Gospel of the Kingdom

Study written by 3Crosses Church

Week 7 3Crosses Church Week 7 3Crosses Church

1. The Writings (Emet)

Week 7 • Day 1

Week 7 • Day 1

At first glance, you may think that the Bible’s collection of writings deviates from the kingdom story we have been following. Perhaps you have come across books like the Psalms, the wisdom books (Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes), or some of the other writings in a devotional setting and thought of them as nothing more than “nuggets” of wisdom that the Bible has to offer. While this may be true, this week we will see how the writings play a HUGE role in escalating the tensions of the kingdom narrative. Recall that up to this point, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah remain in exile. The writings of the Hebrew Bible are strategically placed right after the prophets to act as a type of “call-back” for God’s people to remember what the kingdom of God was like at its peak.

By reminiscing on the golden ages of Israel, the Writings allow us to grow an even deeper anticipation of the gospel of the kingdom and the serpent crusher!

After completing the Law and Prophets, we have been prepared to look for… 

  1. …the reestablishment of God’s kingdom rule through the Good Shepherd, the Suffering Servant of God, and the King from the line of David who would govern with the scepter of righteousness and justice. 

  2. …the return of God’s kingdom place in which God’s temple would be restored and God’s blessings would richly flow out of Israel to all the surrounding nations.

  3. …the rescue of God’s kingdom people from the serpent and their restored delegated rule through a new covenant and a new heart that is wiped clean of all sin and is able to trust in YHWH.

With our kingdom lenses on, we invite you to reminisce on the kingdom in the first collection of writings called the emet (truth in Hebrew). 

PSALMS - REMEMBERING GOD’S RULE

If you have been growing desperate for the David-like messiah, the Psalms is your first “call-back” to remember the shepherd-turned-ruler that “was after God’s own heart”. The Psalter attributes 75 Psalms directly to king David reminding us of the heart of God’s first chosen and anointed suffering servant. By reminiscing on the Psalms, God’s people are invited to anticipate the coming David-like Messiah who would be as steady as a tree planted by streams of water, whose delight would be in the law of the Lord, and who would be like a son to God.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. - Psalm 1:1-3

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. - Psalm 2:10-12 

Did you know the entire Psalter is strategically broken up into 5 books? If you follow the overall trajectory of books 1-5, your reminiscing begins to turn to anticipation of (1) the restoration of God’s kingdom rule through the Good Shepherd, the Suffering Servant of God, and the King from the line of David who would govern with the scepter of righteousness and justice.

Book 1 offers insight into David’s shepherd heart as ruler over God’s people. At the same time, we are reminded that David is the prototypical suffering servant.

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. - Psalm 13 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. - Psalm 23 

Book 2 and Book 3 introduces us to the sons of Korah (12 Psalms) and the family of Asaph (12 Psalms). The sons of Korah come from the line of rebels who were swallowed up by the earth (see Numbers 16) while the Psalms of Asaph broadly revolve around God’s  judgment against the enemies of His kingdom. This section shows that the serpent has had his fangs deeply embedded into the hearts of all people, including these two temple-working families and even David himself.

A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN NATHAN THE PROPHET WENT TO HIM, AFTER HE HAD GONE IN TO BATHSHEBA - Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. - Psalm 51:1-2

The bookends make it clear that the compilers of the Psalms were looking for this messiah! The only Psalm attributed to Solomon (1 Psalm) alludes to this future King while Ethan the Ezrahite (1 Psalm) also looks for deliverance from this Davidic heir.

End of Book 2:

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor! - Psalm 72:1–4 [Of Solomon] 

End of Book 3: 

Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David? Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked, and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations, with which your enemies mock, O Lord, with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed. -  Psalm 89:49–51 [A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite] 

As our anticipation hits its peak, Book 4 opens with a Psalm from Moses (1 Psalm)! We have scoured the entire Torah and the Prophets for the greater Moses-like prophet who would bring the gospel of the kingdom. Now, the Psalms calls us to reminisce on the golden calf incident in which Moses lays down his life so the Lord might “return” from his anger. This is how the greater Moses messiah would act! 

Beginning of Book 4:

Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! - Psalm 90:13–17 [A Prayer of Moses, the man of God] 

This is a CRUCIAL hinge point in the Psalms. We are left to anticipate a Good Shepherd who, like Moses, would rescue God’s people from the foreign serpent and return His them to the promised kingdom place. We are left to anticipate a Suffering Servant who, like Moses, is willing to offer himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of God’s delegated rulers (Ex. 32:32). From this Moses-moment of intercession, the tone of the book turns into joy that God still rules over all things!

The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. - Psalm 93:1–2

Book 5 points to this “Lord” of David who would delight in the law of the Lord and rule perfectly in line with God’s rule of what is “good” and what is “evil”. 

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head. - Psalm 110:1–7 [A Psalm of David]

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me! - Psalm 119:1-8

The Conclusion ends with everything praising the Lord for the “horn” of victory that has been raised for His people. We leave the Psalms desperately waiting for this “horn” to be raised in victory over the kingdom of the serpent! 

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord…Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the Lord! - Psalm 148:1-5a, 13-14

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! - Psalm 150:6

PROVERBS - REMEMBERING GOD’S PLACE

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. - Proverbs 1:7

If God’s people were to seek God’s kingdom’s rule (i.e. turning away from sin and walking in accordance with the rule of the Good Shepherd) then one might expect blessings to return to the kingdom place! Who better to affirm this particular cause-and-effect pattern than the wise King Solomon who brought the kingdom place to a state of blessing that was beyond comparison. The proverbs of Solomon “calls us back” to remember and anticipate (2) the return to God’s kingdom place in which God’s temple would be restored and God’s blessings would richly flow out of Israel to all the surrounding nations.

Proverbs begins by offering 10 speeches of a Father to a Son. Within these speeches, a character named Lady Wisdom – who was with God before the foundations of the world (Pr. 3:19) – offers a series of 4 poems. When you look at the interaction of Father speeches and Lady Wisdom poems, you discover that the wisdom of God’s place revolves around the kingdom narrative!

The middle section of Proverbs addresses virtually every aspect of life by contrasting the lifestyle of the upright in God’s place and the wicked foreigners of the serpent kingdom. These contrasts include their speech, influence, inner attitudes and values, wealth management, personal and public reputation, their motivations and how they relate to God, their temperaments, and their eternal destinations. Thus Solomon encourages all of God’s people to continue on the path of wisdom by always fearing the Lord and always trusting in YHWH.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans - Proverbs 16:3

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.- Proverbs 22:6

Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. - Proverbs 28:14

The book of Proverbs concludes with a tale of two heroes! First, Agur laments that he has no knowledge of the Holy One. However, after Agur interacts with certain scriptures from the story of David and Moses, Agur’s desires begin to change, his heart begins to ponder the brokenness of man, and his eyes begin to observe the marvels of God’s cosmic temple place of creation around him. Eventually Agur develops a basic “cause and effect” worldview signaling that the scriptures and basic observations have led Agur one step closer to Lady Wisdom.

Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. - Proverbs 30:2–3

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. - Proverbs 30:5–6 

If you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or if you have been devising evil, put your hand on your mouth. For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife. - Proverbs 30:32–33

Finally, king Lemuel records his mother’s teachings about being exclusively focussed on creating real change and distributing justice over his own kingdom place. The proverb consists of a poem describing a woman that king Lemuel ought to seek; a trustworthy, good, hard-working, present, talented, generous, humble, strong, wise, and God-fearing woman. A woman like Lady Wisdom - the personification of God’s good rule -  is once again the key for God’s people to usher in the Solomon-like blessings of God’s kingdom place of shalom!

The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him: What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. - Proverbs 31:1–5

“Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. - Proverbs 31:29–31 

JOB - REMEMBERING GOD’S PEOPLE

Do good in God’s place, trust God’s rule, and God’s blessing will come to His people! Seems like a pretty straightforward cause-and-effect correlation, right? But how do we account for the suffering that all image-bearing people experience in this world marked by the serpent? For the righteous remnant in exile, reminiscing on the story of Job heightens the growing desire for answers to these kinds of questions and a faith that is as strong as Job’s! The book of Job grows our desire to see (3) the rescue of God’s kingdom people from the kingdom of the serpent and their restored delegated rule through a new covenant and a new heart that is wiped clean and able to trust in YHWH. 

At the beginning of Job, we are introduced to the heavenly council of God. This is a supernatural reality in which “the satan” (Hebrew word for “the accuser”) is allowed to question the good judgment of God and bring devastation to test Job - a blameless man who is arguably innocent and undeserving of any suffering:

And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. - Job 1:8-12

Job’s 3 friends come to him influenced by a “cause-and-effect” mindset. They attribute Job’s misfortune to a hidden sin that Job has not yet confessed. Job, on the other hand, remains adamant that he is innocent and pleads his case before the Lord. Reminiscing on the story of Job reminds God’s people what it means to possess a heart that seeks God’s definition of what is “good” and “evil” above the wisdom of the world - something his friends failed to do.

From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’ “God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. - Job 28:20-24

After Job and his friends are confronted by Elihu (“He is my God” in Hebrew), Job receives a universal perspective on God’s authority over all things in existence. 

Then Job answered the Lord and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” - Job 42:1–6

In the end, Job personifies a servant of God who has suffered and is also able to intercede on behalf of his wayward people. As a result, Job experiences the abundant blessings of restoration. 

“My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.  Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” - Job 42:7–8

And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends….And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. - Job 42:10, 12

When read in the context of the exile, the writings would have influenced the Israelites to remember that one day God will send His David-like Suffering Servant / Good Shepherd ruler, God will restore the wisdom and blessings that made up the Solomon-like “golden age” kingdom place, and God would restore His people with a Job-like faith that appealed to the Lord’s definition of what is “good” and “evil” regardless of what suffering may come!

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”  In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. - Job 1:20–22.

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. -  Job 2:9–10.

Share the Gospel: When read in the context of the exile, the writings would have influenced the Israelites to remember that one day God will send His David-like Suffering Servant / Good Shepherd ruler, God will restore the wisdom and blessings that made up the Solomon-like “golden age” kingdom place, and God would restore His people with a Job-like faith that surrendered to the Lord’s definition of what is “good” and what is “evil” regardless of what suffering may come!

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5. Share the Gospel + Life Group Discussion Questions

Week 6 • Day 5

Week 6 • Day 5

Congratulations on making it through the prophets! Next week, we will conclude the Hebrew Bible by touching on the writings section!

Share the Gospel Video:

Week 6 Life Group Discussion Questions

Icebreaker: Have you thought any more about the OT book for our project?
Question: What observations / reflections / or prayers stood out to you this week?

Solomon: Even though Solomon seems to be the closest candidate we’ve seen to the great “serpent-crusher”, he is simultaneously the closest image of the “serpent-king” we’ve seen since Pharaoh in Egypt. However, just like we received a glimpse of the gospel of the kingdom through David’s life, we now receive a fuller picture of what the kingdom of God might look like when we reflect on Israel’s golden age under the reign of king Solomon.

Question: What stands out to you the most about the kingdom during Solomon’s reign and why? What have you learned about the coming Messiah when you look at David and Solomon?

The Divided Kingdom: Who is this royal descendant of David who will take the everlasting throne over God’s people and faithfully follow God’s rule? Will Israel ever find a human king who would use his power to trust in God and lead people back into God’s kingdom space?

Question: What have you learned through this study in terms of trying to follow the history of Israel (such as the long list of kings)? If there was a book documenting the rest of human history from the end of the Bible to us today, what do you think it would look like or say?

The Prophets: The role of the prophet was to remind Israel that even though God’s people fell short and needed to change their ways, God Himself would step in to rule in the kingdom place and make everything right in the end.

Question: Who in your life needs to hear about the Good Shepherd, the Suffering Servant, the Messiah who will eventually come to make a way for us to be in relationship with God? Who in your life needs to hear that the Kingdom is a good place that God will set everything right?

Question: Out of the relatively unknown minor prophets, which book stood out to you as your favorite and why? Why do you believe the authors of the Hebrew Bible included Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi in the prophets section? What is the most challenging thing for you when it comes to approaching the minor prophets?

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4. The 12 Prophets and Kingdom Living

Week 6 • Day 4

Week 6 • Day 4

Day 2 of our journey through the prophets takes us to some of the most unread parts of the Hebrew Bible known as the minor prophets. One approach that has been taken to better grasp the message of the 12 minor prophets is by rearranging them in historical order. While we HIGHLY encourage you to do this exercise, we will contend that the order we have received these prophets was an intentional choice by those who compiled the ancient Hebrew scriptures. This intentionality revolves around...you guessed it…the story of the Kingdom of God - God’s powerful rule in God’s place over God’s kingdom people. Let’s dive in!

HOSEA (c. 760 - 722 B.C.) - GOD’S PEOPLE

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” - Hosea 1:2

Hosea (meaning “salvation” or “deliverance” in Hebrew) was penned during a time when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were outwardly prospering, but were spiritually bankrupt. Hosea is called to marry Gomer, a prostitute, in order to personify the people of God who had “whored” themselves out to other god’s. Israel had broken her covenant marriage with God and given herself to idolatry, sought the comfort of foreigners, grew distant from the Lord, and eventually became spiritually bankrupt. However, Hosea is called to counteract this unfaithfulness with hesed (meaning “steadfast covenant love” in Hebrew) toward Gomer. In the same way YHWH mercifully pursues Israel and brings them toward repentance.

Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. - Hosea 3:4–5

JOEL (c. 835 B.C. / 609-586 B.C. / 515-350 B.C.) - GOD’S PLACE

Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten…What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. - Joel 1:2, 4

Did you know that a single locust can travel up to 3,000 miles and a swarm of locusts can consume in one day what 40,000 people eat in one year?

Very little is revealed about Joel (“Yahweh is God” in Hebrew). We do know that Joel speaks following the aforementioned swarm of locusts that plagued the Israelites. Joel sees this catastrophe as a symbol of the coming Day of the Lord, a day in which judgment will fall upon the enemies of God like locusts. God’s people, however, will be delivered into the renewed kingdom place of God described below!

“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim. “Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.” - Joel 3:17–21

AMOS (c. 760 B.C.) - GOD’S RULE vs. OUR DELEGATED RULE

Because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate. Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time. - Amos 5:11–13

Amos (meaning “burden-bearer” in Hebrew) speaks specifically to the northern kingdom of Israel after they had expanded their borders through succesful conquests. However, Amos accuses Israel and her neighbors of departing from God’s law and attaching themselves to idols. He foreshadows the coming destruction at the hands of the Assyrian army and compares God’s judgment to locusts, a plumb line, fire, and over-ripened fruit. In the end, Amos still offers a vision of hope through the coming ruler of the Davidic line.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God. - Amos 9:13–15

OBADIAH (c. 845 B.C. / 586 B.C) - GOD’S NATIONAL JUSTICE

But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been. - Obadiah 12–16

The relatively unknown prophet Obadiah (meaning “servant of God” in Hebrew) offers the shortest prophecy regarding the relationship between Israel and her south-eastern mountain dwelling neighbors - the Edomites. Scriptures inform us that Edom is the name given to the descendants of Esau, sparking our memories of the age-old feud between Jacob (Israel - Gen, 32:22-32) and Esau (Edom - Gen. 36:1,9). Whether it was refusing to let the Israelites pass through their land during the Exodus (Num. 20:14-21, Jdg. 11:17-18), their fighting against king Saul (1 Sam. 14:47), King David (2 Sam. 8:13-14), and the rest of the kings (2 Kgs. 8:20-22; 2 Chr. 20:1-2), the Edomites shared a long rivalry with Israel. One source outside the Bible even suggests that during the Babylonian destruction, the Edomites were responsible for burning down the temple in Jerusalem (1 Esdras 4:45). This detail is not confirmed within the Hebrew cannon, but is another piece of the puzzle that confirms the long-lasting hostility between Edom and Israel. This leads Obadiah to prophesy words of impending judgment on Edom, fulfilling the oracle of Balaam against Edom way back when they refused passage to Israel (Nu. 24:18).

Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. - Obadiah 21

JONAH (c. 760 B.C.) - GOD’S NATIONAL BLESSING

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. - Jonah 1:1-3, 17

A contemporary of the prophet Amos, the prophet Jonah (meaning “dove” in Hebrew) would be commissioned to go to Nineveh, which according to ancient mythology, was the “fish town”. Even though God’s people had rebellious hearts, God continued to break through with the gospel of the kingdom. God’s people were always intended to be a blessing to the nations so that even the wicked nations could experience God’s grace. After Jonah offers a nonchalant 5-word message regarding the destruction of Nineveh, the entire city repents! Yet Jonah continues to struggle with God’s grace for the nations.

And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” - Jonah 4:10–11

MICAH (c. 743 - 687 B.C.) - TOTAL KINGDOM REPENTANCE

For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches. For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem. - Micah 1:8–9

The prophet Micah (abbreviated version of Mika-YHWH or “Who is like Yahweh?” in Hebrew) is known as the naked prophet whose message is the only prophecy geared toward both the northern and southern kingdoms. In 3 prophetic sermons, Micah predicts judgment on the nations (God’s Powerful Rule), destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (God’s Place), and denounces the greed and theft of the religious leaders, priests, and prophets (God’s People). Eventually, Micah provides a silver lining of hope for the surviving “remnant”, including a vision of a new kingdom led by a shepherd king from Bethlehem…if they repent!

I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together, like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men…Their king passes on before them, the Lord at their head. - Micah 2:12–13

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. - Micah 5:2

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice [follow God’s Rule], and to love kindness [care for God’s People], and to walk humbly with your God [enter God’s place]? - Micah 6:8

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity, and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love [hesed] to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. - Micah 7:18–20

NAHUM (c. 663 - 612 B.C.) GOD’S NATIONAL JUSTICE

Nahum 3:1 Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey!

The prophet Nahum (meaning “comfort” or “consolation" in Hebrew) writes to the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh about one century after Jonah goes to the Ninevites and leads them to a mass revival. The message of Nahum - a message that probably would’ve made Jonah very happy - details the inevitable destruction of Nineveh who had presumably turned back to their wicked ways and grown dependent on their own strength. Nahum applies this imagery to the nation of Babylon, a nation that God will use to purify the faithful remnant of Israel but also one that would be brought to its knees on behalf of their wicked behavior.

Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off. - Nahum 1:15

HABAKKUK (c. 609 - 587 B.C) - GOD’S JUDGMENT OF EVIL

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. - Habakkuk 1:2–4

I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. - Habakkuk 2:1

The prophecy of Habakkuk (“embrace” or “embracer” in Hebrew) coincides with the growing threat of the Babylonians. At this time, king Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon was growing in power and would soon make his march toward Jerusalem around 586 B.C.. Habakkuk expresses his doubts and frustrations to the Lord about why evil was prevailing in Israel and why God would ever allow a wicked nation to destroy God’s chosen people. God responds with 5 different woes upon Babylon for their violence, injustice, dishonest gain, and other wicked acts showing that regardless of the events that were about to take place, God is still the one ruling over all!

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. - Habakkuk 3:17–19

ZEPHANIAH (c. 640 - 621 B.C.) - GOD’S JUDGMENT IN ISRAEL

I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests— those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek, those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.” - Zephaniah 1:4–6

The prophet Zephaniah (meaning “Yahweh hides” in Hebrew) highlights the destruction of the wicked within the walls of Jerusalem. Zephaniah compares the destruction of unfaithful Israelites in the kingdom of Judah to the demise of the surrounding nations who do not honor the Lord. Zephaniah denounces the misguidance of Judah’s arrogant leaders and predicts that the Lord will in fact “hide” a humble remnant of faithful kingdom people.

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. - Zephaniah 3:15–19

Almost there! We have made it through 9 of the 12 prophets. The final 3 prophets speak into a situation that we have yet to read about!

Recall that in the Hebrew Bible order, we have only read about Israel’s Babylonian and Assyrian captivity. In order to cement the idea that God has kingdom restoration plans in mind, the Hebrew Bible offers us one final window into a time in which God’s people would return to the promised place and establish God’s rule once more!

HAGGAI (*Post-Exile* - c. 520 B.C.) - GOD’S PLACE

Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” - Haggai 1:9–11

The prophet Haggai (meaning “festival” in Hebrew) is the first of the post-exilic prophets who returns with the first wave of refugees from Babylon. Haggai’s main message points out that “now” is the time for Israel to restore and rebuild the temple place which lies in ruins. Haggai also encourages Zerubbabel (the governor), Joshua (the priest), and the remnant of refugees (the people) that if they obey the rule of God, the Lord would once again bring His glory to the slowly-progressing temple and restore the kingdom through Zerubbabel (from the line of David) who would rise to become the long awaited kingdom ruler!

“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders…On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you” - Haggai 2:21–23

ZECHARIAH (*Post-Exile* - c. 520 B.C.) - GOD’S RULE

Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. - Zechariah 1:3–4

The prophet Zechariah (meaning “Yahweh Remembers” in Hebrew) urges the post-exilic Israelites to not be like their forefathers and return to God’s rule in this new iteration of Israel. God gives Zechariah a series of 8 different visions which all detail God’s future kingdom rule. Specifically, Zechariah predicts the coming of a priest-king who would remove the iniquities of God’s people and rule as a humble king. This king would ride to his new kingdom throne on a colt, be rejected as a shepherd, pierced in the side, and sold out for 30 pieces of silver.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. - Zechariah 9:9

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. - Zechariah 12:10

There shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. - Zechariah 13:1

Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle….And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.…Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts - Zechariah 14:3, 9, 16

MALACHI (*Post-Exile* - c. 450 B.C.) - GOD’S PEOPLE

I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” Malachi 1:2–3

The prophet Malachi (meaning “my messenger” in Hebrew) begins his ministry nearly 100 years after the Israelites return to the promised land. Malachi, who remains anonymous, offers 6 different arguments that expose how this new generation of God’s people had succumbed to the serpent and neglected the Lord. God’s people were (1) doubting God’s hesed, (2) offering unacceptable sacrifices, (3) divorcing their wives in the name of foreign marriage and idolatry, (4) doubting God's distribution of justice, (5) abusing their power by withholding temple provisions, and (6) lacking faith by rendering God’s commands fruitless. After God exposes these issues, Malachi ends with a picture of hope for the faithful remnant.

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. - Malachi 4:1–3

Congratulations on making it to the end of ALL the prophets!

Before you celebrate, pay careful attention to how the prophets section concludes.

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” - Malachi 4:4–6

God’s people are encouraged to remember the law of Moses as they look out for the prophet Elijah, harkening back to two of the most important figures in the Law and the Prophets section of the Bible. Deuteronomy laments the fact that we have never seen anyone like Moses. The book of Kings also tells us that Elijah had been taken into heaven before he died. Perhaps, in this time of desperation in the Kingdom story of God, we will soon see the prophet like Moses who would shepherd God’s people back to the promised place under the rule of God’s law!

Perhaps we will soon find the prophet of God like Elijah who would crush the enemies of God and secure God’s faithful remnant in the Kingdom of God!

Share the Gospel: The role of the prophet was to remind Israel that even though God’s people fell short and needed to change their ways, God Himself would step in to rule in the kingdom place and make everything right in the end.

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3. The Major Prophets and Kingdom Living

Week 6 • Day 3

Week 6 • Day 3

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him… - 1 Kings 19:11–13

As a new parent, I remember hearing from those more experienced that I should “enjoy it; they grow up so fast!” Initially, I highly valued this wise advice. But a funny thing happened--after two weeks, it was like our newborn was a totally different person. After six weeks, he had grown into yet another stage, and at six months old, he was new again! Six more months went by, and we had a walking, talking human, completely different to my newborn. Everything had gone by SO FAST and in our opinion, we hadn’t been able to catch up enough to “enjoy it” well.

When life happens so fast, it can become difficult for us to hear wise counsel. If only we could have stopped to remember the “low whispers” given by those who had gone before us, who had truth to tell us from their experience, and submitted ourselves to do what we KNEW was right!

This is what I imagine the prophets felt like in their ministry during the complete downfall of Israel. The role of the prophet was sort of like that of the experienced parent – they had an intuitive understanding of the heart of God through special revelation and a lifetime of ministry. They tried to speak the wise counsel of God’s truth to the kings, priests, and people of Israel; truths that they should have already known – that they DID already know! They tried to remind them of what it looked like for God’s people to live under God’s rule in God’s kingdom place. They tried to share how they needed to change their serpent-like ways in every way possible. They tried to share how God would inevitably build His Kingdom anyway.

However, the majority of Israel - during the tumultuous era of the Kings - did not have the ears to hear nor the heart to seek the whispers of the Lord from the mouths of His prophets. Are you and I the same today? Are we living such fast-paced lives that we completely miss the quiet whispers from the Lord?

Fortunately for us, these whispers have been collected for us! The prophets reveal that God was trying to speak to His people in the midst of their steady decline. Over the next two days, we invite you to lean in and listen carefully to the whispers of God through the prophets who spoke God’s truth to anyone who would listen during the era of Kings! So if you have ears to hear, let’s start our 2-day journey looking at the major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel!

ISAIAH (c. 740-700 B.C.) - GOD’S KINGDOM RULE

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” - Isaiah 1:16–20

The first 39 chapters of Isaiah were written before the Assyrian empire conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C.. Isaiah (meaning “Yahweh is salvation” in Hebrew”) opens his prophetic word by calling out the sins of the northern kingdom whose delegated rule would be purified by the fire of the Assyrian army in order to make way for a new Israel. Underneath this rather bleak vision, Isaiah receives the Lord’s purity by being touched by a “holy coal” so that he could articulate a vision of hope for the long-awaited Messianic “serpent crusher” who would be named Immanuel, born of a virgin, and rule with justice, righteousness, and faithfulness.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. - Isaiah 9:6–7

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. - Isaiah 11:1-5

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. - Isaiah 11:10

What is fascinating about the book of Isaiah is that while the book is written in the 700’s B.C., chapters 40-66 are written from the perspective of someone living after the Babylonian exile of Judah in 586 B.C.! Regardless of whether Isaiah experienced a futuristic revelation in this moment or Isaiah’s followers carried on his message for the southern kingdom, this particular section of scripture infamously describes the remnant of faithful Israelites led by someone known as God’s servant, a shepherd who would rule the nations with justice, return God’s family to their place, suffer to bear the sins of God’s people, and rescue them from the kingdom of the serpent.

