Many people wonder why the outcomes of elections are often so hard to predict. In the aftermath of the current elections, practically everyone will try to analyze why and how the winning candidates won and why and how the losing candidates lost.

Let us consider what may be happening behind the scenes—what God could be doing without our knowing it.

Does God ever determine who becomes a head of state and when? That idea might seem preposterous to many people who seldom or never read the Bible or don't believe its veracity. But according to considerable evidence from the Bible and from history, the answer is yes. This commentary is merely a brief introduction to that subject.

A related question is this: If God causes a person to receive a high office, does He always choose the "best" person for the job? Again, what the Bible says may surprise you.

Let's begin by taking note that God explained to the prophet Jeremiah that He was in the process of making Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon a world-ruling king (Jeremiah 27:4-7). Then the book of Daniel tells the fascinating stories of Daniel at two different times interpreting dreams of Nebuchadnezzar. When Daniel was praising God for revealing the interpretation of the first dream, he said, "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever . . . He removes kings and raises up kings" (Daniel 2:20-21, emphasis added).

This should not surprise anyone who believes that God is the Creator of the universe. If God is all-powerful, He can do anything He desires. When He wants a regime change, He can and will bring it about.

The prophecies in Daniel (especially in chapters 2, 7, 8 and 11) accurately predicted the rise and fall of four world-ruling empires: the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Greco-Macedonian, and the Roman empires. Only God can predict something that far in the future and then make it happen (Isaiah 46:9-10). The fact that God can foretell the rise and fall of nations proves that He "removes kings and raises up kings."

And the Bible has many, many examples of God doing that! Consider how God intervened to bring about the reigns of many kings of Israel and Judah, including Saul, David and Solomon.

In Daniel 4:17, Nebuchadnezzar related his second dream. God's message to him included a warning "so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men" (New International Version).

That part of God's message has three points. God always has supreme and active authority over all mankind. He at times determines who gets into leadership positions. And sometimes He punishes a nation by giving it a lowly ruler. This can mean low in character, in wisdom, in experience, in ability or all of the above.

This makes complete sense. Good government is a great blessing, and bad government is a great curse. If God wants to bless or punish a nation, one of the most powerful things He can do is to give the nation either a wise or unwise leader. "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan" (Proverbs 29:2).

Take comfort in knowing that God knows much better than any of us what kind of leader will best fulfill His purposes. Perhaps God would want a national leader who would bring about the long-range strength and well being of the nation. On the other hand, perhaps God would want to put in power a different kind of ruler—one whose policies would enable the members of His church to finish the work of preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God to a world that desperately needs to hear it (Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:19-20).

Regardless of which leaders are in office, the Bible teaches the importance of good citizenship and respect for authority (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17). It also teaches praying for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

God is especially interested in what happens in major nations and empires. Much can be learned from the Bible that relates to the history and future of the United States.