We have all
heard phrases describing different types of ruling systems. Dictatorships,
oligarchies, republics, democracies, constitutional monarchies, etc have
existed at one time or another in our world. There is also the one we use to
describe the animal world, and unfortunately can be said to exist in human
society: the law of fang and claw.
Have you
ever heard someone tell another person to act more civilized? What does it mean
to be civilized? What marks someone as being more civilized than someone else?
Ultimately who has the right to say what is civilized living and what is not?
The book of
Judges in the Old Testament concludes with an interesting and perhaps indicting
verse.
Jdg
21:25 There was no king in Israel at that time. Everyone did whatever they
pleased.
Everyone did
what they pleased because there was no king in the land. The implication is
that general law had its origin in the throne, and without a king each man made
his own standard as he desired.
The word of
the king determined the standards for society. For the Old Testament Hebrew
writer, the king represented a source of defining authority. The king
determined the standard by which society would operate.
As Israelite
history showed, not everyone agreed with the king’s laws and commands. The
primary role of the prophet was to stand in judgment on the character of the
king. It was believed the character of the king would determine the character
of the nation. The ongoing conflict between king and prophet became one of the
great dynamics of Old Testament history. The prophets never called for an
outright rejection of the earthly kingship, but they did seek in every way to
remind king and people there was a higher Authority, the one true King of
Israel and the world. Obedience to him and his will was above all else.
When the
earthly king and his heirs persisted in rejecting the ways of the Great King,
then judgment came down upon them. The nation of Israel was punished and
ultimately carried into exile and captivity. The nation took on the character
of their king and that fell far short of the demands of God the King. With a
king with a sinful character or no king at all, the people were left no
direction that would carry them into obedience to their true Ruler.
“Everyone
did whatever they pleased.” When what pleases one against the wishes of someone
else, the law of fang and claw can take over. The one who makes the rules does
not do so because of a higher authority setting the boundaries and defining
character. The rules are made by the one who is strong enough to force all
others into submission. Appeal to a higher authority is irrelevant. Majority
thought is irrelevant. Long term consequences and potential future results are
irrelevant. All that matters is the immediate acquisition of power and control.
Where no higher
power is recognized and each individual demands to have the right to do what is
most desired, society becomes subject to the law of fang and claw. Right and
wrong become defined by who has the biggest knife and gun. Everyone will have a
morality, but the focus of that morality will be on the desires of the
individual, the social trend of the day, or upon the dictates of that higher
authority.
The more the
focus is upon personal rights, the closer we move to the law of the fang and
claw. The more we appeal to a higher authority untouchable by the social trends
of the day, the more we can appeal to the highest authority of all, a God who
has revealed himself in sacrificial love.
Jesus told
his disciples on the night before he was crucified,
Joh
14:21 "Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who
love me. My Father will love those who love me; I too will love them and reveal
myself to them."
Self-sacrificial
love results in perfect obedience. Jesus set the example. He calls us to
follow.
