CCrown Him King of Kings

Jesus Christ, the Sovereign King of All

A king is a male person who is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere, as one dictionary defines it.  Another source indicated that Americans “don’t like kings” as they are viewed as tyrants and meaningless figureheads (reasonabletheology.org/jesus-christ-our-king).  Americans had reason for their extremely negative feelings toward kings as subjects of the English government, they were taxed and subjected to other usurious means.  As Americans, we know that they rebelled in the American Revolution and the rest is history!  The American Constitution is clear that the “people” reign in our domain versus a king in many other areas of the world.  Our constitution was created with three distinct governing divisions – judicial, executive, and legislative branches – with checks and balances.

America is such a young country in comparison to the world.  Kings date back millennia to the Old Testament days of Abram.  Genesis records in chapter14 where Abram rescues Lot following a battle that resulted in the capture of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abram was told that his relative was captured. He took 318 men and recovered Lot and his relatives including their belongings.  When Abram returned, he was thankful and gave the king (Melchizedek) a tenth of everything.

Abram was promised the land of milk and honey by none other than the King Himself.  The Promised Land was small in comparison to the geographical areas surrounding them.  But size is insignificant when the LORD Himself is in control – the King!   History records a very lengthy Assyrian period of time dating back to over 2,000 years BC.  The Assyrian periods have been divided into 1) old; 2) early; 3) middle; and 4) neo (new).  The various periods waxed and waned as to their influence.  The Assyrians remained strong during the old period but then declined until the middle period.  That period saw the reign of great kings during which time they overthrew multiple empires.   Toward the end of that period, Tiglath-pileser I (1115-1074 BC) reigned and proved to be a strong ruler.  His successor invaded and captured Babylon.    The middle period was marked by long wars fought that helped build Assyria into a warrior society.

The Assyrian society collapsed somewhat during the Bronze Age (1200 – 936 BC).  Their control waned but maintained control in areas central to itself including its trade routes.  But shortly after this timeframe, Assyria once more began to expand (911 – 627 BC).  King Shalmaneser III expanded the kingdom even further during his reign (959 – 824 BC) – that included the foothills of Israel.  Tiglath-Pileser III continued the conquering theme as far as East Mediterranean.  His successor, Shalmaneser V reigned only briefly and was succeeded by Sargon II who essentially ended the northern Kingdom of Israel and carried off 27,000 people into captivity – never to return.  (722 BC)

Following Ashurbanipal, Assyria became severely crippled with its empire descending into a prolonged series of civil wars.  Their final defeat occurred in 609 BC.  While Assyria was destroyed as an independent political entity, it remained a geo-political region, ethnic entity, and colonized province.

What about God’s people?   God’s promise of a “Land of Milk and Honey” continued from Father Abraham through their captivity in Egypt to their deliverance by Moses and then with his understudy, Joshua.  According to Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 1: Introduction and Old Testament, “(Their) bright prospects vanished and dark disappointment settled over Israel in the Book of Judges.”  Judges expands on how no tribe was successful in eliminating the inhabitants.  Instead of dispossessing the inhabitants, they fell prey to their gods!  And God was angry.  (Judges 2:12).

The Biblical “judge” does not have the same courtroom definition as modern times define the role.  It could even have been synonymous with a “king.”  These judges were rulers in that they made judgments, but they were only earthly vassals for the “real” judge, God Himself.  The list of judges in Israel includes both major and minor judges totaling 12 in all.   The table below lists each category and their respective names.

Source: Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 1: Introduction and Old Testament

*Gideon’s illegitimate son, Abimelech, brutally murdered his 70 brothers and had himself appointed king in Shechem.  His rule lasted three years.

Following the last judge, Samson, Israel thought they should be like their neighbors and be ruled by a king.  The story unfolds during the time of Eli, the priest and his understudy, Samuel – the miraculous son of Hannah whose womb had been heretofore closed.  1 Samuel 1:24 tells us that Samuel’s mother delivered him over to Eli and the work of the LORD since He had answered her prayers with the gift of a son.   When Samuel grew old, he made his sons judges for Israel – but his sons did not walk in their father’s ways. (1 Samuel 8:3)   The elders became impatient and approached Samuel with a request for him to appoint a king to rule.   Samuel approached God in prayer and God said, “(They) have rejected Me as their king.” (1 Samuel 8:7) Samuel conveyed God’s warning as to what a king will do.  (1 Samuel 8:9)And so, a king they got – consequences and all!  Samuel anointed Saul as Israel’s first king (1051 – 1011 BC).  1 Samuel 9:1-2 tells us that Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin and was “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites.” (verse 2) “In his royal person Saul challenged the validity and binding character of God’s established order for His people.  Israel was a “church”; Saul wanted to make it a “state.”  Israel was governed by a “constitution”; Saul wanted to be a dictator.”  (Source: Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 1: Introduction and Old Testament)

