Respect the Ruling Authorities
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Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
1 Who is like the wise man?
Who knows the explanation of things?
Wisdom brightens a man’s face
and changes its hard appearance.
2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,
though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
7 Since no man knows the future,
who can tell him what is to come?
8 No man has power over the wind to contain it;
so no one has power over the day of his death.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
Introduction
Introduction
Solomon has been giving us much practical wisdom through these passages.
Practical wisdom for life, and how to live that life in a proper manner with at least some measure of wisdom.
This morning, we will consider together how Solomon gives some further advice relating to our posture before the “King”.
In our case, the “king” would be the ruling authorities - those who hold power over us.
1. A Call to Serenity (v.1)
1. A Call to Serenity (v.1)
As Solomon does this, he doesn’t dive directly into what he wants to say concerning our submission to authorities / our posture before the authorities.
Rather, he transitions from what he’s been saying in chapter 7, and particularly the last section where he’s dealt with man going in search of many schemes, and he begins by addressing the presentation of the wise man, as opposed to the fool.
I’ve titled this section of the sermon (first point) “A Call to Serenity”
This really speaks to that presentation of the wise man - how he comes across to others, and in this case particularly leaders.
1 Who is like the wise man?
Who knows the explanation of things?
Wisdom brightens a man’s face
and changes its hard appearance.
One could ask if this verse fits in with the previous verses in terms of normal wisdom, or if it stands with the verses that follow.
I don’t think the answer to that is perfectly clear.
But it would seem that this is a transition verse, that leads the learner of Solomon into this section that follows, which has primarily to do with submission to the King (or in our case, submission to the ruling authorities).
Solomon begins by asking the question: “Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things?”
It may be thought that the answer to the question is that there is none who fits this description.
If you focus your attention on what Solomon said in Ecc 7:23-24, you may then hold the idea that there certainly is no person on earth who is wise and understanding.
But I don’t think that would be an accurate interpretation of Solomon is saying here.
Also in Ecc 7:11, Solomon spoke of wisdom being a good inheritance, and also in Ecc 7:12 of the advantage of wisdom over money.
He also said in Ecc 7:25 that he set his own heart to search out and seek wisdom.
So certainly, wisdom (being the humble fear of God in living in this world) was esteemed by Solomon, so long as that didn’t attempt to take the place of God in terms of understanding every little thing that takes place in the world.
Furthermore, as Solomon continues in this verse, we again find support for the fact that Solomon is speaking positively about finding wisdom, when he says that “A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.”
These are words which convey the reality that a man has found wisdom, has become wise, and the way in which that man’s face radiates something of the goodness of God through the wise man’s countenance.
A wonderful example of this great wisdom and filling with God’s Spirit was Stephen, when he was before the Sanhedrin...
15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
What a beautiful description of a man who was so filled with the Spirit of God through his knowledge of God that his face was just radiant before those who hated him.
But friends, if that is the manner in which Stephen’s face shone, we should not think that God cannot so wonderfully work in our own hearts and lives such that we are filled with His Spirit and so radiate something of His beauty and love and care through our own lives.
We read in Proverbs about the way in which wisdom will esteem the one who possesses her and pursues her.
8 Esteem her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will set a garland of grace on your head
and present you with a crown of splendor.”
This is a wonderful description of the presentation of a person with much wisdom.
It is like someone that you can just sense their winsomeness through your interactions with them.
Not only can you see this wisdom through the countenance of the wise person, but “the hardness of his face is changed.”
A person who has grown in wisdom, has also grown in gentleness in their approach to people, to life and to circumstances.
If you consider the wisdom literature, particularly proverbs, you will find numerous exhortations to gentleness as opposed to harshness in responses.
In Proverbs 21:29, we read a very striking summary of this truth in discerning a wise man as opposed to a wicked man.
29 A wicked man puts up a bold front,
but an upright man gives thought to his ways.
The wicked man puts up a bold front, meaning they are harsh in their responses, almost threatening and intimidating.
They put on a facade - a “front” - as they are confronted with a situation, and its appearance is boldness.
And yet, they are wicked.
The righteous man (the wise man) on the other hand, doesn’t put up such a bold front, but rather gives thought to his ways.
He considers things without a harsh front.
He gives much prayerful thought to his way since his desire is to please God, not only in what He does, but in the manner in which he does it.
Another Proverb which speaks to this is Proverbs 29:9
9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool,
the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.
Here we see that a fool is the one that is not peace-loving and gentle in their approach, but rather they are harsh, and they rage and scoff against their opponent.
By implication, the wise person is gentle in their approach, and is not harsh.
Indeed, Proverbs 17:28, confirms this, when it says...
28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent,
and discerning if he holds his tongue.
But it’s not only the wisdom literature that speaks of this.
We also find many examples in the New Testament.
Remember that the fruit of the spirit includes love, peace, kindness, gentleness...
It’s beautiful the way James puts these facets of wisdom and a peaceable disposition...
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
In many other places in the NT we find this idea that a wise person is not harsh or hard, but rather is a peace-loving person...
Before we move on, let me encourage us as the body of Christ to be earnestly seeking after this wisdom which comes through a filling of the Holy Spirit.
Being a fruit of the Spirit, we must not think that this kind of character of being gentle is an impossibility for us.
As we look to Christ, as we think through what God has done for us and His amazing grace, and as we humbly allow the word of God to do its work in our hearts by the power of the Spirit, we will grow in our wisdom, and we will grow in our character such that we ourselves more and more will radiate this beauty of a gentle approach.
As we move on to the remainer of this text, one more Proverb will be helpful for us in terms of launching us into the remainder of Solomon’s teaching here...
1 A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
That verse is particularly fitting within the broader context of this passage, and where it is going to in terms of submitting to rulers.
2. A Caution Against Subversion(vv.2-4)
2. A Caution Against Subversion(vv.2-4)
2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God.
The first instruction from Solomon regarding submission to ruling authorities is that one should “obey the king’s command.”
The instruction from Solomon here was that all people should listen to the king as he commands them.
For us in our day, this is directly applicable to us listening and following commands / instructions from any ruling authority that is over our lives.
This is most certainly first and foremost applicable to the governing authorities - those who are responsible for the rule of the nation.
Following that, however, it could be extended to others who hold some position of authority over us - for example a parent / child relationship, or an employer / employee relationship as well.
It’s interesting to consider that Solomon himself was a king… he had a perspective on this that not many other people would have.
He speaks and gives advice based on his position of authority over the lives of the people around him.
He knew what went through the mind of a king when a subject of that kingdom failed to obey the command that was given.
Having said that you should obey the king, Solomon goes on to give the reason for you to obey the king.
What is the basis that Solomon presents in terms of why it is that we should obey the rulers and those in authority over us?
And the reason is because of an oath...
Now, depending on which translation you are using, you will have it written differently in the English.
In the original language, the Hebrew literally says “because of the oath of God.”
The question then is, whose oath to who??
This question is what raises the different interpretations in the translations.
So the NIV reading is “because you took an oath before God.”
If that is the oath that is intended here, it speaks of the oath that a person took (or in this case probably the nation of Israel took) before God to live in subjection to and obedience to the king of that day.
An example of this could be found in 1 Chronicles 29:24
24 All the officers and mighty men, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.
The alternative reading of this oath of God is that God made an oath to the king when the king was placed on the throne.
The ESV translation reads here: “because of God’s oath to him.”
If this was what was intended, then it would refer to the authority that God had bestowed on the anointed leader by promise to him.
For example, David writes in Psalm 110:1
1 The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”
These words were an echo of God’s promise to David made in 2 Samuel 7:1-17.
As a result of this, to honour the king was to give honour to God, because this was the one anointed by God.
Think of how David, before he was king, was being chased by king Saul, and how he refused to raise his hand against Saul, because he recognised that this was a man anointed and placed by God.
In terms of how this would apply to us in our own day, we must consider that God himself has indeed established every ruler and authority, even those authorities of nations.
Romans 13:1-2 is clear on this...
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. 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.
Here Paul warns the Roman believers to submit to the Roman authorities, even though those Roman authorities were not at all friendly towards Christians.
In fact they were distinctly hostile towards Christians because of their beliefs.
So friends, we must hear the words of Solomon, that we too should submit ourselves to the ruling authorities in all things, even when that is somewhat uncomfortable (unless of course they require clearly and blatantly sinful actions from you).
As Solomon continues, he warns against open rebellion to a king’s command:
3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
When Solomon says that one should not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence, what he’s conveying is that we should be respectful before the king (or in our case the governing authorities).
We should conduct ourselves always in a respectful manner before them.
“In the ancient world, an audience with the king was a matter of life and death.” (Ryken, 186)
When a person hastily departed from the presence of the king, it was certainly a sign of disrespect.
