CHRISTMAS INTERLUDE

God’s Answers For Troubling Leaders

Part V: Handling Unchecked Evil Abuses By Leaders

(Isaiah 9:7b)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

A lot of evil abuses by leaders have occurred that seem to go unchecked by anyone:

(1) It occurs in the U. S. presidency: Though Exodus 20:13 NIV in Scripture states, “You shall not murder,” and though Genesis 9:6 with Romans 13:4 teach that murderers are to be executed by the state, “President Joe Biden” recently commuted “the sentences of 37 of the 40 federal inmates on death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment . . . ‘These are among the worst killers in the world and this abhorrent decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and their loved ones,’ said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.” (“Biden give life in prison to 37 of 40 federal death row inmates before Trump can resume executions,” Republican-American, December 24, 2024, p. 10B) In contrast, President Biden supports late term abortions of fully developed infants who have never committed murder, a glaring moral contradiction with his stance on death row inmates.

(2) It occurs in academia: The Bible’s prohibition against murder has been violated in spirit by elitists, for after Luigi Mangione’s alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, his “fans aren’t about to touch off a Bolshevik Revolution; most are too busy trying to get tenure. But the ivory-tower communism of today does promote hatred and violence – and relentlessly argues for using government power against political enemies, who are always labeled ‘fascists.’” (Daniel Mc Carthy, “Communism, evil as ever, still carried elite cred – and sparks violent hate,” New York Post, Dec. 17, cited in “Quotable,” Ibid., December 20, 2024, p. 6A)

(3) It occurs in government agencies: (a) The Bible’s prohibition against murder has been violated by agencies responsible to guard the public from bad food, for “(j)unk food like potato chips, ice cream and ready-made meals have long been linked with a spate of health conditions including cancers, heart disease and diabetes. Now, a new study . . . has revealed that these ultra-processed foods may be fueling cancerous growth in the colon . . . Dr. Timothy Yeatman, a surgical oncologist and professor at the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital’s Cancer Institute . . . said that the findings add new impetus to calls to lower the consumption of processed foods heavy in sugar, saturated fats, chemicals and seed oil like canola. But he admits that will be no easy transition,” for “(a)lmost every ingredients label includes chemicals, soybean oil, sugar or sugar replacements like high-fructose corn syrup.” (Christopher O’Donnell, “Study: Junk food might be feeding cancerous colon tumors,” Ibid., p. 1B) (b) Meanwhile, “More than three-quarters of Americans have diets low in vegetables, fruit and dairy according to the FDA. Nearly 80% exceed limits on saturated fat, more than 60% exceed limits on added sugars and about 90% exceed limits on sodium that can reduce chronic disease.” (“FDA updates the definition of ‘health’ foods,” Ibid., p. 6B)

(4) It occurs in the financial realm: Though Exodus 20:15 KJV in Scripture states, “Thou shalt not steal,” the “Biden administration has added over $8.3 trillion of national debt, skyrocketing the total to $36 trillion . . . To accommodate the reckless spending, the Federal Reserve flooded an enormous amount of new money into the economy through a process known as ‘quantitative easing.’ This initial flood was exacerbated by the Biden administration’s three rounds of stimulus checks . . . This created the classic case of more dollars chasing fewer goods and services, causing a whirlwind of inflation, spiking from 1.4% in January 2021 to 9% in 2022 . . . Americans are feeling the squeeze on their wallets and bank accounts. Despite the clear financial distress of individuals, households, and the economy, liberals have no intention of altering their spending habits with your money or revising their policies.” (Richard Stern and Nicole Huyer, “Why are Americans still feeling the economic squeeze?”, Ibid., p. 6A) One reason why progressives do not want to alter their spending habits is their allegiance to Keynesian economics that aligns with Marxism: “John Maynard Keynes . . . was a Fabian Socialist who believed wealth could – and should – be redistributed through many means. One of them was to use a continuous process of inflation to steal the majority of the people’s wealth. Only one man in a million, he reasoned, would know what was happening.” (Brannon S. Howse, Marxianity, 2018, p. 159) So, theft of the public’s wealth by economic leaders regularly occurs.

Need: So we ask, “How does God expect us to handle seemingly unchecked evil abuses by leaders?”

I. After describing the profoundly edifying stability of Messiah Jesus Christ in His coming Kingdom in Isaiah 9:7a, Isaiah wrote, “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this,” Isaiah 9:7b ESV.

