Origins of a
Nation
The origins of this nation are filled
with many famous stories. The Boston Tea
Party, The shot heard round the world, the midnight ride of Paul Revere. But I think that people forget how much time
was involved.
On July 4, 1776, the Continental
Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence stating that the 13 colonies
were regarded as sovereign states and no longer part of the British Empire.
And probably the most famous line from it, is:
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness –
But, it
continues on by stating that:
That to secure these rights, Governments
are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
It was a
revolutionary statement. That the powers
used to rule over men, are not granted by God.
It is that men are given sovereign authority, and a government is
derived out of that authority by the fact that men consent to live under its
rule.
Most of
Europe was a monarchy. Most
specifically, Hereditary rule. A rule whereas the successor was from the
blood line of the ruling party. We know
that from Biblical times, it was very hard to find a good God fearing leader
from the lines corrupt kings.
So when the
new world decided that it would form its own government, it created quite a
stir.
But was that thought, in fact new? Or had it just been forgotten.
Turning to Genesis,
Gen 1:28
And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be
fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over
the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living
thing that moves on the earth."
We see it established in the early days
of the earth, that Man was given authority and the capacity to be autonomous in
his rule. God came and basically said,
here is your realm, here is the extent of your authority.
And to some degree, it worked very well
for a long time. The children of Israel
had their leadership, and when they followed close to the structure that God
had instituted, they enjoyed times of peace and prosperity. But when they strayed, hard times befell
them. And then, there came a time when
they rejected God and his goodness and asked to be ruled by an earthly king.
And all of the warning about what a king
would do to the nation came true. And
Israel became like the other nations and had all of the problems that follow
living under the rule of a king.
So, there then came to be a group that
knew there had to be something better.
But issuing the Declaration and sending
it to England did not start the revolutionary war. In fact, the war had been going on for about
a year. And it had been two years since
the Boston Tea Party.
The War itself lasted from
1775-1783. Born out of
small skirmishes into larger and larger battles.
At one time, 32,000 troops were sent
from England to the Americas. The largest force that the British has sent outside of Europe at
that time.
During this time, the fledgling nation
was working on the Articles of Confederation.
The framework of power for the 13 united States. The Articles were ratified by all 13 states
in late 1781 but by 1787, it was evident that the framework was incomplete.
New work started on the Constitution
that we are familiar with, and it was completed in 1789.
The new frame of government for America
was a triune government. 3 separate but
equal parts of a governing body.
It was established that there would be
an Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branch of government. Is there any significance to the number of 3,
or the ways that the governing powers have been distributed?
Let’s look more closely at the breakdown.
Executive: This is the part of government
that has sole authority
and responsibility for the daily
administration of the state. It is also
seen to execute or enforce the law.
Legislative: This is a non decision-making organization, usually associated with national government, that has the power to enact, amend and repeal laws
. Legislatures observe and steer governing actions.Judicial: This is the system that interprets and
applies the law in the name of the governing body.
Doesn’t this seem a bit familiar?
Exo 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying,
Exo 20:3 "You shall
have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:6 but showing
steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Exo 20:8 "Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days you
shall labor, and do all your work,
Exo 20:13 "You shall not
murder.
Exo 20:14 "You shall not
commit adultery.
Exo 20:15 "You shall not
steal.
Exo 20:16 "You shall not
bear false witness against your neighbor.
But if there is a legislative branch,
are there two others?
Joh 16:8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning
sin and righteousness and judgment:
Joh 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in
me;
Joh 16:10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the
Father, and you will see me no longer;
Joh 16:11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this
world is judged.
Joh 16:12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you
cannot bear them now.
1Co 6:20 for you were
bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
The executive branch does not have
the power to make law, only to work within it.
But what
about the judicial branch.
This one is a bit easier to find.
Joh 5:22
The
Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,