his or her own wayward mind unto obedience to the Messiah. Failure to do this, one runs the risk of having the enemy use strongholds within their mind to wage war against any spiritual advancement one may want to make in their walk with Messiah. We must accept at every turn that: "God is true and every man a liar..." (Romans 3:4). He knows best. We must strive to live in this truth. This acceptance of Yahshua as Lord and Master makes the believer's journey much more easier. It allows for the believer to realise that it is God who has ordained the powers that be, here on earth. With this recognition, it will matter little, what personal qualities the said "authority" may have, or lack. Even if the man in position of authority seems weak, unqualified, unsuitable, corrupt, high handed, or possesses some other undesirable human foible - we all do - the believer will be in submission to him. Moshe's stammering would not be an issue. Neither would Franklin Delano Roosevelt's crippled limbs, nor Moshe Dayan's mono eye. The fact remains that these men's being in positions of authority was the will of God. That is really what matters in the equation. Once one accepts that God has ordained it so, it becomes easier to work with the person. Such is submission, even if it is sometimes so hard to accept some of the decisions that that person may make!
Foremost among these authorities is church government. Writes the Apostle John: "The revelation of Yahshua Messiah, which Elohim gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John..." (Revelation 1:1). See? A very clear chain of command: Elohim, then Yahshua, then the angel, then the Apostle, then the Church. Is it that God could not directly speak to the Church? Of course he could! However, this cascading is given to show us the importance of following protocol in leadership. Even Moshe had to appoint 70 elders to work with him (Exodus 11:16-17). In fact, there were leaders appointed over tribes, clans, thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens (Exodus 18:25)! Why? For ease of work. For orderliness. For better record keeping. For institutional memory. In short, for a hundred and one reasons. Thus, the man who disregards protocol, is in effect rebelling against the authority of God. And it never ends well. Why? Because he or she is fomenting disorder of which the origin is not God, but the devil! (cf Numbers 24:17).
Such was the fate of Satan (cf Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:12-17). He ended up being thrown out of heaven (Revelation 12:9). Such was the fate of wicked Queen Jezebel who resisted the Prophet Eliyahu (1 Kings 19:1-2). The result? She was thrown out of a window and devoured by dogs (2 Kings 9:10, 30-37). Such was the fate of the Prince Adoniyah who met an untimely end for challenging King Solomon's kingship (1 Kings 2:25).
Quite frequently, the reason for lack of submission is pride. Pride here can come because of beauty (like in Satan's case - Ezekiel 28:12). It is also the case among many women. We are given the example of beautiful Queen Vashti of the Persians. She is mentioned in the Bible (Esther 1:10-12). Vashti was so beautiful, she deemed herself irreplaceable. She imagined her beauty was insurance enough for her to thumb her nose at her husband, the mighty Persian monarch! Well, she did not get away with it! Her haughty peacock demeanor resulted in her swift downfall. In short thrift, she found herself below sea level!
Pride may also stem from wealth and power. For example, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon became so wealthy and proud that God had to cut him down to size (cf Daniel 4:30). The same can be said of swollen-headed Uzziah, king of Judah who became so proud that he thought he was qualified to offer sacrifices - a preserve of the priestly caste! In trying to perform this priestly function, the king was essentially holding the priesthood and whoever ordained it (God Almighty) in utter contempt. He was promptly punished for this high-minded infraction (cf 2 Chronicles 26:19-21, and 2 Kings 15:5). King Shaul son of Kish was rejected by God for similar reasons. He too, thought that being king, was licence enough to do as he pleased, including offering sacrifices! The prophet Samuel harshly rebuked this royal hubris (1 Samuel 13:8-14).
Pride may also come about as a result of intellectual acuity (like in the case of King Herod who ended up devoured by worms in Acts 12:23). Indeed, "Knowledge puffs up..." (1 Corinthians 8:1). It is the source of much of today's "foolishness" in human academic circles. Because of pride, many scholars cannot bring themselves to accept that there is a: "...God who presides over the affairs of men..." (cf Daniel 4:17). They would rather talk about abstract, far-fetched concepts such as the theory of "evolution" or "nature" as being responsible for the existence of complex webs of life on earth. They would rather ascribe the existence of the stupendously beautiful and orderly universe to some amorphous "Big Bang"! Yet God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature are quite clear from what has he has created (cf Romans 1:20-21)! Pride thus results in humans becoming very foolish indeed in the eyes of Heaven (cf Romans 1:22; Psalm 14:1, 1 Corinthians 1:20, Psalm 53:1, etc). It is a malaise that the child of God must remain constantly vigilant against.
