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Find the answers to all those questions you were too embarrassed to ask in Sunday School. Welcome to Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we explore scripture passages that are bizarre, perplexing or just plain weird. Hosted by Luke Taylor.
Does God really expect us to honor evil, wicked leaders?
II Kings 6:8-12, I Timothy 2:1-2
Introduction
The Bible has some hard commandments in it. “Do everything without worrying or complaining.” “Forgive 70x7 times.” “Be content in all circumstances.” “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wifi.” “Thou shalt not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
I’m sure I’m not the only person out there who struggles with these.
OK, maybe that last one was kind of a joke. That actually is in the Bible, and it’s a weird thing in the Bible, but that’s not the weird thing I want to focus on today. Maybe we’ll circle back to it in a future episode.
No, the thing I want to focus on today, and perhaps a harder instruction than all those others, is a command found in
I Timothy 2:1-2
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
Wait a minute, what? We’re supposed to pray for our leaders? That wouldn’t include presidents I don’t like, would it?
Well, it says “for kings and all who are in high positions.”
So perhaps presidents, then. But not the bad presidents, right? Not the evil and wicked rulers who sometimes get into power over us? God surely couldn’t be telling us to pray for THEM, right?
I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.
Turn to II Kings 6, and let’s get weird.
[theme music]
Ben-Hadad and Elisha
Welcome to Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we explore scripture passages that are bizarre, perplexing or just plain weird. This is Luke Taylor, and today we’re going to be talking about this bizarre command in the Bible to pray for our leaders.
But God didn’t mean all leaders, right? God probably just meant the ones I like. Well, let’s analyze that question, and along the way, we’ll perhaps look at what it means to serve your country and serve your leaders and honor those in authority, even when you don’t find the particular person in authority to be that honorable.
Which is a tall order for a podcast that I try to keep at less than 30 minutes, so we better get into it. And I know that many of you come to this podcast for stories about things like angels and demons and the spiritual realm, and this sounds a little earthier than what you’re used to today. But I felt that this is still a pretty weird command, and I thought it might be good for us to talk about today as we’re in a heavy election season for the next couple of months, and we’re all taking this time to flock to social media and exercise our fictional political science degrees. But if you come back next week, we’ll actually be heading into a thick series about spiritual warfare for the next 3-4 weeks.
If you were here last week as we looked at a strange miracle story in II Kings 6, you might remember that I said I wanted to continue along in that chapter for the next couple of episodes, and why I am suddenly talking about a command in I Timothy 2 today. But believe it or not, this is all connected, and that’s why I told you to turn back to II Kings 6 as we get started today.
Verses 8 through 12 of that chapter say
8 Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
Let me just break in here for a moment and explain what’s going on. There is this king of Syria, who was named Ben-Hadad, and he shows up in several stories in this section of Scripture. He had a lot of conflicts with the northern Kingdom of Israel. And yet, he is frustrated here every time he comes up with some kind of plan for his military to kill some Israelites, the Israelites are somehow able to avoid his traps. He is questioning how they always seem to know where he’s going, and he wonders if perhaps there’s a spy among his men.
Verse 11
11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
So the servants inform him of what’s going on: you may be able to fool Israel, but you can’t keep any secret from the God of Israel. And God hears every plan you make and tells it to the prophet Elisha, who then relays that message to the King of Israel.
And when I sat down to work on this lesson, this was what I originally wanted to talk about today: the spiritual realm and how you can’t really hid anything from God because God knows all. And how silly it is that we think we can keep any secrets from God, who sees and hears and knows all things, even before you do them.
And also the interesting circumstances that God was telling Elisha what the King of Syria’s plans always were, which is pretty wild. But not really that weird. I mean, maybe I’m just saying this because I’ve gone for 40 episodes now talking about these bizarre things in scripture, but Elisha getting secret messages from behind enemy lines really isn’t that shocking anymore.
He’s a prophet. He talks to God regularly. This is pretty par for the course.
No, the weird part of this story to me is not that Elisha talks to God, but that Elisha talks to the King of Israel.
Who was Jehoram?
Let me tell you about who the King of Israel was at this time. His name was King Jehoram. And you notice throughout the book of I and II Kings that there’s a bit of a pattern as it talks about who the king was, how long they reigned, and whether God ultimately gives them a thumbs up or a thumbs down on their rule. And to find out what it has to say about Jehoram, we have to go back to:
II Kings 3:1-3
In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twelve years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, he clung to the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it.
