Families of the Kingdom

"And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout [all] the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family." Leviticus 25:10

The Kingdom of God is established in the hearts of the free Congregation of the people who come together in fellowship and love seeking to know and do the will of the Father.

All authority enjoyed by governments is nothing more than granted privileges which originate with the rights of the people individually given them by God through the generations of families.

Christ, Moses, and Abraham realized the necessity of free choice in any society seeking freedom under God. Abraham's and Moses' altars were metaphors for a system of charity1 that cared for the needs of the people, without making them human resources---as was done in Babylon, Ur, Haran, Sodom and Gomorrah, Egypt, and any other government that followed that way of force, submission, and control, which takes away the natural liberty or right to choose granted by God to all mankind.

Moses made an altar of earth. The word for earth was also a metaphor for the sons of Adam.2 Was the altar made of dirt or people? We are all altars of clay. The members of a family joined together in a marriage under the authority of God are one person under God.3 The family is God's institution. Coming together as an autonomous family without the impairment of rights granted by God requires that people care about each other as much as they care about themselves.

The family, as God's institution, is the foundation of all society. “When the foundation fails all fails.”4 If the autonomy of the family is diminished all society suffers. Coming together as a group of autonomous families without impairment of rights granted by God requires that people care about each other as much as they care about themselves. It requires that we do not covet our neighbors goods nor steal them.

In order for Israel to remain free, they were required to love justice and mercy, which is the character of God, and to love their neighbor as much as themselves. In order to practice what Moses preached in God's name ,the Levites were called out to serve the tents of the congregations, the families of God. The Levites were not just a tribe but a body of men who were called out to serve a nation as one people under God. Their primary national law was the Ten Commandments, their courts were the congregations of the people in groups of ten, their appeals courts were the congregations of ministers.

The people were free from authoritarian rulers in a free voluntary government designed by God. The power and authority of the state was truly in the hands of the people. Everyone belonged to their families, and their possessions belonged within the family. They came together in free association.

There were attempts to consolidate the people into one body by mocking God. They placed their wealth in a central depository designed as a golden calf which had to be defended by all. They attempted to unite under leaders like Saul, rejecting God. The only system blessed by God was one based on voluntary charity through congregations of the people bound by love of justice and mercey.

In God's government, people never give up their God given right to choose. Their leaders are titular and are chosen because of their desire and ability to serve. The people tithed to their public servants, called Levites, according to their service to the people.5

This was a government that worked for those diligent souls who strove for justice and mercy, devoid of covetousness, yet virtuous and unselfish in purpose.

Everything in the old testament society was geared to keep the people free souls under God. The free will offerings, honoring of the parents so that their days would be long on the land, the feasts that brought the people together producing family alliances by marriage from many different communities, the dependence on personal and community charity---all contributed to a society bound by liberty, through hope and charity.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

Congregations
http://www.hisholychurch.org/ministries/congregations/index.html

Homeschools
http://www.hisholychurch.org/ministries/families/homeschool.php

Broken Families
http://www.hisholychurch.org/ministries/families/broken.php

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