After 40 years of rule, Saul died a failure and moreover, was rejected by God.  Regardless of his failures, Israel’s tribal confederacy was maintained.  Following Saul’s death, his son, Ish-bosheth, established himself as a king of sorts.  He was one of four sons of Saul and at the age of 40, announced his kingship but his rule was short-lived (2 years), and was assassinated by his army officers.  Judah, however, did not follow the northern tribes, and anointed David as their king.  He ruled seven years and six months from Hebron, then following David’s defeat of Abner and Ish-bosheth’s death, David was also crowned as Israel’s king.  David’s final 33 years and six months were from Jerusalem.

While Saul’s reign ended in rejection, David’s rule was a glorious and victorious time for Israel in spite of David’s sin.  The difference between the two kings is that David was indeed mournfully sorry for his sin and sought God’s redeeming favor.  Many of David’s psalms reflect his sorrow and repentance seeking God’s forgiveness.    While God forgave David’s sin, the act itself was not without consequences.  2 Samuel 13-18 records for us rape and murder followed by Absalom’s rebellion and the struggles that ensued with his father.

Listen to David’s final words (2 Samuel 23:3-4): “When one rules men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.”

Following a brief time when Adonijah set himself up to replace David, David’s son, Solomon, was anointed as Israel’s third official king.  Like his two predecessors, Solomon’s rule was also 40 years – symbolic of their ancestor’s time in the wilderness.  1 Kings opens with the end of David’s rule and the anointing of his son, Solomon.  Solomon’s memorable statement regarding his request for wisdom to rule is perhaps so stunning that God himself could not believe His ears!  God promised “I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.” (1 Kings 3:12) Another seminal event in his reign was the building of God’s permanent house that was so bejeweled that it dwarfs modern-day majestic architecture.

Also, Solomon, unlike his father, was a king of peace and diplomacy versus his father’s warrior king image.  Solomon was also a man of the world, vis-à-vis his 1,000 wives and concubines.  (1 Kings 11) These women were from all walks and ways of life and various other countries.  In his old age, his heart wavered from God as he turned to foreign gods.  1 Kings 11:6 tells us, “(And) so Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.”  The consequences of Solomon’s rejection of the LORD were cause for his adversaries to rise up against him.  Prior to Solomon’s death, the Kingdom of Israel was about to be torn apart.  Ahijah, the prophet, reports to Jeroboam that he was to assume charge over 10 parts of Israel.   Jeroboam fled to Egypt for fear of his life from Solomon.  Following Solomon’s death, Rehoboam, son of Solomon became king.  The exiled Jeroboam heard of Rehoboam’s kingship and returned. The kingdom of Israel was forever split into the northern (10) and southern (2) tribes and separate kingships.    The table below reviews the various kings from each of the two parts of Israel following Solomon’s rule.

Date ranges from: Rose Book of Charts, Maps & Time Lines

# – Kings that were in the Genealogy of Jesus (See Matthew’s account)

@ – Good Kings of Judah

*She was queen of Judah and the only female monarch to sit on David’s throne in biblical history.  She was the daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel.  She married Jehoram, the eldest son of Judah’s King Jehoshaphat.

The Good and Bad . . . Kings of Israel and Judah

When Samuel went to the LORD to inquire into Israel’s future – anointing a king – God warned of the potential consequences that came with a monarch.  The table above listing the kings of both Israel and Judah is also marked with “@” that designates the king as a “good” king.  Note that there are no such markings on the Israel side of the table.  No not one!  All of the kings, beginning with Jeroboam until the time of Hoshea and time of their captivity, were evil in God’s sight.  They had ignored the God who had shepherded them out of their slave condition in Egypt, guided them in the desert, and provided for their every need while eventually leading them into the Promised Land.

