Civil Disobedience

There comes a time when the people of God have to disobey their rulers and follow the commands of God and the Word of God. Most of the time, we are to obey our rulers while respecting them and realizing they are ordained by God. However, when we must disobey to do God's will, He lets us know that it is OK. That is exactly what happened in Ezra's day, when the Israelites were sent back by Cyrus, king of Persia, to rebuild the house of God. (Ezra 5:1-2) They began the work, and then Cyrus died, so the new king, Darius, ordered the work to stop when the other nations complained to him. However, the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, prophesied in the name of God for them to begin the work again. The people were faithful to do God's will. That is what we all should do.

God is the one who is over us. Of course, He is over everyone in the world. He is over every leader and ruler. Sometimes, God chooses to allow an unrighteous ruler, because of the sins of the people or for some other reason. It is then that we, as believers, have to pay close attention to what God is saying to us. Then, we have to be strong spiritually, so we can be faithful to God, even in very difficult situations. We have to be ready to be witnesses, when God says for us to, no matter if it is against the laws or rules. That is what believers in China have to do now. We have to stand up for the truth of God, even when the laws go against God's truth. In short, we are to be the salt and the light at all times, no matter what the government says.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezra 6-8.