Is There no King?

“In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6)

When I read this statement, I do not immediately see how this could be wrong.  We are all individually accountable to God for our actions.  The context of this verse, however, refers to a man making a graven image and hiring a Levitical priest to serve as his priest.  Before God gave the Israelites a king through Samuel, the Lord Himself was their King, but they rejected Him for idols.  The principle of individual accountability is not what is wrong, it is the condition of men’s hearts.

As I was following my Daily Bible Reading Plan, this verse caught my attention because of something the Lord wants to say.  Since first coming to Christ, I have been troubled by the lack of unity in the Body of Christ.  As a young believer, I prayed that the Lord would restore to the Church the five-fold ministry gifts as found in Ephesians Chapter Four.  It seemed to me that if these ministries were restored, the leaders would speak with authority what the Lord is saying, rather than what every denomination is saying.  I had not spoken to anyone about this prayer, but in a fellowship meeting that week, the Lord gave a prophetic word that confirmed He would restore these ministry gifts.  I received that word as a promise.  When we offer prayers like that, we are not changing what God is planning to do; it the Holy Spirit working through us to pray according to the will of God.   The Lord is preparing His Bride for His return, but He has chosen to work through us to accomplish this purpose.

Since that time, in the early seventies, we have seen many believers leave their traditional churches to form independent church fellowships.  This is a beginning, but it is not enough to remove the sectarian spirit from the Church.  We have also seen the Lord restore a measure of the five-fold ministry gifts to some areas of the Church.  What we have not yet seen, however, is the spiritual authority that should accompany these gifts.  There is still too much of man’s ways in how we conduct church services.  So now we are seeing a new trend: believers are not just leaving traditional churches, they are leaving churches entirely.  I understand the need to forsake man-made religious practices, but have we gone back to the days where everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes?  Is there no King in Israel? 

Now, before we judge these believers with a religious spirit, let us consider first how the Lord might want to turn this into good.  There is great value in believers gathering, provided that when they gather, it is for their good.  There are situations where the gathering of believers may not be for their good, as was the case of the Corinthian Church when they were dishonoring the Lord’s Supper.  Paul’s advice to them was not that they should stay apart, but rather that they would do what is right.  (See 1Cor. 11-14.)  In that situation, Paul’s spiritual authority was still being recognized so he was able to give them the instructions they needed.  

The problem we face today is that we lack the spiritual leadership that is so much required.  This, I believe, is what God wants to change.  Our task is to work with Him to accomplish it.  One of the biggest problems in the Body of Christ is an independent spirit.  We do not properly “discern” the Body of Christ (1Cor. 11:29).  Since God has made us “individually member of one another” (Rom. 12:5), our individuality is essential to our relationship with Him, but the way we should function is corporate, not independent.  What we often do not realize is that even our individual spiritual maturity depends upon a properly functioning Body of Christ.  (Eph. 4:11-16). 

There truly is a King over us, but we must not reject Him as the nation of Israel did.  He promised to take away the false shepherds and become Himself the Shepherd of the flock (Ezek. 34:11-24).  This He does by raising up true shepherds.  “’Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply.  I shall also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing.’ declares the Lord.” (Jer. 23:3,4).  The shepherds He raises up are the ministry gifts to the Church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Eph. 4:11).  These gifts may not yet be functioning as He intended, but He is changing that.  Those who are called to these offices must learn to yield to the ministry of the Lord through them.

As I was inquiring from the Lord what His message was for this month, I sensed Him saying that in these end times, we should not be focussed so much on what the enemy is doing, as on what He is doing.  The signs we are seeing only confirm that the Day of His appearing is very near.  Before that Day, He is building the Church to be a dwelling place for God, a Bride for His Son.  In the end, the Lord will “present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless.” (Eph. 5:27).  He prepares us by washing us with the Word through the anointing we have received, through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and through anointed ministry gifts. (1Jn. 2:27; 1Cor. 12:7-11; Eph. 4:11).  As we focus on what He is doing, we can pray accordingly.  He will perfect the shepherds He is raising up, and He will prepare our hearts to receive them. 

The cry of my heart is to see His purpose in the Church accomplished.  He will return when we all come to the “unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:13).  We must not reject Him as our King by seeking our own earthly king.  This is what Paul warned Timothy would happen in the end, as believers reject sound doctrine to “accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires”. (2Tim. 4:3).