Submission and authority deals with the fact that God has established a chain-of-command and within this system of delegated authority humans are expected honor those placed above them and submit to their authority as if they were submitting to God.

This can be seen in the marriage relationship when God placed the husband in authority over his wife and also in the family when God placed the parents in authority over their own children.

See the link "Head Covering and Submission" for more details.

The theme of submission and authority however has application to all human relationships that make up the social structure of human interaction on the earth. There must be leaders placed in authority over others and there must be submission to ordained leadership otherwise all society will breakdown and chaos and disorder will result.

An illustration of this can be seen in the anointing oil that was poured upon kings to set them apart for their office of civil leadership.

1 Samuel 9:15-17 (NASB)

¹⁵ Now a day before Saul's coming, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel saying,

¹⁶ "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he will deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me."

¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, "Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people."

God chose the first king of Israel who was Saul the son of Kish and God arranged events to have Saul show up in the town of the Prophet Samuel seeking guidance about some lost donkeys.

1 Samuel 9:20 (NIV)

²⁰ As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?"

The Prophet Samuel let Saul know that the lost donkeys had been found and also that the desire of the nation of Israel to have a king lead them would be fulfilled in this young man whom God appointed to be the first king of God's nation Israel.

1 Samuel 10:1 (NIV)

¹ Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his inheritance?

Samuel poured a flask of sacred anointing oil upon Saul's head saying that the Lord had anointed Saul to be the leader over his inheritance Israel.

The anointing oil represents the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon a man for leadership.

Psalm 133:1-3 (7KB)

¹ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!

² It is like the precious oil [sacred anointing oil] upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron's beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes.

³ It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing-- Life forevermore.

In the same way that Saul was anointed with the sacred oil as the first king of Israel so Aaron was also anointed with sacred oil as the first high priest of Israel. The oil was poured upon the heads of these men and so the oil flowed down onto their beards and then on their shoulders. The high priest also wore the breastplate with the names of all 12-tribes engraved upon it so the oil flowing upon the breastplate represented the unity of the nation in worship under the consecrated priest.

(See the link "Bible Knowledge Commentary" for more details).

So the flow of the anointing oil from the head down to the neck and shoulders and the rest of the body (including the breastplate of the high priest) has spiritual significance. This speaks of the delegated authority that starts with the head then flows down to the rest of the body. The head is the seat of the human mind where decisions are made and the head dictates what the rest of the body will do.

In the same way, those placed in leadership positions by God will make the decisions which those under their authority will follow. In this way one leader can unify an entire nation as long as he has leaders who will submit to his authority and there is a population of people who submit to the leadership appointed over them.

So the anointing oil flowing from the head down the neck to the shoulders to the rest of the body beneath speaks of divine authority that flows from God to the king to the leaders under the king and to the heads of households under these leaders and the wives and children submitted to their own heads of households. There is submission that flows from God to spiritual leaders to civil leaders to heads of households to everyone within the family structure. Thus, an entire nation of families can all flow together in unity as one nation under God as long as there is submission to God's appointed authority!

Exodus 18:21-22 (NIV)

²¹ But select capable men from all the people--men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain--and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

²² Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.

In the case of Moses, he had over 600,000 heads of households who ruled over 600,000 Jewish families which comprised the nation of Israel which made their Exodus under Moses from the land of Egypt.

Exodus 18:25-26 (NIV)

²⁵ He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

²⁶ They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made these men leaders over the people to serve as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They also served as judges for the people at all times but when they had a difficult case, they would bring that case to Moses who would inquire of God what to do. But other cases they were able to decide for themselves using the appointed leadership to make the decisions.

In this manner, God would speak to Moses and Moses would speak to his elders and they would speak to the appointed leaders over thousands and hundreds and fifties and tens and the heads of households would submit to these civil leaders and wives would submit to their own husbands in the home and the children would submit to their own parents. So, the divine chain-of-command flowed from God to the leader to the elders and civil leaders and the heads of households and to their wives and children.

This flow of leadership is pictured by the anointing oil that flowed from Aaron's head to his neck and shoulders and on down to the rest of his body below. In the same way, the authority of God flows from God to the appointed leaders to the heads of households and to their wives and children. The end result is that everyone within the social structure of the entire nation of Israel were all submitted to God who was on top of the pyramid structure of authority.

As long as everyone submitted to their appointed leadership then there would be no conflict and the entire nation could flow together as one in unity together!

Psalm 133:1-3 (7KB)

¹ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!

² It is like the precious oil [sacred anointing oil] upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron's beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes.

³ It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing-- Life forevermore.

Psalm 133 speaks of brethren dwelling together in unity and this means that everyone within the divine chain-of-command is under submission to their appointed authorities. As long as they do not rebel against their authority then there will be unity within this system from top to bottom!

This unity can also be pictured as the dew and rain and snow that fell upon Mount Hermon and the collection of this water became the head-waters of the Jordan River. As the water flowed from Mount Hermon down to the Jordan River and watered the nation so authority from God flows from those appointed as leaders to those under them so from top to bottom everyone is under submission to authority and the ultimate authority over the entire system is God! Everyone submits to God as they submit themselves to the divine authority of the leaders placed over them!

Unity is the fruit of submission to authority because where there is submission to authority there is unity. There is no conflict as long as everyone submits to the appointed authority placed over them!

No Authority Except Appointed by God

Romans 13:1-2 (NIV)

¹ Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

² Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

The governing authorities that exist are those that were appointed by God and are established by God. Those who rebel against authority are rebelling against what God has instituted and will bring judgment upon themselves. Those who rebel against civil authorities are in fact rebelling against God who placed those civil authorities over the citizens within their society.

1 Corinthians 11:3 (NIV)

³ Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

The divine chain-of-command is also evident in the marriage relationship because God is the head of Christ and Christ is the head of the man and the man is the head of the woman and also parents are head over their own children. So divine authority flows from God to Christ to the head of household (who is the man) to his wife and to his children. As long as everyone within that authority structure submits to the authority placed over them then there will be unity and peace as everyone submits to God who is the head of the entire chain-of-command!

Again see the link "Head Covering and Submission" for more details about the divine chain-of-command as it affects the marriage relationship and family.

Ephesians 5:22-24 (NIV)

²² Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

As the church is submitted to Christ so wives are to also submit to their own husbands. God has placed husbands as the heads of the households and wives are to submit to their own male authority and thus allow their husbands to be heads of the home. If they do this there will be unity in the home but to rebel against this authority will produce disorder and chaos and every evil work!

John 6:38 (NASB)

³⁸ "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

Jesus displayed total submission of his own will to the will of his heavenly Father. He did not come to earth to do his own will but the will of God.

Luke 22:42 (NIV)

⁴² "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

Jesus knew full-well what he was about to suffer when he offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. It was not his will to suffer such things but he submitted his will to the will of the Father in complete obedience saying, "Not my will but your will be done!"

Hebrews 5:7-8 (NIV)

⁷ During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

⁸ Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered

This scripture above speaks of Jesus having reverent submission to the will of his heavenly Father. He was obedient even in the things he suffered to pay for the sins of the whole world!

Just as Jesus was submitted to his divine authority so all believers are to submit to the authority that has been placed over them by God.

1 Peter 3:22 (NIV)

²² who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Jesus had full submission of himself to his heavenly Father so therefore God gave his Son Jesus full authority in heaven and on earth! Even angels and spiritual authorities and powers are now under submission to Jesus when God placed all authority under his feet (giving Jesus full dominion)!

The fact of the matter is that a leader will exercise authority over those placed under him in proportion to his own submission to God and the authority placed over him. If he is submissive himself (as Christ was) then God will give him dominion and authority over those under him!

2 Samuel 22:44-45 (NKJV)

⁴⁴ "You have also delivered me from the strivings of my people; You have kept me as the head of the nations. A people I have not known shall serve me.

⁴⁵ The foreigners submit to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me.

King David submitted himself to God and the spiritual authority set over him (such as the Prophets Nathan and Gad) and because David was under God's authority then God gave David great authority. David had authority over his own citizens as a king but he also had authority over all of the heathen nations he defeated in war. These foreigners all submitted to David because God was with him and there was no resisting the authority of David (which came from David's own submission to God). God gave David dominion over the heathen nations all around Israel to defeat them in battle and exercise authority over these heathen survivors for the glory of God!

