Year 6, Day 330: 2 Chronicles 32

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

How do we know that God is king of the universe?  There Bible has many several examples.  We have the creation account.  We have the Exodus story.  We have the coming of Jesus.  We have His death and resurrection.  Those are all very important and impressive stories on the list of stories that demonstrate why god is king.  This chapter contains another great story to add to this list.

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, comes into the area to dominate the land and claim its wealth for his own.  Sennacherib conquers the northern kingdom easily and puts them into captivity.  He moves south on Judah and lays siege to Jerusalem.  He even sends bold envoys forth and denounces Hezekiah and Hezekiah’s God.  Sennacherib boldly proclaims that nobody can spare Jerusalem from his hand.

That’s where God steps in.  God hears the prayer of Hezekiah and Isaiah.  God hears the arrogance and pride of Sennacherib.  God takes matters into His own hands.  God stretches out His powerful hand and sends an angel of pestilence among the troops of Assyrian.  tens of thousands of troops die without explanation.

Sennacherib’s army is decimated.  He turns around and marches home.  When he gets there, the public shame of the inexplicable defeat causes Sennacherib’s own sons to rise up against him in order be done with him.  As it turns out, Sennacherib had it exactly wrong.  It was Sennacherib who could not escape from the hand of the almighty God.

That’s why God is King.  He created the universe; He can do whatever He pleases within it.  God is all-powerful, and none can stand in His path when He establishes His purpose.

<><

Year 6, Day 312: 2 Chronicles 12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Father, King

• Father: This is the pinnacle of the Covenant Triangle.  God is the Father.  He is the creator.  He is love.  Our relationship with the Father is rooted in His love for us.  We get our identity through Him.  When the Father is in our life, obedience becomes clear.
• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

This is an incredibly interesting chapter in the Bible.  Let me summarize for a second.  Rehoboam uses the influx of Levitical priests to fortify his position and make all of the cities strong.  Once they are strong, Rehoboam begins to lean a little too much on his own might.  God brings Shishak out of Egypt to humble Rehoboam.  Rehoboam and the people see the error of their ways and repent.  God sends Shishak back home, having plundered the Hebrew people but not enslaved them.

Naturally, we can see the repentance cycle in this story.  Humanity gets the wrong perspective, gets itself into trouble, repents, and God gets them out of trouble.  It’s the story of humanity, right?

The story is far more deep than this, though.  Do you hear the signs that Rehoboam’s repentance may not have been all that sincere?  Look at his epithet.  The Bibe clearly says that he did evil in the sight of the Lord.  David, who did many things wrong but genuinely repented, is remembered well.  Rehoboam, who did things wrong and repented, is remembered as being evil.  We can only conclude that this repentance wasn’t really genuine.  Furthermore, do you notice what he does?  He doesn’t humbly accept the place that God has for him.  When the shields of Solomon get carted off, Rehoboam replaces them with bronze.  This is not a man interested in repentance and change!  This is a man interested in covering up the failings and faults and making the surface look like everything is okay.  This points us to why he is remembered as evil and his repentance isn’t genuine.

But, look at God’s reaction.  He forgives anyways.  He turns Shishak back home and sends him on his way.  He provides for His people.  He accepts their repentance, sincere or not.  This is a Father.  This is a King.  Parents and leaders know what it is like to have children or citizens underneath them who say what it takes to get them out of trouble only to go back to their own ways when trouble has passed.  Parents and leaders extend grace even when grace isn’t fully warranted.  That’s why God is truly Father and King.

<><

Year 6, Day 293: 1 Chronicles 21

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

David is incited to make a census.  What is behind this act?  Of course, Satan incites David.  But I’m not laying the blame for the census at Satan’s feet.  Satan comes to all of us to tempt us away from the Lord.  We all have the choice to resist Satan or listen to Him.  Satan will be held accountable for desiring to tempt David.  But David is at fault for wanting the census.

