You know the story. “All the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘…Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations’” (1 Sam. 8:4-5). Samuel’s response was one of displeasure when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” so he “prayed to the Lord” (8:6). The Lord told Samuel, “…they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (8:7). What does that mean, “that I should not reign over them”?
Just over 100 years earlier, the men of Israel tried to get Gideon to “rule over us” (Judg. 8:22). Gideon quickly replied, “I will not rule over you…the Lord shall rule over you” (8:23). Israel already had a King! So at the coronation of Israel’s first human king, Samuel chided the people for demanding that “a king shall reign over us” (cf. 1 Sam. 8:19; 10:19; 12:12), when “the Lord your God was your king” (12:12).
While millennia have passed, two things remain the same—(1) people still believe that their personal ideas for human government are still the best, and (2) Jehovah is still King! It does not matter if someone lives in a nation that has a president, a king, a queen, a prime minister, a chancellor or a supreme leader, every living creature lives under the sovereign rule of the King of heaven!
The God of heaven (i.e., the God of the Bible, the Creator and Sustainer of all things) is described as “the great King” (Psa. 48:2). There is no one above Him! He is “the great King above all gods” (Psa. 95:3). His rule is not limited to a certain region or to a certain people, for “God is the King of all the earth” (Psa. 47:7, 2; Zech. 14:9). While some rulers sit on an earthly throne over an earthly nation, “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne” (Psa. 47:8). While earthly rulers will be replaced through death, term limits or elections, “Jehovah is King forever and ever” (Psa. 10:16; cf. 29:10).
Regardless of what happens in the next election, regardless of whether your candidate wins or not, regardless of whether you like those who are in positions of government authority or not, regardless of whether you believe in God or not, you have a King! He reigns over all countries of the earth. He reigns over all peoples of the earth. He has been on the throne from eternity and He will be on the throne throughout eternity! There is not one single thing that can end or affect His rule!
So, does He have your vote? His reign is universal. But the greatest place that He wants to reign is in your heart and in your life…by your choice and by your desire. “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever” (1 Tim. 1:17).