1. GOD’S SERVANT RULES BY BRINGING JUSTICE TO THE NATIONS

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. - Isaiah 42:1–4

2. GOD’S SERVANT RULES BY SHEPHERDING HIS PEOPLE TO HIS KINGDOM

Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” … And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength. - Isaiah 49:1–3, 5

3. GOD’S SERVANT RULES BY SUFFERING FOR THE SINS OF HIS PEOPLE

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. - Isaiah 53:4-6

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. - Isaiah 53:10-11

In light of the rule of God reestablished through this “suffering servant”, the quiet whisper of the Lord reminds us to humbly repent and seek God’s kingdom rule!

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:6–9

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. - Isaiah 66:1–2

JEREMIAH (c. 628 - 587 B.C.) - GOD’S KINGDOM PEOPLE

Jeremiah 1:14–16. “For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.”

If you have ever wondered, “what was so bad that God led His people into exile,” Jeremiah (meaning “Yahweh will exalt” in Hebrew) offers realistic insight into the life of God’s kingdom people leading up to the Babylonian siege.

This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. - Jeremiah 32:30–35

Jeremiah lays out the choice that Judah faced. Would they choose to continue to walk in their wicked ways? Or would they choose repentance?

For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. - Jeremiah 7:5–7

Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel…Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, everyone from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’ - Jeremiah 18:6–11

Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. - Jeremiah 22:3–5

Unfortunately, the people of Judah chose not to listen to the whispers of God spoken by Jeremiah, resulting in God not listening to the cries of His people

As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? - Jeremiah 7:16–17

“Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. - Jeremiah 11:14

One reason God’s people had drifted so far was the corruption of the prophets, priests, and kings who were responsible for shepherding God’s people.

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord…Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the Lord…But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.” - Jeremiah 23:1, 11-14

This is the total rebellion of God’s people for which God brought judgment through Babylon. Yet, God’s rule dictated that this period of exile would only last 70 years.

This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste. - Jeremiah 25:11–12

In the midst of Israel’s complete rebellion, YHWH whispers that He would ultimately restore His kingdom people through a new covenant and a new heart!

1. GOD RESTORES HIS KINGDOM PEOPLE TO HIS KINGDOM LAND

Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” - Jeremiah 11:3–5

“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers. - Jeremiah 16:14–15

2. GOD RESTORES HIS KINGDOM PEOPLE UNDER THE RULE OF A GOOD KING

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ - Jeremiah 23:5–6, 33:14-18

3. GOD RESTORES HIS KINGDOM PEOPLE WITH A NEW COVENANT / HEART

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” - Jeremiah 31:31–34

“Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. - Jeremiah 32:36–41

Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding the Babylonian exile as well as his words refuting many other false prophets did not please Israel’s elite class. While Jeremiah is routinely persecuted, he is able to escape the threats under God’s protection.

The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! - Jeremiah 26:7–8

And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison. - Jeremiah 37:15

So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. - Jeremiah 38:6

Jeremiah’s personal ministry encouraged God’s people to remain faithful no matter how deeply entrenched they were in their troubles. In the foreign kingdom of Babylon, Jeremiah calls the faithful remnant to seek the welfare of the city because God’s people will always be under God’s rule and will always make up God’s place!

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. - Jeremiah 29:4–7, 10-14

The book of Jeremiah closes by documenting the situation leading up to the Babylonian exile (see 2 Kgs. 24-25). However, the faithfulness of God is remembered as we remember how King Jehoiachin (from the line of David) is freed and treated with dignity in Babylon. The hope for the Davidic messiah who would crush the serpent still remains alive in Jeremiah’s mind so long as God’s people would remain faithful, like a tree planted by streams of living water!

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” - Jeremiah 17:7–10

EZEKIEL (c. 582-570 B.C.) - GOD’S KINGDOM PLACE

The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God. - Ezekiel 11:22–24

The eccentric prophet named Ezekiel (meaning “God strengthens” in Hebrew) finds himself amongst the Israelites who had been “plucked” from the land and “scattered” across the Babylonian empire. Ezekiel receives his first set of visions at a place called the Kebar canal - a place in the kingdom of Babylon - five years after the first group of exiles were deported out of Jerusalem. In this particular vision, Ezekiel sees God’s “mobile throne” of glory moving up out of His “permanent” space in Jerusalem and toward the “east” where the exiles are currently scattered.

And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. - Ezekiel 2:3-7

Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, and have not even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, am against you… Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. - Ezekiel 5:5-11

After receiving the bizarre command to remain mute, Ezekiel constructs several elaborate prophetic action sequences to act out God’s message to His people. This included miming the siege of Jerusalem, cutting his hair to symbolize the coming judgment on Jerusalem, and cooking meals over cow dung to symbolize the unclean food they will eat as exiles! Then, Ezekiel sees a vision in which he witnesses idolatry in the courtyard of the temple, seventy elders burning incense to more carvings of creatures and idols, women wailing to the Babylonian god of fertility at the entrance of the Lord’s house, and twenty-five men with their backs to the altar of the Lord worshiping the sun toward the east. The vision affirms a major Ezekiel’s concern with the corruption that took place in God’s designated place.

“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see. - Ezekiel 9:3-9

I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God…Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. - Ezekiel 24:14, 21-23

When you read through Ezekiel, you will be confronted with the atrocious sins in the land. Innocent blood has been shed, idolatry runs rampant, parents are disrespected, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow are neglected, the Sabbath is profaned, the holy instruments of the temple are defiled, lewdness prevails, sons uncover their father’s nakedness, men violate women, incestuous sex is practiced, bribes are accepted, and extortion runs rampant. The rule of YHWH is utterly forgotten and the stench of death pollutes the kingdom place. Ezekiel places a large burden of blame at the hands of Israel’s leaders.

The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. - Ezekiel 22:25-29

However, even in her harlotry (Ezk. 16), God remains true to His covenant people.

“For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth… I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.” - Ezekiel 16:60-63

Internally, God is determined to handle Israel’s sin. Yet atop the mountains of a national perspective, YHWH continues to show His steadfast love toward Israel.

Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession… - Ezekiel 25:3-4

Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’ therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab… - Ezekiel 25:8-9

Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them, therefore thus says the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate…- Ezekiel 25:12-13

Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines…- Ezekiel 25:15-16

Because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. - Ezekiel 26:2-4

Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’… “Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ therefore, behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation…” - Ezekiel 29:3c, 9-10

At the point of Jerusalem’s last stand (Ezk. 33:21) Ezekiel is finally able to open his mouth and communicate a message of hope. As opposed to the shepherds who neglected to care and feed the sheep, God promises to take the initiative and become the Good Shepherd Himself. This Good Shepherd would gather the scattered Israelites, judge the goats, and care for the injured sheep. He would be installed as the promised Davidic Messiah on the throne to bring a new covenant of peace in which God’s place would experience no more hostility.

1. RETURNING GOD’S PEOPLE WITH RENEWED HEARTS

I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.” - Ezekiel 11:17-21, (see 36:22-27)

2. RETURNING GOD’S RULE THROUGH THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. - Ezekiel 34:11-16

I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken. “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. - Ezekiel 34:23-26

3. RETURNING TO GOD’S PLACE

You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God….And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. - Ezekiel 36:28-30

And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ - Ezekiel 36:35

“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel - Ezekiel 37:11–12

Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand….Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. - Ezekiel 37:15–22

Finally, Ezekiel is transported to a vision that reveals a new Jerusalem and a restored temple place. This go around, Ezekiel sees the Lord’s “mobile throne” returning to its rightful place in Jerusalem. The priesthood has been reformed, acceptable offerings are being performed, and distinctions are made between the holy and the unclean. For the prophet Ezekiel - who began his ministry as a priest-in-training - the temple place being restored would have been one of the most critical pieces of society for God’s people and their success in the land.

In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. - Ezekiel 40:2

Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple, and he said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever… - Ezekiel 43:1-7a

The heart of worship is revived in the temple and Israel becomes the place of God where all other nations are blessed by the rivers flowing out of this new Eden!

And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord God.” - Ezekiel 43:27

They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. - Ezekiel 44:23

Thus says the Lord God: Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease your evictions of my people, declares the Lord God. - Ezekiel 45:9

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar… And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. - Ezekiel 47:1, 8-9a

And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” - Ezekiel 47:12

This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. - Ezekiel 48:11

Ezekiel is finally able to point the exiles in the direction of this newly restored kingdom place! Ezekiel is able to say that “the Lord is over there” in this new Israel!

Ezekiel 48:35b “And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”

Share the Gospel: The role of the prophet was to remind Israel that even though God’s people fell short and needed to change their ways, God Himself would step in to rule in the kingdom place and make everything right in the end.

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2. King after King after King

Week 6 • Day 2

Week 6 • Day 2

“The Greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” - The Usual Suspects

“What are your thoughts about Christianity?” This question was posed to me and my work buddies during a casual conversation. As the only Christian in the room, I remember being excited to respond, but also feeling a tinge of fear. “Lord, help me say the right things and not misrepresent the message of the gospel,” I prayed.

Over the course of the conversation, I realized that most of my non-believing friends struggled with Christianity because they had a hard time recognizing any “sin” in their life. Why would they need a “savior” in their lives if there was nothing to save them from? Why even bother with a God who might change everything about your life if you feel like your life is already relatively good and enjoyable?

Recognizing our own sin continues to be a huge leap for humanity. God’s word, however, relentlessly points to our sinful nature.

We have just witnessed Solomon, the son of David, fall prey to a very similar pattern of sins as his father. Have we seen something like this before? Here we go again!

 

Just as Isaac follows in Abraham’s sinful footsteps and launches an ugly cycle of sin, we are now left to wonder whether Solomon’s actions would lead to a similar demise. Lo and behold, God decides to tear the kingdom away from the hands of Solomon and splits the kingdom territory between Jeroboam (a servant of Solomon and King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel) and Rehoboam (a son of Solomon and King of the Southern Kingdom of Judah).

And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” - 1 Kings 12:26–28

 

Throughout the book of Kings, God’s kingdom people are divided and are ruled by countless monarchs who would drag the nation further away from YHWH’s powerful rule. In the northern kingdom of Israel , all 20 of their kings stray away from the good rule of God. As a result, God hands over the northern territory of Israel to exile from the kingdom place via the Assyrians in 722 B.C..

And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced… - 2 Kings 17:7-8

Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God - 2 Kings 17:13-14

They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only. - 2 Kings 17:17-18

The Assyrians would use this newly conquered territory to house their many dispossessed captives creating a “melting-pot” of people and religious traditions. Thus, the descendants of the north would become known as the “Samaritans” with the reputation of impurity and corruption in the northern capital of Samaria.

THE SEARCH FOR THE SERPENT CRUSHER

The search for the promised Messiah, however, continues through the southern Kingdom of Judah ruled by the biological descendants of David and Solomon. In the Southern kingdom, only 8 out of their 20 kings were considered to be “good” in the eyes of YHWH. Would any of these 8 kings be the Messiah we are longing for?

 

In short, the answer is a resounding NO! Like Solomon, these sons would follow the lord in some things and compromise in others. The book of Kings ends by highlighting the last 2 “good” Davidic kings of Judah whose stories summarize the pattern of the previous 20 generations of rulers. First, Hezekiah shows promise by remaining faithful to God under siege and praying for healing. However, he eventually falters and leads a convoy of Babylonians to the wealth of resources stored inside the God’s temple place foreshadowing the conquest that is to come.

“Hear the word of the Lord: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. - 2 Kings 20:16–17

After Hezekiah, Manasseh brings the kingdom to the pinnacle of rebellion against God’s rule with his idol-worship, child sacrifice, sorcery, and murder.

Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle….Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. - 1 Kings 21:11-12, 16

It is at this point that God finally decides He is going to bring the same fate to the people of Judah as he did to Israel: exile out of the land by the hands of the Babylonian empire. Before He does that, the author highlights king Josiah. As Josiah’s priest Hilkiah cleans out God’s temple from a long history of abuse and neglect, he comes across the buried book of the laws of Moses. Josiah’s reaction…

Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us. - 2 Kings 22:13

The tragedy is that none of these kings were the royal seed of David we had hoped for. If you have ever read 1st and 2nd Kings all the way through, you know the difficulty of reading about king after king after king and never finding one who could escape from the kingdom of the serpent. Instead, the kings used their delegated rule to mislead God’s people and to literally bury the ruling commandments of God in God’s temple place after neglecting it for years. The result would be the loss of the kingdom.

GOD’S MERCY THROUGH THE PROPHETS

In the midst of the endless cycle of rebellion, God never fails to reveal His mercy! In fact, it’s as if God’s voice grew louder and louder through the prophets as His people drifted further and further away from Him. The most famous prophets in the book of kings - Elijah and Elisha - stood face to face with wickedness and will forever be remembered for bringing about some of the most memorable acts of God including (but not limited to) raising people from the dead!

(Elijah) “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” - 1 Kings 17:21–24.