In fact, it is really David’s ambition that wants the census.  Why would a king take a census of all the men in his land?  Certainly David is ambitious to know how strong his nation is.  He is ambitious to know how he ranks in terms of power to the nations around him.  But the core reason that a king takes a census is because he wants to know if he can do one of two things: wage war or collect taxes.  Both of those reasons speak against David’s ambition.

So why are we looking at God as king in this analysis?  Look at how God responds to David’s ambition.  God allows David to choose his punishment.  That is something a king would do.  Furthermore, notice that God has the power and authority as king to enact punishment.  He can send a plague upon His people because He truly is king.

However, there is something more that I see, perhaps the deepest reason of them all.  When David is asked to choose, do you hear why he makes the decision that he makes?  He would rather be placed in the hands of the Lord when it comes to punishment than to be in the hands of men.  God is king of David’s life, because when push comes to shove it is God into whom David’s places his life and judgment. That’s why God is king.  He is righteous judge.  He is the one that all of us are best to rely upon.

<><

Year 6, Day 288: 1 Chronicles 16

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

As we turn to 1 Chronicles 16, we get an opportunity to see the close of the stories regarding the movement of the ark.  We continue to see that David is repentant and he has learned his lesson.  He appoints Levites as priests.  He sets up the temple and the sacrifice system as it should be.

Once the worship is set up, David then sings praises to the Lord.  He talks about the greatness of the Lord.  He reminds the people that the only reason they are a nation at all is because when they were small in number God looked down and made a covenant with them.  He is the source of their power.  They are a nation under His authority.  He is the true king.

As we turn back to the Chronicler, it is really easy to understand why he would include this passage in the story.  His own people have just returned from exile.  They are just now setting up their kingdom and it is time to remind the people why the worship practices of the land should be established and tended.  The Chronicler would want the people to hear David’s action and reasoning so that they would follow in David’s example.

This lesson is true for us as well.  God should be the king of our life.  The only reason that we are in relationship with Him is because while we were yet sinners, He sent His Son for us.  We should worship Him.  We should see Him as the king in our life.

<><

Year 6, Day 273: Malachi 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Father, King

• Father: This is the pinnacle of the Covenant Triangle.  God is the Father.  He is the creator.  He is love.  Our relationship with the Father is rooted in His love for us.  We get our identity through Him.  When the Father is in our life, obedience becomes clear.
• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

In this chapter, God gives Malachi two images to present to the people.  God can either be a father or a master.  This is an interesting choice.

In the first case, God is father.  One loves a father.  One is also protected by the father.  To have God as a father implies relationship.  It also implies a certain amount of familiarity.  With God as father, we want to please because we desire His pleasure upon us.  We want Him to be proud, so we obey and live up to His gracious love.  We offer our best effort and obedience to the father because of our relationship with Him.

In the second case, God is king.  One respects the king.  One might even fear the king.  One is protected by the king.  However, one gives tithe to the king.  One gives homage to the king.  One gives the best of the flock to the king because he deserves it.  While one is not usually in relationship with the king, we still give our best effort because the king is the king and he is empowered.

Of course, our God can be both Father and king.  We can be in a relationship that reflects His love.  We can be in a relationship that honors His power over us.  This chapter in Malachi reflects the fact that His people are not responding in either way with respect to God, but we do not need to reflect this dynamic.  We can be in relationship with a God who is Father and King.  We can give Him his due not just because He deserves it but also because of our relationship with Him.

<><

Year 6, Day 272: Zechariah 14

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

We end the book of Zechariah on a very bleak note.  God promises judgment.  God promises plague.  God promises a difficult life as the world comes in rebellion against Him.

When I hear these words, I can’t help but think about God as king.  As human beings, we like to rebel.  We like to do our own thing.  We like to walk away from God’s ways and live our own life.  But the reality is that no matter how much we rebel, we can’t get away from God forever.  We will eventually die.  Our sin will catch up with us and we will then truly be at the mercy of God’s grace.  Even when we rebel and reject, we cannot deny that we will eventually find ourselves in God’s hands because He is king.

