A Righteous Government, At Last! Part Two.

Last week I posted an article dealing with the future advent of a righteous government. The state of governments worldwide and the distasteful conduct of the current presidential campaign in the United States cause us to long for the arrival of a different type of governance. That would be an administration of honesty and justice. Micah 4, verses 1-5 make it abundantly clear that such a government is in our future. It will be led by the Lord Jesus, the Messiah of Israel. And it will be centered in Jerusalem. But here is the encouraging subject of this text: the influence of Christ’s government will extend around the world from its center in Jerusalem.

At the top of the list of influences is the spreading of spiritual instruction to every nation. Many nations shall come and say, come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; he will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths. For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem – Micah 4:2.

Currently on our earth, we have a myriad of voices teaching men. These voices emanate from religions and religions, and more religions. Additionally there are Christians, and many kinds of Christians teaching contrasting theologies. Who in the world is right? All dogmatically claim to speak for God and directly from God. All argue with great eloquence and reasoned arguments that they are correct. But, praise the Lord, a new day is coming when one voice of righteousness will sound forth from one city.

In verse two, the mountain of the Lord and house of the God of Jacob both refer to the Temple complex. N ations will go there to be taught his ways so that they may walk in his paths. That there will be a willingness to know and obey is fascinating. There will be one volume of spiritual law rightly divided, and that volume will be God’s Word (the self-revelation of God plus His standards). T he Lord Himself (Jesus Christ of Nazareth) will be the teacher – Isaiah 51:4. In contrast, I think the following article from the Daily Bread captures the essence of a great deal of spiritual instruction today.

A Father and his small son were out walking one day when the lad asked how electricity could go through the wires stretched between the telephone poles. I don’t know, said his father. I never knew much about electricity. A few blocks farther on, the boy asked what caused lightning and thunder. That too has puzzled me, came the reply. The youngster continued to inquire about many things, none of which the father could explain. Finally, as they were nearing home, the boy said, Pop, I hope you didn’t mind all those questions. Not at all, replied his father. How else are you going to learn! Our Daily Bread, quoted by Bible.org.

And there is even more wonderful news about this righteous government soon to come. Not only will it (and the King) teach righteousness, but this remarkable regime will spread justice. Not fairness as the world defines fairness, not legal precedence, and not judicial activism. For the first time in terms of a government on earth, the world will experience genuine justice, perfect justice, and justice based on the holiness of God. Don’t you long for justice, when child molesters will get more than 90 days and murderers will not go free.

Vigilantes were self-appointed law enforcement groups which sprang up on the American frontier. One writer says that “vigilantism was [often] carried out by citizens who were moderate and orderly in their application of force,” but he notes that the danger of mob rule was also present. Just ask the poor fellow whose grave at Boot Hill Cemetery in Arizona bears this epitaph: “Lynched by mistake.”

Today in the Word, November 19, 1995, p. 26.

No such miscarriage of justice will occur in the righteous government to come.

Even strong nations will bring disputes to the Lord. The Messiah himself will be the judge and dispenser of justice. What’s more, they will trust his decisions. This attitude on the part of the nations is certainly different than that of readers in Micah’s day. Like us, they did not want to be under his word. That’s because they did not want to be told that they were wrong. The day will come, however, when the whole world will submit willingly to God’s sovereign control.

Does it not seem that we should be preaching more of the second coming of Christ rather than less? It is possible that a people without the expectation of the second coming (based on a biblical explanation) are a people without hope in this dismal world of injustice? Does it not make sense for us to work as hard as we possibly can to reach souls for Christ while simultaneously praying even so, come Lord Jesus? Does it not seem advisable to teach clearly, powerfully, and often the truths of the second coming and Christ’s plans for this world?

                                                                   Howard L. Wilburn