Your King
Introduction
The birth of Prince George of Cambridge in July 2013 brought great joy and celebration. He is the son of a future king of England and is himself second in line of succession to the British throne.
The United Kingdom has been ruled by kings and queens for centuries, and our royal family are an important part of our national life. However, most modern monarchs only have limited power. By contrast, in the ancient world, kingship was much more all-encompassing, and the king was the final authority in all aspects of national affairs. In our Old Testament passage, we read of the reigns of the kings of Persia and Israel. But alongside this, each of our passages also points us to an even greater King – God.
The central theme in the teaching of Jesus was the kingdom of God. It not only refers to kingdom in a political or geographical sense, but it also conveys the notion of activity – the activity of ruling and reigning. The kingdom of God means ‘the rule and reign of God’.
Psalm 145:1-7
Psalm 145
A psalm of praise. Of David.
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
Commentary
Worship your King
‘O my King!’ David exclaims, ‘I’ll bless your name into eternity’ (v.1, MSG).
David worships the King of the universe: ‘I lift you high in praise’ (v.1, MSG). He goes on to speak of the ‘splendour of your majesty’ (v.5a) and, ‘the glory of your kingdom’ (v.11), ‘the glorious splendour of your kingdom’ (v.12) and ‘your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations’ (v.13).
He worships his King every day: ‘Every day I will praise you’ (v.2a), and says he is going to keep on worshipping ‘from now to eternity’ (v.2, MSG). He can ‘never be praised enough’ (v.3, MSG). David writes songs of worship: ‘I compose songs on your wonders’ (v.5, MSG).
Praise God for his power and rule, and for his ‘abundant goodness and… righteousness’ (v.7). The joy and exultation of the Psalms stem from these twin truths that God is King and God is good. You can trust that he is in control – and that is good news!
Prayer
Revelation 11:1-19
The Two Witnesses
11 I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city —which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will reign for ever and ever.”
16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18 The nations were angry,
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your people who revere your name,
both great and small —
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
Commentary
Hope in your King
Why is life such a struggle? Why do the innocent continue to suffer? Will it always be like this? Will our suffering ever come to an end? Is there any hope? What will the future look like?
In today’s passage, we get a glimpse of what the future will be like when Jesus returns; the kingdom of the world is transformed into the Kingdom of our God and his Messiah who ‘will rule forever and ever!’ (v.15, MSG).
Jesus came proclaiming the kingdom of God. There is a sense in which it was ‘now’, and a sense in which it was ‘not yet’.
The present reality of the kingdom of God was shown by all that Jesus did in his ministry. God’s rule and reign is shown by the suppression of evil. The inauguration of the kingdom of God is seen by, for example, the forgiveness of sins, casting out demons and healing the sick.
On the other hand, the future aspect of the kingdom of God was made apparent by Jesus. He taught his disciples to pray, ‘your kingdom come’ (Matthew 6:10). He speaks of a harvest at ‘the end of the age’ (13:39). It appears that the kingdom of God will not be fully realised until Jesus returns.
Today’s passage from Revelation describes what will happen just before the kingdom of God comes in its fullness. The people of God are simultaneously persecuted and protected.
There will be two witnesses (Revelation 11:3). The Old Testament legal system always required at least two witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; John 8:17). Jesus always sent his witnesses out two by two.
The two witnesses here are probably Moses (who turned ‘the waters into blood’, Revelation 11:6) and Elijah (‘who shut up the sky’, v.6), ‘for these two prophets pricked the conscience of all the people on earth, made it impossible for them to enjoy their sins’ (v.10, MSG).
The two witnesses prophesied for 1,260 days (forty-two months or three-and-a-half years). This is probably symbolic of the period between the first and the second coming of Jesus.
Just before the end, they are killed by the beast. Their bodies lie in ‘the street of the great city’ (v.8) – that is Babylon or Rome – with the symbolic names of ‘Sodom and Egypt’, and ‘where also their Lord was crucified’ (v.8), that is Jerusalem.
For a very short time (‘three and a half days’, v.9), everyone gloats over their death (v.10). Then God raises them up: ‘the Living Spirit of God will enter them – they’re on their feet! – and all those gloating spectators will be scared to death’ (v.11, MSG), and they are taken to heaven as the time for the final judgment approaches (vv.12–13).
