Kingdom-Week 2

The kingdom in the OT

The reason this understanding is important is this:

The jews missed God’s plan - but shouldn’t have

Not judgment. Means ‘God’s plan for a new kingdom was evident even in the OT’.

Some people say, God changed things radically out of the blue. Things are drastically different. Different attitude, different priorities, even a different god.

But many of the tenets of the kingdom are in the OT.

FIRSTLY-

The God-Priest-King

Psalm 110:1–4 NIV

The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!” Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Jesus referenced this psalm. CONTEXT.

Matthew 22:41–45 NIV

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”

So, Jesus says - you’re waiting on a human king. If that’s the case - why would David use this term?

Historians believe that the psalms were generally written after David was annointed king - and mostly after david was actually CROWNED king.

So, david, who WAS king, says , ‘God said to MY KING’ - why would he say that?

The pharisees and the religious leaders wanted to point this psalm back to a human kingdom.

and they DID understand this as a messianic prophecy.

But they still looked to a human, natural kingdom. And jesus says, no, just read it

there’s something much, much bigger going on here

This psalm teaches us a couple interesting things:

that this kingdom would be ruled by someone who wasn’t just a man - he was God.

that God was going to be both KING and PRIEST, which is a bigger deal than we understand.

But not just a regular priest. The psalm above makes a reference to this guy Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:11 NIV

If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?

The text here says, if the aaronic and levitical priesthoods were enough - then why did God bring in another priest, in a higher order - Jesus?

And it says, for sure - the law given did establish that priesthood.

But he says

in Jesus, we have someone from a new and greater priestly line

One of melchizadek.

That leads into my next point.

SECONDLY

A New Covenant

So, hebrews points out an essential understanding:

Hebrews 7:12 NIV

For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also.

Now, sidebar. This doesn’t suddenly mean that up is down and black is white. This doesn’t mean that any of God’s old priorities are irrelevant, or his old practices are meaningless.

But it does mean that, in the coming of the kingdom, God’s going to place a new set of expectations and commands on people. What he asked them to do via the levitical and aaronic priesthood - he’s going to do it differently now.

Jeremiah 31:31–34 NIV

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

So jeremiah says -

one day, God is going to give a new covenant.

Something totally different.

And

this covenant is defined by God’s people knowing God directly

- not through a system or a set of legalistic practices, but personally.

in the OT, there was a varying set of levels of access to God, crowned with the high priest entering the holy of holies once a year.

But with Jesus - we all can just walk right up to God’s front door and knock.

This covenant was marked by the forgiveness of their sins

and this isn’t just a nice, don’t worry I’ll give you a pass - God is saying, as part of this new covenant, I will erase your sins

And this was greater than the OT sacrificial system. The animal sacrifices in the OT - they didn’t remove sins or erase them from God’s books. They were just a covering.

We now know that this was through the sacrifice of Jesus.

So this is great - we have God as both king and priest, and a new covenant where people’s sins would no longer be remembered.

THIRDLY

The Endless Reign of the Kingdom

The jews were waiting on a physical land in a physical place. They wanted israel as the nation restored.

But in Isaiah, we get a different portrait of what this kingdom was actually like.

Isaiah 9:6–7 NIV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

This King would reign forever

Isaiah says - this king (who, reminder - will be called God, everlasting father, etc) will have the greatest government. No end to his reach or to the peace in his reign.

no human was ever going to be able to claim that.

And that his specific throne - not his family line, not the office that he occupied -this king specifically will occupy this place forever.

And

this kingdom would be known by both justice and righteousness

People living in complete rightness before God - but God also bringing to completion the idea of perfect justice on earth.

the kingdom itself would stand on these two priorities of justice and righteousness

Which if you think about it - these were God’s priorities from day one.

And this is what we see in Jesus. We see righteousness - God providing the only way towards him to live rightly. But you also see Justice - God acting to finally weed out of the world all the things and people that cause evil

Next week, we’re going to start going through Jesus’ parables on the kingdom.

But the main takeaway this week:

God knew what he was doing - even from the beginning

The bible isn’t the story of God trying first with the israelites, failing, then moving onto V2.

And this same God that knows the beginning from the end, that sets up the victory from before he even made the universe - He walks with us every single day.