Fellowship & Fairydust

Old Testament

Kingship in the Pentateuch.¹

The first time that kings are mentioned in Scripture is in Genesis 14.² In this text, the kings of Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, and Hoiim are at war with the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, and the Patriarch Abraham (Abram) and his nephew Lot were caught in the middle of the conflict.

This war has the usual pitfalls of Ancient Near Eastern warfare: goods and people are seized, and even those who are unaligned innocent parties (Lot) are captured. Using the hermeneutic paradigm of reading scriptural narrative as moral law³ at this point (Genesis 14:1-16), it would not be a leap to take this as a rejection of kings: Violence of this level has not been seen since the flood, and why has it happened here? It is because of greedy warmongering kings.

Next, however, the narrator introduces Abraham and us to another king, Melchizedek, King of Salem (Genesis 14:17-20). Melchizedek means either “King of Righteousness” or “My King is Righteousness,” and Salem is a short form of Jerusalem and means Peace. Melchizedek is nothing like the other kings; he is righteous, and unlike the warring kings we had just met, the name of his kingdom is Peace. On top of this, he is a Priest of Abraham’s God, and gives Abraham a meal of Bread and Wine, blesses him, and receives a tithe from him. In Melchizedek, we see a different model of kingship, which is priestly and about serving, not ruling.

Later, in Genesis 17, God promises Abraham and Sarah that among their offspring will be kings of nations.⁴ Two generations passed, and the Hebrews did not yet have a king; one of their number was, however, a servant to the king in Egypt (Genesis 41:37-45). Four generations later, the king of the Egyptians began to oppress the Israelites, so Moses led them out.

When Moses led Israel out of Egypt, the governance structure was not monarchical but a set of judges adjudicating over the people in sections of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. In Numbers 23:21, it is noticed by the Gentile prophet Balam that the reason the Israelites are victorious and without trouble is because “The LORD their God is with them, acclaimed as a king among them.” For the Israelites, after the Exodus, they did not need a king as they had the LORD as king.

However, it is worth noting that Moses’ law does have a provision for Israel to appoint a king over them (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). The provision makes the following commandments for the king and their appointment:

1. The King will be chosen by the LORD (15a).
2. He must be an Israelite, not a foreigner (15b).
3. He must not acquire horses, especially not from Egypt (16).
4. He must not acquire many wives, that is he is to be monogamous (17a)
5. He must not acquire silver and gold (17b)
6. He must have a copy of the Law to study all the days of his life (18-19)
7. He must not exalt himself over other Israelites (20a)
8. He must closely adhere to the LORD’s Commandments (20b)

The king described by these rules is the polar opposite of Ancient Near Eastern kings who were often foreign, with large cavalries, hoarding wives and riches, and exalting themselves above their subjects and the laws of their land. This provision was not a command to make a king. Instead, it was a concession for when Israel, out of hard-heartedness, decides to appoint a king like those around them. So, from the time of Jacob through to the time of Samson, the last of the Judges, Israel had no human king to rule over them as they were meant to rely on the LORD as their king.

Kings in Israel

The appointment of King Saul came not from a command from the LORD. Instead, it was a demand from the people. The Israelites felt weak compared to their neighbours and thought they were not being appropriately governed. They wanted a king to lead and protect them (1 Samuel 8:5).

Samuel warned them this would be a rejection of the kingship of the LORD and that the king they would appoint would exploit the people rather than protect them (1 Samuel 8:10-18). Nevertheless, Israel demanded a king and sent Samuel to find one for them (1 Samuel 8:19-22).  So they picked Saul, the son of a wealthy man. Saul was handsome and a whole head taller than any other man in the community of Israel (1 Samuel 9). Saul was a man that seemed to fit with the people’s image of a king, the type their Gentile neighbours have.