The enemy's strongholds in our minds might lead us down the path of rebellion. We are given many examples in the scriptures of people who went down that slippery slope. Joab, the overall commander of Israel's armies, willfully disregarded King David's express instructions concerning how erring Prince Absalom was to be treated once captured (2 Samuel 18:5, 9-15). It did not end well with Joab (cf 1 Kings 2:29). David's son Absalom tried to undermine his own father's throne and conspired against God's anointed (1 Samuel 26:9). He could not escape being found guilty and suffering punishment for it (2 Samuel 18:9-17). Then there was Sheba son of Bikhri who incited the Israelites against anointed King David. He was hunted down and subsequently beheaded (2 Samuel 20:22). We see a clear pattern here. Rebelling against Heaven ordained authority is never a good idea. If there is no repentance, swift judgment, retribution and destruction follows.
In obeying Elohim, the believer will have no trouble accepting the decisions and directions given by Church leadership. He will not unnecessarily question the decisions of the Church's overseers, pastors, elders or deacons. He will not disrespect or hold them in disdain. This, even though he might be richer, more educated, taller, more talented, etc. He will instead, hold these servants of Heaven in high esteem realising that they toil day and night for the welfare of the body of Messiah - the Church (cf 2 Corinthians 11:28). Nothing is to be gained by being truculent and causing them undue grief. Indeed, the believer ought to be in constant fervent intercessory prayer towards Elohim for them (1 Timothy 2:1-2, Psalm 72). If and when these leaders err, the scriptures provide that they be corrected privately, respectfully (cf Matthew 18:15). Or have the matter brought up before a qualified council of elders (cf 1 Timothy 5:19).
If we had such full submission, we would hardly have any strife, divisions, and unnecessary fighting in church. We would realise that these men did not appoint themselves over God's heritage (cf Amos 7:14 -15). We would know that it is Elohim's will that they are there.
Elohim has also placed authority structures within the family. The family is the most basic, and most important unit of society. A family fully submitted and obedient to God recognises that the husband is its head (1 Corinthians 11:3). Is it not the reason why God took a bone out of Adam's side and not of out of his head (cf Genesis 2:21-22)? Is it not the reason why we are only given the figure of the Israelite men coming out of Egypt but not of the women (Exodus 12:37)?! Or only the number of men that ate of the miraculous loaves of bread and fishes (cf Matthew 14:13-21, Luke 9:12-17, and Mark 8:1-9)? Is it not why children are known by their fathers' surnames? It is only when a girl gets married that she stops using her father's name and instead adopts her husband's. Why? Because she has (in a manner of speaking) been transferred from her father's authority, to that of her husband. And so, the woman must have a sign of authority upon her head (1Corinthians 11:10).
In agreement with this divine arrangement, the wife must fully submit to her husband (Ephesians 5:22-23). This is the will of Elohim. It does not matter the station in life of the husband. Or the level of his education. Or any other consideration, for that matter. Even if the woman is a university professor, while the husband is a lowly shoe-shine or a plumber, she must be in full submission to him. Today, many marriages are in the doldrums because of the lack of submission to this will of God (cf 1 Timothy 2:11-12).
The above however does not mean that men have a through pass to do with their wives as they please. No! Men should always remember that they are providers, protectors, priests, leaders and heads in their families. They are commanded to love their wives just as the Messiah loved the Church and gave himself up for her (cf Ephesians 5:25). Such love manifests itself in the husband taking his responsibilities with the seriousness they deserve. Situations should not arise where men shirk their manly duties and leave the onerous burden of child rearing to their wives alone. Each spouse should play their rightful role in the family setting. Then we would have healthy, happy, well balanced families. These would in turn, build up good, God-fearing societies.
As for children, they are commanded to obey their parents in all matters (Ephesians 6:1-2). The only exception to this is when the parents want the child to sin against Elohim. The consequences of failing to submit to parental or higher authority can be disastrous. Some examples in this regard would be Samson son of Manoah, Er and Onan sons of Judah, Cain son of Adam, and Absalom son of David.
Lastly, God has instituted government authority structures here on earth. The Apostle Shaul had this to say: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whatsoever resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they shall receive unto themselves damnation..." (Romans 13:1-2). David fully understood this truth. Though he was on the run from King Shaul, with the king's forces hot on his trail, yet David did not take advantage of several opportunities to kill the king (1 Samuel 26:8-11). He understood that Shaul's position as king of Israel emanated from God himself. He was God's anointed, and no one could escape divine punishment if they raised their hand against him (1 Samuel 26:9). Blessings and shalom.
JC wa Nyambu
Buna
04/07/2025
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