This chapter is not all bleak, though.  Do you hear the part of this chapter that speaks about the surge of water that will come from Jerusalem?  When I read those verses, I couldn’t help but think about the same imagery from Ezekiel 47.  While God may be the king in judgment, He is also king in grace and mercy.  He can heal the world in spite of our rebellion.  He can do it because He is indeed king.

As an aside, if you want a look at how we can see multiple interpretations of this chapter rather than just an interpretation of the Last Days, see the theological commentary that I offered up three years ago and link to above.

<><

Year 6, Day 268: Zechariah 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

This chapter starts with judgment.  God promises judgment to those nations around the Promised Land, nations that took advantage of His people when He was bringing judgment upon them.  What does this tell us?  When we see people who are down, our first instinct shouldn’t be to kick them while their down.  The King of the universe doesn’t appreciate people who take advantage of others.  This message truly intertwines with what we heard yesterday.

From this section, we hear a natural transition to God being king.  We hear that God will cut of the enemies of His people.  He will rule over them.  He will remember His covenant.  Unlike us, the king can be trusted.

This leads us back to the people of God.  The Lord will save them.  He will redeem them.  He will send a spiritual leader among them – a leader that we see in Jesus, who ultimately fulfills this section of scripture. 

<><

Year 6, Day 265: Zechariah 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

I think that this chapter is one of my all-time favorite chapters when it comes to seeing the prophetic wisdom of God.  This chapter shows His true dominance over truth and His ability to layer meaning upon meaning in His Word.  In short, it truly goes far to show us that He really is king.

As we look at the last section in this chapter, we hear that God’s servant will rebuild the temple and sit as king and priest over His people.  We hear that such a person will be called God’s Branch.  More importantly, we hear that this person will be Joshua.

Of course, we do know that Joshua was the priest serving under the reconstruction effort of Zerubbabel.  Joshua would have made a natural spiritual leader of the people.  In the context of Zechariah, this is a very true and appropriate interpretation.

However, we now know even more that there was a servant to come who would serve spiritually as both king and priest.  We know this person to be Jesus.  However, this isn’t just a spiritual analogy.  Quite literally, we know that Jesus is the Anglicization of the Greek word Iesous.  Iesous is the Greek version of the Aramaic name Yeshua, which is the name that Jesus would have heard when he was alive and living in Judea and Galilee.  Yeshua is the Aramaic version of the Hebrew name Joshua.  Quite literally, Jesus is the Joshua who will be both king and priest over His spiritual people.

It is chapters like this that brings light to God’s power.  Not only can God do amazing things like create worlds out of nothing and bring out the plagues of Egypt.  He can do the seemingly unthinkable and make a scripture truthfully proclaimed about a different context several hundred years prior to be even more true about His own Son.  This is a different kind of power.  This is a power that is far more subtle and wonderful.  This is a God who isn’t just king of creation, He is king of logic and reason and understanding.

<><

Year 6, Day 261: Zechariah 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Zechariah 2 deals primarily with the message of return to the exiles.  Zechariah delivers a message from God that tells them to arise and come from the nation in the north.  He tells them to come home from dwelling among the nations.  He reminds them that they are the people of the Lord.

Zechariah also reminds them that they are in the kingdom of the north because it was God’s decree.  God sent them into exile.  God may be calling them back, but it was at God’s hand that they were sent under the oppression of the nations in the first place.

Where does this bring us?  God is truly king over the world and especially over His people.  God’s decrees are followed.  When God declared something to happen, it happens.  God sent His people into captivity.  They went.  He now calls them out of captivity and invites them home.  He is the king.

<><

Year 6, Day 257: Zephaniah 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Father, King

• Father: This is the pinnacle of the Covenant Triangle.  God is the Father.  He is the creator.  He is love.  Our relationship with the Father is rooted in His love for us.  We get our identity through Him.  When the Father is in our life, obedience becomes clear.
• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

I love the words of restoration found in this chapter.  These are words spoken over the nations – after the haughty and the proud are removed.  These are words spoken over all the people who come before God seeking His salvation.

