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God has a government in the universe, and there is also a government in the church—Rev. 4:2; 5:6; Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5:
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God desires to execute His government in the universe through the church—Eph. 1:10, 22-23.
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Among the children of Israel there was a situation full of God’s government and administration; the coordination and building in Exodus and Numbers were under God’s administration and government.
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The divine government among God’s people is a theocracy—Rev. 4:2; 5:6:
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Theocracy is government by God according to what He is—Psa. 89:14.
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God’s administration among the children of Israel was a theocracy, meaning that God Himself came to govern, to rule, to administrate, the people directly yet through some agents; the agents were the priests and the elders working together for God’s theocracy—Deut. 1:9-18.
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The theocracy among the children of Israel was a government according to God’s constant speaking, as written in the law, and God’s instant speaking, through the breastplate of the high priest by means of the Urim and the Thummim—Exo. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8.
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God’s government in the administration of the church is neither autocracy nor democracy; autocracy is a kind of dictatorship, and democracy is government by the people according to the opinion of the people—Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5:
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In the church life we honor God’s authority as our government; thus, the government in the church is a theocracy—Eph. 1:10, 22-23; Col. 2:19.
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Today God’s rule is based on the Bible outside of us and on the Holy Spirit within us—2 Tim. 3:16-17; Rom. 8:5, 14.
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When the elders follow the Holy Spirit in discussing matters, there is neither an autocracy nor a democracy but a theocracy, the rule of God.
Morning Nourishment
Deut. 16:18 You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your cities which Jehovah your God is giving you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.33:8 And concerning Levi he said, May Your Thummim and Urim be with Your faithful man…
The portions of Deuteronomy which deal with the divine government are the word of God, not merely the word of Moses [Deut. 16:18-20; 17:8-20; 19:15-21; 21:1-9, 18-23; 22:13-30; 24:1-4, 7, 16; 25:1-3, 5-16]. We need to study all these portions in order to know God’s mind and to know what He is thinking. God knows man and man’s need, condition, and situation. Therefore, whatever God speaks regarding man is the final word. The divine government among God’s people is neither autocracy nor democracy but theocracy. Theocracy is government by God according to what He is. In the church life today, we exercise neither autocracy, which is a kind of dictatorship, nor democracy, which is according to the opinion of the people. Instead, we honor God’s authority as our government, and thus the government in the church is a theocracy. (Life-study of Deuteronomy, p. 117)
Today’s Reading
[Complicated cases were] investigated mainly by the priest [Deut. 17:8-9]. First, the priest investigated the case by going to God and staying with God. Second, in the presence of God, the priest would consider God’s holy word. Third, as 33:8 indicates, the Levitical priests had the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim, which provided instant enlightenment….Eventually, through the presence of God, the word of God, and the Urim and Thummim, the priest would gain a clear understanding of the divine judgment and then pass on this judgment to the presiding judge. The judge would then make a judgment according to what the priest had received from God and passed on to him. The judgment of the case, therefore, came through man, but it was of God and according to God. It was truly a matter of theocracy.The government in the church should be neither autocratic nor democratic but theocratic….All the saints are priests, but the elders are the leading priests. As such priests, they should stay in the Lord’s presence with God’s holy word and with today’s breastplate—the mingled spirit with Christ and the church. As they remain in the Lord’s presence with the word and the mingled spirit for the church, they will receive an understanding that is according to the Lord’s thought, and this will become a decision as a kind of judgment. The elders should then administrate according to this divine judgment. Thus the elders function first as the leading priests and then as the administrators. (Life-study of Deuteronomy, p. 119)
Among the children of Israel in the Old Testament God governed His people according to His constant speaking, as written in the law, and His instant speaking, as revealed either through the breastplate of the high priest by means of the Urim and Thummim or through the prophets by the Spirit of God coming upon certain ones to enable them to speak God’s word….Moreover, God’s government was executed through some human agents: the priests and the elders, the judges, or the kings as direct administrators, who worked together for God’s theocracy. In the church in the New Testament the teaching of the apostles (Acts 2:42) replaces the law in God’s administration, and the elders of the churches (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5) are the direct administrators, who administrate according to the teaching of the apostles (1 Tim. 3:2; 5:17). In relation to the instant speaking of the Lord, all the believers in Christ, including the elders, are priests to God (1 Pet. 2:5; Rev. 1:6), having Christ as the High Priest living within them (Heb. 8:1; Rom. 8:10) and having the Holy Spirit mingled with their regenerated human spirit (Rom. 8:16) to replace the function of the Urim and Thummim. (Deut. 16:18, footnote 1)
Further Reading: Life-study of Deuteronomy, msg. 17