Saul Rejected as King by Failing to Submit

1 Samuel 16:1 (NASB)

¹ Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons."

After Saul willfully disobeyed God's instructions (failed to submit to God's authority) then he was rejected from being king over Israel and God sought another man to replace him. So God sent the Prophet Samuel to the household of Jesse the Bethlehemite because God chose one of his sons to be the next king as replacement for Saul (who did not submit to God's authority) but did his own thing and was disqualified.

1 Samuel 16:6-7 (NASB)

⁶ When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is before Him."

⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

The eldest son of Jesse looked good but he was not the Lord's anointed one (chosen to be king). God said that the Prophet Samuel should not look upon the outward appearance because God looks upon the heart. God was looking for a man who would follow after God (in complete submission to divine authority).

As long as a king was submitted to God then God would be the ultimate king over the entire nation because as the people submitted to the king and the king submitted to God then the entire nation would be under God's authority. As long as there was submission to God's appointed authority there would be submission to God for everyone in the nation from top to bottom.

That is why the sin of Saul was so serious because when he failed to submit to God's directions then God was no longer running the nation but instead a rebellious human was calling the shots rather than God! This is why God had to find another man with a heart of submission to replace the disgraced King Saul who failed to submit to God's commands.

1 Samuel 15:10-11 (NASB)

¹⁰ Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,

¹¹ "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night.

God regretted making Saul the king of Israel because Saul failed to obey the clear commands given to him by the Lord but he instead feared humans and wanted to please them more than God so he kept the best of the plunder for himself and his men. This is why Saul disqualified himself as king because he failed to submit to God's authority.

1 Samuel 16:10-13 (NIV)

¹⁰ Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these."

¹¹ So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep." Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives."

¹² So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one."

¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.

David was the youngest son of Jesse and he was the one God had chosen to replace the disgraced King Saul because Saul fell out when he failed to submit to God and fully obey God's commands. David had a different heart and a submissive spirit before God so God chose David to succeed Saul as king. At this time Samuel poured the flask of sacred anointing oil upon David's head and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power from that time forward.

Again, the anointing oil running from the head to the neck to the shoulders to the body below represents divine authority that flows from God to spiritual leaders like the Prophet Samuel to the civil leaders like King David to his leaders under him to those citizens that comprised the nation of Israel. Ultimately everyone was under the divine authority of God as they all submitted to the leaders placed over them.

If people failed to submit to appointed leadership (the way that Saul failed to submit to God) then everything would break down and chaos and disorder would prevail. If there is submission to ordained authority there is unity as citizens all come under the headship and leadership of God who is on top of the chain-of-command over everyone below!

Submission to Ordained Authority

Joshua 1:16-18 (NIV)

¹⁶ Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.

¹⁷ Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses.

¹⁸ Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"

After Moses passed away then Joshua assumed the leadership over the nation by God's appointment! The people under Joshua were dedicated to do whatever Joshua commanded them and would go wherever he would send them. Just as they obeyed Moses so they would also obey Joshua recognizing that God had ordained Joshua to replace the leadership of Moses after his death.

They said clearly that whoever does not obey the commands of Joshua would be put to death. The death penalty shows the seriousness of insubordination because if any of the people failed to submit to Joshua then they were not submitting to God who appointed Joshua as leader. This is a serious crime worthy of death because if everyone was insubordinate then the entire nation would regress into disorder and chaos with everyone doing their own thing and no one submitting to appointed leaders over them! Only if they submitted to appointed leadership could the nation be unified and strong and victorious in conquering the Promised Land.

Exodus 21:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ "Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.

This same principle can be seen in the smallest unit of the social network which is the family. If anyone should curse their father or mother and rebel against parental authority then the unity of that household would break down and disorder and chaos would reign. If every household became like this then the entire nation would be in upheaval and disorder because the entire nation is made up of families. Therefore, a death penalty was given for anyone who should rebel against parental authority. This was a warning that all children should fear God and put away rebellion because they were in danger of being executed if they rebelled against parental authority. To rebel against parental authority was in fact equal with rebelling against God who placed parents in authority over their unmarried children.

