Majority Rule

Chuck Northrop

Because of the atrocities of some monarchs, dictators, and czars, the “majority rule” in a civic or governmental context is certainly of great benefit to society. However, in the church of our Lord and in a spiritual context, that is not the case. The majority has never desired to do the will of God. They have sought after the will of man from the beginning, and because of sin, they have left God to fall deeper into iniquity. In the history recorded in the Bible, it is quite evident that the minority of people and/or the remnant of God’s elect have held to the truth and have not perverted “the right ways of the Lord” (Acts 13:10).

The “old world” that God flooded is a case in point. The “majority rule” would have demanded that God destroy “Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness” than “the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5). In that world of corruption, the majority was filled with great wickedness so much so that the Bible records “that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Therefore, God destroyed the majority, and the remnant was saved by the very flood that destroyed the wicked (1 Peter 3:20-21).

Because of a dispute between the herdsman of Abraham and the herdsman of Lot, Abraham asked Lot to separate from him. Lot chose the plain of Jordan because it was “well watered” (Genesis 13:10). Within this plain lay the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Because of Lot, Abraham made intercession for these “cities of the plains.” He asked if God would spare the city for fifty . . . forty . . . thirty . . . twenty . . . ten righteous persons living there. Because God destroyed the cities, we can be sure that there were not even ten righteous people living in the atrocious place. “Majority rule,” however, would have demanded that God destroy Lot and his family than these cities of wickedness and abomination.

As Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, the land of bondage, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. It is here that the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and gave him the “Ten Commandments.” When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, they murmured that Moses had brought them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, and with the aid of Aaron, they made a golden calf to worship. When Moses came down off the mountain, he called to the people and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves unto him” (Exodus 32:26). What about the other eleven tribes? If the “majority ruled,” it would have been necessary for God to have destroyed Moses and the sons of Levi.

In Numbers 13, God said to Moses to send twelve men, one from each tribe, to search the land of Canaan. After forty days in the land, the spies came back and “brought up an evil report” saying the men were of “a great stature,” and “we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:32-33). Of the twelve spies, only Joshua and Caleb gave a favorable report. Because of the action of the ten spies and the consequential unbelief of Israel, the nation wandered in the wilderness for forty years, one year for every day the spies were in the land, until everyone twenty years old and upward died except for the two faithful spies (Numbers 14:29, 34). If the majority had ruled, however, faithful Joshua and Caleb would have perished in the land, and ten would have conquered the “land that flowed with milk and honey.”

The historical accounts could go on and on. We have said nothing about the Babylonian captivity and the remnant that was left. Nor have we made mention of the weeping prophet, Jeremiah, and the few that listened to his words. However, one last illustration should be made. In the marvelous “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Seldom has the majority ever been right in matters pertaining to religion. Sadly the majority within and without the church, do not truly seek “first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” The majority goes through life unconcerned about God, unconcerned about spiritual matters, and unconcerned about eternity. So, should we allow the majority to rule in religious matters? By all means, NO! The majority will lead us down the path of rebellion and unrighteousness. Let us be diligent to maintain what God’s remnant has always pleaded with the majority, “Fear God, and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).