If you live in a nation where the citizens groan under their leaders, this is for you. By making a negative promise against oppressive leaders, God promises you freedom. In the tenth chapter of the book of Isaiah, you see one of God’s promises to suffering people everywhere. He puts a curse on leaders who make wicked policies to cheat their people.
I am impressed by how timeless God and his word are. Here we are, imagining that making wicked policies, or, as the bible says, unrighteous decrees, is a modern phenomenon. We groan under those decrees and believe it has never happened before. But God already saw it and cursed such leaders. So, take heart, their end is coming, and then, you will be free from oppression.
But as somebody said, it might not happen in his lifetime, and that is because God is slow to anger. It is a quality of God for which you and I should be grateful, even if we are not political leaders. Who is it that you lead? Your younger sister, a cousin, or a house help, perhaps? Whether you know it or not, you are a leader at some level.
Perhaps you made some rules and regulations at some point in that leadership position. Do you and your household help eat from different pots? That could be an outcome of your wicked decrees. From God’s perspective, your decree is no different from that which makes you pay taxes for services you do not receive.
Their End Is Certain
You do not need this post to remind you of such decrees; you know them only too well and too painfully. We should therefore be glad that God is slow to anger and great in mercy. He is also gracious and compassionate. The Bible assures us in Lamentations 2:33 that God does not willingly afflict His children, nor grieve them.
You may recollect some of our previous posts on how our nation is in distress because we sinned or ignored God. Nonetheless, the compassionate God will not let wicked policies last forever. Therefore, He pronounces a curse on leaders who rule by unrighteous decrees. Their end is coming, if God has anything to do with it, and you can be sure He does. In the opening verses of Isaiah 10, we read God’s judgment on those who rule by wicked decrees.
“Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, who write misfortune which they have prescribed. To rob the needy of justice, and to take what is right from the poor of My people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless. What will you do on the day of punishment and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory?” Ouch!
That is God’s promise to you – you could say in reverse – if you are righteous. The oppressors in your life, at whatever level of leadership, will get their own. Did Pharaoh not get his? What about Nebuchadnezzar? Ask Herod in his lake of worms. God is just and holy. So, despite His mercy, He does not sweep wicked policies under the carpet.
Why Will You Die with Wicked Policies?
God patiently waits for leaders who rule by an iron hand to turn. He says to such leaders) “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die…?”
Read Ezekiel 33.11, but if the oppression of wicked policies is biting, read the entire chapter. It will comfort you while you wait for God to move. We have one word of caution here. As you read and project it on your political (or church) leaders, do not forget yourself. In a previous post, we considered that God’s pronouncements on nations also apply to the individual.
This is why I rarely ever pray against enemies; what if I am my own enemy? Besides, the bible says God will punish all disobedience when my obedience is complete. That means I do not have to waste the time and energy that I could spend perfecting my obedience in praying against anyone. God will take care of all enemies, wicked policies, and all.
Maranatha!
