THE THEOCRACY OF ISRAEL.
By C. P. Bollman
THEOCRACY is government directly by God; and God governs by a law that appeals to the conscience of every man. The theocracy of Israel was established, that, being freed from the despotism of their fellow-men, self-government—the reign of conscience—might be restored to as many as would accept it. Israel was chosen as the people to whom this government was to be given, but none were debarred from its benefits. “One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.” Num. 15:16; 9:14. Citizenship in Israel was open to every one, but was not forced upon any. Only such as did so of their own choice left Egypt; and not one was forbidden to return to Egypt, or to cast in his lot with another people. God’s government is always and everywhere “by the consent of the governed.” Such officers as were necessary to administer the affairs of government were chosen from among the people; they were part of the people, personally known to them, and knowing them personally. They were not lords, but servants, chosen to minister to and for their brethren. Israel was, in no political sense, a nation. It was, first of all, a church—“the church in the wilderness.” In a secondary sense, it was a confederation of tribes—of families, with such tribal government as was necessary for the defense of equal rights. The law-making power was very close to the people, and each individual was subject to a law appealing directly to his own conscience. Every man consents “unto the law of God that it is good.” This is true alike of Jew and Gentile; for even the heathen retain a trace of the divine law written in their hearts. “For when Gentiles which have no law do by nature the things of the law, these, having no law, are a law unto themselves; in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts.” Rom. 2:14, 15, R.V. This being true, living in harmony with God’s law is self-government. “I will walk at liberty,” the psalmist says; “for I seek Thy precepts.” And this is just what every man was offered under the theocracy,—liberty; an opportunity to govern himself; to live under the reign of his own conscience. Human wisdom is incapable of devising as perfect a system of self-government as that which God gave to Israel; because self-government is impossible without a law able by its own inherent moral power to speak to the heart of every man, testifying to every soul what is right, and fastening conviction of sin upon the conscience of every transgressor. This only the law of God can do, because only that law is perfect. Self-government is liberty; but liberty is possible only within the “law of liberty,” which is the law of God. It is true that in Israel provision was made for the summary punishment of such as did evil to their fellow-men—or, it might better3be said, that in Israel provision was made for the protection by force of the rights of the weak against the aggressions of the strong. But this does not affect the truth that true theocracy is self-government under the divine law. No considerable community of human beings ever long existed in which it was not necessary to restrain by fear of summary punishment such as would not govern themselves so far as to require them to respect the rights of their fellows. Why God Committed Civil Government to Men.
The instinct of self-preservation leads men to safeguard their own rights, and this God has wisely ordered. Had the Creator reserved to Himself this part of government, after the fall of man, one of two things must have happened,—either punishment for every invasion of human rights would have been so certain and so swift as to have terrorized evil-doers, to the extent of destroying in a measure their free moral agency, or else vengeance would have been so long delayed as to have afforded practically no protection to those who needed it. Nor does this in any way trench upon the right of self-government. God respects the rights of every man, and He requires each to respect the rights of his fellows. Were it otherwise, there would be no such thing as rights, but only privileges. Every man’s conscience consents that this is just; therefore to do this, to respect the rights of others, is not vassalage, but liberty. It is self-government—the reign of one’s own conscience. But as some are so constituted that they will not regard even those rights of others which their own consciences tell them they ought to respect; and as these rights must be safeguarded in order to preserve to all equally the right of self-government, those who will not govern themselves touching the rights of others, must be governed in this thing. If they will not yield to the demands of conscience in this respect, they must be restrained by fear of summary punishment. And this not for vindication of the divine law, but for the preservation of human rights, which are all summed up in the right of self-government—the right to live under the reign of conscience; that is, in harmony with conscience. Never has the world seen so perfect a scheme of self-government as that given by the Lord to Israel. Except as touching the rights of others, under the original theocracy the individual Israelite was answerable only to God and to his own conscience. “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.” Lev. 1:2, 3. Over and over again it is stated that the act of the worshiper, to be acceptable, must be “of his own free will.” Even in time of war only volunteers were accepted. “What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.” (See Deut. 20:8 and Judges 7:3.) God accepts only willing service; and thus did He teach His people the same great principle, a principle so essential to sterling manhood. This Was the Reign of Conscience.
All this the Creator did that men might have and practise self-government—self-control; that conscience might reign supreme. And this system developed a people of whom it is recorded more than forty years after they entered Canaan, that “in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25. This was theocracy; this was self-government; this was the reign of conscience. Nor was the development of individual character the only advantage of theocracy—self-government under the divine law; for under this system there could be no sudden and complete national apostasy, while under a monarchical system moral bankruptcy of the king meant immediate national apostasy; for of king after king is it recorded, “And he made Israel to sin.” To sum up, therefore, in a single sentence, not only the theocracy of Israel, but all true theocracy, it may be said that it is self-government; God furnishing the perfect law which, by its own inherent moral power, speaks to each heart, and to which the conscience responds; with the result that, by beholding, the individual becomes changed into the divine image. Self-government, therefore, the reign of conscience, is the highest type of government, because it makes possible the highest type of manhood—manhood which exemplifies most fully the perfection of the divine character.