So Jehoram was one of the bad kings. Could have been worse, was an improvement over his parents, but ultimately he was an idolater and led Israel into sin. He was a wicked king. An evil king. And one who was no friend to God.
And yet, he listens to Elisha’s counsel. And despite being persecuted and oppressed by his own government at times, and at risk to his own life, Elisha still maintains a relationship with and helps the king of Israel.
II Kings 6:9 told us
But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.”
And THAT is what I find the weirdest verse of that passage. Not that Elisha could receive messages from the supernatural realm; that’s standard fare for prophets. The weird thing is that Elisha continues to serve this evil nation and it’s evil king.
Elisha is good. Jehoram is bad. And yet Elisha remains in some kind of support role with the king. So what are the Christian ethics of that? That’s what I want to kind of needle down on today.
Supplications and prayers
I’ll come back around to II Kings 6 next week as we read about what happened next- and it’s something that goes beyond normal prophet weirdness and gets pretty crazy- but for today, I just want to throw a few things about there about what it means to be patriotic in a biblical sense.
We hear a lot today about the dangers of nationalism, or this concept of Christian nationalism. And while I know that patriotism can be taken to extremes at times and even become idolatrous, there’s another extreme that people fall into where Christians are told they shouldn’t even prefer their own country or want to see Christian laws enacted in their country. That Christians shouldn’t vote, or that if they do, they should leave their religious beliefs in the parking lot before they go inside their polling place.
So I think there are extremes on both sides of the Christian nationalism that people can fall into, and I think a lot of the concerns from both of these extremes are quite overblown. Where I see us needing a bit of nuance and clarity is what to do when you have an evil government or an evil leader and yet you have these commands in the New Testament to pray for all leaders, and these examples in the Old Testament of supporting an evil government. How are we to do that?
Well, let’s go back to the New Testament command I opened with:
I Timothy 2:1-2
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
So if you’re an American, you are to offer supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings for your governmental leadership. Your president, your governor, your senator, your representative, your local governing authorities. You are to pray for them. But the type of prayer that you offer for them is going to be context-specific.
If they are not saved, I think what you ought to pray for first and foremost is that they would become a Christian. That was my number one prayer for the past four years with our current president- that he would get saved. That was my number one prayer for the president we had the four years before that.
We have a lot of spiritual issues in our nation, which has led to a moral crisis and a degradation of society. We need revival, we need a turnaround, and I believe that the quickest way to see that happen is if we have a strong moral and spiritual authority in charge over us. So first and foremost, I would like to see the current governing authorities believe the Gospel and get saved and turn their heart over to Jesus.
So that is my primary prayer, first and foremost, for any president. That will be my primary prayer for the next president. So if you don’t know how you should pray for your president, or if you think they’re a wicked ruler and you don’t know how to pray for them, then I would make this your primary prayer for that person- that God would soften their heart.
Even in a supposedly Christian nation, we actually have very few Christians pulling the levers of government. I believe with some confidence that at least one of my senators is a Christian man. I actually have a job where I speak with my US representative about once a week, and I also know many people who know him better than I do, and I believe that he’s a Christian man as well. And my local state representative goes to church with me, and I know him to be a christian as well. I am very thankful to have those guys in government representing me, but I think I am one of the very few Christians in America who can say that with any confidence.
Which means for most of us, we need to be praying for the salvation of our leaders. That is what it means to offer supplications. You are praying for God’s goodness to show up in their life. So I pray that they would be saved and be blessed.
Intercessions
I also offer intercessions for them. To me, that means to pray that they would have godly influences in their lives, influencing them to do godly things.
As I said, it’s a sad reality that there are few legitimate christians in office. Lots of people who name the name of Christ, but few who actually follow him. So the next thing we can pray for is that if they will be influenced by Christians to enact righteous laws. Laws that reflect biblical morality, even if they don’t personally follow the Bible.
And these people are surrounded by advisors, the so-called experts, and we need to pray that if the leader is not going to be godly, that he will have godly people who get into that inner circle and that he’ll listen to them. That’s what it means to intercede for someone.
