Elections

 Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.” (Deuteronomy 1:13)

They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”

But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. (I Samuel 8:5-7) 

          A day late, and a dollar short. Yesterday was the primary election in Pennsylvania. Since I vote by absentee ballot in the fall, I signed up for voting by mail. I’ll probably still have to go change my mailing address next fall. I keep trying to make things easier, but it doesn’t always work. Anyway, I dropped my ballot in a metal box outside the courthouse door. Did I fulfill today’s passage? I don’t know whether or not the people I voted for are wise, but I hope that the at least have views that are similar enough to my own that I might expect to consider their decisions wise. 

          This instruction was given during the time that Israel was supposedly a theocracy. God was the king, and Moses was his seneschal (steward.) Most of the votes I cast yesterday weren’t for the sorts of leaders described in Deuteronomy. They were for people who will vote for the people who will lead us, or they were for those who would work for the people who will lead us. 

           But when Moses told the people to elect leaders from among their tribes, he wasn’t telling them to replace him (Moses) or God. It was simply adding another link in the chain of command. Unfortunately, by the time of the prophet, Samuel (and partly due to his lack of leadership), the people were calling for a change. They wanted a king. I don’t know what happened to the leadership positions Moses instituted in the first passage, but what the people were asking for – and God states it clearly – is a replacement for Samuel, his sons (who were scoundrels) and God. 
                   The primaries have already taken place in some states, and others will follow. We need to be praying not only for all of the candidates involved, but for the people because we’re too often not like the people in Deuteronomy – choosing wise, understanding, respected men who will act as leaders under God’s authority. Too often, we’re more like the people in I Samuel. “Give  us someone to make us like the other nations.” As Christians, we’re not called to be “like other nations.” In fact, we’re specifically called not to be like them. This is something to keep in mind. 
         The other thing we need to keep in mind is that the person we elect is a human being. He/She is not the Messiah. He/She will not bring heaven to earth. It is not his/her job to solve all of our problems for us. This is a mistake we also too often make, and then when the person fails to live up to our expectations, we scream to “Crucify!” (Or, in our parlance, “Impeach!”)
          Elections are a time for prayer and wisdom in the selection of a servant, not for the replacement of God. For the next six months, my challenge to myself and to you is to research and pray for the candidates. Seek God’s will, and vote accordingly.
The primaries have already taken place in some states, and others will follow. We need to be praying not only for all of the candidates involved, but for the people because we’re too often not like the people in Deuteronomy – choosing wise, understanding, respected men who will act as leaders under God’s authority. Too often, we’re more like the people in I Samuel. “Give  us someone to make us like the other nations.” As Christians, we’re not called to be “like other nations.” In fact, we’re specifically called not to be like them. This is something to keep in mind.
          The other thing we need to keep in mind is that the person we elect is a human being. He/She is not the Messiah. He/She will not bring heaven to earth. It is not his/her job to solve all of our problems for us. This is a mistake we also too often make, and then when the person fails to live up to our expectations, we scream to “Crucify!” (Or, in our parlance, “Impeach!”)
          Elections are a time for prayer and wisdom in the selection of a servant, not for the replacement of God. For the next six months, my challenge to myself and to you is to research and pray for the candidates. Seek God’s will, and vote accordingly.