The Government of Heaven

Isaiah 9:6-7

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Peace. Of the greatness  of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his Kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”  

When my daughters were young we had a trampoline. It would be on this trampoline that many games would play out. Games of fun, games of challenges, and yes games of government. The government games are best to re-live because they always invented a leader, a president if you will, that had supreme authority over the kingdom. The funny thing is that they played along in this fantasy world of rank and file. Aside from the fact that we, as Americans, are in a constitutional republic, these young girls had no clue of this and yet they invented a government during play time. Almost like they were wired to be under such.

Nearly 700 years will pass till the birth of Jesus happens in Bethlehem.  What happens in those 700 years is not so rosy.  In fact, it is down right sad.  In short, Israel, during the time of Isaiah, starts a slow death until there is no more Israel as a county.  We find the Israeli people living in the same places they were living during the time of Isaiah but with one difference, they were not their own.  Meaning some other country ruled over Israel up untl that time and even past the birth of Jesus to 1948 when Israel became a country again. 

It is fitting to ask the question, “then what government was Isaiah talking about?”  Good question.  Let’s see what the text says about this government.

1. The government will be on his shoulders.  
2. His government will have peace that does not end. 
3. He will reign on David’s throne and over his Kingdom forever. 
4. His government will have justice and righteousness. 

Looking at the description of this government he is talking, about surely does sound like anything we would call a government.  In fact, it is a total and complete opposite mirror view of every government man has created.  We can all aspire to create that type of government but have not done so thus far.   It is clear he is prophesying about a heavenly government here. 

The good news is if you have professed that Jesus Christ rose from the dead for the forgiveness of your sins then you are a part of His government, with all the attributes of that government.  We, as Christians, need to stop short changing the Lord.  We look at today’s government made up of men and see a gap between what we read in Isaiah and the truth.  We are part of a heavenly government, not only a part of the earthly kind.  We have been grafted into the vine, adopted as children, called sons and daughters of the King and His church. 

You will never be able to pass a bill in our earthly government without going through the right channels.  Then why do you remain sad when you think God came up short in your life when you continue to say and do things against God and His word?  A sobering question.  If you read the Bible and study it you will begin to have a knowledge of the Lord’s government and see Him working.  Your window into all this is the Holy Spirit. 

Today, pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you His government and be humble enough to realize you may have been trying to work the Lord’s government like the earthly one. If we live in America then we have to follow the American government and all its rules. Same if we lived in England or Egypt. You are a part of the citizenship of Heaven if you have confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord. The government Jesus runs is outlined in the Bible. As a citizen, you should be familiar with everything about it. Start today and become a lawyer for Christ.

Prayer: Father, your government is headed by Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross. When Christ was raised from the dead all of our sin debt was canceled and we were grafted into the vine of Christ. Help us to realize that your government is supreme and to not fret over what man does. The Bible tells us that everything is possible with God. Help us to realize that this is the God we serve. In Jesus name, amen.