Human government

Today has been a beautiful, sunny day. Compared to what we had yesterday — severe thunderstorms — today was gorgeous, if a bit muggy. Yesterday's storms had gotten so violent at one point that my daughter and I had to huddle in the basement for about 1/2 hour because the tornado warning siren had sounded. All in all, very exciting. But I know I wouldn't have felt the same way if we had experienced damage of any sort...or worse.

So yesterday, while it poured outside, I spent most of my time inside reading the final proofs of my husband's latest handbook for adults. This particular one is a survey of the first half of the OT. He's an excellent writer, by the way, and I'm not a bit partial...much.

One thing he wrote that particularly interested me was that there was a period of time after the fall when animals were not afraid of humans. I had always assumed that animals' fear of man started immediately after the fall. But there it was in Genesis 9:2-4.

The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. "Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. "Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

So before the flood, harmony between man and animals still existed. It was after the flood that fear and terror replaced that harmony.

It was also at that time that God established the death penalty (Gen 9:5-6), which implies some form of government. And if governments were authorized to administer capital punishment, they were certainly authorized to give out lesser penalties as well.

God has never rescinded the rule of human government. Paul makes this very clear in Rom 13:1-7:

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

But even though we're still to be subject to human government, God did have to make additional changes later on because man failed to live righteously under governments, just as he failed to live righteously when ruled by his own conscience before the flood. Oh the very sad story of man.