Touch Not The Lord's Anointed

Psalms 105:14-15, “He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their
sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”

“Touch not the Lord’s anointed” is a badly
abused phrase today. Errant pastors and leaders
of churches and Seminaries and Bible colleges
have hidden behind this biblical adage to
resist discipline and rebuke by fellow Christian
leaders. Are these “men of God” really
untouchable even when they teach wrong doctrines
and commit sins blatantly and publicly?

The word “anointed” in Hebrew is “meshiach”
from which we get the word Messiah. The Greek
equivalent is the word “Christ”.
Before we look at the biblical understanding,
let us begin by looking at the words of David
before he became king. When David told his
men that they must not touch the LORD’s
anointed (referring to King Saul who was hunting
David down like an animal because King
Saul did not want David to be the next king
after him even though he knew that it was God’s
will), it was within the context of “not disobeying
God”. This truth has been blatantly ignored
by leaders today who hide behind God’s
teaching to champion their own man/men or
their own cause regardless of the fact that these
men have sinned and these causes are against
the perfect Word of God.

In the case of David, he was anointed by God
to be the next king of Israel but God did not tell
David to kill Saul in order to be the next king
the way that God told Jehu to wipe out the
family of King Ahab to become the next king.
In other words, David was not told the method
or the time regarding how or when he would be
the next king. David had to wait patiently for
God’s timing and did not rush ahead of God.
Hence David said these words to his men in 1
Samuel 26:9-11a, “And David said to Abishai,
Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his
hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?
David said furthermore, As the LORD
liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day
shall come to die; or he shall descend into
battle, and perish. The LORD forbid that I
should stretch forth mine hand against the
LORD’S anointed: . . . ..” David did not condone
King Saul’s sin at all. He said that the
LORD would smite him in His time.

The context of Psalm 105:14-15 refers to the
patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) in the
Land of Canaan. While they stayed there according
to God’s will, kings like Abimelech of
the Philistines and Pharaoh of the Egyptians
were rebuked by God so that God’s will in the
lives of His servants, the patriarchs, was not
thwarted. God’s plan was that they were the
chosen ones through whom the Messiah would
finally come. The nation of Israel would be
born through them. In other words, God was
fulfilling His prophesies in the lives of these
men and until their duties were done they
would not die. Once their duties were done,
the LORD would call them home. They were
“indestructible” until the work God had for
them was done. But that does not mean that
when they sinned they were not rebuked.

A case in point was the lie of Abraham when he
went into Gerar and lied about his relationship
with Sarah. “Then Abimelech called
Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou
done unto us? and what have I offended thee,
that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom
a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto
me that ought not to be done. . . . And Abimelech
said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell
where it pleaseth thee. And unto Sarah he
said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand
pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a
covering of the eyes, unto all that are with
thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved
(Genesis 20:9, 15-16).” [Emphasis
added]

A heathen king said that Abraham was
to Sarah, and all those around him including
his servant, “a covering of the eyes”, which
means a most shameful person!
God demands a high standard of holiness from
His anointed, not a low one. When His servants
sin they must be rebuked and many times
openly so that all may learn and fear God!
This is true in both the OT and NT. When an
ordained elder (including a pastor) sins, he is
to be rebuked and if he refuses to repent then
he must be disciplined. Even after he has repented,
he must still confess his sins before
the congregation, who had elected him into the
highest office in the church, for having betrayed
their trust in him. The Bible says in 1Timothy
5:19-20, “Against an elder receive not an
accusation, but before two or three witnesses.
Them that sin rebuke before all, that others
also may fear.”

No one is above the Law of God, even His
perfect and Holy Word. A higher standard of
holiness is expected of all believers because
they have been converted and illuminated by
the Spirit of God who indwells every believer.
An even higher standard is expected of every
leader in God’s church especially pastors and
elders. For them to hide behind the phrase
“touch not the LORD’s anointed” is not only
shameful but a gross abuse of Holy Scriptures.
It is like saying that God will condone the sins
of His “anointed” servant who has done so
much for Him! This would make God a sinner
for He would be charged with partiality in His
judgement. Moses was rebuked immediately
by God and barred from entering the Promised
Land even after he had led the people of
Israel for 39 faithful years in the wilderness.
Although Moses prayed for God to let him
enter, God told him to stop praying because
His decision was final!

The phrase “touch not the LORD’s anointed”
is applied to all who are serving the LORD
and not just to a select few leaders! As long as
you are anointed by God to start a ministry
such as the Teens Fellowship or any other
ministry for His glory, you are the LORD’s
anointed for that particular ministry. It does
not mean you do not make mistakes or are
faultless. But you will be protected by God till
your task in that ministry is completed. In the
case of the pastor, his ministry is the flock of
Christ i.e. the entire church! The only difference
is in the size or scope of ministry.

Just because one is anointed for a service, it
does not mean that the person is definitely
saved or a child of God. It simply means that
the God of the Bible is a sovereign God Who
can “anoint” anyone to do His sovereign will.
King Saul was anointed to be king of Israel and
it had nothing to do with his salvation. Another
example is Hazael, the Syrian king whom
God had anointed to punish Israel. Jehu, a
wicked king was anointed by God to punish
Ahab. 1 Kings 19:15-16 says, “And the LORD
said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the
wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest,
anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu
the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king
over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of
Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in
thy room.” Do not confuse service in a ministry
with salvation!

In the case of Jesus of Nazareth, He was
anointed as the Saviour of the world and hence
He alone can bear the Name and title, Jesus
(Saviour) Christ (anointed). He is the Anointed
(Christ or Messiah) Saviour! In our case, it is
for service but anointed nonetheless.
Every servant of God needs to have accountability
and therefore is not above the Law of
God, including those who are anointed by God!