The same principle applies to all appointed leaders within society and to rebel against spiritual authority or civil authority or husband's authority or parental authority is to rebel direction against God who placed these rulers in authority over their subjects.

Matthew 22:5-7 (NIV)

⁵ "But they paid no attention and went off--one to his field, another to his business.

⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.

⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

This parable speaks of a king who sent his servants to invite people to his wedding feast but they paid no attention and even seized his servants and mistreated them and killed them! Then this king was enraged and sent his armies to destroy those murderers and burned down their city! The point to emphasize here is that when the servants were mistreated then it was the same thing as if the king himself was being mistreated! The king took this bad behavior against his servants personally!

In the same way whenever anyone disdains appointed authority of a parent or a husband or a civil leader or a spiritual leader then God takes this personally because all of these authorities were ordained by God. To resist authority is to resist God who appointed that authority over them! God takes this personally and will bring judgment and destruction upon those who disdain his appointed authority!

1 Samuel 24:9-11 (NIV)

⁹ He said to Saul, "Why do you listen when men say, 'David is bent on harming you'?

¹⁰ This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, 'I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD's anointed.'

¹¹ See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life.

David had several occasions to take vengeance upon King Saul and could have easily killed him but David would not raise his hand against the Lord's anointed. David honored ordained authority and recognized that Samuel had poured the sacred oil upon Saul to ordain him as king. Therefore, David would never lay a hand upon Saul (even after Saul was rejected by God as king) because David honored ordained authority and knew that Saul had been anointed as king with sacred oil just as David also was anointed later.

The attitude of David is outstanding because he recognized ordained authority and honored the office which Saul stood in as king. Even though Saul was rejected and was tormented by demons and had the Spirit of God depart from him, (even then David still honored the office). Even if Saul was a madman and unworthy of being a king any longer and was insanely jealous and murderous, still David honored the office (even if the man standing in that office was not worthy of this honor).

In the same way, all believers are to learn to honor ordained authority even if the man standing in that position of authority seems to be unworthy of any honor. They can still honor the office and thus they can honor God who placed the man in office (who may have fell out like Saul or fallen from grace or was disqualified by sin). Still they can honor the office despite the man standing in that office! This is the essence of what submission is all about because true submission honors the office even if the man standing in that office is imperfect or even disqualified.

The same is true of wife submission to her husband even though she is well-aware of all of his character defects and weaknesses and sins. If she will honor the office her husband stands in (as head of the household) then she will be honoring God who placed that imperfect man over her as her ordained authority.

After all it would be insane if a man had to be perfect before someone could submit to him because then there would be no submission found anywhere on earth! The same can also be said of parents because if the parent has to be perfect before they qualify to discipline their own children then there would be no children disciplined on the entire earth!

No, the parents have to use the rod of correction and discipline their own children simply because God commanded them to do so. They may even whip the child for a sin that they are guilty of themselves but nevertheless this is the right thing to do. If a child smarts off and says to the parents, "Maybe one day if you are without sin then you might qualify to discipline me!" then that is insubordination and great insolence. Such a crime cannot go unpunished and such a bad attitude should be forcefully dealt with using the rod of correction!

The children are to honor the office of their parents even if the parents are not perfect.

The wives are to honor the office that their husbands stand is as heads of the households even if their husbands are not perfect.

The congregation is to submit to spiritual and civil leaders even if these leaders are not perfect.

Only Jesus is perfect but all other humans are imperfect. In fact, Saul was terrible in every way imaginable and was abusing the young man David who sought only to honor and serve Saul! But David never failed to honor the office for which Saul stood (regardless of how messed up and insane Saul was). It does not make any difference how bad or defected the leader is because their subordinates can honor the office and in doing so, they can honor God who placed the leader into that office.

Even if the man should grow old and senile that does not mean his subordinates cannot honor the office which that man occupies and thus they honor God as a result!

1 Samuel 26:9-11 (NASB)

⁹ But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD'S anointed and be without guilt?"

¹⁰ David also said, "As the LORD lives, surely the LORD will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and perish.

¹¹ "The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go."