And this is what we have going on with Elisha in II Kings 6. Jehoram is not a good guy, we already know that. His mom, Jezebel, tried to literally kill Elijah, who was Elisha’s mentor, and now Elisha bears the mantle of Elijah. We talked a bit about what that means in the previous episode.
And yet, Elisha still seeks to help Jehoram in his administration. Elisha still seeks a seat at the table and provides godly counsel to the kings. So when Elisha receives a spiritual download of information about where the king of Syria has his troops, II Kings 6 told us: “But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel.” Elisha is still trying to help, even though the king is evil.
Elisha does not sit on the sidelines and say, “Well I’ll just hope the next king is a godly guy but I’m staying out of politics for now.” Elisha actually tries to help his nation despite the evil of the current leader.
Daniel is another good example of this. When Daniel was taken captive to the evil, wicked nation of Babylon, taken against his will, actually made a eunuch (most people don’t realize this about Daniel), and held there against his will for the rest of his life, Daniel still did his best to assist the evil king Nebuchadnezzar.
Think of all that Daniel lost. His home, his freedom, even suffering mutilation to his own physical body. He lost any future hope of producing family and offspring, from the time he was a mere teenager. And yet, we see that Daniel would act as an advisor to the king, always trying to influence him to make godly decisions, and tried to get Nebuchadnezzar to give his heart to God.
Daniel didn’t clam up out of bitterness. He didn’t hate the current king. He had a boss and king who was more evil than any US president or governor that you’ve had to deal with. And yet Daniel gave the king his best efforts, his service, his devotion and his prayers.
And even, I would say, his love.
When Daniel found out that Nebuchadnezzar was going to be cursed for 7 years if Nebuchadnezzar didn’t humble himself, Daniel’s response was, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!” (Daniel 4:19).
Daniel put his country first, even when his country was Babylon, because that’s where God had placed Daniel, so Daniel wanted to make it the best that it could be.
So if you are ever tempted to turn your back on your own nation, or to throw up your hands and say “not my president” because you didn’t like how the election went, you need to repent of your rebellion against the leadership that God has put in place over you and pray for their success. And be ready to serve them in whatever way necessary.
Thanksgiving
I say that they’re the leadership that God has put in place because that’s what Romans 13 tells us. Regardless of how they got in- maybe you say the election wasn’t fair, maybe you thought they rigged the primary- whatever it is, whoever is in charge is ultimately appointed by God.
That does NOT mean that God approves of whatever they do. But it does mean that they were put there by God. Every evil leader who has come to power in history was placed there because God allowed them or wanted them to be.
Now, it doesn’t mean God put them there to do evil. God put them there to do good. It’s their choice what to do once they get there. But God put them there.
Romans 13:1-2
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
So God has commanded us to respect and subject ourselves to the governing authorities. This is a weird command, because so many of them are evil. And in a few minutes, I’ll even be sharing about how evil the Roman government was at the time that Paul wrote these words.
And yet the command remains to subject ourselves to the governing authorities. In fact, in Paul’s words to Timothy, this is what he said: I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions…
So we talked about prayers, supplications, and intercessions. But why would Paul say that we need to be thankful for our government leaders? Let’s continue in
Romans 13:3-5
3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.
Yes, some government is evil. Many governments, if not all, have some evil laws on the books that contradict God’s law. But for the most part, their laws serve to create order in society. To separate the innocent from the criminals. That is a primary role of governments, even in evil countries.
If you don’t like that, go live in a country that doesn’t have a centralized government. Something like Syria or Afghanistan, where there is no system of justice and the people are ruled by gangs and raiders. Where the strong crush the weak and the weak have no defense, no military, no reliable police presence.
And you know what you’ll do if you ever have to live in those places? You’ll suddenly become very thankful for your American government. As evil as it can be- and I think things like abortion and pushing transgenderism and vax mandates are the wickedest thing I’ve ever seen our government do- but I’m still thankful that generally speaking, criminals are caught and punished and go to prison, and that I can drive to the store without worrying about getting robbed.
Maybe not every place in America can even say that. But I can, and I’m thankful.
[musical interlude]
Housekeeping/Mailbag
Next time on this podcast, as I said before, we’re getting into spiritual warfare, and we’ll be there for about a month. In fact, I have a guest coming on the show who is extremely experienced with going toe-to-toe with demons, and some of the stories he shares will make your hairs stand on end. Make sure you’re subscribed so you can get it!
