After a long line of evil kings, each one more wicked that the one before, Ahab arrives on the scene. Like his fathers, he did evil in the sight of the Lord, however, he did “more than all who were before him” (1 Kings 16:30). He felt no conviction for walking in the sins of his fathers, married the evil woman Jezebel, built an altar for Baal, and “did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings before him.”
This isn’t the bio for some pagan nation’s king; this is the king of Israel. God’s chosen people. Yet, sin had brought chaos and destruction, leading the hearts of the people away from the Lord.
In the midst of this dark hour, God sends the prophet Elijah. The remarkable stories of miracles worked through this prophet occur in the context of God’s people walking in wickedness and being led by a wicked leader.
The Norm For God’s People
When we scan the story of God’s people in Scripture, in history, and even in the world today, we see that God’s people often live in the midst of wickedness, usually in the context of a wicked king/government.
Even now, the church is growing in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, including countries led by wicked governments that explicitly and intentionally persecute believers. Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ have lived lives of faithfulness in the midst of such oppression.
While this may seem discouraging, it actually serves as a helpful reminder: no matter what happens in our culture or government, the mission of the church doesn’t change. The power to carry out the mission doesn’t depend on someone in office or the law of the land. Jesus said he is building his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
We don’t need worldly power to carry out our mission to make disciples of all nations. The One who reigns sovereignly over all kings, powers, and nations is at work, and nobody can vote him out of office.
The True Authority
As believers, we certainly want to use our voice to influence the laws, policies, and procedures of our nation. The more a nation reflects the ways and design of God, the more likely they set themselves up for human flourishing. Any way that we can help our neighbor is good, and passing laws that fight injustice, oppression, murder, etc. are good and right.
However, living in a fallen world means that sometimes we live in a culture that rebels against God’s laws. Sinful people will pass sinful laws. The authority God has granted to governments to enact justice and protect the vulnerable will often be corrupted for personal gain. This grieves our heart, but it doesn’t stop our mission.
When Jesus gave his people the great commission, he made it clear where the power to carry it out would come from. We don’t get our power from earthly kings and we don’t need permission from worldly power structures. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” By His power and authority the church will carry out its mission.
And nobody can stop it.
