Reading With the People of God #10 KingdomSample

Focus of the month: (Kingdom)

7 Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, 8 and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, 10 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house. 11 When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, 14 but I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.’ ”.- 1 Chronicles 17:7-14

David and Abner

The political turmoil and chicanery of today seem perfectly tame when compared with the rough-and-tumble, often murderous, record of King David and his one-time adversary Abner. Abner was a powerful presence in the not-so-peaceful transition of power from the rule of Saul to the era of King David. Abner had served Saul as the commander of his army and was firmly in the party of Saul loyalists after the death of Jonathan and King Saul. After sustaining a life-changing insult at the hands of Ishbosheth, the king of Israel of the line of Saul, Abner made a pact with David who was king of Judah and ruling from Hebron. Abner would switch up and join the forces of David if they could make a deal. David would accept Abner (and his army) and all would be forgiven if Ishbosheth would get David’s wife Michal back to him. And so it was. The partnership was off to a great start when some of David’s loyalists didn’t get the memo and murdered Abner in a fit of vengeance. This made David very sad and continued the strife between Israel and Judah.

What are we to learn from this entry in Scripture? God is barely mentioned, only in passing as part of an oath. We may see there are always going to be struggles in the halls of power most of us are never aware of. We also see human pride and the pursuit of power is a messy game. Even as God’s will and plan for humanity play out, we must trust that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

Jesus and the governor

On the night of his arrest, the sham trial of Jesus began immediately under cover of darkness. This section describes the interaction between Jesus, Pontius Pilate (the Roman governor of Judea), and the Jewish priests and Pharisees at the Praetorium. In this exchange, Pilate utters what has become a question of the ages for humankind…”What is truth?” Jesus also makes clear for us the nature of the Kingdom of God. In John 18:36, he says, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”

* Primer contributed by Matt Harry, Elder Emeritus, Cornerstone Community Church