The Type of Kingdom Jesus Rules
THE TYPE OF KINGDOM JESUS RULES
In the Old Testament, we read that while Samuel the prophet was judging Israel and guiding them in God’s ways, they stayed on the “strait-and-narrow.” However, when he neared retirement, the people asked him to give them a king and a kingdom—one like all the surrounding [worldly] nations (See: 1 Sam. 8:5–7). This displeased Samuel, but God allowed it to happen—knowing that he can work all things for good; he is in ultimate control (Rom. 8:28). So God granted them their desire to have a king, recognizing that he could use it to teach them—and future generations—about his kingdom. Yet we see clearly that this was the people’s idea; it did not come from God:
(1 Samuel 8:5–7 DKJV) “And [the elders] said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.’ {6} But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ So Samuel prayed to the LORD. {7} And the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.’”
In this passage, God made it clear that the people had rejected him from being their king. Instead, they wanted a king to judge them “like all the nations.” God’s people wanted to imitate the world; they wanted a “worldly” system of government run by a mortal. Yet, this would again introduce the ladder/pyramid structure that had caused Moses to become suicidal (Num. 11:11–15). We can see this clearly in the warning Samuel brought from God to the people. He showed them what the structure of a kingdom would be; he explained that the people would become subservient to the king, and be under a heavy yoke. Yet despite this, they maintained (in verses 19–20 below) that they wanted a king like all the other nations—a worldly system:
1 Samuel 8:10–20 (NLT)
(10) So Samuel passed on the LORD’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king.
(11) “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots.
(12) Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment.
(13) The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him.
(14) He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials.
(15) He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants.
(16) He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use.
(17) He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves.
(18) When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the LORD will not help you.”
(19) But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said.
(20) “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”
The structure of this type of kingdom is clearly like a ladder or pyramid. Like the [failed] system Jethro suggested to Moses, it has commanders of thousands and fifties (See: Exo. 18, Num. 11). No doubt, a hierarchy and henpecking order would exist in that system based on:
? Social and relational closeness to the king,
? Level of authority in the chain of command,
? Relative position in the family line of succession,
? The level at which the king values your advice, etc.
In other words, a person’s access, privilege, and importance would be based on favor, position, and title.
The rest of Israel’s history provides a clear testimony to the inherent dangers of this type of government. When the king was a godly man (like David who sought God for wisdom), he allowed God to rule through him—at least, most of the time. This way, the Kingdom of God prevailed on earth through the kingdom of Israel. On the other hand, when the king was bad (like Saul and most of the other kings), he ruled from his own mind and spirit. Then the nation fell into idolatry, chaos, and defeat. Remember, God warned them about this!
God’s best for corporate community structure is not the ladder or pyramid; God’s best is the umbrella—a loving, truthful covering of his glory and grace. Yet, he can work through these other [inferior] systems—provided, that is, that those within the system pray, and the person at the top is open to God. The ladder and pyramid systems are not God’s best; they can lock him out.
Sadly, the ladder system prevailed throughout much of the Old Testament, and God worked through it as much as the people allowed him:
(Psalm 78:41 NKJV) “Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.”
Here, Scripture says that in the Old Testament they “limited” God “again and again.” So, what happened in the New Testament? What structure did God use there, and how well did it operate?
Tomorrow, we will look at Jesus’s example; but today, let’s make sure we are desiring the true kingdom of God—the one Jesus defined when he said:
(John 18:33–37 NKJV) “Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ ... Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ “
Jesus is king over those who hear his voice, and who submit to the un-coercive influence of his truth in their hearts. In other words, Jesus—the most powerful king ever—rules in and through the humble, surrendered hearts of those who are in right and submissive relationship with the truth.
(Matthew 18:4 NKJV) “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Let’s ensure that we are participating in Jesus’s genuine kingdom—one based on his idea of its structure and culture; not one that merely claims to be God’s kingdom, but is, in fact, based on a worldly structure. The remainder of this series is focused on what Jesus revealed about his kingdom, its culture and its structure.
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