AND THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: …”

So, after the death of Joshua Israel is ruled by the Judges. But who exactly are the Judges?

God in His model of world governance systems has always preferred to be in charge and use men and women of His choice to lead as it were with the oracles of God in the lead of all human judgment. Leadership is after all about dispensing wisdom and Judgment.

From examining scripture trends, Elohim (God) starting with Seth (the name means “substituted” in English) the third son of Adam and Eve apparently starts to look for men that can teach their households Elohim’s ways. One only has to study bible from Genesis onwards to see that. God actually says that of Abraham in Genesis Chapter 18 verse 19 where He states, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of YAHWEH (the LORD), to do justice and judgment; that YAHWEH (the LORD) may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” From Adam it is clear that God has been on the lookout for men with hearts after His own heart; the is why in Genesis Chapter 4 God accepts Abel’s sacrifice which was the first fruits of his flock. It was the heart with which Abel sacrificed that drew God to Him.

From the lineage of Seth, He lands onto Enoch (the name means “discipline/Train-up”), five generations down, who the bible says walked with God until he was nought for God took him. Again, you can see a man after God here from the connotation that Enoch walked with God. From Enoch Four generations down, we see Noah (the name means “Quiet Resting place”), whom God chose because Noah elected for the ways of Elohim YAHWEH. What now becomes clearer is that God has always looked for men that are in relationship with Him to promote them.

From Noah we land on Abram (“High Father”) father Terah who I suspect in response to an instruction from God begins to move his family from Ur to Canaan (See Genesis chapter 11 verse 31). He was a Syrian and a Hebrew of Ur (Deutronomy 25 verse 5). He stops in the City of Haran and dies there enroute to the promised land. Immediately God picks on Abram who now walks into a friendship with God, and it grows. The story is quite elaborate from Genesis chapter 11 on wards. Abram get renamed by YAHWEH in Genesis Chapter 17 verse 5 where YAHWEH makes a number of covenantal promises to Abraham. The Journey of Abraham starts to get interesting from the onset as YAHWEH keep intervening in his earthly matters. On the flip side God begins to share secrets with Abraham. Abraham becomes a prince of God on earth feared by kings of this earth! The Bible does not mention even once that Abraham had any other God or idols in his household. When Abraham finally makes a covenant with God, the entire script goes into over drive.

We then have Isaac and Jacob but with a clear and obvious family culture of not mixing themselves with others nor having any other God but YAHWEH in their midst for the sake and apparently at the instruction of Elohim! We see evidence of that clearly in how Isaac gets his wife Rebecca going by the instructions Abraham gives his lead Servant as he send him onto this mission. See the dialogue below from Genesis chapter 24 between them:

Verse 5 - 9 The servant asked, …Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?” “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there. For YAHWEH, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants.[a] He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son….So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions.

What is clear is that YAHWEH’s code and mandate became Abraham’s code and mandate. He became a man of mission! Rebecca and Isaac as well passed on this family paradigm, and the instructions to their sons. What is interesting is that when God first comes to Jacob, he refers to YAHWEH as the God of His father! Later he gets his own experience with YAHWEH but not before making a covenant to serve YAHWEH at the site of the ladder to heaven in Bethel! Abraham was a prophet of YAHWEH.  So was Isaac and Jacob too eventually.  In fact, in Genesis 31 verse 53 we see an interesting utterance that show the leaning of this lineage to YAHWEH; He was the God of this household from their forefathers:

The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.

There is a clear trail of service to YAHWEH in the line of Seth all the way to this point. Somehow there always remained someone in that lineage that Served YAHWEH. Joseph too was one such and YAHWEH used him too!

Many years later on Israel incubates in Egypt and in the fullness of time becomes a great nation.  Moses is raised up by God in a rather curious manner and God uses him to deliver Israel with the apostolic and prophetic anointings and in miracles, signs and wonders; he as well led Israel in judging and teaching. But Moses as well placed leadership structures in place. He gave Israel its first recorded government consisting of the legislature, judiciary and executive. But the executive was prophetic and apostolic assisted by a council of 70 elders and leaders of the people.

Later on in comes Joshua, appointed by YAHWEH himself who operated heavily in apostolic mandate but in the prophetic as well. Exodus Chapter 33 and verse 11 tells us the following about Joshua:

And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Joshua's exit finally opens up entry to the judges. A close look at these judges reveals men and women who still wanted YAHWEH’s rule over Israel, thereby strictly observing His written law. Most of them were not prophetic or apostolic but very militant and clearly people of the law. For example Israel invited Gideon to become their king and to rule over them, but he refused, telling them that only YAHWEH was their ruler (Judges 8:22–23). The concept of king’s was not in Israel then for some reason. What is curious for anyone is a statement that two kings Gideon assassinated said about him and his brothers in the book of Judges Chapter 8 verse 18:

¶ Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.

And he (Gideon) said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

What is apparent is that Gideon and his brethren had the countenance of Kings but still refused the title and office and would rather have kept the Judge office that ruled by the written Law of YAHWEH.

Then Israel asked Prophet Samuel for a king, and God gave them Saul, a man that fitted the description of the kings per the paradigm of their time. So, the delay of the office of kingship was not for the lack of the concept. It was just simply contrary to the structure of YAHWEH Elohim’s government. You see kings’ rule by personal charisma, human strength and valour. In fact a close look at Saul reveals he was not a man given to obedience to YAHWEH and that costed his house the throne of Israel to the House of David a man after Gods own heart by God’s own testament! See David was a king that ruled as a judge but also by prophetic and Apostolic anointing; interestingly he also ruled by the Holy Ghost when one reads his writings in the psalms.  He rediscovered the God of relationship. That is why there would lack none on the throne from his house. Solomon his son, inspite of his failures ruled by wisdom given to Him of God. Wisdom is a gift of God we increasingly grow into by all the above-mentioned offices. Solomon was given it by Gods Grace!

In the new testament scripture tells us the order of Gods order of governance going by 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 28:

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

Please note the order; it is first Apostles, then prophets, then come teachers! Earthy government the way we know it today is way below in terms of this hierarchy! The reason the world is in turmoil today is that we have dropped that order around today simply because we do not understand it. We put the church under the earthly governments! The church in the past the understood this secret and actually impacted their world significantly.  The church of the reformation period led by the likes of Martin Luther, John Calvin and others understood this order and enforced it, and today we are still gleaning from their work.

Until the church today cleans up hear leadership act and restores herself to her kingly place and a place of alignment with the Word and principles of God, the world will continue her spiral down. That is not what God wants! The challenge is that there is simply too much disorder and corruption within the four walls of the church that she needs to first do a thorough clean up before she can be given again the responsibility for the world to have dominion and subdue it the way YAHWEH Elohim our God wants it.

Church the time has come! wake up! line up!

For God and my country!