Does God Pick National Leaders?

The Bible records that Nebuchadnezzar, a powerful ruler over the Babylonian Empire 600 years before Christ, received a vision from God. The prophet Daniel interpreted this dream. Daniel explained that God gave Nebuchadnezzar this vision "in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men" (Daniel 4:17).

As implied in Daniel's words, Nebuchadnezzar was not a nice man. He threw people alive into hot furnaces if they didn't bow to his idol. He threatened all of his advisors with mass murder if they didn't interpret his dream.

Few developed countries have experienced such a violent ruler in recent times. Yet the Bible clearly shows that at times God will place terrible leaders in positions of great power for the explicit purpose of fulfilling His plans.

This was certainly true of the pharaoh of the Exodus, whose heart God hardened time after time until Egypt was humbled for its evil treatment of God's people, Israel. God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh, "Indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth" (Exodus 9:16).

God at times has been directly involved in elevating individuals to very prominent positions. He inspired the prophet Isaiah to announce far in advance the rise to power of Cyrus the Great to fulfill His purpose (Isaiah 45:1). It was a century and half later when God gave Cyrus power over the Persian Empire.

At another time, Daniel stated: "Praise the name of God forever and ever . . . He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings" (Daniel 2:20-21, New Living Translation 2013). The apostle Paul, writing to Christians living in the capital city of the Roman Empire, wrote, "All authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God" (Romans 13:1, NLT 2013; see also Psalm 75:6-7; John 19:10-11).

So does this mean that God somehow "endorses" a new national president or any other leader with all of his or her flaws and foibles? No. What it does mean is that God has a purpose for humanity, a purpose for current events, and He will accomplish that purpose through the leadership that He either puts in place or allows.

The Scriptures show that while God sometimes does indeed decide who will be the leading official of a nation, He also allows people to pick national leaders whose values are not those taught in the Holy Scriptures, even to their detriment. He once criticized His own anciently chosen people with these words: "Israel has rejected the good . . . They set up kings, but not by Me" (Hosea 8:3-4). The lesson is plain: God only approves of those rulers who have not "rejected the good," as He defines it.

The apostle Paul gives this superb advice for Christians who wonder what to think of the governments they find themselves living under: "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence" (1 Timothy 2:1-2, emphasis added).

Praying that God will provide leaders who will work to make it possible for believers to live "a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence" is commendable and proper in God's eyes. But first it is critical to learn and practice His will before expecting Him to hear those prayers (see 1 John 3:22). Even Jesus, having complete faith in God's decisions, prayed, "Not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). And it is in God's Word, the Bible, that we can find His will revealed.

We do see a pattern in ancient Israel where the nation would veer into rejection of God's laws and be given over to foreign or domestic oppressors. The people would then cry out to God for deliverance, and He would send new leadership to bring relief. Yet this was often short-lived, as the pattern would soon repeat. The same can happen today.

God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." No doubt that would include giving them leaders who would benefit the country. But sadly, we see no great turning to God and His laws in any of our nations today.

And we know from Bible prophecy that tyrannical powers will assume great control in the years ahead of us to wreak havoc on the earth.

Yet individually we must not cease from seeking God and praying to Him in repentance and sincere commitment, asking His help to endure the troubles of this world and keeping our minds fixed on the ultimate solution-the coming Kingdom of God, in which God will at last give the world perfect rulers led by Jesus Christ.

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