This is the moment that the seventh trumpet sounds. There is a three-fold sequence. First, the kingdom of God finally arrives in all its fullness (v.15). Second, the completed church (‘the twenty-four elders’, v.16) worships the King. Falling on their faces they worship God saying:
‘We thank you, O God, Sovereign-Strong,
WHO IS AND WHO WAS.
You took your great power
and took over – reigned!’ (v.17, MSG).
Third, the final judgment begins (v.18). The destroyers will be destroyed. God will reward his ‘prophets and saints’ – both ‘small and great’ will be rewarded.
As ever in Revelation, these scenes are symbolic. Moses and Elijah, the two witnesses to God, are figures of great courage and great power, who encounter opposition and suffering before their final vindication.
This is the reality of what you are to expect in this period between the first and second comings of Jesus – the period in which you now live. There is a struggle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the ‘beast’. But it is a struggle in which you know the final outcome.
Your struggles will come to an end. The innocent will no longer suffer. There is great hope for the future. Jesus will return. He will reign for ever and ever.
Prayer
Ezra 4:6-5:17
Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes
6 At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
7 And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language.
8 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:
9 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates —the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, 10 and the other people whom the great and honourable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.
11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)
To King Artaxerxes,
From your servants in Trans-Euphrates:
12 The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.
13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer. 14 Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonoured, we are sending this message to inform the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the archives of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed. 16 We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.
17 The king sent this reply:
To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:
Greetings.
18 The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. 19 I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. 21 Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. 22 Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests?
23 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.
24 Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Tattenai’s Letter to Darius
5 Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
3 At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” 4 They also asked, “What are the names of those who are constructing this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. 7 The report they sent him read as follows:
To King Darius:
Cordial greetings.
8 The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.
9 We questioned the elders and asked them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” 10 We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.
11 This is the answer they gave us:
“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.
13 “However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14 He even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon. Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, 15 and he told him, ‘Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.’
16 “So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.”
17 Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.
Commentary
Trust in your King
Have you ever been unjustly accused or criticised to your boss or to someone else in authority in a way that is very unfair?
Have you ever felt that the work of God was being hampered or even stopped by opposition, by a local council, by your boss at work or by others in authority?
Human leaders are powerful and they can use their power for good or evil. Artaxerxes was king of Persia (4:7). He received what could be described as one of those ‘dreaded letters’. It was a letter from those who oppose the work of God. It was full of flattery, half-truths and even lies.
The writers tried to make it sound as if they were being really helpful to the king: ‘the king should know…’ (vv.12–13). It describes Jerusalem as a rebellious and wicked city. Then, as now, money had a disproportionate power and the threat that ‘no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and the royal revenues will suffer’ (v.13) was a powerful one, as was the suggestion that the king would be ‘dishonoured’ (v.14) by this rebellious and troublesome city. The result was that the work of rebuilding the temple and Jerusalem was brought to a standstill (v.24).
If you are on the receiving end of such hostility, it is encouraging to know that you are not the only one to receive letters of ‘accusation’ (v.6) from people who feel threatened (v.22) and who would like to stop the work (v.21). We know that in the end no one can succeed in such opposition if God is behind the plans. However, it can hold things up and temporarily bring the work to a standstill.
Ultimately these accusers do not succeed. Another king arose and we are told, ‘But God had his eye on the leaders’ (5:5, MSG).
A favourable report was sent to King Darius. It mentioned a great king of Israel who built and finished the temple (v.11) and the permission given by Cyrus king of Babylon (v.13).
Ultimately you can trust the sovereign rule of God: ‘the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases’ (Proverbs 21:1). Don’t put your ultimate trust in human leaders; trust in God your King.
Human leaders come and go. Some are good. Some are evil. But the Lord is in ultimate control of history.
Prayer
Pippa adds
Psalm 145:4 says,
‘One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.’
We have a responsibility to pass on the gospel, to tell the next generation all the amazing stories, healings and testimonies that we hear day in, day out of what God is doing in all our lives.
Verse of the Day
Psalm 145:2
‘Every day I will praise you...’
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References
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.