Kings and Priests

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

Revelation 1:6 “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

Who is a king:

A man invested with supreme authority over a nation, tribe or country

ISRAEL HAD NO KING AND DID WHAT EVER SEEMED RIGHT

Judges 17:6 - In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

Where there is no king or leader, there will be a period of moral, spiritual, and social anarchy in Israel due to a lack of strong central leadership and a rejection of divine authority

The Problem: The absence of a "king" refers not just to a monarch, but to a lack of a recognized, godly leader or supreme magistrate who would enforce God's law, leading to lawlessness and idolatry, as seen in the story of Micah in Judges 17.

Spiritual Anarchy: Because people ignored God’s commands, they relied on their own judgment for moral decisions, leading to religious syncretism (mixing worship of God with idols).

Significance: This verse is a recurring theme in the book of Judges (also in 21:25), serving as an explanation for the chaotic and sinful behavior described throughout the period before the monarchy.

REMEMBER - Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Spiritual anarchy

a state of society where a culture moves away from foundational godly principles.

Historical context

when Joshua died, judges ruled Israel but the people went after their idols repeatedly.

JOSHUA 2:8-19

8 Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. 

9 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. 

10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.

11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; 

12 and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. 

13 They forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 

14 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 

15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

16 Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 

17 Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. 

18 And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. 

19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.

John 18:37 ESV ESV - Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

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WARNING: (David refused to go to battle in the days that kings go to war, and he saw Bathsheba)

2 Samuel 11:1-4

1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 

3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 

4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.

Consequences of David's Actions

Pregnancy: Bathsheba became pregnant, which threatened to expose the affair while her husband, Uriah the Hittite, was away at war.

Murder of Uriah: David recalled Uriah from the front lines to sleep with his wife and cover up the pregnancy. When Uriah refused out of loyalty to his troops, David ordered his commanders to abandon Uriah on the battlefield, resulting in his death.

Divine Judgment: The prophet Nathan confronted David using a parable about a rich man stealing a poor man's lamb. Nathan declared that the sword would never depart from David's house.

Loss of Life: The child born from the affair became fatally ill and died shortly after birth.

Family Chaos: David's later years were plagued by internal rebellion, including his son Absalom trying to overthrow his throne and sleeping with David's concubines in public view.

12 Attributes of kings

1. Kings Have Authority — Answerable Only to Their Superiors

Romans 13:1–2 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.”

Kings operate under divine authority and are accountable ultimately to God who establishes them.

2. Kings Have Power

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Power accompanies authority; a king’s word carries the power to enforce will. We have power over the devil, the world and our flesh.

3. Kings Have Knowledge and Wisdom

Proverbs 8:15–16 “By me kings reign, And princes decree justice. By me princes rule, And nobles, even all the judges of the earth.”

Knowledge and wisdom are the tools by which kings govern and judge rightly.

4. Kings Represent God

Romans 13:1–2 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.”

Kings mirror God’s rule on earth; they are His representatives and agents of divine justice

5. Kings Subdue Kingdoms

Hebrews 11:33 “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,”

True kings are always expanding influence, taking territories for the Kingdom of God. We must subdue the kingdom of the enemy.

6. Kings Can Bless and Curse

Ecclesiastes 8:4 – “Where the word of a king is, there is power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou?”

Kings’ words carry spiritual weight to release blessing or pronounce judgment.

7. Kings See Ahead of Time

1 Chronicles 12:32 “And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.”

Kings operate with foresight and prophetic insight to lead wisely.

8. Kings Surround Themselves with Powerful and Knowledgeable People

Proverbs 11:14 “Where no counsel is, the people fall: But in the multitude of counsellers there is safety.”

Wise kings understand the value of strong counsel and alliances.

9. Kings Make Decrees — Known to Make Decisions

Job 22:28 – “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee.”

Esther 8:8 – “Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring.”

The decrees of a king carry legal and spiritual authority — once spoken, they stand.

10. Kings Are Conscious and Confident of Their Identity

Revelation 1:6 – “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.”

1 Peter 2:9 – “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood…”

True kings know who they are; their confidence flows from their divine identity, not insecurity.

11. Kings Are Bold and Courageous

Proverbs 28:1 – “The righteous are bold as a lion.”

Joshua 1:9 – “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed.

Kings lead from courage, not fear, knowing their confidence rests in God’s backing.

12. Kings Have Dominion — They Are in Charge!

Psalm 8:6 – “You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,”

Romans 5:17 – “They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”

Dominion is the essence of kingship; God designed kings to rule, govern, and bring order under His will.

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DOMINION

Psalm 8:6 “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet:”

What does dominion mean to you?

Dominion is a mandate by God

A mandate is an official order or authorisation to do something.

Dominion means: 

Is from the word, domain (a territory over which dominion, a region distinctively marked by some physical feature - or - a sphere of knowledge, influence, or activity) meaning “SUPREME AUTHORITY”

To act on God’s behalf!

That’s why you have been equipped with God’s nature, and essence

YOU ARE NOT ORDINARY OR INSIGNIFICANT!

Man’s equipping is in two fold/You dominion is a combination of two capacities:

Dust of the ground - Physical capacity (Material and seen) Ability

The breath of God - Spiritual capacity ( Spiritual and Unseen - This is the part that makes you unique and extraordinary) | Authority

This means, you can do what is physically possible, but you can also do what is spiritually possible. And the spiritual controls the physical.

Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

2 Corinthians 10:4–6 “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

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Authority - Why is Authority necessary?

There is no vacuum in life. No promised land is ever vacant! Dominion is warfare!

The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. Psalm 24:1

Luke 19:11:26 (KJV) - He gave them money to invest, and gave them authority over cities as rewards.

Rev 2:26-28 - “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’ —just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star.

Matthew 21:23-25

23Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

24But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

Everything Jesus did on earth, He did with AUTHORITY

Mark 1:21-27

21 Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum. When the Sabbath day came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.

23 Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

25 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. 26 At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.

27 Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!” 28 The news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire region of Galilee.

Matthew 8:27 

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Luke 4:36 - 37

Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37 The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

Matthew 9:6-8

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

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Therefore limiting yourself to your natural, physical and material abilities limits you to the realm of impossibility…

Which means, you have the capacity to determine outcomes

Everything else was created and made but man was formed!

which denotes a gradual process in the work with great accuracy and exactness

Psalm 139:15

So, we can say God has authorised every human to dominate. You don’t need the authority of anyone to be all that God has created you to be.

This means, whatever you are authorised to do, you have been equipped to do it.

God gave/renewed the same mandate to Noah

Genesis 9:1-2,7

The Hebrew word for dominion is ‘radah’ which means bringing under control/to order what is untamed or out of order.

What does this mean to you?

The earth left alone is a wild place - The analogy of a field left on its on (that’s why God did not cause it to rain on the earth until man was made - Genesis 2:4-8)

Man was created to tame life disorderliness - to bring control and order (Genesis 2:7-8)

Every problem in our world is due to a lack of dominion

Dominion is not possible without your two fold capacity - Physical and Spiritual - nothing will work without your spiritual capacity

Sin rubbished the spiritual capacity - the connection to the spirit realm - to reduce us to physical ability. Physical ability alone is just sweat!

• 6. Jesus came to give us back our spiritual capacity in full control - Matthew 28: 18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” John 14:12 - “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 2 Peter 1:3 - His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence Luke 9:1 - One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases.