When Not to Obey (3)

“If that is the case,our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver usfrom your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 3.17, 18

Ruler worship
Sometimes people who gain political power can become confused about the purposes and limits of that power. Or they simply seize whatever opportunity they can to abuse that power for their own ends. Either way, governments can sometimes pose as the ultimate authorities for the people they govern, and whenever this happens, it should send a signal to believers that a serious boundary has been transgressed.

As we have seen, sinful rulers can easily begin to think that they must wield their power to further their ends in what would, if done overtly, be easily seen to be unjust ways. So rather than make a big public show of violating conscience and the moral law, they do it under the radar, where (they hope) their mendacity will not be visible to the population.

Pharaoh sought to exercise his power through the Hebrew midwives. Other governments might not feel the need to be so stealthy, or they might bury their abuses and usurpations in legal language, hidden in the thick verbiage of legislation or regulations promulgated ostensibly for the good of the governed.

Still other rulers are insecure or simply cruel, and need to be continually reinforced with the idea that their people love them. So it was, apparently, with Nebuchadnezzar. He ruled the most powerful empire in the known world in his day, yet it wasn’t enough for this super-duper-egomaniac of a king.

Nebuchadnezzar wanted not just the subservience of his people; he wanted their obeisance, that is, their worship. So, in order to accomplish this, he had a huge statue of gold prepared, about 90 feet tall. And he prepared a schedule for all the people of the land to worship the image – which was probably of Nebuchadnezzar himself – whenever the king commanded.

Resisting the civil authority
In order to make sure that this would happen on cue, Nebuchadnezzar first gathered all his local and regional administrators, and required them to show proper obeisance to the image. This was a very shrewd move; by forcing his immediate underlings to worship, on penalty of death, he hoped to ensure that they would force the people under them to worship, or suffer the fiery furnace right along with them.

The problem arose, however, when three of Nebuchadnezzar’s chief officials refused to go along with the program. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the king was told, “have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up”(v. 12). Nebuchadnezzar became furious and demanded that the young men appear before him. “Is it true,” he inquired, “thatyou do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up?” He was astonished, to say the least. Hadn’t they gotten the memo? Didn’t they know about the fiery furnace? Did they think he was someone to be trifled with?

Worship God only
But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew the situation full well; they determined that they must not obey the king in this matter, and were willing to face the consequences of their disobedience.

As we know, they were rescued, and Nebuchadnezzar was impressed and moved a little closer to worshiping God Himself. A second principle emerges for when it is right for a Christian not to obey civil government: Whenever civil government tries to compel loyalty to itself even above loyalty to God, it must be resisted.

Christians know that we must worship God and Him only, that all our ultimate obedience and devotion are due to the Lord of heaven and earth, and to no one or anything else. When governments try to require loyalty oaths, pledges of unqualified obedience, or other kinds of commitments of its people’s ultimate devotion, they must be resisted. The American Pledge of Allegiance might at first seem to be just such a protocol to be resisted. However, the Pledge includes the phrase, “under God,” as a qualifying factor in our allegiance. We can gladly and eagerly take such a pledge, since doing so affords a public opportunity of reminding ourselves and others where our ultimate loyalty lies.

Like Daniel’s three friends, the first Christians refused to acknowledge Caesar’s claim on their ultimate loyalty. Commanded to sign a written oath declaring the deity of Caesar, many, if not most, of them would not obey. Similarly, the American Founding Fathers detailed the abuses of the English king, whom they regarded as usurping God-given rights, in declaring their independence from his authority and rule.

We may not be required to sign a paper declaring that we worship our government above God, but we must be ever vigilant against any attempts on the part of civil magistrates to usurp our ultimate allegiance to Him Who has appointed them as servants for our good.

For reflection
1.  Secular governments don’t believe in God. So does this mean we don’t need to worry about their usurping the place of God in our worship? Explain.

2.  Governments aren’t always so brazen about trying to make themselves the ultimate authority in the lives of those they govern. They can, in the name of the public weal, create arenas where conversation about God is simply omitted or even forbidden, and then all but require their citizens to participate in such arenas. Can you think of any examples of this in our own nation?

3.  What might be some lawful lines of protesting or redressing government abuse, before you turn to civil disobedience?

Next steps: Is this problem of government usurping the place of God a matter of such concern that churches should teach their people how to recognize and respond to such a situation? Talk with a church leader about this question.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s study, When Not to Obey, is part 5 of a 5-part series on a Biblical view of government and politics, and is available as a free download by clicking here. We cannot understand God’s view of government, or how to function in a political environment apart from faith in King Jesus and His rule. Order T. M.’s books The Kingship of Jesus  and The Ground for Christian Ethics to supplement our studies of God and government.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.