Listen to wisdom
There was a small city with few men in it and a great king
came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it. But
there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered the city by his wisdom.
Yet no one remembered that poor man. So I said, "Wisdom is better than
strength." But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are
not heeded. The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the
shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one
sinner destroys much good.
Remain sober and defend the needy
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink
wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink,
For they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert
the rights of all the afflicted.
Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all the
unfortunate.
Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of
the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the needy with justice and compassion
For the king will deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
He will have compassion on the poor and needy, And the lives
of the needy he will save.
He will rescue their life from oppression and violence, And
their blood will be precious in his sight;
So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let them pray for him continually; Let them bless him
all day long.
Judge by truth
If a king judges the poor with truth, His throne will be
established forever.
Support the weak, giving them justice
God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in
the midst of the rulers.
How long will you judge unjustly And show partiality to the
wicked?
Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the
afflicted and destitute.
Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of
the wicked.
Give glory to God, show mercy to the poor
This is the interpretation of your dream, O king, and this
is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: that you
be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the
field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew
of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize
that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever
He wishes. And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of
the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is
Heaven that rules. Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break
away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by
showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your
prosperity.'
All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. Twelve months
later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king
reflected and said, 'Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built
as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?'
While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, 'King
Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you,
and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with
the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven
periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is
ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.'
Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven
away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched
with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his
nails like birds' claws. But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar,
raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most
High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an
everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does
according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth;
And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What have You done?' At that
time my reason returned to me.”
Follow God's Law, Don't gather military power
When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you,
and you possess it and live in it, and you say, 'I will set a king over me like
all the nations who are around me,' you shall surely set a king over you whom
the LORD your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king
over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your
countryman. Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he
cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said
to you, 'You shall never again return that way.' He shall not multiply wives
for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase
silver and gold for himself. Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne
of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in
the presence of the Levitical priests. It shall be with him and he shall read
it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by
carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, that his
heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside
from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may
continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.
Serve your people with humility
Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are
recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men
exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever
wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to
be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Praise the good, Punish the wicked
For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but
for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you
will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good.
But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for
nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one
who practices evil.
Bring peace to all
I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and
thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in
authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and
dignity.
