It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.
Jeremiah 27:5
God declares His sovereignty over all political systems. These words were spoken as the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar fell hard on the citizens of Judah. And God gave a message for Jeremiah to declare to all the nations around Judah. They would all be brought under Babylonian homogeny. And this was God's direct action. All should submit to what God had decreed and thus live. Any who might fight it would die. The surrender was to God, not just the Babylonian army.
Every king that rules, every president that leads, every parliament or legislature that enacts law, or every governing power that exists on earth does so at the command of God. There is no human government on earth that is independent of God's sovereign hand. God owns the earth and its inhabitants. Human governments come in many forms and flavors. Yet even the most restrictive dictators among us only governs under God's allowance. And He will use even them. That is the lesson that Nebuchadnezzar teaches us.
Invading armies, cruel suppression, unfair laws, and sinful injustices magnified by powerful governments do not take God by surprise. In the case of Babylon's invasion of Israel, we are given direct revelation from God through His prophets detailing how His hand was in it. In cases where we cannot know these particulars today, we can however still know that God gives the earth to "whomever it seems right". And by faith, we can trust God more than any feeble government that arises among men.
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