In this chapter, we hear words of peace and joy and love.  It is the Lord who takes away our judgments against us.  He clears away our enemies.  He is in our midst.  It is on account of Him that we shall not fear our enemies.  He saves us.  He rejoices over us!

This one causes me to pause.  He rejoices over us.  We sin.  We rebel.  We chase after false gods.  We turn.  We repent.  He rejoices over us.  How cool is that?

He quiets us with His love.  He sings over us.  He gathers us so that we no longer suffer reproach.  He deals with the oppressors.  He tends the lame and gathers the outcast.  He changes shame into praise.  He brings us in.  He restores our fortune.

I need to hear those words today.  It is so easy to only see my failure and weakness.  It should be about Him and His work, not mine.  He is in control.  He is the mighty one.  He is powerful.  The world rests in His hands, not mine.  Thanks be to God!  He is King of the world, as it should be.  He is our forgiving Father, as we need Him to be.

<><

Year 6, Day 254: Habakkuk 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Habakkuk 1 opened with Habakkuk’s challenge.  Habakkuk didn’t understand how so much violent and unrighteous behavior could exist in the world when God was King.  Habakkuk didn’t argue the sovereignty of God; he simply didn’t understand how the two things could be true together.

As this book ends, we hear Habakkuk change his tune.  I’m not really sure Habakkuk comprehends how unrighteous behavior can be occurring in the world.  I’m not really sure I comprehend why God allows it, either.  I tell myself that it is because God allows us to have free will.  But in truth, I’m not sure I comprehend why God allows that, either.

Where we do hear a change in Habakkuk’s tune is that he is more firmly aware of God’s omnipotence.  Habakkuk knows how God is king.  Creation obeys Him.  The sun and the moon stay out of His way when He looks to earth.  The mountains quake before Him.  Plague and Pestilence obey His command.  Water rushes out of the way before Him.

What I truly love about Habakkuk, though, is the conclusion to which he arrives at the end. Habakkuk says that even if his circumstances are poor, he will continue to praise the Lord.  If the crops fail, he will remain with the king of the universe.  I love this, because it shows that Habakkuk is not on a bandwagon.  He doesn’t walk with God when life is good and accuse God when life is bad.  He praises God at all times as a king deserves.

<><

Year 6, Day 248: Nahum 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Nahum, like Jonah, was a prophet whose career revolves around Assyria and its role in the world.  If we remember the story of Jonah, we hear that Nineveh repented when Jonah went into its midst – much to Jonah’s dismay.  However, when Nahum proclaims judgment, Assyria will not repent.

By the time of Nahum, Assyria has grown in great power.  They are the big dogs in the world.  They are on their way to conquering the world that they know.  Nothing seems to be able to stand against their tyrannical surge of power.

Naturally, nothing can stand in their way until God purposes something to come in their midst.  God steps forward and tells them that their destruction is coming.  They had been called to bring judgment to Israel, but they went too far.  They were too violent.  They became drunk with their power.  They became arrogant in their success.

Therefore, God declares that they will be cut down.  He will break the yoke of oppression that the Assyrians placed upon the Hebrew people they conquered.  We know that God raises up the Babylonians to judge the Assyrians – and to then even bring judgment against His people in Judah.  But the point of Nahum is that Assyria will find themselves judged by a God whose power is greater than their own.  God is king, not the Assyrians.

<><

Year 6, Day 244: Micah 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Micah 4 speaks volumes about the character and priorities of God.  It begins with a wonderful picture of the kingdom of God in the future.  The nations will be gathered with God at the center.  The nations will come to the king.  The nations will want to be taught by the king in the king’s ways.  The king will be a judge among the people and the people will accept His judgment.

Furthermore, notice the people for whom the king is concerned.  The king is going to assemble the lame together.  The king will care about those who have been rejected by others.  Those who are afflicted underneath others will be lifted up and brought to the king.  So often we think of leadership as being interested in the popular, glorious, powerful and beautiful.  This is not true with the true king.  The true king is interested in justice and righteousness and lifting up those who are oppressed.

