Thanksgiving & Godly Separation of Church & State

Image Attribution: Ben Huebscher/flickr/license

How Did David Deal with Church/State Issues?

This story about King David proclaiming a national day of Thanksgiving is important and relevant to us today because David and the people of Israel had to figure out how to deal with the separation of church and state issues just like we do today. The civil government and the religious authority were separate in Israel. The king held an office in the civil government. He was not from the tribe of Levi and he was not a priest. Yet we see that in Israel there was not a separation between God and state. The challenge then as now was how to properly offer public thanks to the God who had saved them from so many dangers.

It was three thousand years ago that the Jewish King David organized a national day of Thanksgiving. This was not the first time the Hebrew nation had dedicated a time of thanksgiving. It was, however, a grand day of feasting, thanksgiving, and celebration, and teaching from which any nation can learn many useful lessons.

The occasion was precipitated when David decided to have the Ark of the Covenant transported up to Jerusalem. The Ark had been kept in a large tent called The Tabernacle for hundreds of years. An attempt to move the ark to Jerusalem previously had ended in disaster. God’s law specified that the ark was to be carried on poles by Levites. The first try at hauling it toward Jerusalem violated God’s command and the man Uzzah was killed by the Lord in the process. A great fear of God and His sovereign power and majesty now filled the minds of His chosen people. Now three months after Uzzah’s death, David decided to make a second attempt at conveying the ark. He was more careful this time to obey every word of God as the ark was moved. He knew it was imperative to honor the God he loved without, at the same time, insulting Him.

Having gotten the ark transported successfully King David called a special day of feasting and thanksgiving for everyone in Israel. It was a grand time. The Spirit of God had moved with the Ark and Tabernacle in years past so the people of Israel wanted that point of contact with their God to reside in the capitol city, Jerusalem. Now the Ark had arrived.

First there were public sacrifices offered. Then David,

“distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread and a portion of meat and a raisin cake” (sounds like desert).

So there they were, a biblical republic including the king, nobles, judges, women, lads and lasses, paupers, priests, and fighting freemen all feasting and thanking God upon the invitation of their highest civil official. We note that the entire convocation was gathered by civil authority and not by the religious one. As Americans we may find this worrisome because we have often been told that the church and state must remain separate meaning (if the ACLU had its way) that they could not share the same continent. David, unhampered by such concerns, made it a part of his kingly dealings to call for a day of thanksgiving. Moreover he,

“appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, even to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel.”

David’s practice shows that he was far more concerned with publicly worshipping the loving Lord who had saved their souls and protected their country than it was to keep God from infringing on public life. David did not let worries that unbelievers in their midst might be offended if talk about their Lord was a part of public life.

Is Mixing Religion & Politics a Problem?

The Lord has no problem with civil authorities mixing religion and politics. He has a big problem with anyone mixing false religion and politics as His prophets often explained. For Americans this is where the conversation gets thornier than a hillside of Appalachian blackberries. We ask, heads craned with eager ears alert, “Who decides which religion is false or true?” Jesus’ disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” In both cases the answer approaches from the side— God. God decides. In the case of the man born blind it was not anyone’s sin, but God’s sovereign work.  It is not a question of sin but of sovereignty and truth. Men sin yet God presides in the affairs of men. People of sound doctrine will teach truth. Those of a false religion will teach falsehood. Until the consummation of the kingdom this will always be the case. Forbidding truth in the public square solves nothing and only opens the door full swing to the falsehood we fear. I repeat the possibly worn phrase that there is no neutrality. We will not keep wrong religion from public influence by forbidding the practice of true religion. If we wish to have light in politics we must bring it there. David certainly did.

In 1 Chronicles 16 we read that under King David’s authority at Israel’s thanksgiving celebration the song writer Asaph called upon Israel to:

Make known His [the Lord’s] deeds among the peoples (vs. 8)

Seek the Lord and His strength. Seek His face continually (vs. 11)

Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth (vs. 12)

Remember His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations (vs. 15)

Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day (vs. 23)

Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples (vs. 24)

He also is to be feared above all gods (vs. 25)

Let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” (vs. 31)

Then say, “Save us O God of our salvation, and gather us and deliver us from the nations…” (vs. 35)

Notice how effortlessly Asaph instructs the nation to be evangelistic about the true faith—to make known their loving Lord’s deeds among the peoples and to proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. No one in Israel’s government was advising the people to be shy about their faith or to be careful not to offend those of different faith traditions. Instead the citizens of Israel were to, say among the nations, “The Lord Reigns.” In other words they were to let the surrounding nations know that the God of Israel is the true God who reigns in power and that those other gods were impotent. This no-holds-barred message takes the gloves completely off (if they were ever on.) Equal respect was not given to every iteration of Baal that might be worshipped.

Examples to Follow

As the Second Reformation develops apace in the West, in America, we may look to our spiritual ancestors and their approved practices for civil government. The Apostle Paul helps us understand why the lessons of the Old Testament apply to our day writing,

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1Cor.10:11).

There is much we may learn from the past. King David held no office in the church. His authority was only that of a civil magistrate. Israel, like America, had a separation of powers between the religious and civil offices. David could not claim the place of a priest and he could not enter the Holy of Holies. Nevertheless it was David who rightly called for a national day of thanksgiving. The love and deep respect David had for his King spilled out of him in a blessing to everyone who believed. This was the proper work of a king. It is the correct work of civil magistrates. Pray for those in authority that they will perform their rightful duties.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Dr. Don Schanzenbach
Mission to Restore America