To sing or not to Sing?
In November 2020, the State of Washington instituted a government mandate which read “congregational singing is prohibited.” Just last week (Jan 11, 2021), they now only permit up to 15 people to sing together indoors and each singer must stand nine feet from others making it unrealistic for congregations to sing indoors.
The Bible both commands and commends congregational worship. So how should Christians respond when their governing authorities prohibit (or now severely restricts) something that the Bible commands and commends?
There are at least four examples of this that come to mind.
My point in writing this is not to compare COVID restrictions to being burned in a fire (Daniel 6), but rather to closely examine the Scriptures and draw Biblical principles that we can then apply to our individual circumstances.
Daniel was a young man who was deported to Babylon where, “The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service” (Daniel 1:5). The passage indicates the instructions from the king were, in effect: “Here is your daily food and drink which will be your diet.”
To many of us, it might have been a privilege to eat from the ‘king’s choice food.’ But the Bible tells us: “Daniel made up his mind…” He was unwavering and made a firm decision: “that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank” (Daniel 1:8).
Now, why did he do that? Why did he accept a pagan name (v. 6), accept pagan teaching (v. 5), but reject the king’s food (v. 5)? At face value, it would seem as if food was the least of his concerns.
Daniel was devoted to God and the Law. In the Mosaic law, there is nothing that would forbid someone from learning from pagans (a teaching which could always later be rejected). There is also nothing that forbade them from being called by another name. However, there were strict and explicit ceremonial and dietary laws that the Jews were to follow.
He could have rationalized it away by believing that he would have a better testimony if he followed everyone else. Perhaps the future of other deported Jews would be jeopardized by his insult upon the king in this direct act of disobedience and he was not “loving his neighbour.” He could have even said, “Food is not a hill to die on” and ate anyways. The question, however, is not one of ‘degree of importance’ but one of ‘violation of the Scriptures.’ This is where Daniel drew the line.
He resolved not to violate any Law of God and trusted God with the consequences of his individual actions.
Some commentators point out that the foods are eaten the Babylonian court would have included pork and horse (such as Baldwin p. 83, Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia, p. 45), both of which were unclean (Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14). Moreover, much of this food would have been offered to Babylonian gods before being sent to the king’s court, and his wine was likely associated with this pagan ritual (Wood, p. 37, and Miller in NAC, pp 66-67). Regardless, Daniel drew his line in the sand not with his name or his education, but with his food.
What did the Lord do for Daniel considering his non-compromising stance? God honoured Daniel and his three friends. He blessed Daniel and his friends with favor (v. 9, 19), health (v. 14-16), knowledge & intelligence (v. 17), extraordinary abilities (v. 18-20), position & longevity (v. 19b & 21).
When we consider civil disobedience, the first question to ask is: Am I being asked to do something that is contrary to the Word of God? (Or conversely, forbidding me from obeying the Word of God?)
Example 2: Daniel 3 – Defying Instructions for Worship
In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image and gave this command:
“That at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.”
Daniel 3:5-6
Certainly, this command was designed to trap the Jews, and there were some in the king’s court eagerly waiting to pounce. In fact, we read in the next verse: “certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews” (Daniel 3:8).
The word for “brought charges” literally means “ate the pieces of,” meaning that they were waiting to accuse the Jews. These young men had received positions of authority over them and obviously, the Chaldeans didn’t take too kindly to it. Their charge?
“There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
Daniel 3:12
There were three complaints against them: (1) They paid no attention to the king (and his commands), (2) they did not serve the king’s gods, and (3) they refused to worship the golden statue the king himself had set up.
The penalty for such actions was death, to which Nebuchadnezzar threatened to sentence them. The young men gave this very significant answer:
“Nebuchadnezzar, we are not in need of an answer to give you concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
Daniel 3:16-18
God can rescue those who obey Him, but even if God does not, they would not bow. Obedience was more important than their own lives. Even as Hebrews 12:4 tells us, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.”
What was the result in Daniel 3? In a turn of events, Nebuchadnezzar came to the recognition of the power of God, “who has sent His angel and rescued His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and surrendered their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God” (Daniel 3:28) He also made a decree that no one should speak “anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego” and “Then the king made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego prosperous in the province of Babylon” (3:29-30).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (1) put their trust in God, (2) violated the king’s command, and (3) were willing to die instead of serving or worshipping any other God. Choosing to obey the Word of God rather than the command of the king brought glory to God and God, in turn, blessed and honoured them.
Example 3: Acts 5 – Defying the Command Not To Preach & Teach
The last example for today comes from the New Testament. When the new church began to grow, the Jewish leaders began to oppress them and imprisoned the Apostles (Acts 5:18). They were not in prison long before an angel of the Lord opened the gates and commanded them:
“Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple area the whole message of this Life.” Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple area about daybreak and began to teach”
Acts 5:20-21
It strikes me how their obedience to the message from the Lord was immediate. When they were discovered to be teaching in public again, the Jewish leaders arrested them, hauled them before the high priest and, “The high priest interrogated them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us” (Acts 5:27-28).
The response of Peter and the apostles was:
“We must obey God rather than men.The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
Acts 5:29-32
Here, there was a clear conflict between the command of the human authority above them and the command of God to teach and preach. While they could have opted to go to another location, or perhaps teach and preach in private (rather than exacerbate the situation by publicly teaching and preaching), they chose to continue to publicly minister as they had done in the past. In other words, they did not alter their actions because of the prohibition (or restriction) of the governing authorities.
So, the Jewish leaders decided to call the apostles in, and:
“they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”
Acts 5:40-41
Even after being flogged, they considered it a joy to suffer for the sake of obedience to Christ. In fact, after the second-order “not to speak in the name of Jesus,” the Bible says, “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and preaching the good news of Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42).
Once again, we see their continued faithful obedience to God’s commands, as had been their pattern before, without compromise, over the commands of the religious leaders of the people.
These three examples all vary slightly. In the first, the command to eat certain foods was highly likely going to require doing something God had forbidden. In the second, obeying the governing command would have clearly been sinful. And in the third, obeying the governing authority would have meant abstaining from something God had ordered.
It is noteworthy that in all three instances, the believers did not try and find a compromise. They did not search for the path of least resistance or strive to preach instead in an area from which they were not banned, or pick through their food for the kosher bits. Instead, they advertised their commitment to God’s word over and above their governing authority.
Author: Cripplegate