But Saul wasn’t a good king. Instead, he disobeyed the commands of the LORD (1 Samuel 15:11). For a series of stories of how Saul consistently failed to live up to God’s standards for a king, read 1 Samuel 13-15. At the core of Saul’s disobedience is self-exaltation, which could be seen as a summation of the eight rules of Deuteronomy 17. Israelite kings are meant to be the opposite of the Gentile kings, but Saul acted precisely like them.

So God sent Samuel to find a king after God’s own heart—a king who relied on God for his strength, not armies and horses, who would exalt the LORD and protect his people. Unlike when Samuel anointed Saul, Samuel found the right man for the job in David, the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem (1 Samuel 16:1-13). David was not a great warrior: he was a shepherd who spent his spare time playing the lyre and writing poetry. 

David grew up to be a great king over Israel. However, he did have his failings: he murdered his soldier Uriah to cover up the adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12), he committed polygamy (2 Samuel 3:2-5, 1 Chronicles 3:1-9), took a census of his men (2 Samuel 24:1-17),⁵ and he did not correctly discipline or govern his sons leading to rebellion (1 Kings 1:6, 2:13-25). However, unlike Saul before him, he repented; Psalm 51 is a prayer of repentance after his affair with Bathsheba, 2 Samuel 12:13 tells of Nathan’s rebuke of David and his subsequent repentance, and 1 Chronicles 21:8-17 tells of David’s repentance over the census taking. God promised David that he would have a descendent who would rule on the Throne of Judah forever (2 Samuel 7:16)

After David’s death, he is succeeded by his son Solomon (1 Kings 1-2). Solomon was known for his wisdom (1 Kings 3:5-14), his building projects, especially the Jerusalem temple (1 Kings 5-9), his riches, and his visit from the Queen of Sheba.

Solomon, like his father, did not follow the law relating to monogamy, leading to his apostasy and downfall in his old age (1 Kings 11:9-10).

In David and Solomon, we great men of faith who make great kings but end up going astray, relying on and pursuing earthly power, riches, and women rather than relying on and pursuing the LORD.

The rest of the story of Israel’s kings is much the same as the above, great kings rise up, but at the end of the day, no human king is faithful to God’s plan. The desire for a godly king and Messiah that is the anointed one who will save God’s people and bring about God’s kingdom was unmet.

New Testament

Birth and Genealogy

Fast forward to circa 1 AD, and we find the Roman client kingdom of Judea. Now the king of Judea at this time was Herod the Great; Herod was not a descendant of David; in fact, his parents were not even Judeans, his father was an Edomite, and his mother was a Nabatean. 

On top of this, he relied on foreign soldiers, amassed wealth and wives for himself, was disobedient to the Laws of God, and treated his subjects with disdain. Herod was a king in complete disobedience to Deuteronomy’s Law concerning kings.

Early in the Gospels, we are introduced to two subjects of King Herod, called Joseph and Mary. They were not government officials or in high standing in the realm, but they were both descendants of David (Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38), devout servants of the LORD.

Mary is visited by the Angel of Gabriel, who tells her that she will give birth to a son who “will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:32-33). Mary’s son will be a king like David, but unlike David, he will reign forever and be the Son of God.

In Matthew’s Gospel (2:1-12), we hear of the Magi, wise men of the east, who see signs of a new great King of the Jews. They do not find this king in Herod’s palace; they find him in the small town of Bethlehem. The king they find is an infant, Jesus, Mary’s son. They hail him as King.

Ministry and Teaching

In his preaching and teaching, Jesus refers to himself as the “Son of Man”⁶ and is referred to as the Messiah/Christ by his followers; both of these terms are used in the Old Testament to refer to the promised Davidic king.

In his preaching, he preached about the kingdom of God or kingdom of Heaven and that it was close at hand (Matthew 4:17, Luke 10:9). He referred to his kingdom (i.e. Mark 6:23, Luke 22:30, John 18:36). His parables often referenced the kingdom (Matthew 13:31-31, 13:44, 13:45-46, and Luke 17:20-21).

In his ministry, he demonstrated his unique way of being king: Jesus humbled himself by washing his disciples’ feet, a task typically reserved for servants. He then instructed his disciples to follow his example and serve one another (John 13:1-17). Jesus fed a crowd of over 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. He did not send them away hungry but served them by providing food (Matthew 14:13-21). Throughout the Gospels, Jesus healed the sick and showed compassion to those suffering. Jesus instructed his disciples that the greatest among them would be the one who serves others, not the one who seeks power or authority (Matthew 20:20-28).

Holy Week

Holy Week is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday and takes up a large portion of the Gospels. In the Holy Week narratives, Jesus models and proclaims his kingship in the following five ways: Triumphal Entry: Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey.” An action that simultaneously demonstrated his kingship and humility; he was a king but not a mighty warrior riding in pomp and ceremony.

When Judas betrayed Jesus, he did not resist or retaliate. Instead, he calmly allowed the events to unfold, showing his willingness to be a sacrifice for the sake of others (Matthew 26:47-56).

Throughout his trial and crucifixion, Jesus modelled servant leadership by offering forgiveness, compassion, and care for others. He prayed for his persecutors, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

At his trial and crucifixion, Jesus was proclaimed and crowned king. Pilate is portrayed as calling Jesus a king (Matthew 27:11). While whipping and mocking Jesus the Roman soldiers hailed him as King of Jews, crowned him with a crown of thorns, and dressed him in a scarlet robe (Matthew 27:27-31).

The charge they nailed above Jesus on the Cross proclaimed him as “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (John 19:19-20). Even those watching and mocking him referred to him as “King of Israel” (Matthew 27:42).

Jesus’ crucifixion was a coronation. The son of man was lifted high, not in an earthly or pompous way; he did not exalt himself above others; instead, he was lifted up on the Cross and exalted by those who hated him.

Christian Kings

So how should a Christian king rule? A Christian king must remember these three following things:  First, they are not the highest authority; above them is Jesus, the King of Kings, who they are called to be servants of. British monarchs and their Anglican subjects are reminded of this in the communion liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer:

“ALMIGHTY God, whose kingdom is ever-lasting, and power infinite: Have mercy upon the whole Church; and so rule the heart of thy chosen servant CHARLES, our King and Governor, that he (knowing whose minister he is) may above all things seek thy honour and glory: and that we and all his subjects (duly considering whose authority he hath) may faithfully serve, honour, and humbly obey him, in thee, and for thee, according to thy blessed Word and ordinance; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, ever one God, world without end. Amen.”

Secondly, in serving Christ, they must look to his way of leading and follow his example. That is not exalting themselves above others but being a servant of the people, putting others’ needs before their own and pointing the nation to God.

Finally, they must pattern and shape their lives on the instructions of Scripture and obey God’s commandments. While not all of the Deuteronomy passage is relevant to Christian Monarchs today (relying on Egyptian Horses wouldn’t have the same impact in wars), they still act as an important guideline.

So how shall a Christian king act? 

1. He shall remember that he is subject to King Jesus.
2. He shall follow Christ’s model of servant kingship.
3. He shall not rely on his armies for their strength.
4. He shall not take on multiple wives or have mistresses.
5. He shall not amass large amounts of personal wealth.
6. He shall daily study Holy Scripture.
7. He shall not exalt himself above his nation but serve and represent them. 
8. He shall act in accordance with God’s moral law.

Footnotes

1. Kingship in the creation order found in Genesis 1-2 is an interesting topic that I would have liked to include here but due to the limitations of this piece.

2. It can be argued that the first king in scripture is Nimrod (Genesis 10:10), as he is referred to as having a kingdom, but he is not specifically named as a king.

3.  For more on this concept see “Story as Torah” by Gordon J Wenham.

4. And in Genesis 22 that this nation is to be a light to all other nations.

5. To modern readers, this sounds harmless, but it was direct disobedience to God and a sign he was relying on armies for strength, not the Lord.

6. Used 92 times in the New Testament.

This article and others appeared in the Fellowship & Fairydust issue Happy & Glorious: A Royal Celebration.