Furthermore, the context here seems to suggest that the departure from the kings presence was because a person wasn’t in agreement with what the king was commanding, and was thus going to support a cause that was subversive to the kings command.
That’s why Solomon says there that you should not stand up for a bad cause, for the king will do whatever he pleases.
Solomon goes on to explain in verse 4...
4 Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
The king or the ruler has authoritative power, and so it helps little to enter into a debate with the king, or to show some kind of disrespect in your conduct, or perhaps to engage in a bad cause against the king.
Rather, Solomon suggests that you hear what the king says, and respectfully listen and obey.
3. A Commendation to Submission (vv.5-6)
3. A Commendation to Submission (vv.5-6)
At this point, Solomon proceeds by giving a commendation to submitting to the ruler.
He says in verse 5:
5 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
For the person who will hear the king and obey, they are spared from harm.
Before I proceed from this, let me just acknowledge that it is not always right to obey the command of the king.
And we are not always to simply obey in order to ensure that we don’t have harm come to us.
You know well the case of Daniel, where he refused to obey the command of king Darius to worship and pray to no other god or man except that king.
Obviously that was a situation in which he was required by the king to worship him, which would have been idolatry, and thus disobedience to God.
But what this doesn’t mean is that we should disobey the king because it’s not convenient to obey.
We live in a day full of red tape bureaucracy - that’s a part of life today.
We do not disobey the authorities of our day simply because it’s an inconvenience for us, and because we think the laws are unnecessary.
As unnecessary as we may deem them to be, and even as unnecessary as they may indeed be, if they are not directly contradicting a command of God, then we are called to obedience.
Coming back to what Solomon is teaching here, the reason that he says the person should obey the command is so that they will not come to harm.
That implies that there will be harm for disobedience.
Indeed, for us in our own context, Paul’s letter to the Romans speaks to this also.
3 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. 4 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.
The reason that we are to submit to the authorities that are over us is because they are God’s appointed agents of wrath.
In fact, the wrath that is spoken of here is truly the death of a person who rebels - that was certainly the punishment that was meted out against rebels to the Roman authorities.
That’s why Paul includes the description of the authorities “bearing the sword” - an instrument for putting a person to death.
That was the severity of the punishment that was due to those who rebelled in that day.
But whatever the extent of the punishment that is afforded to those who rebel, the simple fact remains that there will be serious consequences for those who do not submit.
But notice the further teaching of Solomon in verse 5: “that the wise in heart will know the proper time and procedure.”
Continuing on from there, Solomon says in verse 6:
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,
though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
When a man is wise, and he is living with a God-fearing perspective of the world around Him, fully immersed in a knowledge of the Holy One and His ways, then he will be able to properly evaluate every command of the king, and how to live in an appropriate manner before the king.
When the king issues a command that is perhaps contrary to the ways of God, or even if the king issues a command that is not wise, the wise man will know the proper time and procedure in which to evaluate that and address that.
Consider Jonathan in the Old Testament, when Saul was looking to put David to death purely because of jealousy.
When Jonathan heard of this, he didn’t subvert the king.
He didn’t accuse the king in a disrespectful manner.
Instead, he chose an appropriate time and place to bring a gentle but persuasive argument to his father, king Saul.
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. 5 He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?”
6 Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.”
Here is just a simple example of wisdom leading Jonathan in how to deal with a difficult situation.
Another example could be queen Esther, as she chose to respectfully approach King Xerxes after he had been tricked into issuing a decree to destroy all the Jews.
She approached with wisdom, and even used a process of appealing to the king - she didn’t just present her request on her appearance to him.
And so, there are appropriate and wise ways in which to approach the authorities over you, and as we grow in wisdom and understanding of the Lord and His ways, we will increase in our ability and understanding to approach these leaders wisely.
But what if the king (authorities) will not hear.
Well even then, the wise man knows who ultimately is in control, and who is ruling and reigning.
They know that they can entrust even that situation into the powerful and mighty hands of an all-sovereign, all-wise God, who one day will bring ultimate and final right judgment.
Commentator James Smith writes:
Old Testament Survey Series: The Wisdom Literature and Psalms A. Submission Recommended (8:1–5)
If the king’s rule becomes too oppressive, the wise man will know how to bide his time and resort to appropriate measures for the purpose of escaping its harsh restrictions. He can remain calm even in the most oppressive times because he knows that a day of judgment is coming. He need not resort to violence to rectify the wrongs of society because he knows that God will take care of that
4. A Call to Surrender (vv.7-9)
4. A Call to Surrender (vv.7-9)
Having spoken to the wise man and his ability to know how to deal with things relating to the command of the king, he goes on to remind people that their wisdom remains with limitations.