II. The use of the Hebrew words for “zeal” and “do” in this phrase reveal God’s great motivation to deal justice on humanly unchecked evil abuses by leaders who oppress His people and oppose His purposes:

A. The Hebrew word for “zeal,” qin’ah, means “fervor” (B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 888; E. J. Young, The Book of Isaiah, 1974, vol. I, p. 345, ftn. 88), and God’s “fervor” is applied in two major realms:

1. In Isaiah 37:32, God’s “fervor” was applied to protect and to bless His people in Judah from the invading Assyrians under Assyria’s blasphemous ruler Sennacherib. (cf. Isaiah 37:33-38)

2. However, in passages like Exodus 20:5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; 5:9; and 6:15, God’s “fervor” is applied to upholding His honor before those who have challenged or opposed it (Ibid., Young).

B. As for “do” in Isaiah 9:7b, it renders the Hebrew word ‘asah, meaning “do, fashion, accomplish,” depending on the context. (Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 621; H. A. W., Theol. Wrdbk. of the O. T., 1980, v. II, p. 701)

III. Specifically, God’s “fervor” in Isaiah 9:7b is directed BOTH ways – toward protecting and blessing His people in Judah and upholding His own honor in establishing His promised kingdom:

A. In Isaiah’s era, the threat of Assyria weighed on the minds of Judah’s people, but they were unable to thwart its invasion of their land, the land of Immanuel, the Messiah, as predicted in Isaiah 8:7-8.

B. Thus, God’s “fervor” to protect Judah in accord with His Abrahamic Covenant to bless Abraham’s seed and to curse those who cursed them would lead God to kill 185,000 Assyrians and rescue Jerusalem, Isaiah 37:36-38.

C. Also, “God’s partiality to His people and His jealous disposition to vindicate His honor” would “accomplish the establishment of the kingdom” over which the Messiah of Isaiah 9:6 would “reign” (Ibid., Young, p. 345).

IV. Believers today are indwelt by the Holy Spirit Who as co-equal and co-eternal God has the same “fervor” as God the Father expressed in Isaiah 9:7b so they can rely on that Spirit to function with the “fervor” of God toward edifying victory over the abuses of leaders they face.

Lesson: God’s zeal or “fervor” to protect and bless His people and to defend His honor in fulfilling His purpose to establish the kingdom of Messiah Jesus Christ would overcome His people’s weaknesses and their oppressors.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we (a) rely on God to have His “fervor” cause Him to overcome our own weaknesses to bless us and to counter our oppressors. (b) May we rely on the indwelling Holy Spirit for the “fervor” of God that can equip us to obey His Word for blessing regardless of the abuses of leaders.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

We view Scripture for the directives we need for addressing abuses by seemingly unchecked evil leaders:

(1) First, Scripture informs us on God’s standard of righteousness regarding the issues of concern in our sermon introduction (as follows): (a) On President Biden’s commuting 37 of 40 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment without parole while simultaneously supporting late term abortions, (+) Genesis 9:6 with Romans 13:4 direct that the state is responsible to execute murderers, not to commute their sentences. (+) As for abortion, Exodus 21:22-23 that clarifies what constitutes murder that is condemned in Exodus 20:13 prohibits abortion at any trimester as a capital offense! (b) On Marxist professors in academia who promote and sanction Luigi Mangione’s alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 1 John 3:15 condemns hatred of another person as the equivalent of murder! (c) On the failure of government agencies to warn or to restrict foods previously known to cause life-shortening diseases, Exodus 21:28-30 that clarifies what constitutes murder that is condemned in Exodus 20:13 teaches that if a man has an ox that has been known to gore people, but then he fails to keep the ox penned up so that it gores another person to death, the ox and its owner are to be killed! God thus holds agencies liable for murder for not warning the public of foods they have long known to shorten lifespans! (d) On the financial theft of inflation directed by government action arguably to promote Marxist ideology via Keynesian economics, Exodus 22:1 holds thieves responsible to refund what they have stolen four to five times over! Thus, God holds elitists in leadership who willfully create inflation for the public responsible to pay back what they have wronged several times over!

(2) Second, Scripture guides us on handling the abuses of evil leaders: (a) In Ephesians 5:15-17, God calls us to careful how we live, that we be wise and not foolish, making the most of our time to do His will, for we live in an evil world. (b) Besides being wise and wary, Philippians 4:5 calls us to let our epieikeia, our “reasonableness that stays within the limits of what is moderate and orderly” (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 689; Theol. Dict. of the N. T., vol. II, p. 588) be known to all men. Actually, leaders are responsible to direct their subordinates to adopt such behavior, but in the face of leadership failure, God wants us to assume responsible oversight of our own behavior!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we rely on God’s “fervor” to deliver us from afflicting leaders that we might do His will and focus on obeying His Word in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to offset the afflictions of bad leaders.