TOUCH NOT THE LORD’S ANOINTED
Psalms 105:15 (ESV) “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”
There is a serious warning here that I fear has not been taken seriously among modern Christians, “Touch not my anointed ones.” There are all kinds of questions we can ask about this passage, such as: What is meant by the word “touch”? Who are the anointed? How is harm done? Scripture gives us some context here. When King Saul was relentlessly, and murderously, pursuing David, twice David had Saul in his sites, completely vulnerable and at his disposal, yet he refused to pick him off. Why? He tells us, “Who can lay a hand on the LORD’S anointed and be guiltless?” and, “… The LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD’S anointed.” (1 Sam 26:9-11) David understood his place and his limits. Saul had turned his back on God and his jealous attention toward David, yet still David refused to harm him, leaving Saul in God’s hands to deal with in His timing. It was principle that restrained him, and principle that caused him to be conscience-stricken for doing something as simple as cutting off a corner of Saul’s robe (1 Sam 24:5).
God’s timing would come to pass, and Saul’s demise would be brutal (2 Sam 1:8-16), but David kept his hands clean and his heart pure in the matter. I wonder how many church folks can say that, especially considering the number of churches who have effectively moved out one pastor after another? Oh, they haven’t brutally killed them, but they have brutalized them and their families none the less. They may not have pierced them with sword or spear, but they have stabbed them in the back with their words and political maneuvering. Many church folks today feel too strong a sense of ownership of the local churches they attend, “hiring” a man of God to do the necessary ministerial work for them. When the man of God gets out of line, tension builds. As tension builds, sides are chosen, and those in power effectively mobilize just enough people to make the man of God’s life miserable, to the point where he often resigns willingly, leaving them with the appearance of clean hands and pure hearts; and on to the next one they go.
Certainly, pastors are not above church discipline, and sometimes their actions warrant extreme response; maybe they have done something illegal or, even worse, are apostate, but I fear that is not the case in the majority of pastor “lynchings” we see in modern churches. Maybe his preaching style is lacking. Maybe his vision for the church is unpopular. Or, more likely, maybe he crossed the wrong person. Beloved, God has not called you to protect your little church. If you seek out and call a man of God to the church you attend, praying for direction in the process, you must trust and submit to his leadership. If it does not meet your expectations, consider alternatives, like going to him in love and gently making your case, or, if that doesn’t work, finding another church; but leave the man of God alone. Leave him in God’s hands to convict, discipline, and direct; for one thing is certain, if you choose to mount an opposition against him and attempt to usurp his position, you will not be guiltless, and it will be you God deals with, not him. Let us take David’s example and the Psalmist’s warning seriously, and touch not the Lord’s anointed.