7 Since no man knows the future,
who can tell him what is to come?
No man can perfectly predict how things will unfold in the future.
No man, not even the wise man who fears God, can know with certainty what will unfold, even when they attempt in their best wisdom to honour Christ in all things, even in honouring the king.
This would indeed form part of the wisdom that any wise man should approach a situation.
Even the wise man should approach his responses to the king’s commands with a posture of humility.
He should remember that even if he obeys implicitly, or if he chooses to respectfully and graciously refuse to obey commands that are contrary to God’s ways, that there is no certainty of what will unfold.
Just think for a moment of how contrary this is to so much teaching today.
We are told to “just believe”.
God has got great things in store for you.
God is going to make your dreams come true.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me… so therefore, whatever I set my mind to, so long as I commit myself to Christ, it will happen, and I will achieve.
This is not an accurate understanding of Scripture.
Solomon clearly conveys to us that we do not know the outcomes.
We do not know what will unfold in the future, even if we commit our ways to the Lord.
Solomon continues in verse 8:
“No man has power over the wind to contain it;
so no one has power over the day of his death.” (Ecc. 8:8a)
The first line about man having power over the “wind” is really speaking about the “spirit”
The ESV translation there is: “No man has power to retain the spirit”.
Given the context, both of those lines would refer to the ability of a man to have a say over his days - how many they will be.
We are not the masters of our own destiny.
5 Man’s days are determined;
you have decreed the number of his months
and have set limits he cannot exceed.
God is the master of our destinies, and He is certainly unfolding all things according to His perfect wise will.
But that does not mean that we get to decide what that future is going to be!
Then, also in verse 8, Solomon writes:
“As no one is discharged in a time of war,
so wickedness will not release those who practice it. “
Solomon makes a reference to the time of war, and a person not being able to be discharged from army service when there is a war on the go.
The war that is spoken of may be a normal war between nations that a person enters into under the command of a king.
But given the context of the previous verse, it could also be applied to this war that one fights against death.
Death appears constant, throughout our lives, as the great enemy of man—taking our loved ones, shattering our dreams, hovering like a dark cloud over our days here on earth. There is no respite in this battle and no one is dismissed from its front line.
Phillip Ryken is helpful in his commentary here.
He writes:
“The situation of the soldier brings together two of the main themes of this passage (which, it should be noted again, has a loose structure, following the stream of the author’s consciousness). Of all the things that a government commands people to do, this is the most demanding, namely, to defend their country. It is also the duty that brings the most danger, and with that danger, the most uncertainty about the future. A soldier in wartime deals with the real possibility of death at any moment. He of all people knows that he does not have knowledge of the future or power over the day of death. Nevertheless, a soldier must do what he is commanded to do.” (p.188)
In closing, Solomon says that “wickedness will not release those who practice it.”
The sum total of our requirement as people is that we submit ourselves to God, fear Him, and honour the king.
This is the exhortation of Solomon himself in Proverbs 24:21-22
21 Fear the Lord and the king, my son,
and do not join with the rebellious,
22 for those two will send sudden destruction upon them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?
As those who love the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to honour Him in all things, and to never engage in wicked acts of rebellion (or any other wicked acts, I might add) since they will not deliver us, and will instead bring chastisement for us.
Application and Conclusion
Application and Conclusion
I would like to close with the words of exhortation in 1 Peter 2, which is passage that we’ve been considering in our Bible Study over the last few weeks / months.
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
We live as we do because of our submission to Christ.
We obey the authorities over us, not necessarily because they have an intrinsic worth or value, but because in doing so we will bring honour to Christ.
I will close with the words of one of the sentences in the Sola5 confession of faith (point 9.3) which says this:
“God has commanded Christians, within the limits of obedience to God, to submit to their rulers, to participate in the life of their society, and to promote the well-being of their fellow-citizens.”
Friends, are we as Christians doing these things to the glory of Christ.
35 A king delights in a wise servant,
but a shameful servant incurs his wrath.
14 A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,
but a wise man will appease it.
My prayer is that we as Christians would be those who act wisely, both before the world around us, and before kings and authorities.
The reason: The name of Christ our Lord may be exalted in and through us!