The Kings of Judah were a mixed bag – both good and bad but more bad than good.  Following the 120-year reign of Saul through Solomon, there were only eight good kings of Judah.  Following the end of Solomon’s reign (931), there was a period of twenty years of bad kings until the crowning of Asa in 911 BC.  Judah continued under good rule through Jehoshaphat but then Judah fell away until the time of Joash in 835 BC.   The good rules continued for the next 100 years through Jotham.  Then the rulers swayed from bad to good with only Hezekiah and Josiah as the last two good kings of Judah prior to their Babylonian captivity.  Interestingly, Josiah was the son and grandson of corrupt kings.  History suggests that Josiah was one of the world’s youngest rulers. (2 Kings 22:1 – eight years old)

Following the end of Josiah’s rule (609), Judah declined and never again saw a good king.  The first exile of the Jews to Babylon began in 605 BC and culminated in 586 BC under the final king Zedekiah.

The difference in the two kingdom’s outcome from captivity by the Assyrians and Babylonians is that the northern tribe’s people never returned while the southern tribes began returning when the Persians gained control from the Babylonians.

Jesus, The King

The earthly kingship history that has been presented is only a subset of what God Almighty has intended through His Son, Jesus Christ, the King.  The author to the Hebrews begins his letter with this passage: “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.”  (Hebrews 1:8) The throne of God preceded any and all earthly kingdoms and their kings.  After all, it’s God’s creation and we are under His rule from before creation.  The prophet Zechariah said, “The LORD will be king over the whole earth.  On that day there will be one LORD, and His name the only name.” (Zechariah 14:9)    According to the major prophet, Daniel, “He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all peoples, nations, and men of every language worshiped Him.  His dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will NEVER (emphasis added) be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14) This same language was delivered by the angel to Mary, the mother of God, in Luke 1:33.

Yes, the prophet Micah foretold the Savior’s birth, hundreds of years before the angel appeared to Mary, the mother of Jesus.  He said, “But You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah; out of you will come for me the One who will be the ruler over Israel.”  (Micah 5:2) And again in that memorable chapter in Isaiah, “He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:7)

What more can we say?  Jesus, the Christ, and King forever and ever has been prophesied for millennia.  Yet, Israel waxed and waned over their subjection to the true God who had called them, delivered them, and maintained them throughout history.  Listen to the prophet Zechariah: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!  See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gently and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey . . .” (Zechariah 9:9)

The LORD indeed came to be with His people and for you and me.  Yes, He was born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law for the adoption of sons, says Scripture.  The Bible records a humble beginning in a stable and then worshipped by lowly shepherds.  Then, wise men from the east came and adorned Him with precious gifts fit for a king.  The young boy grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man, says the gospel writer.  (Luke 2:52)

God sent a messenger, John the Baptist, ahead of the One who was to deliver His people from eternal slavery.  “Repent and be baptized,” he said, in his repeated messages to those who came to listen.  The gospels are silent in Jesus’ life following his early boyhood until His calling.  And then in three years, He delivered what the Old Testament prophesied – healing sick, the blind, the lame, and have pity and compassion on those in need.  Yet was He the King that was prophesied?  Even John the Baptist had questions and sent his disciples to interrogate Jesus as to his origin.

Jesus’ three-year earthly ministry included periods of introduction, popularity and then decline prior to His ultimate crucifixion on Calvary’s cross.  Time does not allow to enumerate all His wonderful acts as the God-Man, Jesus, but suffice is to say, He was from the beginning and has come to be the promised One of old.

His first miracle was to turn water into wine at the wedding at Cana.  His last miracle prior to His glorious resurrection was to raise His friend, Lazarus from the dead – long after anyone could deny his death.  The Spirit of the LORD was certainly upon Him from His baptism and dove of acceptance, through the cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration, to the Holy Week preparation and suffering.

St. Paul is articulate in his writing to the church at Corinth when he writes: “For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” (1 Corinthians 15:27).  The last enemy is of course, death, due to sin.  “But thanks be to God that He has given us the victory through our LORD Jesus Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 15:57)   Yes, Jesus was the final sacrifice that fulfilled all prior sacrifices – once for all.  St. John in his Revelation says, “(the) Lamb will overcome them because He is LORD of lords and King of kings – and with Him will be His called, chosen, and faithful followers.”  (Revelation 17:14)

Yes, the last enemy to be overcome is death, but thanks be to God who gave us the victory through our LORD Jesus Christ (the King), says St. Paul in his resurrection chapter.   So, from beginning (creation) to end (to come) our LORD Jesus Christ is King, Sovereign and Supreme – who has redeemed those who have come to faith in Him. Amen and Amen!  To conclude His marvelous kingship, St. John in his Revelation says, “He will rule with an iron scepter. . .On His robe and on His thigh, He has this written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:15-16).