The Lord Our Lawgiver

“For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us” (Is. 33:22).

This was one of the verses frequently cited by the founders of our nation, and it needs to have a significant comeback in popularity, even if only by those who call themselves Christians. It is cited as one biblical source for the three branches of our government. If God is the chief judge, the chief legislator, and the chief executive, then it follows that we would want civil servants responsible to represent us in carrying out those duties under Him.

Furthermore, since men are prone to corruption, what can be perfectly united in God should be separated powers in men. And to the extent that men assume the prerogative to unite them, to legislate from the bench, to rule by executive order, they are effectively asserting a sort of divine status. They are falsely claiming that they can wield that power without corruption. But we have read the Lord of the Rings, and we always remember the lessons we learned there.

But there also needs to be a serious discussion of the punch line conclusion of this verse. If the Lord is our Savior, then this verse maintains that He must also be our chief judge, our chief legislator, and our chief executive. And the corollary is also true: if He is not our chief judge, chief legislator, and chief executive, then He is not our Savior, in any meaningful way. You can say that Jesus is your Savior, Jesus is Lord, but if that does not mean that the courts, legislative houses, governors, and presidents must answer to Him directly and personally, then Jesus may be your lucky rabbit’s foot, your genie in a bottle, but He is not your Savior and you are lost in your sins.

The Jesus that saves does so because He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. But a therapeutic Jesus who just wants to make you feel better, is an idol. A business guru Jesus who just wants to help you network better is an idol. The emotional Zen Jesus who just wants you to have a kickin’ worship experience is an an idol. These are the Baals of our day, the fake substitutes for the real Savior. But the Real Savior is judge, lawgiver, and king. He is Lord over all. If Baal is Lord, then by all means, serve him, but if Christ is Lord, then serve Him.

Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash