Article Four: World Leaders Are In Place To Serve The Purposes of God

Throughout the Bible, we see that national leaders were placed into power by God to serve the purposes of God, not their own.

For example, Pharaoh of Egypt was “raised up” to serve God’s purpose, as stated in Exodus 9:16 and Romans 9:16-17; and before Israel had kings, God “raised up” judges to govern their affairs (Judges 2:16-19).

It was the Lord who sent Joseph into Egypt in chains and later exalted him to be the ruler of Egypt (besides Pharaoh) for the purpose of preserving the lives of his father and brothers (Genesis 45:7-8).

Then, there was David who was made king by the LORD. The LORD exalted David’s kingdom “for the sake of his people, Israel” (2 Samuel 5:12).  Acts 13:36 says that after David had fulfilled God’s purpose, he died.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon fulfilled God’s purpose by devastating Israel and carrying that sinful nation into captivity. He burned Jerusalem to the ground by the Lord’s will (Jeremiah 25: 8 and Jeremiah 27:5-7);

And finally, Isaiah 44:24 through 45: 6, and 45:13, tells how God identified a man named Cyrus well ahead of his reign (naming him by name) as the one He had set aside for the purpose of freeing Israel from captivity so that they could return to their own land. This future purpose of this future king would fulfill God’s will even though Cyrus would never acknowledge the Lord as Lord.

So, kings, whether they know the Lord or not, serve God’s purposes and are accountable to Him in the end.