Parallel Concepts between the U.S. Constitution & the Bible (Continued)
As we continue to show some biblical concepts that were reflected in the Constitution of the United Sates, we quote again from John Adams:
"Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God.... What a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be."
Rather than attempt to explain these scriptural passages in our words, we prefer to let them stand on their own. As the student of history studies these references and tries to understand the spirit in which they were given, he will, no doubt, come to see that same spirit in the ideas of the Founders as they structured the American nation. No other source gave to the Founders the ingredients they sought for the establishment of a free people better than the Bible. No writings of ancient philosophers, which the Founders also studied, established the pathway to freedom so powerfully as did the Bible. As these scriptures are read, it is hoped that insights will distill upon the reader as they did upon the Founders. It will soon become apparent to the honest seeker of truth that, as George Washington testified many times, the Hand of Providence was in this work.
Article I, Section 3 “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state…” Numbers 11:16
And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
Article I, Section 7 “If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted)…” Exodus 20:8 - 11
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Article I, Section 8 – “The Congress shall have the power…” “To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court;” Exodus 18:22 - 26
“And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.”
“To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;” Deuteronomy 4:6 - 8
“Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?”
“To provide for calling forth the militia;…To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia,” Proverbs 24:6
For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Exodus 1:10
Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
Exodus 14:14
The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
Deuteronomy 1:42
And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.
Article I, Section 10: “No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation;” 1 Kings 8:53
“For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.”
Article II, Section 1: “No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President” Deuteronomy 1:13
“Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.”
Article III, Section 1: “The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior” Deuteronomy 16:18 - 19
“Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.”
Article IV, Section 4: “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a republican form of government” Deuteronomy 1:15
“So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.”
Article VI, Section 1: “All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adoption of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United States” 2 Corinthians 8:20 - 21
“Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.”
Article VI, Section 3: “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution;” Numbers 30:2
“If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.”
After Article VII: “…the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven,” Isaiah 61:2
“To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;” First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”
1 Corinthians 10:29
“Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?” Fifth Amendment: “…nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;”
John 7:50 - 51
“Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?”
Thirteenth Amendment: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Galatians 5:1
“STAND fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Eighteenth Amendment: “The manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.”
Numbers 6:3
“He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.”
In this and last month’s newsletter, we have quoted 28 provisions of the Constitution, each with one or more biblical scriptures that seem to express a parallel concept. There are probably others you may be able to find. In the study of world governments, it may be truly said that outside of the government of Ancient Israel itself, there is perhaps no government that has so many similar institutes to the Bible as does the Constitution of the Unites States of America. Truly, it must be concluded, with John Adams and other Founders, that: Psalms 19:7
“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”
Sincerely, Earl Taylor, Jr.
