The rule
In short: Authority serves the people under it and answers to God.
“Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister” (Mark 10:43). Minister here means servant.
The rule underneath: Law 11 · Power serves
Authority serves the people under it and answers to God.
Keep it: People do well under their leaders.
Break it: Leaders take, and kingdoms fall.
Shows up in: Deuteronomy, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, Ezekiel, Mark
Other rules in this book: Protect the weakest, God first, Tell the truth
18And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.Deuteronomy 17:18-20 · KJV
Why it matters
You probably have more power than you think: over children, employees, students, a team, a group chat, a budget. Every kind of power can serve or take.
When Israel asked for a king, Samuel warned them what kings do: “He will take your sons” (1 Samuel 8:11), and “He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants” (1 Samuel 8:17). The Bible’s answer is not no power. It is power that is limited, watched, and used for others.
The steps
1 · Let the rules bind you first. Israel’s king had to write his own copy of the law and read it daily, so “that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren” (Deuteronomy 17:20). If you make the rules, keep them yourself. Rules that exempt the leader are the first sign of abuse.
2 · Keep someone who tells you no. King Ahab had one prophet who told him the truth, and said, “I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me” (1 Kings 22:8). David had Nathan, who told him, “Thou art the man” (2 Samuel 12:7). Find your Nathan, and protect them.
3 · Serve the people under you. Ask what they need to do well, then provide it. Old advisers told a new king, “If thou wilt be a servant unto this people… they will be thy servants for ever” (1 Kings 12:7). He ignored them, and the kingdom split.
4 · Guard the weakest in your care. The good king “shall save the children of the needy” (Psalm 72:4). Measure your leadership by how the least powerful person under you is doing.
5 · Share the load. Moses was worn out until he chose “able men… men of truth, hating covetousness” to judge with him (Exodus 18:21). Covetousness means greed. Don’t hold all the power alone.
6 · Build checks that don’t rely on your goodness. Boards, audits, term limits, and a safe way to report problems. Assume you can go wrong.
7 · Know when to refuse, and when to step down. Respect lawful authority and pray for leaders (1 Timothy 2:1–2). But when power demands evil, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). And plan who comes after you: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Where it goes wrong
- Feeding yourself. “Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves!” (Ezekiel 34:2).
- Surrounding yourself with yes-men. Ahab had hundreds of prophets who told him what he wanted to hear (1 Kings 22:6).
- Leader as celebrity. Jesus says the kings of the nations “exercise lordship… But ye shall not be so” (Luke 22:25–26).
- Using God to cover power. Leaders who “judge for reward” and still say, “Is not the LORD among us?” (Micah 3:11).
- Hiding abuse to protect the group. Protecting a name instead of a victim.
One practice
This week
The servant check
- Map your power. List everyone you have some power over: at home, work, church, online.
- Ask one. Ask one of them, “What’s one thing I could do that would help you do well?” Then do it.
- Find your Nathan. Name one person who will tell you the truth. Ask them directly for one thing you should change.
Write in your journal what you heard, and what you did with it.
Go deeper
- The pattern across the Bible. Law of Moses: the king must not pile up horses, wives, or gold, and must read the law daily (Deuteronomy 17:16–20); Moses shares leadership (Exodus 18:21; Numbers 11:17). History: Samuel’s warning (1 Samuel 8:11–17); Nathan confronts David (2 Samuel 12:7); Rehoboam rejects the servant advice and loses ten tribes (1 Kings 12:7–16); Elijah confronts Ahab over Naboth (1 Kings 21); three young men refuse to bow: “But if not… we will not serve thy gods” (Daniel 3:18). Wisdom: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice” (Proverbs 29:2); kings should stay sober so they don’t “pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted” (31:4–5). Prophets: Ezekiel against the shepherds who fed themselves (Ezekiel 34:2–4); Jeremiah against the king who built his palace with unpaid labor (Jeremiah 22:13). Gospels: the servant leader (Mark 10:42–45); Jesus washes feet (John 13:14). Letters: leaders are to govern “not for filthy lucre… Neither as being lords… but being ensamples” (1 Peter 5:2–3). Ensamples means examples. Revelation: empire as a beast that demands worship (Revelation 13:4).
- Original words. Diakonos, Greek “minister” or “servant,” is the root of “deacon.” Roʿeh, Hebrew “shepherd,” was a common title for kings in the ancient world; Ezekiel uses it against them.
- How the laws interlock. Law 11 is Law 4 applied to those who hold power: authority is for the weakest. It needs Law 5 (a leader who hears the truth) and Law 1 (a leader who answers to someone above).
- Worked example. A popular pastor controls who sits on his church board. No one on staff can tell him no. Law 11 calls for independent elders, outside audits of money, and a way to report problems that doesn’t go through him. The point is not that he is bad. It is that no one should be trusted without checks.
Hard passages
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers” (Romans 13:1)
What it says Paul says authorities are “ordained of God” (Romans 13:1), and the ruler is “the minister of God to thee for good” (Romans 13:4). Peter and the apostles also said, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Revelation pictures a ruling power as a beast (Revelation 13).
The rule underneath Power serves, and it answers to God.
What people added Readers weigh how far obedience goes and when resistance is right. Churches have split; this page does not settle it. How it has been used: In 1985, South African church leaders wrote the Kairos Document, which criticized the apartheid government’s use of Romans 13 to demand obedience. In June 2018, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited Romans 13 to defend enforcing immigration law during the policy that separated migrant families.
Do kings answer only to God?
What it says Israel’s king was chosen by God (1 Samuel 16:12–13), yet was bound by the law (Deuteronomy 17:18–20) and rebuked by prophets (2 Samuel 12:7).
The rule underneath Power serves, and answers to God — and to God’s law.
What people added How it has been used: James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) argued in The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598) that kings answer to God alone, not to their subjects — the idea called the “divine right of kings.” Others, like the Scottish minister Samuel Rutherford in Lex, Rex (1644), argued from the same Bible that the king is under the law.
Books that feed it
Exodus · Deuteronomy · 1 Samuel · 2 Samuel · 1 Kings · Proverbs · Ezekiel · Daniel · Mark · Romans · 1 Peter · Revelation