This is such a neat chapter to look at when we consider what it means to have God as king.  His priorities are different than ours.  His reason for rule is different for ours.  His manner for rule is different than ours.  The truth is, He is a far better king than any of us could ever be.

<><

Year 6, Day 241: Micah 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Micah lowers the boom in this first chapter.  He is a prophet sent to warn the Hebrew people about the coming judgment of God.  They will be laid to waste because of their sinfulness.  They will be judged because of their transgression.

Notice, though, how God is described in the judgment.  The mountains will melt under Him.  Valleys will split open.  The world will be like wax before a fire.

The reality is that God is King.  He is King over us.  He is King over creation.  Nothing can stand in His way when He proposes to act.  We certainly cannot prevent His will when He determines to act.  Neither can the mountains, the valleys, or any other portion of the earth.

Before I leave this passage, I want to break away from the theme of King and make sure that we understand why God is so upset.  Look at Micah 1:4.  What is the sin of Jacob?  Samaria.  What is the sin of Judah?  Jerusalem.  These are the capitols of each nation.  These are the places of leadership, both political and spiritual.  Why are the nations to be judged?  Their leadership fails.  The King must come and deal with the effects of leadership that does not mirror the leadership of the King.

<><

Year 6, Day 231: Amos 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

When I think about the concept of king, I personally think about the word omnipotence.  This last chapter epitomizes this in my opinion.  Here we see God in no less than three different forms.

First, we see God as judge.  He knows the hearts of the people and how far they have fallen away from Him.  He knows their sin.  He doesn’t need to accept the sacrifices that are not made in earnest.  He is capable of searching out those who run away from Him and who try to hide.  There is none in better position than God in all His righteousness to sit as judge over us: king in every way.

Then, we are reminded about who God is.  He is the creator.  When He touches the earth, it melts.  He calls for the rain and causes it to fall upon the earth.  He causes the Nile to rise and flood and then diminish.  He deserves to be thought of as king because He is the creator.

Finally, we see God as a loving God.  He is a king who does not let judgment and wrath have the final word.  He wants to redeem us.  He wants to reinstate the relationship that we break.  He wants to see us come back into His grace and His will.  He deserves to be king because when all is said and done, He will be the one remaining to love us at the end of judgment.

What does it mean to be king?  A king has the power to judge and rule.  He has the power to create and rule.  But a true king shows the compassion to love and rule.

<><

Year 6, Day 227: Amos 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

I don’t think that there is any doubt among believers that God is king.  After all, He created the world.  Why shouldn’t He be king over it?

However, just because He is king – even when all of His people acknowledge that He is king – doesn’t mean that His people live as though He is king.  We rebel.  We follow our own desires.  Sometimes we follow ourselves instead of the king because we think our way is better.  Sometimes we do our own think out of sheer rebellion.  As King, God knows this.  He understands that just because He clearly is king doesn’t mean we will live like it.

Look as Amos’ complaint here in this chapter.  How many times does Amos tell the people to return to the Lord to live?  Amos knows that life is found in the king, our Creator!  But this also implies that the people have wandered away.  They need to come back!

Yet there is a twist on this as we come to the end of the chapter.  Although Amos tells the people that if they turn and seek the Lord then they will live, he also reminds the people that the Day of the Lord will be dark.  The Day of the Lord will be a day of judgment. He knows that they will not turn.  Therefore, a king who desires to love us will turn away when we offer up meaningless sacrifices.  He will turn aside when we offer up our praise but don’t live out His ways in life by being concerned for the poor and orphaned.

He is a king who can offer us life.  He is a king who can set us right when we have gone astray.  But He is also a king who will judge us when we do not turn back to Him.  He is a King who can see through our empty offerings and instead hold us accountable for what is truly in our hearts.

<><

Year 6, Day 225: Amos 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Amos is a prophet before the captivity.  He is a prophet who brings warnings of approaching judgment.  His message is often stern and strict and dark.

In this chapter it is no different.  Amos begins the chapter with a reminder that God is the one who is in charge.  But even more importantly, the Hebrew people are special to God.  He has known no other people like the Hebrew people.  They are special to Him.  However, it also means that the wounds that the Hebrew people open up are deeper when they disobey Him.