What weird stuff in the Bible do you want to know more about? weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com
One piece of listener feedback I want to share. Right off the bat, it’s ironic I share this today because it thanks me for keeping the podcast apolitical. I did reference politics today, but I honestly tried not to name names because I didn’t want this to be seen as bashing or endorsing anybody running for office. I simply wanted to share some biblical perspective, and I hope I did that: (read message)
Thank you so much for those kind words and for being a listener, I am really touched anytime I see such a kind message. To be compared to Blurry Creatures is a huge compliment because I love that show. And I did not find their show until after I started my show, but we have amazingly similar theme songs. So that was just a coincidence but the first thing I noticed about Blurry Creatures is that killer theme song. And as for your one complaint, I am surprised because I don’t usually hear people say they want me to talk MORE. Lol
Closing Thoughts
Adam Ford is one of the creators of the Babylon Bee, even though he’s actually not there anymore. Before the Babylon Bee, he did these biblical comics that are actually pretty insightful. I’m not sure if he still does them but he had one years ago that has always stuck with me. It was a modern American Christian asking Paul if Paul really wants him to pray for President Obama. So I know now I am naming names, but I’m only doing it because this was the context of this comic. Here’s how it goes:
The Christian says: Paul, man, I know you said to pray for our leaders, but this guy we've got in the White House - he's the absolute worst. Can we make an exception for him?
Paul says: No. Pray for Obama.
The Christians says: You can't be serious. Obama is radically pro-abortion and anti-Israel, he's weak on radical Islam, he's pushing gay marriage across the country, he's totally anti-Christian... I could go on all day. I can't pray for him.
Paul says: I'm not excusing anything he's done, but let me ask you something … Does Obama ever walk out of the White House and take an evening stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue, which is lit by the burning bodies of Christians, on his way to Nationals Park to watch one of the many events he's organized in which Christian families are tortured in imaginative ways and eaten alive by savage animals for the fun and entertainment of a cheering pagan crowd?
The Christian says: Hmmmm. No. Why?
Paul replies: Because that's what my leader, Nero, was doing in Rome when I wrote 1 Timothy and included the command to pray for your leaders. Come back and see me if Obama ever gets to that point. Know what I'll tell you then?
The Christian says: What?
Paul says: Pray for Obama.
So I hope that puts this weird command from Paul into perspective. I saved it for the end because if I had used it at the beginning, I wouldn’t have needed to say anything else, and then all of you would have thought I was just mailing it in. And I have at least one listener who I know now wants to hear me talk more, so there you go.
But I have just one last piece of advice for those of you who might still struggle with this concept of how to honor a leader who happens to be pretty dishonorable. And it’s something I heard on another podcast years ago called the Andrew Klavan show.
Someone had written in to Klavan’s mailbag asking about the concept of honoring your mother and father. He said he struggled to do this because his father is an alcoholic, and his father had done terrible things to him throughout his life, and his mother had to largely raise him alone, and now that he was an adult, his father wants a relationship with him, even though he’s an unrepentant alcoholic. He doesn’t know how to love or respect his father, and when it comes to the biblical command to honor your parents, he wonders if he is a special case who can get an exception to this rule. He says he doesn’t know how to honor someone so dishonorable.
And as I’m listening to this story, I’m really sympathetic to the guy’s problem. It would be exceedingly hard to love, honor or respect a father who had treated you in these ways and still hadn’t really changed.
And I’ll never forget Klavan’s advice back to this young man. He said that even when you can’t respect the person, you can respect the position they hold in your life. Meaning that you don’t have to agree or pretend you like any of the things that they do. But for the sake of your heart and your conscience before God, you can at least respect that he’s your father and the position that he holds in your life, even if the person holding that position is not living up to it.
And I thought, that is a really great way to think about it if you’re struggling to respect the person in that position of leadership. It’s popular in the world to say “respect is earned, not given.” But that’s not what the Bible says. You still show respect to people because you honor the position, not the person.
And if that sounds weird, I hope you’re a little more weird today, too. Thanks for listening, God bless you for sticking around until the end, and we’ll see you next time on Weird Stuff in the Bible.