(Elijah) Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” - 1 Kings 18:38-39

(Elisha) When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” - 2 Kings 2:9

(Elisha) When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the Lord. Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out. - 2 Kings 4:32–37

Like a Father pursuing His lost family of people, the God of Israel uses His voice of truth and His incomparable rule to confront wickedness. When this does not work, He uses the discipline of exile from the promised place as a punishment meant to correct the ways of His beloved people. Sure enough, the Babylonian empire would carry the southern kingdom of Judah to exile in 586 B.C..

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, carried into exile. - 2 Kings 25:8–11

 

Do you see sin as a big issue in your life? God has given us these Old Testament stories to come face to face with humanity’s LONG history of rebellion! Ironically, this is a great starting point for the gospel message because we as Christians have hope in God’s mercy! There is hope that no matter how bad it gets, God still rules and will continue to pursue His people and will return them to the promised place!

Believe it or not, there is still hope in the gospel of the kingdom! Need proof?

While Israel was completely down-and-out and all hope seemed to be lost, the last passage in the book of Kings shares how God continues to work to preserve the lineage of David through king Jehoiachin right under the nose of the Babylonians.

And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived. - 2 Kings 25:27-30

Even in exile, the search continues and there is still hope that a Messiah from the line of David would rise from the pit of exile to take the scepter and crush the serpent once and for all! From the book of Kings, we are left to wonder who would God choose as the next deliverer and representative of the gospel of the kingdom?

 

Share the Gospel: Who is this royal descendant of David who will take the everlasting throne over God’s people and faithfully follow God’s rule? Will Israel ever have a human king who would use his delegated rule to trust in God and lead God’s people back into God’s kingdom place?

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1. The Golden Age of Israel

Week 6 • Day 1

Week 6 • Day 1

Last week, we met Israel in their “honeymoon” phase! They were excited to renew their devotion to God’s powerful rule as the new generation of God’s people entering God’s promised place. Yet as they settled into this promised place, the chosen people of Israel began to drift away from the rule of God as they used their own delegated rule to bow their knee to the serpent kingdom by adopting the customs of the neighboring Canaanites. As a result of the ensuing chaos caused by this progressive drift, Israel grew a desire to become like their neighbors and inaugurate a king to unify their nation to bring law and order to their society.

We then walked alongside Israel as they rebelled against the rule of God in favor of anointing their very own king. Saul, the first anointed king of Israel, would eventually succumb to his own pride. In response, God would eventually choose a humble ruddy shepherd boy named David. YHWH worked through David in mighty ways and elevated him from a position of humility to become one of the most prominent figures in Israel’s history. At the height of his reign, God promised David that one of his offspring would rule forever as king over God’s people who would be planted securely in the promised place!

Yet even David was a willing participant of the serpent kingdom. The opening scene of the book of Kings reminds us of David’s “good” desire to follow God’s rule as well as David’s “evil” desire to use his own delegated rule to secure his throne by sending his successor to murder his opponents.

“I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies

Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace…Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.” - 1 Kings 2:1-3, 6, 9

If not David, then who would be able to use their delegated rule to follow God’s rule 100% faithfully? If not David, then who would be the seed of the woman, the king of Israel from the tribe of Judah, and the descendant of David who would FINALLY crush the serpent and his kingdom?!?

The search for this messiah (“anointed one”) begins with David’s immediate offspring!

SOLOMON: THE SERPENT CRUSHER?

When Solomon (son of Bathsheba) was inaugurated as king, one of his first moves was to humbly ask God for His wisdom and discernment to rule the people of Israel based on YHWH’s understanding of good and evil!

Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” - 1 Kings 3:9-14

King Solomon’s wisdom would become legendary around the world. Under Solomon’s reign, Israel grew a powerful army, increased their wealth, and created alliances with other kingdoms to ensure the shalom of the God’s kingdom people.

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.

And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom. - 1 Kings 4:29-30, 34

Solomon’s greatest achievement, however, was the construction of the temple. No longer would God’s presence need to be transported in a portable tabernacle. Instead, The city of David would become God’s kingdom place forever!

The Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.” - 1 Kings 8:15-21

Israel has a permanent place to host God’s presence in the promised land, God is granting wisdom to Solomon to rule over His people, and God is immeasurably blessing His people with wealth so the whole earth would be blessed!

Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. - 1 Kings 10:23-25

God’s powerful rule, over God’s family of people, in God’s kingdom place!

Could Solomon – an offspring of Eve, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah and from the royal line of David – be the Messiah (“anointed one”) that Israel and all of humanity was looking for to take the scepter and crush the serpent?

SOLOMON: THE SERPENT KING?

Even though the book of Kings highlights the gospel of the kingdom breaking through in tremendous ways under Solomon, it also highlights Solomon’s serpent-like actions. Watch how Nathan and Bathsheba scheme to make Solomon king over Adonijah and how Solomon actually follows through with David’s “hit list”.

Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it? Now therefore come, let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in at once to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, “Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then is Adonijah king?’ Then while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.” - 1 Kings 1:11–14

The king [Solomon] replied to him, “Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him, and thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause….Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and put him to death. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in place of Joab, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar. - 1 Kings 2:31, 34–35.

The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will bring back your harm on your own head. But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” Then the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. - 1 Kings 2:44–46.

Unfortunately, even King Solomon’s success and wisdom would not be enough to defeat the serpent and his kingdom of sin. The book of Kings showcases that Solomon completely failed to live up to Moses’ standards for Israel’s king.

(Law in Question) 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.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. “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. 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, 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.” - Deuteronomy 17:14-20

Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. - 1 Kings 3:1

King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. - 1 Kings 5:13

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. - 1 Kings 10:14-15

And Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders received them from Kue at a price. A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king’s traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. - 1 Kings 10:28-29

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. - 1 Kings 11:1-8

Even though Solomon seems to be the closest candidate we’ve seen to the great “serpent-crusher”, he is simultaneously the closest image of the “serpent-king” we’ve seen since Pharaoh in Egypt.

For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods. - 1 Kings 11:1-8

However, just like we received a glimpse of the gospel of the kingdom through David’s life, we now receive a fuller picture of what the kingdom of God might look like when we reflect on Israel’s golden age under the reign of king Solomon. Notice how God’s rule was firmly established when king Solomon surrendered his own delegated rule in favor of trusting God’s definition of “good” and “evil”. This led to tremendous blessings. Notice how God’s people had been rescued as they experienced these blessings of peace and fortune which spread the glory of YHWH to the surrounding nations. Finally, notice how God made the temple of Jerusalem and the promised land of Canaan into His unique kingdom place on earth!

All the pieces are right there! Yet all of humanity up to this point have used their delegated rule to bend the knee to the serpent and His kingdom of sin. Thus, God tears the kingdom away from Solomon and foreshadows what is to come.

If you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever…But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the

land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins. - 1 Kings 11:1-8

Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”- 1 Kings 11:11-13

If not David or Solomon, then who? Who would be the descendant whose heart is perfectly aligned with the rule of God? Who would be the successor who would usher forth a reign of God’s prosperity, wisdom, and blessing amongst His people in the promised place? Would this messiah come soon to crush the kingdom of the serpent before God’s people would be divided and vulnerable? Or will we see yet another free-falling spiral deeper and deeper into the kingdom of sin?

Share the Gospel: Even though Solomon seems to be the closest candidate we’ve seen to the great “serpent-crusher”, he is simultaneously the closest image of the “serpent-king” we’ve seen since Pharaoh in Egypt. However, just like we received a glimpse of the gospel of the kingdom through David’s life, we now receive a fuller picture of what the kingdom of God might look like when we reflect on Israel’s golden age under the reign of king Solomon.

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5. Share the Gospel + Life Group Discussion Questions

Week 5 • Day 5

Week 5 • Day 5

One of the interesting subjects that often comes up in the era of Joshua through the reign of King David is the repeated mention of the conquest of Israel’s enemies. The question that often arises is why does the Old Testament God seem so violent when he orders their complete destruction? This week, our videos take on one of the most challenging objections to the Christian faith.

Share the Gospel Video:

Week 5 Life Group Discussion Questions

Icebreaker: What is your favorite action scene in the Bible?

Question: What observations / reflections / or prayers stood out to you about this week?

Joshua: The conquest stories of Joshua illustrate the final elements of God’s rescue mission from Egypt and the return of God’s people to His promised place. However the conquest stories of Joshua illustrate that God’s image-bearers still need a restored heart to rule in a way that loves God, loves others, and obeys His rule. Joshua leaves us wondering: would the serpent use the small opening of surrounding nations to destroy the Israelites?

Questions: When sharing the Gospel, how would you reconcile God’s love and God’s judgment, especially over the complete destruction of the people group of Canaan?

Judges: God wants us to obey His rule, to be amongst His family of people, and to enjoy His presence in His kingdom place. As image-bearers, we have been given delegating ruling power to bless the nations and to spread His glory in every square inch of His cosmic temple. Yet we are prone to compromise, distraction, disobedience, and our very own thrones under the serpent kingdom. However, we serve a God that, despite our failures, continues to work out the gospel of the kingdom in which God’s people are rescued from all enemies, returned to God’s kingdom place, and restored as rulers who love God and love others because of God’s reeestablished rule over the serpent!

Questions: Where have you seen the downward spiral of sin in your life that is similar to the book of judges? When sharing the gospel, where might someone else see a downward spiral of sin? How would you tie this downward spiral into a presentation of the gospel?

Samuel and King Saul: The life of Israel’s first king leaves us yearning for a new type of king chosen by God (instead of “asked for”) from the tribe of Judah (instead of Benjamin) who was going to be humble enough to faithfully follow God’s command and act according to His “knowledge of good and evil” in order to reestablish the rule of YHWH. The life of Saul is yet another story that makes us desperate for this king who would crush pride in order to open the escape hatch of restoration from the serpent kingdom back into the kingdom of God.

Questions: What are the things that you see people grasping for as an escape from their sin? Using this list of things, what are the ways that you can point to the coming Messiah?

King David: The story of King David is one that foreshadows a king of complete humility and total obedience. This is what it means to be “after God’s own heart”. Since David succumbed to the serpent kingdom, we await the one who would restore our crippled hearts so that we may dine at the table of God.

Questions: Who do you know that may need restoration? How can you practically offer them God’s mercy and restoration as a representative of Christ?

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4. The Promise of an Everlasting King

Week 5 • Day 4

Week 5 • Day 4

Israel was in search of a king who would humbly walk with the Lord; someone who would step down from his own throne and be faithful to the rule of God; someone who would allow YHWH to determine what was “good” and “bad” on their behalf. At the same time, the search continues for this long-awaited “serpent-crusher” who would use his delegated rule to resist the serpent and remain faithful to God no matter the cost. At the dawn of Israel’s monarchy, the imagery of the serpent-crusher and the king of Israel converges. But who on earth could this be?

But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you – 1 Samuel 13:14 (Samuel to King Saul)

Immediately after Saul’s disobedience, God sets in motion a plan to search for a “man after his own heart” to take the throne. Accordingly, Samuel is led by God to the house of Jesse - who is from the tribe of Judah - in order to look for the next king of Israel. Here is the surprising scene that ensues:

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” - 1 Samuel 16:6-12

After 7 sons pass by, the forgotten and “ruddy” shepherd-boy named David secretly becomes the anointed king of Israel! As opposed to Saul who was “asked for” by Israel, David was chosen by God Himself!

The story of David and King Saul is one that shows how God exalts the humble and brings down the proud.

Even though David was chosen as God’s next anointed one, he had a long road ahead of him before he publicly stepped into his role as the king of Israel. In a twist that only God Himself could orchestrate, David was recruited to serve in King Saul’s administration. David’s role was to sooth King Saul with his musical skills whenever there were tormenting spirits that would come upon the King. However, since God had planned to give the kingdom to David, Saul began to recognize David for his astonishing accomplishments and started to grow jealous of him. This included the militaristic defeat of a countless number of surrounding enemies, including one “serpent-like” giant covered in scaly bronze armor.

And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail (scale-armor NASB), and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. - 1 Samuel 17:5–7, 50-51

“Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” - 1 Samuel 18:7

Up to this point, David becomes one of the strongest candidates we have seen to become the long-awaited serpent-crusher from the tribe of Judah! Yet if David is in fact the great serpent-crusher, one might wonder why David is continually on the run from Saul’s jealous wrath for the remainder of Saul’s rule?

 
 
 

THE SERPENT BITES THE HEEL

The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns. - 1 Samuel 18:10-16

Saul’s hunt for David would occur on numerous occasions and would always end up with David sparing Saul’s life because David so revered the anointed one of God. These chases even inspire some of David’s most influential Psalms.

Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood. See how they lie in wait for me! fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, Lord. I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Arise to help me; look on my plight! You, Lord God Almighty, you who are the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors. - Psalm 59:1-4

Eventually, David was persecuted so heavily that he was forced to flee to the land of his enemies: the Philistines. The suffering life of David as the anointed one is a stark reminder that yes, the promised offspring of the woman would indeed crush the head of the serpent, but it would come at great cost. The serpent-crusher would also have to suffer considering that in the act of crushing the serpent’s head, the serpent would also “bite the heel” of the great serpent crusher.

 

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM?

