Ancient Israel was a theocracy. A theocracy is a nation that is organized around a religious system. For Israel, God was their true king, and his law was the law of the land. God was the true Shepherd of the people. David was only an undershepherd.
Great Britain had some similarities to theocracy. The King or Queen was not only the leader of the nation, but also the leader of the national church. That is still technically true in the United Kingdom, but in recent centuries, England has shifted away from that kind of theocratic monarchy.
Our American forefathers intentionally chose not to create a nation like that. We do not live in a theocracy, and thus we should not view our nation or our leaders as having a special mandate from God, for which God gives them victory. Even though many people have talked about the USA as blessed by God and as having a manifest destiny, that opinion is not consistent with the teaching of the Bible. The only nation in history that was chosen by God for such a purpose was the ancient nation of Israel under the Old Covenant. But they broke that covenant, and now God has entered into a New Covenant, not with a geographical nation or people group, but through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, all those who are in Christ. Therefore, we take a stand against any idea of Christian nationalism.
Keep that in mind as we study 2 Samuel chapter 8 today, which describes how David continues the conquest of the Promised Land of Canaan, which I introduced in the previous post.
I encourage you to pause the post and read 2 Samuel chapter 8. As you do, take note of verses 6 and 14. In both of those verses, the author declares: “The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.” God was at work. God empowered David and his soldiers to fight as they pursued the conquest of Canaan. God’s empowerment of David and the military is vital to victory.
But also notice how the chapter concludes in verses 15-18. In verse 15, we read that “David reigned over all Israel, doing what was right and just for all his people” and in verses 16-18, we have a list of David’s royal officials.
In chapter 8, then, we see two major principles. First, as David strives to complete the conquest of Canaan, God gave David victory. Second, David ruled with righteousness and justice for all.
For sure, though, any leaders of any nation or any organization or family would do well to lead like David, with righteousness and justice. In other words, one principle in this passage is that the character of a leader is of utmost importance.
This is not saying that a leader is to be perfect. A few weeks ago we studied the story of David, Bathsheba and Uriah (first post here in a five-part series on that story), where King David abused him power to commit adultery and murder. David was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But he demonstrated the character to confess his sins when he was called out. That kind of humble self-reflection that leads to admitting one’s sins is in line with righteousness and justice. We need leaders who are humble like that.
Back in 2 Samuel 8, let’s not assume we know the definition of the righteousness and justice the author is referring to. Let’s take a moment and study those two words, especially considering that principle of leadership. Whether in national governance or in a local church or in your work or family, leaders of character are people who lead with righteousness and justice.
First, what is justice? It is a Hebrew word that relates to measurement. A proper measurement. A tape measure is called a “rule”. A ruler is a stick for measuring. In English, words like “law” and “rule” are connected to measurement. There is a standard, and whether on gas pumps or speed limits or taxation, there is a side of justice that is about following the rule of law. A judge or a jury in a courtroom hears a case and pronounces a ruling.
Second, what is righteousness? Though this is a different Hebrew word, it is also sometimes translated by the English word “justice” because the two terms are thematically related. This word is also frequently translated as “righteousness” because of it speaks to what is right. This word is very much a community-oriented word. Some define it as “loyalty to the community” because as one scholar writes, “it includes the elimination of anything breaking the peace and the preservation of good order.”[1]
When you put these terms together, what emerges is a very well-rounded idea of a society that is whole, a society that is flourishing because there is both justice and righteousness. In the Old Testament Hebrew, the word for that is shalom. It is commonly translated by our English word “peace,” but it is much more than brokering a peace deal between two warring parties. Shalom is when we are in right relationship between God, others and ourselves. There is wholeness and flourishing for all. This especially means that there is a passionate attention to places and people in the community who are not experiencing justice and righteousness.
It means that we nurture sympathy and empathy for people on the margins. This is why Jesus’ parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31–46) is so on point.
It is of utmost importance, Jesus says, how we treat people in need, people who are oppressed, people who need food, clothing, homes, healing, people in prison. And when we care for them, we are not only doing the right thing, we are ministering to him!
We sacrifice on behalf of those in need. That is a vision of righteousness and justice. In other words, we lead with righteousness and justice, not only by following the law, not only speaking the truth, both of which are vital, but also by how we treat others, and especially how we treat the most vulnerable. In both the Old and New Testament, we see God’s heart in this numerous times when we says that we are to care for the widow, the orphan, the foreigner.
That’s what it means to practice justice and righteousness.
[1] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 1006.
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