The Influence of the Biblical Model of Government on the Declaration of Independence

Exodus chapter 18 verses 13 and following speaks of the Biblical formula for choosing leaders to judge the people. Emphasizing small local government, the importance of standards of character in the leaders, the importance of basing justice on Biblical law, and representative government. A study of grievances number four through seven, seventeen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-two, and twenty-three, will unveil the understanding that the founders had of the Biblical model of government.

The serious student of America's Christian history will want to read each of these grievances in light of scripture. For those interested in America's Christian history in a more casual manner this article will address some of the grievances listed above.

In the fourth grievance listed by the drafters of the Declaration of Independence they accuse the King of calling meetings of governing bodies at a distance too great for some to travel, as a means of making it difficult for them to participate. Not only does this violate the principle of allowing representatives to protect their constituents, but it violates the principle of local government. This made it virtually impossible for the governed to keep tabs on their representatives.

The seventh grievance charges the crown with obstructing the passage of good laws, and requiring the adherence to evil laws. This is one of the more obvious infractions requiring the founders to resist the tyranny of the crown, based on Biblical principles of holding civil magistrates to Biblical law.

Everyone has heard the phrase 'no taxation without representation.” Grievance number seventeen states, “For imposing taxes on us without our consent.” The founding fathers viewed this as a usurpation of representative government. This was seen as a direct assault of that Biblical principle as laid down in Exodus chapter 18.

Grievance number nineteen revealed how the King was attempting to subvert justice by accusing men of pretended offenses and transporting them from America to try them unjustly. Grievance number twenty-two explains to the world how the Godly men elected by the people were replaced by men who had no regard for whether a law came from scripture or not.

The Declaration of Independence delineates some offense for each of the principles of Exodus chapter 18. There can be no question that their understanding of the Biblical model for government influenced their break from the mother-country. The Declaration of Independence displayed to the world America's dependence on “divine Providence.”