It wasn’t until David heard of Saul’s death that he returned to Israel. Upon his return he settled the tensions between Saul and David’s family and then was officially and publicly recognized as the anointed king of Israel. As king, David continued to rule by going out and crushing Israel’s enemies! Then, he established Jerusalem as the new capital city in the promised place by bringing back the ark of the covenant (God’s unique dwelling place at the heart of Israel). David’s desire was to build God a house in which God would permanently establish His rule over His people in the heart of promised land which now belonged to Israel! In response, God reaffirms His kingdom promises through David’s offspring:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ - 2 Samuel 7:8-16

Do you see it? David wants to build God a house, but God promises to build a house through David and his offspring, a house that is an everlasting kingdom ruling at the center of God’s peaceful kingdom place over God’s kingdom people! 2 Samuel 7 is a beautiful picture of the gospel of the kingdom on full display! It’s HERE! Through this offspring, God would establish His throne FOREVER and there would be endless rest from all surrounding enemies!

But why did the Lord promise to establish the gospel of the kingdom through David’s offspring and not David himself? David was a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Judah and is a man after God’s own heart. Why is king David not the one we have been looking for?

 

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

I hope by now you can predict the pattern! Throughout the process of David settling into his kingly role and receiving all of these promises, we are given suspicious hints in the scriptures that he too would be prone to succumb to his own pride and bow the knee to the serpent.

And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died.

As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, when one told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?” And David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them beside the pool at Hebron. - 2 Samuel 1:13–15; 4:9-12

So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem. - 2 Samuel 2:2; 5:12–13.

Law In Question (see Numbers 4:15, 7:9)

David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household. And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. - 2 Samuel 6:8–12

Much like Moses and Samuel, we aren’t explicitly told that these actions derive from the serpent-kingdom. However, David has a desire for justice that borders on rage and neglect for human life (think Cain and Abel). David treats women as entities to be collected (think Lamech). David neglects to follow God’s rule (think flood Generation or Babel) which suggested that it was “good” for the Levites to “carry” the ark on their shoulders and “bad” to put it on any type of cart. These hints only increase the skepticism about whether or not David was capable of being the great serpent-crusher. David’s next move confirms that he too has bowed the knee to the serpent.

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”…. When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. - 2 Samuel 11:14-15, 26-27

In direct juxtaposition of David’s military victories, the book of Samuel documents the story of David’s heinous act of Cain-like murder, Lamech-like adultery, and Babel-like rebellion against the rule of God. From this pivotal moment, David’s sin leads to his demise. Much like Cain and Abel, the first thing to unravel due to his sin are his relationships with his offspring, most notably through his son Absalom who murders his brother Amnon for acting like Lamech and raping his own sister. Much like Babel, Absalom ascends to his own throne soaring over his father and bringing David’s honorable kingdom a great sense of shame. Eventually, this revolt cost David the life of his own son.

And a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.” Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” - 2 Samuel 15:13–14

And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son. - 2 Samuel 18:33

The two books of Samuel challenge us to imagine the gospel of the kingdom coming through a king that would have the heart of David in his best moments. Yet even David - a man after God’s own heart - could not resist taking his own throne in the name of the kingdom of the serpent. Therefore, it would be the offspring of David who would need to carry on the will of God entirely free of sin in order to defeat the serpent kingdom.

A KING AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART

One moment that I personally hold dear is when King David goes out looking for King Saul’s family. For most kings, they would go out searching for the families of their enemies to destroy them, but David was looking for King Saul’s family to bless and restore them. In his search, David finds the crippled nephew of King Saul hidden in a village. When he finds him, he brings the boy into his house to be a part of his family and eat at his table.

Mephibosheth the son of Saul’s son Jonathan came to David and fell on his face to the ground in respect. David said, “Mephibosheth.” And he answered, “Here is your servant!” David said to him, “Do not be afraid. For I will be sure to show kindness to you because of your father Jonathan. I will return to you all the land of your grandfather Saul. And you will eat at my table always.” Again Mephibosheth put his face to the ground and said, “Who am I? Why should you care for a dead dog like me?” Then the king called Saul’s servant Ziba and said to him, “I have given to your owner’s grandson all that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and your servants will grow food on the land for him. You will bring in the food so your owner’s grandson may eat. But Mephibosheth your owner’s grandson will always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do all that my lord the king tells your servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house were Mephibosheth’s servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Both his feet had been hurt and he could not walk. - 2 Samuel 9:1-13

The outcast who is in opposition to the royal family by birth, crippled at birth, and now without a Father is rescued by this king and restored to a position at the king’s table! This is what the coming Christ (Greek word for “anointed one”) with the heart of God will look like. But if the long-awaited anointed serpent crusher was not David, then who? And how long until he comes to set us free from our crippling sin nature so that we may eat at the king’s table once more?

Samuel begins with the humble song of Hannah. The book ends with two songs of David who has now gone through the journey of life. David started in a humble position as the least likely ruddy shepherd-boy to become king. We leave David slowly descending the peak of his own pride. In fact, the book of Samuel reminds us of the pride of the kings by recounting some of Saul’s trouble with the sneaky Gibeonites (see Josh. 9) that resulted in 3 years of famine and David’s sin which results in 3 days of pestilence. Here is what David now has to say!

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name. Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.” - 2 Samuel 22:2-4, 50–51

Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel:

“The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. “For does not my house stand so with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?

But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand; but the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire.” - 2 Samuel 23:1–7

Surrounding these beautiful songs are passages about David’s mighty men and David’s involvement with the Philistines. The book of Samuel closes foreshadowing that this future anointed king would need to possess the same kind of sacrificial humility so that he too might crush the head of the serpent-giant!

Share the Gospel: The story of King David is one that foreshadows a king of complete humility and total obedience. This is what it means to be “after God’s own heart”. Since David succumbed to the serpent kingdom, we await the one who would restore our crippled hearts so that we may dine at the table of God.

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3. We Want a King

Week 5 • Day 3

Week 5 • Day 3

“To the young, I would whisper that the Bible is a myth. I would convince the children that man created God instead of the other way around. I’d confide that what’s bad is good and what’s good is square. And the old, I would teach to pray after me, “Our Father, which are in Washington [D.C.]” – If I were the Devil by Paul Harvey c.1964

Politics is a major concern in our world today. Debates are raging about different styles of leadership, theories of governance, authoritative structures, and power dynamics amongst a wide variety of other issues. As the Biblical authors reflect on the era of the judges, they were forced to wrestle with whether or not the solution to the serpent kingdom can be found in the latest governmental system. Is it true that the grotesque actions at the end of the book of judges took place because, "in those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit," or was there something deeper going on?

After a period of judges (who acted more like local tribal leaders) resulted in chaos, Israel was hungry for a new type of rule that would bring unity, justice, law and order to the entire kingdom community of people. Interestingly, even Moses advocates for Israel to adopt this type of governance:

(Law in Question) “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,’ 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. 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.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.

“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. 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, 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. - Deuteronomy 17:14-20

In his wisdom, Moses warns Israel to look for a leader whose heart would not be “lifted above his brothers,” in pride, but would rather humbly listen and obey God’s commandments as the true king. It’s not the governing structure that Moses was concerned about at all. It was the humility or pride of Israel’s king that would make all the difference. These two themes drive the entire conversation of 1st and 2nd Samuel, our next book in the Hebrew Bible order (Ruth to be mentioned later).

 
 
 

HUMILITY VS. PRIDE

Samuel, which records the origins story of Israel’s most powerful kings, ironically kicks off with the story of a barren woman named Hannah. Hannah’s attitude of humility in her situation before the Lord suggests that God’s blessings would lift up the humble (Hannah is blessed with a child) while God’s judgment would strike down the proud (Eli’s family downfall).

Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.

….The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” - 1 Samuel 2:3-4, 10

In God’s kingdom, this dichotomy between the proud and the humble would be applied to everyone, from the lowest citizen to the exalted anointed one (“Messiah” in Hebrew; “Christos” in Greek) who would be chosen to rule as king! For example, Hannah’s son Samuel is blessed for humbly following the Lord’s voice as opposed to Eli’s family of priests who were stripped of their duties because they had become prideful and corrupt. The Lord exalts Samuel’s humility by turning him into a key representative voice for the people of Israel as a prophet, a priest-like figure (though he was not from the tribe of Levi) working in the place of God, and a judge who would powerfully rule on YHWH’s behalf! Through Samuel, the gospel of the kingdom breaks through once more in unique ways.

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. - 1 Samuel 3:19-20

So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. - 1 Samuel 7:9

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life - 1 Samuel 7:15

However, Samuel’s sons were not quite so humble in this immense role of representing YHWH. This time, the inevitable spiral of sin caused Israel to look for a solution in a new system of governance. Like their neighbors, they desired one unified king to rule over them! However, God saw their true motive:

“Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”...And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. - 1 Samuel 8:5, 7

Instead of turning to God, who has been ruling as King over His people from the very beginning of time, the Israelites continued to be influenced y their foreign neighbors in their kingdom place adopting their structure of authority to resolve the issue of the serpent. Samuel warned that with the great power of a king comes the great potential for abuse:

“These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” - 1 Samuel 8:11-18

The people had become proud, forgotten their God, and looked toward human thrones to solve their problems. Different era, same pattern of the serpent kingdom! As a result, Saul (which literally means “asked for” in Hebrew) is chosen by the people out of the humble - yet extremely troubled - tribe of Benjamin. Saul was a well-built man who looked the part and led Israel to some victories. However, the serpent had his fangs sunk deep into Israel’s monarchy from the outset.

Samuel’s Instructions

Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.” - 1 Samuel 10:8

Saul’s Actions

He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. - 1 Samuel 13:8-9

Samuel’s Instructions

Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ” - 1 Samuel 15:3

Saul’s Actions

And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. - 1 Samuel 15:8-9

Notice the common denominator? Saul’s pride influenced him to take control of the offering meant for Samuel, spare good resources, and ultimately disobey the prophet of the one true King. Then, to maintain his public image, Saul begs Samuel to return with him as a P.R. stunt. As a result, Samuel is put in a tough spot.

Samuel’s Possible Sin?

Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord. - 1 Samuel 15:26–31

For bending the knee to the serpent, God takes the kingdom of Israel away from Saul. Additionally, there is speculation that Samuel’s return was a serpent-like decision made in the heat of the moment. If you thought either of these men could be the serpent-crusher, it can confidently be said that Saul is a sinner and Samuel is questionable at the very least. Regardless, neither were from the line of Judah.

Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.” - 1 Samuel 15:22-23

What follows is the tragic descent of Saul as an evil spirit overtakes him, as he violently seeks to kill the next king who would take his place, as he engages in sorcery to consult Samuel from the dead, and as he and his three sons fall to their death on the same day.

 

GOD’S MERCY RULES

The life of Hannah, Samuel, Saul, and Israel under the new era of the monarchy challenges God’s kingdom people to adopt a posture of humility while resisting our prideful tendencies. How do we do this? The story of God’s kingdom in the Bible continues to point out that in His mercy, YHWH remains entirely in control as ruler of all things. He has orchestrated the rescue and return of His kingdom people back to their kingdom place. He continues to orchestrate their eventual restoration as His rule is reestablished over the serpent in their lives.

No matter who wields power on earth, the gospel of the kingdom can never be thwarted!

It may take us a while to develop this kingdom way of looking at things, but consider how God uses Saul to move the gospel of the kingdom forward. After the dust is settled, the life of Israel’s first king leaves us yearning for a new type of king chosen by God (instead of “asked for”) from the tribe of Judah (instead of Benjamin). This king needed to be humble enough to faithfully follow God’s rule and act according to His “knowledge of good and evil”. In essence, this king would use his delegated rule as God’s image bearer to follow YHWH and work in harmony with Him to reestablish the rule of God on earth! Furthermore, the life of Saul is yet another story that makes us desperate for this king who would crush the serpent whose venom is pride and to open the escape hatch of restoration from the serpent kingdom back into the kingdom of God. Who would become the “anointed one” (Messiah, Christos) of Hannah’s song and when would this king come to establish God’s kingdom rule in His kingdom place over His kingdom people?

 

Share the Gospel: The life of Israel’s first king leaves us yearning for a new type of king chosen by God (instead of “asked for”) from the tribe of Judah (instead of Benjamin) who was going to be humble enough to faithfully follow God’s command and act according to His “knowledge of good and evil” in order to reestablish the rule of YHWH. The life of Saul is yet another story that makes us desperate for this king who would crush pride in order to open the escape hatch of restoration from the serpent kingdom back into the kingdom of God.

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2. There Was No King

Week 5 • Day 2

Week 5 • Day 2

Yesterday, we left the book of Joshua wondering if Israel was going to follow God’s rule which required the promised kingdom place to be cleansed of any serpent-like foreigners who could possibly influence God’s people with their foreign gods. This new generation verbally committed to following the ways of YHWH 3 times, but if you’ve been following the scriptural pattern of humanity under the influence of the serpent kingdom, you can probably predict the outcome.

The opening chapter of Judges not only suggests that the majority of tribes failed to drive out the serpent kingdom inhabitants of the land, the chapter goes so far as to highlight one tribe in particular that was “pressed back” by the enemies of Israel.