So what is Amos’ point in this chapter.  God is King.  God is in control.  But when we disobey Him, it is God who brings the judgment.  It is God who brings the snare.  It is God who finds us punished.  When we disobey the King, He has the power to bring us under correction in the hope that we will come back to Him.

<><

Year 6, Day 222: 2 Peter 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

I feel like this is a bit of an usual topic for today’s verse.  After all, look at the focus for the first half of this chapter.  Peter is talking about people who scoff and mock God.  Peter talks about people who fall away from the faith because they don’t think Christ is coming after all.

To be honest, it has been 2,000 years since He died.  It has been a long while.  But that really shouldn’t surprise us, should it?  After all, it was roughly a few thousand years before Abraham and Jesus.  God gave the promise of salvation roughly a few thousand years before He revealed His plan.  Should it really surprise us that He is going to take a few thousand years to allow His Gospel to spread, allow people to come to Him, and allow relationship to be restored before returning and ushering in judgment?

So, why do I focus on King today?  Ultimately, I think the ability to keep the faith rests in our ability to remember that God is king and then live like it.  After all, if we believe, confess, and live as though God is indeed king, why would we even doubt that He is coming back?  Why would the amount of time matter if we genuinely see God as king?  His timing is what matters.  His control is what matters.  My doubt is nothing when He is king.

<><

Year 6, Day 215: Joel 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

I think the message of Joel 3 is that God truly is in control.  He is the king.  He gets the last say.  His word is final, and His verdict will last forever.

Let’s look into this chapter more deeply.  Joel is certainly speaking against the world, specifically against the nations around the Hebrew people and even more specifically against Philistia and Tyre and Sidon.  God is angry with them for multiple reasons.

The question is, what did they do that was so bad?  Yes, they didn’t help out the Hebrew people.  Worse, the celebrated when the Hebrew people fell.  But their worst offense was that they saw the downfall of the Hebrew people as a means to profit themselves.  God finds this deplorable.  When we see people around us fall and we get excited about the possibility that the fall could mean for us, it shows us quite clearly more about ourselves than anything else.

It is in this fact that we see God as king.  The Hebrew people were doomed to go into their own captivity.  But God as King means that He also has the ability to restore them when they are become willing to repent and listen to Him once more.  But the surrounding nations didn’t need to act like vultures and swoop down upon their downfall to look for profit.  And in this we see that God is still king.  Even though these nations may profit in the short-term at the loss of the Hebrew people, God will bring them under justice and judgment in due course of action.  Because God is king, He can bring everyone into true and righteous judgment – even those who take advantage of us when we fall.

The thing to remember, though, is that God does not play favorites.  Just as God will avenge the Hebrew people when other people step over us when we fall, we need to remember that if He is king He will do the same to us.  We must remain humble.  We must remain true to our calling and not overreach what God has called us to do.

 

<><

Year 6, Day 198: Matthew 24

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Whenever I read about predictions of judgment, I immediately think about God as King.  Some people read these passages with fear and trembling, only able to focus on the negative aspects of these words.  I agree with them.  The time of judgment and the days leading up to them will not be pleasant.  But in the end, each of us will have our eternal lives held by the hand of God.  I can personally think of nobody else that I would desire to entrust to hold my eternal life and judge me in His own righteousness.

Think about how many parts of this passage speak to His power and His all-knowing.  Of course, I’ve already mentioned the whole judgment thing.  And then there is the timing, which nobody can know except for Him!  If that alone doesn’t demonstrate His kingship I don’t know what does.  Who else is going to be able to save us from the judgment of other people and give us words to say?

Why do we want to acknowledge Him as king?  For me, the reason is rather simple.  There are going to be all kinds of deceiving impulses in this world.  There are going to be false prophets who come along our path.  There are going to be deceptive teachings that bend our ear and lead us into cheap grace – or not grace at all!  If we aren’t centered on Him as king of our life, we will surely not navigate the choices of life amidst all of the distractions and temptations along the way.

<><