Daniel 5:21 – …the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will.
Standing before the mightiest king on earth in Babylon, which is modern day Iraq, an elderly castrated slave named Daniel says something completely jaw-dropping. Over every king and kingdom, prince and prefect, elected official and nation is the Most High God who is in charge of whoever is in charge. Furthermore, for reasons we rarely understand, he causes leaders and empires to rise or fall for His purposes.
The truth is, few Christians believe this. To be sure, believers should be active in all areas of society working for just laws, life, human flourishing, and the right for people to have faith, freedom, and family. We should be faithful to do our best work, and not fatalists wrongly believing that our best efforts are basically worthless.
Nonetheless, if the Bible is to be believed, whoever rules has been ultimately placed there by the sovereign hand of God. This can, admittedly, be hard to believe. If you are a liberal on the political left of American politics and your candidate loses the election this year, you can feel like your blue God has lost. If you are a conservative on the political right of American politics and your candidate loses this election year, you can feel like your red God lost.
The real God never loses. Sometimes he lets the bad guys win to show His kids that it is time to repent and start focusing on reaching the nations and stopping being converted by the culture. All the time, God is working out human history as His Story of how Jesus came into the world as King. All of the Old Testament, especially Daniel, reveals how God worked through nations and rulers to bring Jesus into history. Today, the same God is on the same mission working for the Second and Final coming of Christ to set up the never-ending no-more-dying Kingdom of God!
No matter who wins the election, Bible believing Christians must accept the painful point that that person in government was placed there by our personal God.
How do the words of God through Daniel give you some hope and comfort during an election year?
In addition to this introduction to and overview of Daniel, you can find the corresponding sermons, daily devotions, men’s ministry resources, and hundreds of additional sermons and Bible teaching resources for free at markdriscoll.org or on the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.
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