Judges 1:19-34

  • And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron…

  • But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day

  • Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants…When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

  • And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites…

  • Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants…the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

  • Asher did not drive out the inhabitants…the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

  • Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants…so they lived among the Canaanites

  • The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country

Even though Israel - now in the promised place - had repeatedly claimed that they would surely follow the Lord, they too remained in bondage to sin and the powerful kingdom of the serpent. As a result, the pattern of the book of Judges is as follows:

1. God’s people live peacefully while obeying God’s rule as their king.

And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. - Judges 2:7

2. God’s people inevitably forget God and worship the gods of their neighbors.

And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. - Judges 2:10–13

3. God punishes His people by sending enemies to rule them.

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. - Judges 2:14–15

4 → 1. (4) God’s people turn to God and ask for His forgiveness. God hears the cries of His people and rescues them. (1) God’s people live peaceably once again.

Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them….Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from 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 afflicted and oppressed them. - Judges 2:16–18

1 → 2. (1) A new generation of God’s people rises up in peace and (2) inevitably forgets God’s rule by beginning to worship the gods of their neighbors.

But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. - Judges 2:19

Instead of seeing God reestablishing His rule over the serpent once and for all and restoring the hearts of His people to love God and love others, the book of Judges reeks with this ugly serpent-like pattern of rebellion that repeats itself over and over again. Yet in His mercy, YHWH remains faithful to the covenant promise made with Himself to bring the gospel of the kingdom through the judges He raises up. The stories that highlight Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, or any of the 13 other judges offer a glimmer of hope that the kingdom plans might still be intact.

Perhaps you are wondering if any of these 13 judges (or tribal leaders) mentioned in this book could be the serpent-crusher we have been looking for. The fact is that Judges highlights 7 of these leaders in order to show how these leaders become more deeply associated with Israel’s foreign neighbors as time goes on.

 
 
 

The pattern of progression toward the kingdom of the serpent is best illustrated through the life of the final, and the most famous judge: Samson.

1. Samson begins his life by living in obedience to God’s rule.

A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines. - Judges 13:1-5

Even before Samson was born, he was destined to be used by God. He was to be a Nazirite - or set apart for God according to the law given in Numbers 6.

(Law in Question) “When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

“All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.

“All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. Not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean, because his separation to God is on his head. All the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord. - Numbers 6:2-8

As Samson’s life began, his commitment to his vow was strong. The Bible tells us that Samson would experience moments where, "the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power." However, Samson, like the rest of Israel, inevitably begins to test the limits of his obedience to his vow. As he grew older, his commitment to his vow began to weaken.

 

2. Samson forgets his vow and compromises towards idols.

Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?" - Judges 14:1-3a

(Law in Question) You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Deuteronomy 7:3–4

God wanted Samson to be set apart from the idol-worshiping Philistines, but here we find Samson falling in love with a Philistine woman and looking to marry her. The story continues:

"Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her. Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass." - Judges 14:5-9

(Law in Question) “All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body.” - Numbers 6:6

(Law in Question) And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. - Leviticus 11:39–40

Samson is flirting with the serpent as he indulges in the honey of a dead carcass as opposed to remaining in God’s place that was said to “flow with milk and honey”.

 

3. God punishes Samson by turning him over to his enemies.

Samson eventually makes too many compromises and finds himself as a prisoner to the foreign powers under the kingdom of the serpent; in this case the Philistines.

Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her…After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And when she [Delilah] pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” - Judges 16:1, 4

She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him….And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. - Judges 16:16–17, 19, 21

His hair had been shaved off, his eyes had been gouged out, and his hands were bound to a wheat grinding stone like a donkey. As one speaker put it: the kingdom of the serpent "blinds us, binds us, and grinds us." Samson found himself in the pit of despair, separated from God’s powerful rule, outside of God’s place, imprisoned by a foreign people.

4. Samson turns back to God and asks for His forgiveness

At the end of his life, Samson was brought into the Philistine temple to their idol Dagon. This is what happened when Samson was at this central place of the serpent kingdom.

"When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” - Judges 16:25b-28

4 → 1. God hears Samson’s cries and offers supernatural help

Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived." - Judges 16:29-30

This isn't just Samson's pattern, or Israel's pattern, but our pattern too. Just like Samson and as we have seen throughout this study, God wants us to obey His rule, to be amongst His family of people, and to enjoy His presence in His kingdom place. As image-bearers, we have been delegated ruling power to bless the nations and to spread the glory of YHWH across every square inch of His cosmic temple. Yet just like Samson, we are prone to compromise; we are prone to distraction; we are prone to disobedience; we are prone to the kingdom of the serpent and his rule which puts us on our very own thrones in life.

But also like Samson's story, God remains merciful to us. We serve a God who, despite our failures, continues to work out the gospel of the kingdom in which God’s people will be rescued from all enemies, returned to God’s kingdom place, and restored as rulers who love God and love others…if only the great serpent-crusher would come and reestablish God’s rule over the serpent!

WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT AHEAD

The book of Judges ends by making us consider the horrific degenerative pattern of sin and the serpent kingdom. How far would God’s mercy continue to extend? What are the consequences of generation after generation forgetting God and falling deeper into the schemes of the serpent? Would God remain faithful to the gospel of the kingdom even if sin spiraled out of control? The concluding “serpent stories” in Judges begins with a man named Micah from Ephraim (northern Israel), a Levite from Bethlehem (Judah), and the tribe of Dan (pushed back by God’s enemies). Israel had drifted so far towards the serpent that their inhabitants - including the Levites and a son of Moses - had entirely forgotten about God’s chosen kingdom place of worship.

(Law in Question) When you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord. - Deuteronomy 12:10–11

And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest… “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.” And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” And the Levite went in. - Judges 17:5, 9-10

The people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire…And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. - Judges 18:27, 30

Moreover, the victims of this serpent-like degeneration were often the most vulnerable image-bearers in God’s kingdom family of image-bearing people.

Levite Travels with Concubine to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin

As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.” And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. - Judges 19:22-25

Levite Butchers Concubine to Send Message of Gibeah’s Crime

And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. - Judges 19:29

Civil War Ensues Between Benjamites and Israel

And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin, and the men of Israel drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah. The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites…. And the men of Israel turned back against the people of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, the city, men and beasts and all that they found. And all the towns that they found they set on fire. - Judges 20:20-21, 48

The Surviving Benjamites Kidnap Wives for Inheritance

And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin….And the people of Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off. - Judges 21:20-21, 23

Simply put, the Bible does not sugarcoat the serious ramifications of sins. By now, hopefully you are growing more and more desperate for God’s solution to the chaos and disorder of the serpent kingdom. The uncensored images in the book of Judges fuels our desire to see God’s powerful rule “crush the serpent”. Judges ends with a hint at God’s solution by reciting this key phrase stated 4 different times throughout this glimpse into the serpent kingdom at its most wicked:

"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." - Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25

Would this finally be the era of the promised king that would come from Jacob, from the tribe of Judah, the greater Moses who would finally take the scepter and crush the serpent? The next segment of Israel’s history begins with their quest for this promised king. In the meantime we pray that the Lord would somehow put an end to this vicious cycle of sin once and for all.

Share the Gospel: God wants us to obey His rule, to be amongst His family of people, and to enjoy His presence in His kingdom place. As image-bearers, we have been given delegating ruling power to bless the nations and to spread His glory in every square inch of His cosmic temple. Yet we are prone to compromise, distraction, disobedience, and our very own thrones under the serpent kingdom. However, we serve a God that, despite our failures, continues to work out the gospel of the kingdom in which God’s people are rescued from all enemies, returned to God’s kingdom place, and restored as rulers who love God and love others because of God’s reeestablished rule over the serpent!

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1. Return of the Israelites

Week 5 • Day 1

Week 5 • Day 1

My wife and I started dating at a relatively young age. The more serious we got about our relationship, the more we dreamed of our marriage in the future! When our wedding day finally arrived, we were beyond thrilled after enduring many years of highs and lows. As I stood at the altar before the crowd waiting for my bride to enter the room, flashbacks and memories of those youthful years flooded my mind. This was the start of a new and exciting chapter of life together. As the music began, I couldn’t help but mentally utter the words, “Here…we…go!”

Have you ever anticipated something this much? Maybe you are anticipating something right now! As the moment gets closer to you, what does that heightened anticipation feel like?

Consider the Israelites at this particular moment of God’s kingdom story. Generations of their people had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years with only a vague promise to hang onto. For the last 40 years, this new generation had to watch their parents wander in the wilderness because of their unfaithfulness to God. Now, they stood at the border of God’s promised place having just heard an incredibly motivational “pregame speech” from Moses about God’s rule! Everything has led up to this moment! For Joshua and this generation, it was “show time”.

Here…we…go!

Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. - Joshua 1:2-3

Perhaps these moments are so thrilling because we never know what to expect. In order to guide His people into the promised place, God splits the Jordan river just like He did for Moses at the Red Sea. Furthermore, right before they approach the first city of the Canaanites, Joshua runs into this mysterious figure:

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” - Joshua 5:13-14

What an amazing encouragement this must have been for Joshua! An encounter with the Commander of the Lord’s Army showed that the Lord’s powerful rule was with Joshua as he led God’s people towards Jericho and into the promised place!

You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him. - Joshua 6:3-5

Could you imagine thinking that you are going to battle and then hearing these instructions from God? And then it actually works! I’m sure Joshua had every reason to praise God for His power to reestablish His rule by crushing the enemy inhabitants of Jericho. Praise God for His faithfulness to return Israel back into the kingdom place promised to Abraham long ago!

Perhaps this would be the generation in which Joshua, along with the Commander of the Lord’s Army, would rescue God’s people from all enemies of the serpent kingdom and restore their hearts to love God and love others! Might Joshua be the serpent crusher even though he was from the tribe of Ephraim?

 
 

THE SERPENT STRIKES BACK

It didn’t take long for the Israelites to show that they were still under the rule of the kingdom of the serpent. At the battle of Ai (Josh. 7), the Israelites suffered casualties due to the secret sins of one man named Achan. This time, in an attempt to preserve this fresh start, the Israelites took this man’s sin so seriously that they sentenced Achan to death. They hadn’t waited all these years only to have one individual pollute the entire campaign by disobeying the ruling commands of the Lord. God’s people were absolutely determined to live under God’s rule as they entered God’s promised place for them!

Sure enough, after the Achan episode is resolved, Israel successfully conquers the land of Ai (Josh. 8). Then, the Lord causes the Sun to stand still in order to guide Israel as they conquered the land of Jerusalem (Josh. 10). The pattern here showcases that God’s people could not be thwarted so long as the commander of the Lord’s army was with them and they remained faithful to YHWH, even if their battle was against multiple kingdoms at the same time (Josh. 11-12). The Lord was determined to reestablish His kingdom rule by crushing the head of all serpent-like nations and people groups. The Lord was committed to finishing His rescue mission for His people by restoring their hearts as image-bearing rulers and returning

them to His kingdom land in which He would dwell in the middle of their place. Then, as promised to Abraham, other nations would find refuge under the wings of YHWH if they acknowledged His kingdom rule, much like the foreign prostitute Rahab who hid the spies before the Jericho attack!

But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. - Joshua 6:25

After all these years of anticipation, the gospel of the kingdom breaks through in powerful ways! God was actively rescuing His kingdom family of people and returning them into His kingdom place so that they might become restored rulers who live under YHWH’s powerful rule. In so doing, the blessings of YHWH were actively extending to the nations (Rahab). God’s people were ready and willing to continue forward and spread His glory throughout the land! Surely, it’s time for the serpent to be defeated!

 

REVENGE OF THE SERPENT

When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” - Joshua 9:3–6

As we learned in the Achan debacle, even the slightest hint of unfaithfulness would cause the Lord to withdraw His mighty rule in this conquest process. Centered at the middle of all these successful conquest (6,7,8 **Josh. 9** 10,11,12) is a story about the neighboring Gibeonites who were not defeated, but were spared because they fooled Joshua into making a covenant of peace with them.

Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them. - Joshua 9:12–15

Here, we discover the leaders of Israel along with Joshua bending the knee to the serpent. The faithful serpent-crusher would not be found in this generation.

Instead, in this moment of weakness, the serpent invites them into his own kingdom by elevating their own thrones above the Lord’s. This story may seem rather innocent, but it foreshadows a potential problem that the Israelites were going to face moving forward. Pay close attention to the instructions given to them by Moses back in Deuteronomy:

(Law in Question) But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded, that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the Lord your God. - Deuteronomy 20:16-18

Here is the cliffhanger of the book of Joshua: would the serpent use the small opening of surrounding nations to destroy the Israelites?

The conquest stories of Joshua illustrate the final elements of God’s rescue mission from Egypt.
The conquest stories of Joshua illustrate the return of God’s people to His promised place.
However…
The conquest stories of Joshua illustrate that God’s image-bearers still need a restored heart to rule in a way that loves God, loves others, and obeys His law.
The conquest stories of Joshua illustrate that in order for God’s kingdom rule to be fully reestablished, the serpent still needed to be crushed once and for all!

 

A NEW HOPE?

Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.” - Joshua 13:1

The rest of the book (Josh 13-22) goes on to tally Israel’s great victories and how Joshua geographically divides up this promised land. The important thing about this commonly skipped-over section is that God had successfully brought Israel from a state of hopelessness in Egypt to fulfilling one of His great kingdom promises made to Abraham long ago - a return back to God’s kingdom place. Yet the book of Joshua leaves us wondering whether or not God’s people would

faithfully follow God’s rule in this land? Or would they be influenced by the neighboring people groups and begin to worship their gods?

