23 Bible Verses about Theocracy

But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected Me as their king.

Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.

At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at the Lord’s command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped.

so that you may enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, which He is making with you today, so that you may enter into His oath

But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey everything that the Lord has commanded.”

Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.

But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king rule over us’—even though the Lord your God is your king.

Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.”

“And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against the Lord’s kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David’s sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected Me as their king.

But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to Him, ‘You must set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”

The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us.

“All your males are to appear three times a year before the Lord your God in the place He chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths. No one is to appear before the Lord empty-handed.

“Every tenth of the land’s produce, grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.

Then Moses said to the entire Israelite community, "This is what the Lord has commanded: Take up an offering for the Lord among you. Let everyone whose heart is willing bring this as the Lord's offering: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; read more.
ram skins dyed red and manatee skins; acacia wood; oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx with gemstones to mount on the ephod and breastpiece. "Let all the skilled craftsmen among you come and make everything that the Lord has commanded: the tabernacle-its tent and covering, its clasps and planks, its crossbars, its posts and bases; the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil for the screen; the table with its poles, all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; the lampstand for light with its utensils and lamps as well as the oil for the light; the altar of incense with its poles; the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the entryway screen for the entrance to the tabernacle; the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grate, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and bases, and the screen for the gate of the courtyard; the tent pegs for the tabernacle and the tent pegs for the courtyard, along with their ropes; and the specially woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary-the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons to serve as priests." Then the entire Israelite community left Moses' presence. Everyone whose heart was moved and whose spirit prompted him came and brought an offering to the Lord to construct the tent of meeting for every use, and [to make] the holy garments. Both men and women came; all who had willing hearts brought brooches, earrings, rings, necklaces, and all kinds of gold jewelry-everyone who waved a presentation offering of gold to the Lord. Everyone who had in his possession blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, fine linen or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or manatee skins, brought [them]. Everyone who offered a contribution of silver or bronze brought it to the Lord. Everyone who possessed acacia wood useful for any task in the work brought [it]. Every skilled woman spun [yarn] with her hands and brought it: blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen. And all the women whose hearts were moved spun the goat hair by virtue of [their] skill. The leaders brought onyx and gemstones to mount on the ephod and breastpiece, as well as the spice and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. So the Israelites brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts prompted them to bring [something] for all the work that the Lord, through Moses, had commanded to be done.

"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it, you must take some of the first of all the soil's produce that you harvest from the land the Lord your God is giving you and put [it] in a container. Then go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to have His name dwell. When you come before the priest who is serving at that time, you must say to him, 'Today I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.' read more.
"Then the priest will take the container from your hand and place it before the altar of the Lord your God.

They placed him in custody because it had not been decided what should be done to him.

Moses replied to them, "Wait here until I hear what the Lord commands for you." Then the Lord spoke to Moses: "Tell the Israelites: When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a corpse or is on a distant journey, he may still observe the Passover to the Lord. read more.
Such people are to observe it in the second month, on the fourteenth day at twilight. They are to eat the animal with unleavened bread and bitter herbs;

Moses brought their case before the Lord, and the Lord answered him, "What Zelophehad's daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father's brothers and transfer their father's inheritance to them. read more.
Tell the Israelites: When a man dies without having a son, transfer his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father's brothers. If his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative of his clan, and he will take possession of it. This is to be a statutory ordinance for the Israelites as the Lord commanded Moses."

Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.

Confer some of your authority on him so that the entire Israelite community will obey him.

For I Yahweh your God,
the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior,
give Egypt as a ransom for you,
Cush and Seba in your place.

And who is like Your people Israel? God came to one nation on earth in order to redeem a people for Himself, to make a name for Himself, and to perform for them great and awesome acts, driving out nations and their gods before Your people You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt.

"Therefore tell the Israelites: I am Yahweh, and I will deliver you from the forced labor of the Egyptians and free you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Yahweh your God, who delivered you from the forced labor of the Egyptians.

Then I fell down like the first time in the presence of the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights; I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you committed, doing what was evil in the Lord's sight and provoking Him to anger. I was afraid of the fierce anger the Lord had directed against you, because He was about to destroy you. But again, the Lord listened to me on that occasion. The Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him. But I prayed for Aaron at that time also.

The Lord responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested.

"The Lord spoke these commands in a loud voice to your entire assembly from the fire, cloud, and thick darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me. All of you approached me with your tribal leaders and elders when you heard the voice from the darkness and while the mountain was blazing with fire.

The Lord then said to Moses, "Write this down on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven." And Moses built an altar and named it, "The Lord Is My Banner." He said, "Indeed, [my] hand is [lifted up] toward the Lord's throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation."

The Lord spoke to Moses, "Execute vengeance for the Israelites against the Midianites. After that, you will be gathered to your people."

“They are to make a sanctuary for Me so that I may dwell among them.

I will place My residence among you, and I will not reject you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.

“Have your brother Aaron, with his sons, come to you from the Israelites to serve Me as priest—Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

"Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. Clothe Aaron with the holy garments, anoint him, and consecrate him, so that he can serve Me as a priest. Have his sons come forward and clothe them in tunics. read more.
Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve Me as priests. Their anointing will serve to inaugurate a permanent priesthood for them throughout their generations."

But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected Me as their king.

You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to Me. Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation. These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites."

Today you have affirmed that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes, commands, and ordinances, and obey Him. And today the Lord has affirmed that you are His special people as He promised you, that you are to keep all His commands, that He will put you far above all the nations He has made in praise, fame, and glory, and that you will be a holy people to the Lord your God as He promised."

The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey. If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up.

On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. It remained that way continuously: the cloud would cover it, appearing like fire at night.

Joshua was now old, advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, "You have become old, advanced in years, but a great deal of the land remains to be possessed. This is the land that remains: All the districts of the Philistines and the Geshurites: from the Shihor east of Egypt to the border of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)-the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as the Avvites read more.
in the south; all the land of the Canaanites: from Arah of the Sidonians to Aphek and as far as the border of the Amorites; the land of the Gebalites; and all Lebanon east from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath- all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians. I will drive them out before the Israelites, only distribute the land as an inheritance for Israel, as I have commanded you. Therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh."

So the servants’ sin was very severe in the presence of the Lord, because they treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.