Thursday, October 5, 2017

eschatology, Regarding a King (Deut.17)

INTERESTING!!!  How have I never noticed this before???  But of course, God saw this coming and gave the Israelites a "what-if" scenario.  This set up the parameters for when they decided they wanted to be "like the other nations" - and God chose a king for them.  Here is the warning that the king must be an Israelite, and must be obedient.  The more obedient the king - the better it would be in regards to having the covenant fulfilled...

(Deuteronomy 17:14-20)  “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. 16 Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.
18 “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

This also ties in to Jesus coming to earth as the rightful King (because He is in king David's lineage), and the PERFECTLY OBEDIENT King (because He is God).  The first time, Jesus came to earth (humble, in peace, riding in on a donkey), He was rejected and crucified in order to bring about salvation and fulfill the last part of the Abrahamic covenant, and bring in the new covenant for all people - "to bless the nations".  He is still to come as the perfectly obedient King (fierce, in battle, riding in on a war horse at the end of the Tribulation, and then in the Millennium) to sit on the throne to fulfill all covenants.  (More on that when we get to the scriptures on the Davidic covenant.) 

Today's takeaway:  Even though chosen by God, king David definitely had his shortcomings - BUT he was a man after God's own heart because he kept returning to God to repent and reconcile.  It's all about redemption and grace...

(Romans 3:19-26)  Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.  21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

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