Again, David had another opportunity to kill Saul but he refused to do so and he even restrained Abishai from killing Saul. David said, "Do not destroy Saul for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be without guilt?" Saul had the sacred anointing oil poured upon his head by Samuel when he was anointed as king of Israel. As long as Saul lived, he was anointed by God and David honored that office and refused to lay a hand on Saul (even though Saul was insane)! David put Saul in God's hands and said that the Lord would strike Saul down or his day will come when he dies a natural death or he would perish in battle. But David was not going to be the one to take the life of Saul because Saul's life was in God's hands not David.

David honored the office that Saul stood in (regardless of how defected and insane Saul was). To honor the office is to honor God regardless of the condition of the man standing in the office. After all if we could judge people as being unworthy of submission then no one on earth would submit to anyone and all society would fall into disorder and chaos when everyone rebelled. In order to maintain an orderly society every citizen has to honor the office of those placed in authority over them (even if they deserve it or not). In honoring the office we honor God who placed these leaders in authority over us!

This applies to all levels of society starting in the home with the parents in authority over children and husbands being in authority over wives and the heads of households under authority to spiritual and civil leaders and employers and so ultimately everyone is under authority of God who is in charge of all things!

2 Samuel 1:13-16 (NASB)

¹³ David said to the young man who told him, "Where are you from?" And he answered, "I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite."

¹⁴ Then David said to him, "How is it you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?"

¹⁵ And David called one of the young men and said, "Go, cut him down." So he struck him and he died.

¹⁶ David said to him, "Your blood is on your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the LORD'S anointed.'"

Not only did David refuse to touch Saul because he honored the office Saul stood in but he also dealt severely with a young man who supposed he could gain a reward for claiming to have killed Saul. Far from ingratiating David by claiming to have killed King Saul, David instead ordered that this braggart be executed! That was the reward he got for assuming he was bringing good news that he killed King Saul for David's sake!

2 Samuel 4:9-12 (NIV)

⁹ David answered Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of all trouble,

¹⁰ when a man told me, 'Saul is dead,' and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him for his news!

¹¹ How much more--when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed--should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!"

¹² So David gave an order to his men, and they killed them. They cut off their hands and feet and hung the bodies by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-Bosheth and buried it in Abner's tomb at Hebron.

David had a revelation that God had ordained all civil authority and no man could be king unless God had placed that man in that office. So, when these two scoundrels assassinated Ish-Bosheth (the son of Saul) then David had them both executed for the crime of murder! They thought they would have a reward from David but again David honored the office of king even if that king was a former enemy. David would not lay a hand on those who were appointed by God or who stood in the office of king and he even executed those who dared to destroy them!

Saul had the anointing oil upon him and David honored the office Saul stood in. David allowed God to put an end to the life of Saul but David would not touch him with his own hand for that would be rebellion against God's appointed authority.

All believers can learn a lesson from David because if they will understand the principle of ordained authority then they will honor the office (even when the person occupying that office may or may not be worthy of their honor). To honor the office is to honor God who placed that imperfect leader into office.

If the liberal media disdain the man in the office (such as the President of the nation) they are disdaining God who placed that man into the office. This shows that such people have no fear of God and have no respect for ordained authority! This is a sign that these people are godless and have no knowledge of God's ways because they have no respect for appointed authority.

2 Peter 2:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;

Wicked and godless unbelievers follow the corrupt desires of their sinful nature and they despise ordained authority! This shows that they are godless in every way and such men do not even fear speaking against spiritual authority either because of their great ignorance of spiritual things!

But this should not be the behavior of a believer who should honor the office as David honored the office of Saul and would not lay a hand on Saul and would not speak a word evil about him. The believer should do the same thing for all positions of authority both spiritual leaders and civil leaders and teachers and employers and parents and every aspect of ordained leadership.

Romans 13:1-2 (NIV)

¹ Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

² Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Again, is must be noted that the governing authorities that exist have been placed there by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against established authority is rebelling against God who instituted that authority and they will bring judgment upon themselves.

David was fully aware of this principle of delegated authority and therefore he honored the office even if the man standing in that office was a madman! To honor the office is to honor God who established that office. To fear God is to fear to touch an ordained authority even by the believer's own thoughts or their words or their actions! All believers are to learn to honor those placed in authority over them by God or they will bring God's judgment upon themselves!