As Joshua summons the leaders of Israel to urge them to follow the ways of the Lord and complete His mission, the people exclaim that they will surely be able to resist and overcome any temptations of the serpent!

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. - Joshua 24:14-25

All of God’s kingdom pieces have fallen into place in the book of Joshua: God’s powerful rule in God’s place over God’s family of people. And just like on my wedding day, the newly formed kingdom of God is excited to follow through on their life-time covenant relationship with the Lord. But as my wife and I learned after our wedding, there is an entire journey still to come.

Joshua leaves us wondering what this new season of life would look like. Will this be the generation that actually resists the serpent kingdom that has plagued all of humanity up to this point? Would this actually be the generation that remained true to their commitment and obedient to God’s rule? Would we see this king figure from Israel defeat the serpent and take the throne over this generation of

people? Or will the surrounding serpent-like neighbors continue to rule over them? Joshua’s parting words encourage the Israelites to choose the way of life and warn them of the consequences of choosing the path of the serpent.

Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day.

And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. - Joshua 23:6-8, 14–16

Share the Gospel: The conquest stories of Joshua illustrate the final elements of God’s rescue mission from Egypt and the return of God’s people to His promised place. However the conquest stories of Joshua illustrate that God’s image-bearers still need a restored heart to rule in a way that loves God, loves others, and obeys His rule. Joshua leaves us wondering: would the serpent use the small opening of surrounding nations to destroy the Israelites?

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Checkpoint #2

Checkpoint #2

Jump to:
Kingdom Project

Just like Israel does in Deuteronomy, we would like to invite you and your group to intentionally pause in your study and reflect on what you have learned so far!

REMEMBER THIS PAUSE IS OPTIONAL

If you do choose to pause with your group, use the next week to catch up on any readings you may have missed. In addition, use the next group meeting as an extended time of prayer where you can express gratitude to God for His blessings of the gospel of the kingdom.

Allow God to use the first 5 books of the Bible to speak truth and encouragement into your life as we wait to see how God will fulfill all of His promises!

Psalm 1:1-2 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 

KINGDOM PROJECT - DUE IN 4 WEEKS!

Have you chosen one Old Testament book to read through in its entirety?

We encourage you to pick an Old Testament book that remains unfamiliar to you. The Torah is a great selection to choose from, however, we have a long way to go! 

As you are reading the book of your choosing, pay attention to our 3-fold Kingdom Definition.

How does the book contribute to the story of God’s People?
How does the book contribute to the story of God’s Place?
How does the book contribute to the story of God’s Rule?

In 4 weeks time, each person in your group will be encouraged to briefly share their findings based on the following 5 questions.

  1. How did the book contribute to the Kingdom of God story (People, Place, Rule)?

  2. What excited/challenged you the most as you were reading the book?

  3. In what ways did you feel like the book was pointing to Jesus?

  4. What are some of the ways the book might speak into the members of your group? 

  5. What questions do you still have about the book?

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5. Share the Gospel + Life Group Discussion Questions

Week 4 • Day 5

Week 4 • Day 5

This week, we have just concluded the Torah (Pentateuch). So often, this is where people lose track of the Bible as they start from page one and move forward. Our encouragement is that you would use this study guide and other resources to remember that through all of the laws, God is crafting a story that points to Jesus.

This week, we have decided to share some videos with you that will help you understand all of the confusing laws that are found scattered throughout the Old Testament. If you are interested in learning more, be sure to check out How Not to Read the Bible by Dan Kimball!

Share the Gospel Video:

 

Week 4 Life Group Discussion Questions

Icebreaker: Share a moment in your life where you have seen God’s faithfulness?

Question: What observations / reflections / prayers stood out to you about this week?

Exodus: Even in the bleakest of circumstances, God remains on the throne! Out of Israel’s situation in Egypt, God was able to reestablish His supreme kingdom authority in the hearts and minds of His people by crushing the rule of Pharaoh, by rescuing His kingdom people as they ran for their lives across the Red Sea, and by making the sojourning Israelite camp His kingdom place via the portable tabernacle. 

Question: In what areas of your life do you still feel like you belong to the kingdom of the serpent and long to experience the Lord’s salvation? How might God be using this area of brokenness to shape your role in His kingdom? 

Leviticus:  Leviticus foreshadows the means by which our savior – the long awaited serpent-crusher – would rescue God’s people from the serpent’s rule, return them to the kingdom place of YHWH, restore His image-beares to rule in a way that loves God and loves others, and reestablish His powerful kingdom rule over all things once and for all! Leviticus is all about bringing humanity out from under the kingdom of the serpent and back into the kingdom of God through the eternally spotless sacrifice that is to come.   

Question: Describe what it felt like when you first realized that your sinfulness alienated you from God but that God had made provision for you to have access to Him! Is there anyone in your life who is experiencing the brokenness of the world through their sin or the sins of others toward them that needs to be introduced to God’s love and forgiveness?  Will you pray for them now and ask God for an opportunity to tell them about God making a way for them to come to Him?

Numbers: Despite our failures and evil’s best attempts, God will continually be faithful to the gospel of the kingdom. He will rescue His people from the enemy, He will return them to the promised place, He will restore their image-bearing rule to love God and love others! Yet, it still seems like in order for all of this to work, God needs to reestablish His own rule and destroy this pesky serpent. Will we ever meet someone qualified to crush the head of the serpent once and for all?

Question: Where do you find yourself prone to complain? What are the implications in your life that God responds with discipline and the hope of His blessing and kingdom restoration during these moments? 

Deuteronomy: Moses knew something was wrong. God was going to be faithful to the gospel of the kingdom. He was going to rescue His people from all foreign enemies and return them back into the promised land. The question that remained was how God would restore His image-bearing family to follow His laws as His image-bearers were designed to do? Moses anticipates that the gospel of the kingdom revolved around the destruction of the serpent so that God might reestablish His rule and restore the deepest heart issues of His people.

Question: Using one word or a short phrase, write down the blessings God has given you! Write out in abbreviated form, the challenges you are currently facing and any specific promise God has given you in order to endure! What are some of the ways that you can remember what God has done for you (part 1) in the midst of the challenges you face (part 2)? 

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4. Pause and Remember

Week 4 • Day 4

Week 4 • Day 4

At the end of 40 years, Moses finds himself explaining God’s law to an entirely new generation of people about to enter the promised land who hadn’t experienced the Exodus of the previous generation. Now, on the precipice of entering the promised place, Moses delivers a series of final messages to bring this new generation up to speed as to God’s rule which blesses obedience and punishes disobedience. The book of Deuteronomy is all about reminding these chosen image-beares how to use their delegated rule to love God, love others, to listen and obey God’s law. 

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers.  Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands … Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. - Deuteronomy 8:1-3; 11

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.  For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. - Deuteronomy 30:19-20

With all the instructions offered in the book of Deuteronomy, perhaps the important lesson for us is to pause and reflect over what God has revealed to us—and to assess whether we are engaged sincerely in the life He offers or if we are forgetting all He has done for us.

OUR RESPONSE: PAUSE AND REMEMBER

It’s easy to forget some of the most important and memorable events in our lives.  A parent of a teenager in a moment of disappointment or frustration, might easily forget the incredible blessing of their child’s birth and the sense of gratitude that came when welcoming a new life into the world. A spouse may have forgotten that his vows offered in the presence of a pastor, family, friends and more importantly God, were meant for a lifetime instead of trading it all in for an illicit affair. The job you always wanted and which allowed you to wake up daily, eager to make a difference in the company has now become a drudgery—you find yourself anxiously looking for something different to do with your life. Life is full of experiences that were once powerful and seemingly unforgettable, but over time have somehow lost their sense of significance. 

Sometimes things fade because we make unhealthy choices. Other times, experiences fade because we don’t renew their significance in our lives. Celebrating one’s wedding anniversary is one way a married couple pauses to remember their past. Birthdays are also a subtle and intentional reminder of the value and blessing someone is in our lives. There are various celebrations and ceremonial events that are intended to bring us back—to cause us to remember and value something in our past. When we take time to remember, we set ourselves up for improving things in the present while ensuring a more promising future.

This is the lesson of Deuteronomy. God is telling a new generation to not forget what He has said and done. 

In what’s known as the Shema (which means “to listen”), God reminds his people:

Hear, O Israel:  The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commands that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. - Deuteronomy 6:4-9 

God reminds Israel to do this otherwise it’s likely that they, along with their children, may one day forget the Lord. God doesn’t want us to forget where we’ve come from and the work He has done in our lives either. But if we are not careful, very important things we once held precious can be relegated to those spaces in our memories that don’t mean as much as they once did.  We can drift into new ways of living and dealing with life’s challenges. In short, if we aren’t careful, we can lose our way and forget about God or live as those who have.

REMEMBER THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

The name Deuteronomy literally means, “second law.” In this collection of messages given by Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Moses explains God’s work beginning with their departure from Mt. Sinai. He details the rebellions of the people throughout their wanderings in the desert and how even he had disqualified himself from entering due to his sin. Moses also refreshes this younger generation on the terms of God’s rule of law in terms of becoming a nation of image-bearing people, His rule of law concerning the moral and ceremonial cleanliness caused by the effects of sin on our delegated rule, and the rule of law concerning feasts God had called His people to celebrate in order to remember His faithfulness. Finally, Moses instructs on God’s rule for the priests and Levites in carrying out duties of worship in God’s dwelling place. With great detail, Moses reviews the many of God’s rules that had been given to His people to remain “separate” and “holy” from the nations of the world.  And finally, at the end of these detailed sermons, he reminds this generation that if they trust and obey the LORD and His rule, blessings will follow.  But if they rebel and disobey, they can expect God to send his wrath on them.

See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.  If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. - Deuteronomy 30:15-18

Moses concludes by urging them toward the right path and to remain true to it. Moses announces his successor, Joshua and then, as with most sermons, a song that Moses has written is introduced to be taught to the people. The song of Moses as recorded in chapter 32 is a beautiful and emotional recitation of God’s salvation work in his Covenant people.  But it was also a prophetic word to warn Israel of their propensity to sin and disobey the Lord. It’s as if God wants to teach them this song so that they will be reminded in times of disobedience that God, even though knowing of this beforehand, would also remain faithful to them. 

Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind [think Tower of Babel], he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. 

“He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, the Lord alone guided him, no foreign god was with him. He made him ride on the high places of the land, and he ate the produce of the field, and he suckled him with honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock. Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of Bashan and goats, with the very finest of the wheat— and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape. 

“But Jeshurun [Hebrew for “Upright One”; a common poetic reference to Israel] grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation. They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded. You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth. - Deuteronomy 32:7–18

Moses knew something was wrong. God was going to be faithful to the gospel of the kingdom. He was going to rescue His people from all foreign enemies and return them back into the promised land. The question that remained was how God would restore His image-bearing family to faithfully follow His laws when everyone up to this point has bent their knee to the serpent and his kingdom? Moses anticipates that the gospel of the kingdom would necessarily revolve around this long-awaited “serpent-crusher” and the serpent’s destruction so that God might reestablish His rule and restore the deepest heart issues of His people.

​​And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. - Deuteronomy 10:12–16

He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you [rescue]…. And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it [return]. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live [restore]. And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you [reestablish]. And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I command you today. Deuteronomy 30:3, 5–8

For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death! - Deuteronomy 31:27

The first five books of the Old Testament closes on a minor key. Good days are ahead for God’s people—but also many more serpent-like rebellions. 

What will happen now that the great Moses has died on Mt. Nebo overlooking the promised land? Will God prove to be faithful to all that He has promised? Will this next generation prove to be faithful to God’s rule of law? Would there ever be another Moses-like figure who would lead God’s people to salvation from the kingdom of the serpent into God’s kingdom in the promised land? We continue to read as Joshua and the next generation prepare to enter the promised land!

And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. - Deuteronomy 34:10-12

Share the Gospel: Moses knew something was wrong. God was going to be faithful to the gospel of the kingdom. He was going to rescue His people from all foreign enemies and return them back into the promised land. The question that remained was how God would restore His image-bearing family to follow His laws as His image-bearers were designed to do? Moses anticipates that the gospel of the kingdom revolved around the destruction of the serpent so that God might reestablish His rule and restore the deepest heart issues of His people.

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3. Israel’s Road Trip

Week 4 • Day 3

Week 4 • Day 3

Have you ever been on a road trip? I remember taking the 5-hour drive to Disneyland as a kid and being excited beyond comparison to reach the “happiest place on earth”! However, I also remember not being too thrilled about the process of actually having to wait so long to get there. “How much longer?” “This sucks!” “Are we there yet?” “I’m so bored!” “I’m hungry! Can we stop for some food?” I knew that by the end of the day, we would arrive at this thrilling destination! Yet the excruciating 5-hour drive jam-packed in a car made me want to give it all up. 

