Hi Friend,

Does it bother you just a little when the men and women in Congress announce that they have passed a bill which will cost the American citizen a trillion dollars—or two or five?  Tax Freedom Day is the day that the money we earn goes into our pockets and not that of the government.  This year it occurred in mid-April unless you consider the deficit that our children will have to pay and then it’s mid-May.

Men can boo God at political conventions, but the system of taxation God instituted was simple, affordable, and fair.  It was a straight 10 percent each year with a welfare system that required another 10 percent twice in a seven-year period.  That amounted to less than 13 percent per year.

That worked well until the citizens decided to change the structure of government.  Successful Israel wanted to be like other nations that had oppressive rulers.  Israel was unique because it was the only nation on earth where God was King, and God was the only king that did not oppress His people.

God warned them: “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights.  He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.  He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.” (1 Samuel 8:11-18)

A human king has to pay the salaries of all the bureaucrats that work for him, and he gets that money from the citizens.  That isn’t necessarily bad, except that human kings tend to become greedy.

What God said would happen to Israel eventually did!  Over time even the righteous Kings of Israel proved greedy.

Solomon was a great and wise king, but he succumbed to the lust of wealth.  “All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.  King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.”  (1 Kings 10:21-23)

All this wealth came from heavy taxes on the citizens of Israel.  Eventually civil war erupted. Israel split into two nations and never regained her previous splendor.

The modern parallel is America, which was founded after the King of England levied oppressive taxes.  It is interesting to consider that if he had not been greedy America would still be sending taxes to England.

In Israel, Solomon died and was succeeded by his son Rehoboam. Just as Samuel predicted the people cried out for relief.  But Rehoboam was foolish as well as cruel.  He replied to their cries, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”  (1 Kings 12:14)  It’s hard to imagine such a heartless reply—at least until recently.

It is no wonder that the Prophets of Israel looked forward to the Messiah who would come and set things straight.  Centuries of oppression could only be changed by him.  When Jesus appeared on earth many recognized him as the One.  After all, who else could heal the sick by touching them, or raise people from the dead by the power of his words?  The believers spread their cloaks on the ground and cheered his arrival into Jerusalem, the capital of the world.  They anticipated an immediate kingdom.

They were right about everything but the timing.  Today, we still look with eager anticipation for the Messiah to return and restore the kingdom that never oppresses, led by the king that laid down his life to serve.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien