Date: Sep. 21, 2014
Today, we are starting a new series called God’s Great Kingdom and it will come in two major parts called Kingdom and Kingdom Come. It might seem strange to think about kingdoms in our day and age with all of our representative governments, but there are many things that drive us and control our decisions. They are, in a way, our king. When our desires and fears, the things that drive us become our king, the end result is not what we expect. There is pain and struggle. There is death and destruction. Even when we succeed, there is a cost that has to be paid in loneliness and being unfulfilled. Those things were never meant to be our king.
However, Jesus’ kingdom is different. Jesus is the Great King and his kingdom has been advancing for millennia. The nations of the world may fall. The great national powers will all one day be brought low, but God’s Great Kingdom still stands and continues to grow. This series that we are starting will explore God’s supremacy and how he is the prefect king.
Kingdom
Our first part of the series is Kingdom and is based on 1 & 2 Kings. These books tell the story of God’s people in Israel and Judah during the time of the monarchy. These books begin with King David’s death and end with the fall of Jerusalem. By taking into account Assyrian chronological records, it can be seen that the division of the kingdom 930 BC, the fall of Samaria occurred in 722-721 and the fall of Jerusalem occurred in 586. This shows that 1 & 2 Kings covers a period of 210 for the northern kingdom and 345 years for the southern kingdom.
Even though these books have a great chronology, they are not books that tell the political history of the kingdoms, but shows people who are important to God’s promises to Moses and David. The extended accounts in 1 & 2 Kings give the very good and very bad examples of following God’s covenant. Through it all, there is God’s promise to his people that one of David’s descendants would sit on the throne forever. Everything throughout the kingdom period points to Jesus. There are many prophecies given in the books that are fulfilled within their pages. These are intended to show that God keeps his word, which us ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. These books are about promise and how God both fulfills the promise and how he is ultimately the one in charge.
Kingdom Come
The second part of the series is Kingdom Come and is based on Matthew. Many of the Jews consider the time of David and Solomon to be the greatest era of the Israelites. Their hope was that God would fulfill his promise to them about placing a king from David’s line on the throne for eternity. Their hope is that another David would come and reestablish the physical united kingdom of Israel, but how he fulfilled that promise was far different and greater than they expected.
God’s king came not with a sword but with grace. God’s king came not strike down all who oppose him, but to lay down his life to change all who accept him. God’s king came to bring people into his kingdom even though they did not deserve it. God’s king has power over life and death itself and proves it in his own death and resurrection. Before God’s king ascends to his throne, he calls on his subjects to bring more people into his kingdom. And all the promises that God has given about his king and kingdom are fulfilled, since his kingdom has come to the hearts of humanity.
