The Grammar of Authority Text: Exodus 22:28
Introduction: Our Anarchic Age
We live in an age that despises all authority. It is an age of perpetual adolescence, where every man does what is right in his own eyes, provided he first checks to make sure it is also right in the eyes of the howling mob on social media. The spirit of our time is one of insolence, a sneering contempt for all fathers, all kings, and all gods. We have traded the fear of God for the fear of man, and the result is that we have become a nation of cowering, resentful anarchists. We bow to the faceless tyranny of the algorithm while puffing out our chests against the authorities God Himself has instituted.
This rebellion is not a new invention. It is the ancient lie of the serpent, whispered again into the ears of a new generation: "You will be like God." At the root of this lie is a rejection of the Creator/creature distinction. If there is no God who is God, then man must be god. And if man is god, then he cannot abide any rival claimant to the throne, whether in Heaven or on earth. The result is that modern man spits at Heaven and curses his rulers in the same breath. He burns his draft card and his Bible with the same self-righteous fire.
Into this chaotic din, the law of God speaks with a quiet and devastating authority. The laws given to Israel were not arbitrary regulations for a dusty, bronze-age tribe. They are case-law applications of eternal moral principles. As the Westminster Confession teaches, the judicial law of Israel expired with that state, but the "general equity thereof" still requires our obedience. The underlying principle of justice remains. And in our text today, we find a foundational principle for all societal order, a principle that our generation has forgotten to its great peril. This law establishes the grammar of authority, showing us that all true order in the world flows downward from a right posture toward God in Heaven.
The Text
"You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people."
(Exodus 22:28 LSB)
The Fountainhead of All Authority (v. 28a)
The command begins where all commands must begin, with God Himself.
"You shall not curse God..." (Exodus 22:28a)
To "curse" God is more than just using foul language in a moment of frustration. The Hebrew word here, qalel, means to treat as light or trifling, to despise, to declare contemptible. It is the opposite of giving God the "weight" or "glory" (kabod) that He is due. To curse God is to blaspheme Him. It is to look upon the infinite, self-existent, sovereign Creator of all things and to declare Him insignificant, unjust, or irrelevant. It is the ultimate act of cosmic treason.
This sin is the very heart of the fall. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they were, in effect, cursing God. They were declaring His command to be trifling and His wisdom to be faulty. They were treating His word as light and the serpent's word as heavy. Every sin we commit is a faint echo of this primal curse, a declaration that our will, our desires, and our wisdom are weightier than God's.
Notice the structure of the law. The prohibition against cursing God comes first. This is not accidental. All of reality is structured hierarchically. Reverence for God is the absolute, non-negotiable presupposition for a sane and ordered world. If you get this wrong, you will get everything else wrong. If you teach a child that he may curse God, you cannot be surprised when he grows up to curse you. If a nation treats the Almighty as a light thing, it is only a matter of time before it treats all authority as a light thing, and the entire social fabric unravels into chaos. Our society's widespread disrespect for earthly authority is not the root problem; it is the rotten fruit of a deeper, theological rebellion. We have a crisis of politics because we first had a crisis of worship.
Delegated, Derivative Authority (v. 28b)
From the fountainhead of divine authority, the law then flows downstream to God's appointed representatives.
"...nor curse a ruler of your people." (Exodus 22:28b LSB)
It is crucial that we see the connection. The word "nor" links these two prohibitions together as a single unit of thought. You shall not curse God, and therefore you shall not curse the ruler He has placed over you. The authority of the civil magistrate is a delegated authority. It is derivative. As the Apostle Paul tells us, "there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God" (Romans 13:1). The ruler is called God's "minister" or "deacon" (diakonos) three times in that passage. He wields the sword, not in his own name, but as an avenger of God's wrath on the wrongdoer.
To curse the ruler, then, is not simply to offer a political opinion. It is to show contempt for the office God has established. It is to treat God's deacon as a light thing, which is ultimately to treat God Himself as a light thing. This is why the penalty for this crime in Israel was so severe. When Naboth was framed by Jezebel, the false charge was that he "cursed God and the king" (1 Kings 21:10). The two were seen as a package deal. The Apostle Paul, even when unjustly struck, immediately repented of speaking disrespectfully to the high priest, quoting this very verse from Exodus: "You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people" (Acts 23:5).
Now, this is a hard word, especially in a democratic republic where we are accustomed to roasting our political leaders over the coals of public opinion. And this command is certainly not a divine endorsement of tyranny or a prohibition against all forms of criticism. The prophets were not shy about calling wicked kings to account. But there is a world of difference between a prophet of God speaking a word from the Lord to a king's face, and a citizen sitting on his couch, spewing vitriol and contempt against the office God has ordained. The former is covenantal accountability; the latter is insolent rebellion.
This also does not mean that submission to the magistrate is absolute. God has established three governments: the family, the church, and the state. Each has its own God-given jurisdiction. When one government oversteps its bounds and commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, our duty is clear: "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). But even in our disobedience to a tyrannical command, we must not be insolent. We must maintain respect for the office, even as we resist the unlawful command. We are to honor the king, even when the king is Nero (1 Peter 2:17). Our resistance must be principled and respectful, not the shrill, anarchic cursing of a rebel.
The Gospel and Good Government
How does this law find its fulfillment in the gospel? It does so perfectly in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of both clauses of this law. He is the one who never cursed God, but perfectly honored His Father in all things, even to the point of death on a cross. He said, "I have glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do" (John 17:4). He gave ultimate weight and glory to the Father.
And at the same time, Jesus is the one who perfectly submitted to the rulers of His people, even when they were corrupt and unjust. When confronted by Pilate, who boasted of his authority, Jesus replied, "You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above" (John 19:11). He acknowledged the derivative nature of Pilate's authority even as that authority was being used to crucify Him unjustly. He did not curse the ruler; He submitted to the ruler, and through that submission, He disarmed all the principalities and powers of hell (Colossians 2:15).
This is the pattern for us. We are called to imitate Christ. Through the new birth, the Holy Spirit writes this law on our hearts. He breaks our rebellious pride and teaches us the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Where we once cursed God in our hearts, we now bless Him. Where we once were filled with contempt for all authority, we are now called to "be subject to the governing authorities" for the Lord's sake (Romans 13:1).
The gospel does not make us anarchists. It makes us the best citizens. It frees us from the need to rage and curse, because we know that our ultimate King is seated on the throne of Heaven. He removes kings and sets up kings (Daniel 2:21). Our ultimate trust is not in princes, but in the living God. And so we can honor the earthly ruler, pray for him, and live quiet and peaceable lives, not because the ruler is always worthy of honor, but because the God who established his office is always worthy. By honoring the stream, we honor the Fountainhead. By refusing to curse the deacon, we give glory to the true King.