--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The stranger in ancient Israel did not…" description: "\"The stranger in ancient Israel did not serve as a judge, although he received all the benefits of living in the land. The political question is this: B..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/gary-north-15454_ancient_the-stranger-in-ancient-israel-did-not-s_2433474.jpg" --- # The stranger in ancient Israel did not serve as a judge… ![“The stranger in ancient Israel did not serve as a judge, although he received all the benefits of living in the land. The political question is this: By what biblical standard is the pagan to be granted the right to bring political sanctions against God's people? We recognize that unbelievers are…” quote by Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/gary-north-15454_ancient_the-stranger-in-ancient-israel-did-not-s_2433474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/gary-north-15454_ancient_the-stranger-in-ancient-israel-did-not-s_2433474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfb/gary-north-15454_ancient_the-stranger-in-ancient-israel-did-not-s_2433474.jpg) > “The stranger in ancient Israel did not serve as a judge, although he received all the benefits of living in the land. The political question is this: By what biblical standard is the pagan to be granted the right to bring political sanctions against God's people? We recognize that unbelievers are not to vote in Church elections. Why should they be allowed to vote in civil elections in a covenanted Christian nation? Which judicial standards will they impose? By what other standard than the Bible?” [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage questions whether non‑believers should influence civil governance in a Christian‑based nation, arguing that biblical standards should guide political authority. **In simple terms:** Should secular voting be allowed in a Christian nation? Key Takeaway Consider biblical criteria for civic participation. Themes Examine the role of faith in public policy. Mood critical thought‑provoking Type essay theological political When to use this quote - biblical authority - democratic legitimacy Key Concepts politics theology citizen rights church‑state relations Practical Applications - election policy - legislative debates - church governance Questions to Reflect On - What standards should guide voting rights in diverse societies? - Can a nation balance religious convictions with democratic inclusion? A Different Perspective Secular societies also value pluralism and human rights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Biblical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biblical/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christian nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-nation/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Judicial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judicial/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Pagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pagan/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sanctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctions/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Unbelievers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbelievers/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) ## Related quotes > [The long-term goal of Christians in politics should be to gain exclusive control over the franchise. Those who refuse to submit publicly to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/the-long-term-goal-of-christians-in-politics-should-be-to-gain/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [A biblical standard of sexuality is not merely a test of evangelical consistency. It is a test of evangelical authenticity and integrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-mohler/a-biblical-standard-of-sexuality-is-not-merely-a-test-of-evangelical/) [Albert Mohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-mohler/) > [“I am not going to attempt a physical or medical analysis of death and its aftermath or a psychological or anthropological description of beliefs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/i-am-not-going-to-attempt-a-physical-or-medical-analysis-of-death-and/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [There's something wrong in a nation where six million black men are not allowed to vote because they were convicted of felonies. They've paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/there-s-something-wrong-in-a-nation-where-six-million-black-men-are/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [“There are reasons children are not allowed to vote or be left unsupervised for long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-callaghan/there-are-reasons-children-are-not-allowed-to-vote-or-be-left/) Helen Callaghan > [Only native male citizens with a wife and children, a property, and a military rank should be allowed to vote and be elected for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varg-vikernes/only-native-male-citizens-with-a-wife-and-children-a-property-and-a/) [Varg Vikernes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varg-vikernes/) > [“Aren't you a Republican? Just about everyone is in the whole town of Learning." "No, I'm not a Republican. And I'm not no Democrat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-newton-peck/aren-t-you-a-republican-just-about-everyone-is-in-the-whole-town-of/) [Robert Newton Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-newton-peck/) > [Victor Hugo said you can stop an invasion of armies, but you can never stop an invasion of ideas. There's nothing more powerful than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/victor-hugo-said-you-can-stop-an-invasion-of-armies-but-you-can-never/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [People must be allowed to vote without intimidation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-hoyle/people-must-be-allowed-to-vote-without-intimidation/) [Lindsay Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-hoyle/) > [Anyone who wants to vote probably shouldn't be allowed to vote. 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So, maybe my people should be allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-nyerere/decisions-made-in-washington-are-more-important-to-us-than-those-made/) [Julius Nyerere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-nyerere/) > [I proposed a law that every country where the U.S. has a military base - those people should be allowed to vote in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-where-the-u-s-has-a-military-base/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Unless they can pass the same test that immigrants must pass to become citizens, people shouldnt be allowed to vote. The idea that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-reese/unless-they-can-pass-the-same-test-that-immigrants-must-pass-to/) [Charley Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-reese/) ## More by Gary North > [And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/and-he-that-blasphemeth-the-name-of-the-lord-he-shall-surely-be-put/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [Christians are supposed to love each other. Communists are supposed to share bonds with all proletarians and other communists. Every ideological group proclaims universality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/christians-are-supposed-to-love-each-other-communists-are-supposed-to/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [Is Christianity just another special-interest group, clawing for political power? Or, even if Christians are acting as God's spokesmen, must Christians always conduct themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/is-christianity-just-another-special-interest-group-clawing-for/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [Socialism is simply Communism for people without the testosterone to man the barricades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/socialism-is-simply-communism-for-people-without-the-testosterone-to/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [“A state that claims to be a savior of mankind necessarily becomes the final judge of mankind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/a-state-that-claims-to-be-a-savior-of-mankind-necessarily-becomes-the/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [Karl Marx was the foremost hater and most incessant whiner in the history of Western Civilization. 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This strategy is a strategy for dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/what-the-ten-commandments-set-forth-is-a-strategy-this-strategy-is-a/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [All long-term social change comes from the successful efforts of one or another struggling organizations to capture the minds of a hard core of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/all-long-term-social-change-comes-from-the-successful-efforts-of-one/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [Satan cannot win. Why not? Because he has denied God's sovereignty and disobeyed God's law. But Moses was told explicitly, God's blessings come only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/satan-cannot-win-why-not-because-he-has-denied-god-s-sovereignty-and/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [God is in charge, waiting for His people to challenge the rulers of the earth and take the steering wheel from them, ... the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/god-is-in-charge-waiting-for-his-people-to-challenge-the-rulers-of/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/thou-shalt-not-steal-except-by-majority-vote/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [He who bets on governments and government money bets against 6,000 years of recorded human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/he-who-bets-on-governments-and-government-money-bets-against-6-000/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [“The trouble is, nobody knows exactly how the world really works. 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And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? 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