A Theology of Nations:
Political Implications of God's Gift of Nationhood (Gen 10-12)
James M. Leonard, PhD
Note the purpose statement of this blog:
This blog attempts
to beef up Christians' political perspectives. It is not about defending two or
three moral issues, although such issues will not be neglected. What this blog
is about is the promotion of a political perspective which is fully integrated
with a mature Christian worldview while being entirely relevant to the current
American political scene.
One of the key failures of our thinking is that we don’t
have a well developed theology of nations. I suspect that books on Christians
and politics are a dime a dozen, but books attempting to construct a theology
of nations are quite rare (suggestions, anyone?). No doubt, Christians
frequently arrive at wrong political conclusions simply because they fail to consider
any theologically imposed obligations a country’s leaders might have. A well
considered theology of nations would significantly impact a Christian’s
political perspective.
Nations exist as a broad extension of the most basic
sociological unit, the family. Families network with their neighbors, and
neighborhoods develop associations with other neighborhoods, growing into ever
larger units, tied together by common bonds such as geography, language, and
other cultural considerations. Their mutual cooperation is designed to advance
the common good of their constituent families.
This sociological perspective is compatible with a biblical
model. Nationhood should not be dismissed as something arbitrarily conceived
and thus dispensable; nor should nationhood be minimized as if it were opposed
to Christian morality or even inherently evil.
A theology of nations begins at Genesis 10 and 11. Chapter
10’s Table of Nations provides a genealogical outline of postdiluvian
civilization, united not only by genetics, but by language, geography, and
perhaps even by divinely approbated conquest and intentional national
development (see the commendation of Nimrod, vv. 8-12). Chapter 11 provides
backgrounding information: nationhood was a consequence of God’s judgment at
the Tower of Babel. There, the biblical author asserts that the families of the
earth comprised a unity of culture and language in which nationhood was
superfluous, at best. The attempt to prevent societal fragmentation and to
establish a unified civilization independent of God was met by a divine
scattering and the imposition of cooperative barriers inherent in variegated
languages.
The two chapters are dischronologized. The nations are
listed first in chapter 10, prior to the dispersion of chapter 11. Logically, the
curse of chapter 11 had to happen prior to the existence of independent nations
in chapter 10. What this dischronologization achieves is to juxtapose the curse
of Gen 11 with the call of Abraham. The idea is that the dispersion and
differentiation of nations will be remedied eventually by God as he works out
the promises to Abraham and his descendents; through Abraham’s descendents (or
rather, Descendent; cf. Gal 3:16), all the nations (מִשְׁפָּחָה) of the earth will be blessed
(12:3).
Such is the beginning of a biblical theology of nations. It
is one that recognizes that the division of society was a divinely imposed
curse that will be remedied in the eschaton; thus, in Rev 22:2, the leaves of
the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. Still, nationhood is
nonetheless a gift; just as God blessed humankind with one day in seven to rest
from the curse of work, God gives the blessing of nationhood to promote the
general welfare of a people.
Much more needs to be said. The most important element of a
theology of nationhood, however, is already evident, and leads to important
implications. God’s gift of nationhood imposes certain responsibilities upon a
nation’s leaders. From this we should infer that leaders must be just and rule
their nations accordingly, assuring that each citizen has the right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with all due recourse to the law.
Likewise, we should infer that nations should relate well and cooperate with
other nations, as good, reasonable neighbors. The goal, as articulated in 1 Tim
2:2, is that citizens may live peaceful and quiet lives, or, in the words of
Micah, “Everyone will sit under their own vine, and under their own fig-tree, and
no one will make them afraid.”
The gift of nationhood, then, entails a national defense and
a just war policy. Nationhood entails a policy that protects the interests of
its citizenry. While individuals are encouraged to divest themselves of self-interest
for the sake of others (Phil 2:4), national application of the same ethic at an
international level would constitute a dereliction of stewardship, comparable
to a father gratuitously giving away all his wealth and possessions, thereby
forcing his wife and children into slavery.
To be sure, a nation should make every effort to be a
blessing to all the nations of the earth. This desideratum, however, must be
implemented with due concern for a nation’s own citizenry.
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