Things You Need to Know... from Kings and Chronicles

A nation who’s God wanted to be their king...

A nation who’s hearts led them away from their king...

The heart is deceitful

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

(1) God promised one who would rule with a scepter...

Genesis 49:9–10 ESV

9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

(2) The Lord gave the requirements of a godly king...

Deuteronomy 17:14–20 ESV

14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. 18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.

(3) Men tried, but their hearts betrayed them...

Many people divide the kings of Israel and then the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel as good and bad. But Scripture shows that even the “best” kings were prone to walk by sight not faith, were prone to temptation, were simply sinful men unable to live perfect lives.

There is a lesson here: no matter how good we may try to be, no matter how hard we try, we are incapable of saving ourselves from our sinful nature and our deceitful wayward hearts.

Only a perfectly perfect Savior can a save a totally wretched sinner and deliver them from the corruption of their heart.

(4) Only Jesus can change the hearts of men and rule with love and grace...

The Lord of Lords and King of Kings

Lord of Lords

Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:3; 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16;

King of kings

men - Ezra 7:12; Ezekiel 26:7; Daniel 2:37;

Jesus - 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16;

God of Gods

Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:2; Daniel 11:36;

Lord of kings

Daniel 2:47 ESV

The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”

Only Jesus!