The wise men were given some instructions by King Herod, and they chose not to comply. You might say that they were guilty of some sort of civil disobedience. If the word of the king was law, then these men were law-breakers. Some Christians applaud such things, while others are horrified. I’m treading on thin ice tonight.
Romans 13 says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”
Paul reiterates this point in Titus, and the Apostle Peter says essentially the same thing. “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”
As you may know, the Book of Ecclesiastes contains the words of a secular, backslidden sinner. But it also contains the inspired word of God, making it possible for us to get confused as we read. Was Solomon speaking as the sinner, as the prophet or as merely the king in chapter 8? “Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.” Some people suggest that for the Christian there really is nothing but the law of God. But that isn’t the case. Most Bible scholars are willing to say that Artaxerxes, King of Persia, was working under the influence of the Holy Spirit of God when he released the Jews to return to Jerusalem. And I agree. Bit was he also under the Holy Spirit in the instruction letter that he gave to Jewish priest?
Listen to Ezra 7:25 -26 – “Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.”
I believe that human government has been established by God. I also believe that it has the responsibility to rule according to pattern given to Moses in the Mount. Human government has no authority to establish laws which are contrary to the Word of God. Its primary purpose is to justly deal with those who break the commandments of the Lord.
But obviously, when we are talking about human beings, we are talking about sinners. And when sinful people are given power over other people, they often like to take advantage of that. It is common for people in positions of governmental authority to take too much authority upon themselves. And so we end up with laws that have nothing to do with the Bible. But worse – we also have laws which are contrary to the Bible.
I have no scriptural proof, but I believe that God was angry with Judah for her sins and her secularism. And in order to punish her, the Lord permitted wicked Herod to sit upon the throne of Israel. Even though “there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” that doesn’t necessarily mean that the ordained power is there to be a blessing to the nation. That king or that president, that prime minster or that queen, may be a part of God’s judgment for the sins of that nation.
These wise men were looking for their Messiah, but didn’t know where to turn. When Herod heard about that, he did some investigation, and then he “privily called the wise men.” This didn’t sound like an official royal command, nevertheless what the king wants the king usually gets. And why was it done privately? We can only speculate. He certainly didn’t want to frighten these foreign gentlemen, because he intended to use them. Then “he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” I wonder if they considered this to be a royal command or just the friendly request of a fellow believer? I would imagine that they agreed to let him know about what they found. But did they promise – upon their lives? Did they shake hands on it? Was there a vow exchanged? Were there legal documents drawn up which bound the wise men to their promise? I am of the opinion that a formal ratification was not asked, nor was it necessary. If these men said that they would tell the king where the child live, then they were committed.
But as we know, the Lord himself vetoed that agreement with the Devil. We are treading on dangerous ground here, because someone might look for ways to break some agreement that he has made, when he really has no right to do so. But if you’ll remember, the Old Testament speaks on several occasions about vows and promises. More than once we are told that if a child, especially a daughter, makes a vow or promise, when her father hears about that promise, he has a right or responsibility to render her promise null and void. But if he hears about it and doesn’t do anything, then after a certain period, the vow becomes obligatory. In good faith, these men may have agreed to report back to Herod. But the Lord knew the evil intent of the King, and it was not the men themselves, but God, who nullified that agreement. Spiritually-speaking, the wise men were no longer under any obligation to their promise, assuming that there was a promise, because the higher King, God the Father, rendered it null.
I realize that cases like this cannot all be laid on the same foundation and made exactly parallel. But there certainly can be similarities. At the beginning the Christian era, the conflict between truth and error was intense. The disciples and Apostles were busy preaching the gospel, and the Jews with the Roman’s help were doing everything that they could to thwart it. On more than one occasion the Jews commanded that the disciples stop preaching about Christ, and on occasion they arrested the Christian leadership. In Acts 5 some or all of the Apostles had been arrested and jailed. But when they were to be brought to trial, the guards found locked, but empty, cells. The disciples were out once again preaching, just as they had been when they were arrested. This time Peter and some of the others were “invited” – probably firmly invited – to meet with the Jewish High priest and the Sanhedrin. “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”
That word “ought” – “we OUGHT to obey God rather than men” is a lot stronger in Greek than in English. It is the word “dei,” and more than half of its 106 occurrences it is translated “must.” “We MUST obey God rather than men, when there is a conflict between the two.” So the same Apostle who tells us “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake” says of himself, “I must obey God before I can obey you.” He was speaking of the commands of the corrupt religious leaders, but he referred to sinful men, and I believe that would include the Roman government if necessary.
Obviously, God ordered the wise men’s civil disobedience for a very special reason – protection of Christ. We can clearly see that from our current, ivory-tower vantage point. But when it comes to things in our day-to-day lives, that same perspective usually doesn’t exist. We can’t usually see what it is that God is trying to do. Which means that we need to be very, very careful when we think about committing acts of disobedience.
When Christians decide to break the wicked laws of men, they need to be prepare for the consequences. They may be jailed; they may be persecuted; they may be exiled; they may be executed. Does the Lord want or need any martyrs over relative trivialities? I seriously doubt it. But what is a triviality to one person is a major grievance to another.
And notice, too, that the Christian law-breaker may not be the only person affected by that disobedience. “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.” The Magi couldn’t foresee it, but their obedience to God and disobedience toward Herod cost the lives of several children.
This is a pill too hard for a lot of people to swallow. Will you believe the Word of God – or not? Will you bow before the sovereign authority of God – or not? God’s command to the Magi ultimately resulted in the murder of relatively innocent children. I say “relatively innocent” because, despite being born in sin, that had nothing to do with their slaughter at the hands of this horrendous human being. Some callous Christian can Biblically point out that those children were probably going to die in their sins some day anyway, so this was no great loss. But those callous Christians are not the mothers and fathers of those infants and toddlers. I can’t tell you for sure how many children died. I have read estimates of between 15 and 20 – not too many you may say. Far too many I’d like to reply.
My point in all this tonight is to get you thinking about such things. And to warn you. Be careful – because what you do in opposing Herod, may affect, badly, the lives of others. You may be willing to pay the price personally, but should others pay on your behalf? I suppose it all depends on why, and about what, we are acting in disobedience.