Seeking to Overturn the Will of God?
Most people likely will not seek to overturn a will of God that is identified specifically and clear to the human eye. But he often works differently, identifying his will to us through basic principles of human interaction that are discussed in various ways in the bible. For example, if you want something so much that you are willing to disregard parental or other established authority or procedure in order to satisfy your desire, you need to stop and think again because you could be seeking to overturn the will of God. He defined our relationship with parental authority through the 5th commandment [Exodus 20:12] and other established authority through Paul’s letter to the Romans [Romans 13:1–7]. Established procedures, at times referred to as due process, define how we should interact with the authority, such that circumventing an established procedure invariably implies disrespecting the authority.
Adonijah Declares Himself King
This bible study examines human interactions regarding the end of David’s reign and beginning of Solomon’s as king of Israel, which provide an example of someone seeking unsuccessfully to overturn the will of God. David’s oldest living son at the time, Adonijah, wanted so much to succeed his father as king that he ignored his father’s authority as parent and as king, ignored due process, and declared himself king. To justify himself, he sought and won the support of his father’s chief commander Joab and chief priest Abiathar, men that served with David long enough to have understood and respected his authority in such matters. Instead, they were probably overcome by a haste to relegate David to the status of “yesterday’s king” and embrace Adonijah as “king of the future.” Adonijah relied on the loyalty of such men to justify seeking to overturn his father’s authority and the will of God. He in fact knew that God had selected his junior brother Solomon to succeed his father as king. However, he sought to overturn every authority that did not declare him king. Unfortunately for him, his plots failed. David was informed and moved quickly to restore his authority and due process and install Solomon as king of Israel and Judah.
Established Authority and Due Process
God establishes authority over nations, organizations, or families to direct the affairs of people through them and thus step toward accomplishing a mission that is important to him. We participate in the process by playing our role as defined within the system. In the event of a disagreement with the established authority, there should be an established procedure (due process) for dealing with the disagreement. It is unlikely that the right thing can be accomplished by disregarding the established authority or due process. Ask Adonijah.