Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be rater than you.”
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from is hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him ride in his second chariot. And the called out before him, “Bend the knee!” thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot inn all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenathpaneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
Genesis 41:39-45 (ESV).
I was cupbearer to the king. In the month of Nisan, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. And it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.
Nehemiah 1:11-2:1,6 (ESV).
Then the king [Nebuchadnezzar] gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.
Daniel 2:48-49 (ESV).
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be throughout the whole kingdom, and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Daniel 6:1-3,28 (ESV).
So in Genesis, Pharoah makes Joseph Prime Minister for being a prophet and we are going to equate that with what exactly in our current political affairs?
ReplyDeleteNehemiah was a slave -- a cup-bearer -- to Artaxerxes, and because he served well (rather than what, I ask?) the King was pleased to give Nehemiah some freedom. This is analogical to what in our current state of political affairs?
Daniel undoubtedly prospered in exile, under God's punishment under the reign of Darius -- no question. In what way does Daniel's situation line up with the political situation we find ourselves in today?
JD says this:
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In other words, these three great saints of God -- Joseph, Nehemiah, and Daniel -- cooperated with rank unbelievers at the political level in order to bring about various social goods. And this cooperation received not the curse but the blessing of God in each case.
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It's pretty hard to say that what any of these men did was "political cooperation" when all of them were essentially slaves -- even if they were finally high-ranking in government. Not one of them "chose" their lot as you or I would choose, for example, to work for this person or that company. The correspondence with what we can do and what we actually do today is loose at best.
More importantly: "the blessing of God" may have been upon any or all of these examples -- but it wasn't because of what they did but for God's purpose. For example, the "blessing" God gave Jospeh was the ability to know and interpret Pharoah's dreams. Jospeh didn't have any part in that but in being the vessel.
JD may object, "yah, yah -- but they all made out pretty good economically." Is JD suggesting that everyone who does God's will makes out financially? I'm sure he's not -- because he's not a prosperity Gospel advocate (as far as I know). So what is the point he is trying to make here?
The economic favor these men received was part of the service they performed -- but what about Elijah, or John, or Peter, or Paul? They didn't wind up in the seats of power -- can we then say that they were not doing the right thing?
I didn't think so.
JD then said:
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What's interesting about these examples is that they all occur _outside_ the Israelite theocracy (either pre- or post-). That is, they occur during those very stages of redemptive history which are said by many anti-theonomists to be most analogous to the state of the church today. (cf. Waldron's critique of theonomy)
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What is interesting is that they are examples that do not demonstrate the norm in the life of faith. Joseph was cut off from his family in order to save them -- a template or archetype of Christ. Nehemiah and Daniel were both in exile with the rest of Israel, and were placed by God into positions that God would use to work out his plan. They were, if you please, crucial players for the future of Israel which God was working out to a specific end.
But we are not in exile from God! God does not now hold the church in judgment for its ability to serve Him (in spite of Doug Wilson's comments to the contrary): he has already paid the price for us in Christ. And because we are not in exile, we cannot behave as if we are in exile -- that is to say, subject to the ways and means of earthly powers.
That is why the promulgation of the Gospel comes first: because it is the power for salvation to everyone who believes. That is, it is our source of power and our end of power. In that, politics must be a result of the Gospel, not a method by which we are trying to get others to accept the (practical) truths of the Gospel. External reformation comes as a result of personal, spiritual reformation. Not the other way around.
There is a political result of the Gospel; there is an earthly politic we can and should exercise as men in our right spirit and right minds. But it comes after the Gospel, not before it.