During election season, some Christians have become fond of proclaiming that “salvation will not arrive on Air Force One.” Air Force One is of course the government airliner which transports the President of the United States. The claim, then, is that salvation will not come about because of any particular President’s actions. This statement also suggests that salvation can’t be realized through the efforts of any politician, king or national leader. Although I’ve heard this assertion frequently, it is quite simply not true. Disproving this odd claim requires only a quick survey of the Bible or a rudimentary knowledge of history.
Last week we began by laying out the true Biblical vision of salvation. We noted that salvation does not involve God helping people escape from this broken world. Rather, salvation involves rescuing the world from the dark forces of sin and death which threaten to ruin the creation. At some future time, God will act decisively to bring about the comprehensive, complete salvation of the created order. Every shred of injustice, bloodshed, sorrow, sickness will be swept away. Even death itself will be no more. God’s loyal people will celebrate when the creation is transformed into a place of eternal justice, peace, joy, abundance and life.
However, we also made an important observation: salvation is not simply an all-or- nothing affair. God is always working to oppose the forces of evil, and we have the same responsibility. The scriptures give us a thousand examples of moments when God wrought salvation for his people, delivering them from slavery, suffering, harm or death. Last week we looked at the story of Gideon, who God chose to deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites. These foreigners invaded the land, forcing the people of Israel to flee from their homes. The Midianites took everything of value – flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and all the crops. Thus, the Israelites were plunged into abject poverty.
Now of course the triumph of Gideon did not represent the final salvation of the world. But it would be incredibly foolish to think that it doesn’t therefore qualify as genuine salvation. Put yourself in the shoes of the Israelites. They had been driven from their homes. All their wealth and possessions had been plundered. They were certainly in a state of desperation. Were it not for the victory of Gideon, the children of Israel would have faced starvation and death.
Perhaps it can be difficult for those of us living in the affluent Western world to imagine such dire circumstances. But if we faced a similar scenario today, we wouldn’t hesitate for one moment to say that we’d been saved by Gideon. Just like the ancient Israelites, we would carefully record the account of how we’d been rescued. No doubt the artists among us would compose songs celebrating our redemption. We shouldn’t be surprised then to find that the entire book of Judges is a collection of such stories and songs, commemorating the deliverance that came about because of people like Gideon, Sampson, Deborah and Barak.
Indeed, we should recognize that much of the Old Testament follows the same pattern. For instance, the central narrative of the Torah involved God using Moses to rescue the descendants of Jacob from slavery and oppression in the land of Egypt. Or we could speak about the period of the monarchy, when kings reigned over the nation of Israel. Undoubtedly the most famous account of salvation during this time period involves the young shepherd David, who struck down Goliath with sling and stone, thereby delivering the people of Israel from the Philistines.
Every kid in Sunday School learned the story of David and Goliath. But I’d like to look now at a much less well-known story which illustrates how one King of Israel brought about salvation. The episode involves Saul, Israel’s very first king. Immediately after being chosen king, Saul faced serious adversity. A villain named Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, besieged the Israelite town of Jabesh in the region of Gilead east of the Jordan River. The people of Jabesh had not the strength to resist Nahash, so they offered to make themselves his slaves.
This offer of submission apparently wasn’t enough for Nahash. He didn’t simply want to enslave Jabesh; he wanted to make an example of them and thereby humiliate all Israel. Nahash told the elders of Jabesh that he would spare their lives but would gouge out their right eyes. The people of Jabesh had little choice; they could only try to buy time. So, they replied to Nahash, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you.”
Thankfully for the citizens of Jabesh, word of their distress reached the new king. When Saul learned of Nahash’s effrontery, “the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.” The king sent out word to gather the full military forces of Israel. “Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they turned out as one man.” Saul sent word to the besieged townsfolk: “by the time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be delivered.” Obviously, the people of Jabesh were “elated.”
Saul made good on his word. The next day, he led the Israelite forces into battle: “They broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day.” We can only imagine the relief the people of Jabesh experienced. Their king had saved them, not just from losing their right eyes, but from the misery of lifelong slavery.
What lessons might we draw from this story? First, God’s salvation clearly came through King Saul and the armies of Israel. It is quite true that it was ultimately God who saved Israel. Saul himself declared, “This day the LORD has rescued Israel.” But we must not forget exactly how the Lord brought about this great deliverance. Remember, Saul was filled with the power of God’s Spirit when he received news about the plight of Jabesh. Likewise, the terror of the Lord fell upon the forces of Israel, and they came together in unity against their common foe. It was the divine and the human, working together. So, let’s not fall into the trap of thinking that salvation must come exclusively from God. God frequently chooses to accomplish his purposes through real, flesh and blood people.
This particular story also nicely illustrates that God’s salvation comes through highly imperfect people. Although Saul acted honorably in rescuing the citizens of Jabesh, it wasn’t long before his deeply flawed character became apparent. God eventually rejected Saul as king over Israel due to his blatant disobedience. While it is true that Saul didn’t turn out to be a man after God’s own heart, he nonetheless brought about genuine salvation for the citizens of Jabesh Gilead.
In summary, the Bible is chalk full of stories involving real leaders who God used to bring about salvation. These people were raised up to positions of authority as kings, judges, priests or prophets. The scriptures don’t make the slightest attempt to portray these people as flawless heroes. The angel of God found Gideon hiding from the Midianites in the bottom of a winepress. Moses famously sought to evade God’s call when the Lord commanded him to appear before Pharoah and demand the release of the Hebrew slaves. Moses complained, “I have never been eloquent…I am slow of speech and tongue.” King Saul was a mess, so much so that the Bible describes how, “the LORD was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.” Even the great King David would later besmirch himself, especially in the matter of Uriah’s wife Bathsheba.
If this is how God has worked in the past, then there is absolutely no reason to believe that God cannot or will not bring about salvation in the present time by installing people of his choosing into positions of authority. National leaders throughout history have dramatically affected the world for good or ill. At the end of the day, we should recognize that God is perfectly capable of bringing about deliverance through an elected President. So despite assertions to the contrary, it’s quite possible that salvation just might arrive travelling on Air Force One.
