Remember that the hope of Abraham, and all the Old Testament saints was the hope of inheriting the land. Well, time goes on and Abraham's son Isaac has a son. Isaac has Jacob, and twelve of Jacobs sons made up the twelve tribes of Israel.
Now, I'd like you to note a verse in Isaiah.
Isaiah 43:15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
God is frequently described as "the King of Israel."
Exodus 19:5-6 5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
The people of Israel were His kingdom. They began to be God's Kingdom through entering into a covenant with Him at Mount Sinai, shortly after they had escaped from Egypt through the Red Sea.
In response to their willingness to keep this covenant, they would "be unto God a kingdom...and an holy nation."
Psalm 114:1-2 1When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; 2Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.NLT Psalm 114:2 The land of Judah became God's sanctuary, and Israel became his kingdom.
After entering into this agreement, Israel traveled through the wilderness of Sinai and settled down in the promised land of Canaan. God was their King, and they were ruled over by "Judges" (e.g. Gideon and Samson) rather than kings. These judges were not kings, but divinely guided administrators who governed certain parts of the country rather than ruling over the whole land. They were often raised up by God for specific purposes, e.g. to lead Israel to repentance and deliver them from their enemies.
When the Israelites asked the judge Gideon to be their King, note his reply.
Judges 8:23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
It wasn't time for a king yet, according to God's timetable. There would be a time for a king. It was recorded in God's Word that His people would have a king ever since Genesis 3:15 (the king of kings.)
This is further stated in Genesis 49:10.
NLT Genesis 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will obey.
This truth about a king who would rule for God in this kingdom is also stated in depth in Deuteronomy 17. I'd like to use the New Living Translation here because I feel it is a little clearer.
NLT Deuteronomy 17:14-20 14"You will soon arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, and you will conquer it and settle there. Then you may begin to think, 'We ought to have a king like the other nations around us.'15If this happens, be sure that you select as king the man the LORD your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite, not a foreigner. 16The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself, and he must never send his people to Egypt to buy horses there, for the LORD has told you, 'You must never return to Egypt.' 17The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will lead him away from the LORD. And he must not accumulate vast amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.18When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy these laws on a scroll for himself in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19He must always keep this copy of the law with him and read it daily as long s he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of this law. 20This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. This will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.
This should be a good place to start for our clergy today. God knew there would come a time for a king, however, it would be when GOD said; not man. God ruled as the king over the nations through judges. During the days of Samuel the prophet, the last judge, Israel reflected the theocracy and prematurely demanded an earthly king.
I Samuel 8:4-7 4Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. 7And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
Because of the hardness of their hearts, and their impatience, the best God could do for them was Saul. God will not overstep man's free will. The time for a king had not come, but the people wanted a king, and they wanted him yesterday. I wonder how many times we make decisions and then ask God to bless them.
This is what Israel wanted, and they were determined to get a king one way or another.
Well, God told Samuel to anoint Saul as Israel's king. The king of Israel was called the Lord's anointed. Now I'd like to take some time and show you the truth about the king and the kingdom.
I Samuel 24:1-6 1And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following, the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. 2Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all, Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon, the rocks of the wild goats. 3And he came to the sheepcotes, by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. 4And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good, unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. 5And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because, he had cut off Saul's skirt. 6And he said unto his men, The LORD, forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.
The word "anointed" in verse 6 is the word christos in the Septuagint.
By the way, when you see the abbreviation (LXX) this is referring to the Septuagint. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The Old Testament is usually in Hebrew, however, 70 scribes did a Greek translation. The letter L represents the Roman number for 50. The letter X represents the Roman number for 10. So when you read LXX, or 70, in biblical writings, this is the abbreviation for the Septuagint.
I Samuel 2:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.
Again, the word anointed is the word christos in the LXX.
Psalm 18:49-50 49Therefore, will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. 50Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed forevermore.
Once again, we see in verse 50 that the word anointed is the word christos in the LXX. So, you see the king who ruled for God was called "God's anointed", or "God's Christos." God's Christ. You see, the word Christ in the New Testament is the word christos. Christ was not Jesus' last name; there is a much greater truth behind the word Christ that I will unfold for you.
This is the understanding of the word christos. It means "God's anointed" or "the anointed one." Moreover, it was understood and associated with the King who ruled for God.
Saul was selected to be king. Because of Saul's disobedience, God rejected Saul as king and chose David as His king, his anointed, his Christos.
II Samuel 22:51 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and showeth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed forevermore.
The word anointed in verse 51 is the word christos in the LXX.
Psalm 89:3-4 3I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 4Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.
God, who cannot lie, promised David, with a covenant, and eternal seed, an eternal throne, and an eternal kingdom. His seed would rule over the kingdom of Israel forever. This kingly covenant was confirmed and repeated to Solomon, David's son.
I Chronicles 22:9-10 9Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all, his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. 10He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.
This is what is known as a dual prophecy!! It was spoken to, and at the time of Solomon, talking about Solomon, and yet it has a future reference to a coming king who would rule over the kingdom forever, Jesus Christ!
It is also interesting to note that the king of Israel would be called God's son, and God's anointed, God's Christ!!
For many centuries, the dynasty of David reigned in Jerusalem over Israel. Most of the rulers who sat on David's throne, however, were wicked. They followed other nations in disobeying God and in worshiping idols. The Queen of Sheba said in II Chronicles 9:8:
II Chronicles 9:8 Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.
Solomon was reigning on "(God's) throne, to be king for the Lord thy God." Israel was part of God's kingdom on earth in the Old Testament.
I Chronicles 28:5 Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.I Chronicles 29:23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed, him.
Solomon's reign of great peace and prosperity pointed forward to (or was 'typical' of) the future Kingdom of God. This is why it is emphasized that he was king over Israel on God's behalf, as Jesus will also sit on God's throne as King of Israel for God. Many of the righteous kings recorded in the Old Testament enjoyed reigns, which were typical of Christ's future Kingdom.
To be continued… ÿ