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Today's Devotion
From Dr. David Jeremiah
Honour the King
August 5, 2026
My child, fear the Lord and the king. Don’t associate with rebels, for disaster will hit them suddenly. Who knows what punishment will come from the Lord and the king?
Proverbs 24:21-22, NLT
Recommended Reading:
Romans 13:1-713 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Romans 13:1-7
One of the Pharisees’ attempts to entrap Jesus concerned paying taxes to Caesar. If Jesus said it was wrong to pay taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees would have reported Him to the Roman governor. If He said it was appropriate to pay taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees would have accused Him of being disloyal to God. His answer negated their attempts at entrapment: pay to Caesar what is owed to Caesar and pay to God what is owed to God (Matthew 22:15-22).
In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, we are told to honor both God and the king (Ecclesiastes 8:2-5; 1 Peter 2:17). Paul gives the most detailed explanation in Romans 13:1-7 where he says that civil rulers have been established by God. Therefore, to rebel against civil authority is to rebel against God. He says that civil authorities are God’s ministers who commend right behavior and punish wrong behavior.
We may not always agree with civil authorities, but we are to honor them just as we are to fear the Lord (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
All the world’s thrones are occupied by rulers under God’s authority.
John Blanchard
