2. The Old Testament Position
For Civil Affairs
The Bible is clear that voting was always by heads of households in both the Old and the New Testaments. When it came to civil polity, Scripture is clear that “the men of Israel choose” their rulers (2 Samuel 16:18; see also Deut. 1:13, masculine). When “the people … said [to Samuel], “No, but we will have a king over us…, Samuel said to the men of Israel, ‘Every man go to his city’” (1 Sam. 8:19-22). When the actual vote took place to make Saul king, it was done by the men (1 Sam. 11:11-15 – “all the men”). In Judges 8:22 it is “the men of Israel [who] said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us.’” This has always been the pattern. Thus, when Abimelech candidated for king, he candidated before “the men of Shechem” (Judges 9:2), and “all the men of Shechem gathered together … and they went and made Abimelech king” (Judges 9:6). When a city made a covenant with another country, it was the men who entered into covenant. For example, “all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, ‘Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you’” (1 Sam. 11:1).
Whether the rulers were legitimate or ungodly, no one dreamed of universal suffrage. For example, Nehemiah describes the rebellion under Moses, and says “our fathers acted … and… they appointed a leader” (Neh. 9:16-17). The same was true under Adonijah’s self-proclaimed kingship. He knew that without the vote of the heads of families, his kingship was not legitimate. So “he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah” to the king-making ceremony (1 Kings 1:9). The same was true under Absolom’s revolt against David. It was “all the men of Israel” who decided to revolt (2 Sam. 17:14).
When David sought to come back into power, he had to convince the men of Israel before he could be successful. Scripture says, “So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah, just as the heart of one man, so that they sent this word to the king: ‘Return, you and all your servants!’” (2 Sam. 19:14).
Voting was always seen as an issue of leadership, authority, and representation. When a quarrel came between some of the tribes over David’s regaining power, it speaks of “the men of Israel.. the men of Judah… the men of Israel… the men of Judah” (2 Sam. 19:41-43). This led to a subsequent revolt in which Sheba encouraged the men to vote against David. He said, “‘every man to his tents, O Israel!’ So every man of Israel deserted David” (2 Sam. 20:1-2).
The same was true of the secession under Rehoboam’s reign. It was the men of Israel who made the vote to secede, saying, “every man to your tents, O Israel” (2 Chron. 10:16). The reason for this is that society was not seen as being made up of individuals. Rather, it was composed of families. For example, God instructs Israel, “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families” (Numb. 1:2; etc.), and later speaks of “those who were numbered by their families” (Numb. 4:40; etc.). Likewise, God gives an “inheritance… according to their families” (Josh. 15:20), and says, “these mentioned by name were leaders in their families” (1 Chron. 4:38). The most fundamental unit of Israel was the family. Israel was a republic made up of states and families. It was not a democracy made up of individuals.
For Places of Worship
The same was true of the places of worship. A minimum of ten men formed a synagogue, and it was the men who chose their teacher (Zech. 8:23; on the minimum number of ten see Ex. 18:21). The worship services were not composed of individuals in God’s eyes, but of “families” (Zech. 12:12-14; Psalm 22:27) or “households” (Deut. 12:7; 14:26; etc.). Unlike modern democratic and individualistic churches, the pervasive evidence throughout the Old Testament is that communion was taken by families (“a lamb for a household” – Ex. 12:3; see also Deut. 12:6-7, 17-18; 14:22-29; etc.). The father was responsible to bring his family to worship (“you and your households” – Deut. 12:7; 14:26), for ensuring that his children understood the significance of the sacrament (Ex. 13:14) and that they came properly to eat before the Lord (Deut. 12:1-19; 14:22-29; 16:9-12 – notice “all your males” in verse 16; 26:1-15 have the primary responsibility). After the priests served communion to the men, the men served communion to their families (1 Sam. 1:5-7) since they were the pastors of their families within the church. The church of the Old Testament was clearly a republic that had governments (family) within the overall government (the church system laid down in Exodus 18). It was the men who were admonished to bring the offerings (Deut. 16:16-17; Ezra 1:4) because it was recognized that the men represented their families before the altar. The family centered structure of all society in the Old Testament is so overwhelmingly evident that very few seek to deny it. Instead, they seek to make the New Testament more individualistic.