I wonder if the same thing can be said about the “road trip” of life. We are thrilled that God is leading us towards a future destination that is good! Yet many of us fight every step of the hours, days, weeks, years, or decades-long “road trip” it takes to actually arrive. “How much longer?” “This sucks!” “Are we there yet?” “I’m so bored!” “Can we stop so that I can meet this or that need?” We love the thought of our destination, but our disappointment and dissatisfaction “on the road” is so strong that we are tempted to give it all up for a small dose of comfort.

 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. They set out for the first time at the command of the Lord by Moses…. So they set out from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp.  - Numbers 10:11–13, 33-34 

Today, we look at the return “family road trip” of Israel! The exciting destination is the place of Canaan that YHWH had promised to Abraham. God is in the driver's seat after setting up His place in the midst of His people in the portable tabernacle! Surely, nothing could go wrong!

THE SERPENT KINGDOM: 7 REBELLIONS

The book of Numbers opens with Israel “packing up” to end their one year stay at Mount Sinai and begin their journey toward the promised place of Canaan. The kingdom family of Israel are counted by number (hence the name of the book) and are arranged according to their tribe with the presence of YHWH in the tabernacle driver’s seat. Along the way, YHWH continues to provide additional clarifications  to His law to help His people continue to rule according to His holy standard of shalom as new gray area situations emerge. With the roll call completed, everyone in their assigned seats, and YHWH at the driver’s seat, their much anticipated return road trip begins! Unfortunately, once Israel leaves Mount Sinai to go towards the promised land, their obedience and dependence on God starts to unravel.

(Rebellion #1) Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused… 

(Rebellion #2) The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!’ - Numbers 11:1, 4-6

This family road trip is not off to a good start! The general population of Israel had convinced themselves that there was more security in the foreign place of Egypt as opposed to God’s kingdom place that was now moving through the wilderness. Their traveling situation was so bleak that they had completely lost sight of how God had rescued them from the land of Egypt, was returning them to a better destination, and would restore them into a kingdom of priestly image-bearers under His reestablished rule.

Before long, the Israelites would eventually arrive in the desert of Paran, which was halfway to the land of Canaan promised to Abraham. There was still time to change their ways!

(Rebellion #3) Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” - Numbers 12:1–2.

(Rebellion #4) The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”  So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites…  

They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.  But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there…

 …“We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. - Numbers 13:1-3, 27-28, 31-32;

That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness!  Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” - Numbers 14:1-4 

After a rocky start on this trip, a full family fight ensues! What should’ve been a joyous and bonding moment of laying eyes on the promised place turns into chaos and divisiveness. Miriam and Aaron, the 12 appointed leaders, and “all the members of the community” grew discontent with the way God ruled in the wilderness. 

What was supposed to be an 11 day “road-trip” would turn into 40 years because of their lack of trust. YHWH responds to this lack of trust by forbidding this wandering generation from entering the promised place. 

And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die. - Numbers 14: 33-35

Now, with no exciting destination in sight, the road trip inevitably devolves. The next rebellions escalated to the men of Dathan and Korah who played important roles in the community of Israel as workers in the tabernacle. 

(Rebellion #5) Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” - Numbers 16:1–3

Finally, the rebellion culminates with Moses himself - God’s chosen servant - confirming our suspicions once and for all that Moses was not the serpent crusher we had been hoping for. 

(Rebellion #6) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 

Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” - Numbers 20:2–12.

The entire camp of Israel, including the great Moses, had symbolically bent their knee to the kingdom of the serpent. If there was ever a people who deserved to be destroyed by God’s judgment, these were the people! Instead, in the midst of their complete 7-fold rebellion, God’s mercy would break through. His healing power would take the symbolic form of idolatry (bronze) and sin (serpent) hung on a tree (pole). All who would merely look upon this image of sin hung on a tree would live.

(Rebellion #7) And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 

And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. - Numbers 21:4–9.

GOD’S RESPONSE: THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

Despite their blatant disobedience, God remains perfectly balanced between being merciful to His family of people and being faithfully just to His righteous rule! By no means does God let Israel “off the hook” for disobeying God. 

 

However, throughout the rebellions, Moses routinely pleads with the Lord to be merciful to His people for His name’s sake. 

And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now. - Numbers 14:17-19 

As Israel moves into the land of Moab -  a stone’s throw away from the promised place of Canaan - the Moabite King Balak sees these foreigners as a growing threat. Balak hires a pagan sorcerer named Balaam to pronounce curses on them. After having a rather interesting encounter with a talking donkey (see Num. 22), Balaam is instructed by the Angel of the Lord to relay His words regarding Israel.

Then Balaam spoke his message: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’ How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?” 

Then he spoke his message: “Arise, Balak, and listen hear me, son of Zippor.  God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?  I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.  “No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.” - Numbers 23:7-8, 18-21 

No misfortune seen in Jacob? How can that be based on what we just read about Israel’s putrid family trip? Amidst rebellion after rebellion within the camp of Israel, the descendants of Jacob are totally unaware that up in the hills not far away God is looking down upon His people protecting and blessing them as they struggle their way back into the promised place. 

Despite our failures and evil’s best attempts, God will continually be faithful to the gospel of the kingdom. He will rescue His people from the enemy, He will return them to the promised place, He will restore their image-bearing rule to love God and love others! Yet, it still seems like in order for all of this to work, God needs to reestablish His own rule and destroy this pesky serpent. Will we ever meet someone qualified to crush the head of the serpent once and for all? THERE IS HOPE! Balaam seems to see some type of king that would come from Israel! 

Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted….I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab… A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city. - Numbers 24: 7, 17,19

The book of Numbers ends the same way it begins, a new generation of people in Israel “packing-up” to get ready for their own road trip into the promised land! God remains in the driver’s seat and continues to provide clarifications to His law while Moses prepares to turn over his leadership to Joshua, who along with Caleb was one of the leaders who urged Israel to take the promised land in the power of YHWH. We are left to wait and see if this would be the group of people who would witness the serpent-crushing event and fully bring forth God’s kingdom! Could Joshua (whose name means “YHWH is Salvation” in Hebrew) be the serpent-crusher?

These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. -Numbers 26:63–65

Share the Gospel: Despite our failures and evil’s best attempts, God will continually be faithful to the gospel of the kingdom. He will rescue His people from the enemy, He will return them to the promised place, He will restore their image-bearing rule to love God and love others! Yet, it still seems like in order for all of this to work, God needs to reestablish His own rule and destroy this pesky serpent. Will we ever meet someone qualified to crush the head of the serpent once and for all?

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2. Who Shall Ascend to the Lord?

Week 4 • Day 2

Week 4 • Day 2

Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.  And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. - Leviticus 9:22-24

As we have seen, YHWH desires to be in a loving relationship with His kingdom people! Israel’s rebel allegiance to the rule of the serpent kingdom, however, sets forth the fundamental problem of all humanity: sin separates us from God. At the end of Exodus, we discover that the portable tabernacle place that gave YHWH’s people access to Him is now off limits to both Moses and the Israelites until certain conditions can be met. How could sinful humans ever return back into the presence of God’s holy kingdom place? 

The book of Leviticus sets forth the path for how undeserving serpent-like sinners can experience a relationship with God and live daily in His dwelling place.

Have you recognized a pattern that God’s people are spared when a substitute is offered as a sacrifice (i.e. animal skins, ram in the thicket, passover lamb, Moses’ life)? It is no coincidence, then, that Leviticus opens by documenting a series of sacrificial offerings that allow for Israel’s priests to make atonement (or “cover”) for the people of Israel. Today, we often miss the simple, yet profound lessons of the sacrificial system in Leviticus. We get bogged down in trying to understand and apply the unfamiliar rituals of sacrifice that Israel had to learn if they were to gain access to God. Between their rituals, requirements, and the intricate details of how these sacrifices were to be carried out, it’s easy for the modern reader to miss the point. This is the point: God’s holiness demands that provision be made for our sins or there is simply NO access to God’s place.  

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. - Leviticus 17:11

The lifeblood of the sacrificial animals was quite literally covering the death we should have experienced because of our sin.

As we saw in Genesis, sin and death did not only have an internal heart impact, but it also had an external life impact on our relationships with creation, with each other, and ultimately with God. Therefore, God calls His people to be externally holy in 3 primary ways: ceremonial cleanliness in the kingdom place, living as a people under God’s kingdom ethic of shalom, and always acknowledging God’s kingdom rule. Once again, it is easy for modern readers to miss the point in these chapters as we try to make sense of many culturally specific commandments. This is the point: God’s holiness demands a “set-apart” kingdom lifestyle free from the intentional and unintentional effects of sin and death or there is simply NO access to God’s place.

CLEANLINESS IN GOD’S PLACE 

You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground,  to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten. - Leviticus 11:45b-47

SHALOM WITH GOD AND HIS PEOPLE 

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,  “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God.  You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. - Leviticus 18:1-5 

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. - Leviticus 19:18

REMEMBERING GOD’S RULE

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,  “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts. - Leviticus 23:1

 

At the center of the book of Leviticus is God’s instruction about the Day of Atonement. Ceremonial cleansing and individual sacrifices could only take the Old Testament people of God so far. A greater sacrifice was necessary that would cover everything within the camp of Israel that had been marked by the kingdom of the serpent, including the tabernacle building itself. On the Day of Atonement (see Leviticus 16), the high priest would finally be allowed to enter the Holy of Holies to make a sacrifice first for himself, and then for the sins of the entire Israelite camp. After completing the sacrifice for his own sins, the priest was instructed to choose two goats for the atonement for the sins of the community. One goat would be sacrificed and the other (the Scapegoat) sent into the wilderness to demonstrate that the sins of the people would be removed from them forever. In this way, the Israelites would remember that not only were their sins forgiven but also removed completely from God’s place. Through this one special annual act of worship, God’s people could rest in the assurance of knowing both the forgiveness and removal of sin so that God could make the camp of Israel His place. 

No one is to be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel…because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you.  Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. - Leviticus 16:17, 30

But keep in mind, this provision needed to be repeated every single year to maintain the holiness of God’s place. What about today? Do we still need this kind of sacrifice?

This question requires a, “Yes, but….keep reading,” response.

Yes, as long as the serpent continues to roam free, we do need some sort of sacrifice to cover our sins and spare our lives before a holy God. The proof of our allegiance to the serpent kingdom’s rule is everywhere. Nations at war, disease, death, violent crime, injustice, and poverty are just a few of the disharmonious signs that something has gone terribly wrong with humanity. And the troubling part is that our hearts contain the darkness that we see manifest in our world.  

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? - Jeremiah 19:7 

Before we can address our own brokenness or even our broken world, we must first address our broken relationship with God and His kingdom. The truth is, our sinfulness has created a vast chasm between ourselves and God.  

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.  - Isaiah 59:2 

There is simply no getting around the fact that our sinfulness is our undoing and we all - as descendants of Adam and Eve - have bent our knee to the serpent. Perhaps today you are experiencing the deep pain of brokenness in your life because of the serpent’s rule in your life, the sins that other people have committed against you, or the brokenness of the place that has been cursed and brings death as a result of sin?

The gospel of the kingdom found breaking through the book of Leviticus is that God outlines a way for sinful and undeserving sinners to experience a rich and fulfilling relationship with Him. That’s why a proper understanding of the book of Leviticus is so important. It offers its reader confidence that the condition of being separated from God can be changed.  

The Levitical code (the laws, rituals, sacrifice and priesthood) was the means God chose for His people to have this kind of access to His place; access He wanted to provide and they needed.  

But...wouldn’t it be amazing if God provided an eternal cleansing from the rule of sin in our lives? Wouldn’t it be incredible if God swung the doors wide open for sinners of every era to have full access to God’s place and to live in a deep relationship with Him? Wouldn’t it be good news to know that we are no longer bound by a constant cycle of gory sacrifices because there was a way to experience complete and never-ending access to our King? 

This, then, is the timeless lesson that Leviticus provides in the big picture of God’s revelation. Leviticus foreshadows the means by which our savior – the long awaited serpent-crusher – would rescue God’s people from the serpent’s rule, return them to the kingdom place of YHWH, restore His image-beares to rule in a way that loves God and loves others, and reestablish His powerful kingdom rule over the serpent and all things once and for all! Leviticus is all about bringing humanity out from under the kingdom of the serpent and back into the kingdom of God. 

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. - Psalm 103:11-12 

Leviticus leaves us wondering what kind of sacrifice would be able to permanently cleanse us of our sin so that we might be cleansed and brought into God’s kingdom space? Is it even possible to possess a permanently spotless lifeblood that would allow God to permanently pass over our sins? 

What sacrifice could offer this eternally perfect and permanent solution?

Share the Gospel: Leviticus foreshadows the means by which our savior – the long awaited serpent-crusher – would rescue God’s people from the serpent’s rule, return them to the kingdom place of YHWH, restore His image-beares to rule in a way that loves God and loves others, and reestablish His powerful kingdom rule over all things once and for all! Leviticus is all about bringing humanity out from under the kingdom of the serpent and back into the kingdom of God.  

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1. Salvation for God’s People

Week 4 • Day 1

Week 4 • Day 1

One of the most challenging moments in my life was when I saw the door close on my dream career. All the blood, sweat, and tears that I had put into this particular pursuit felt like it had been all for nothing. In the season of life that followed, I was forced to wrestle with whether or not I believed that, “God is good” and “He is in control”. These phrases sound so cliche, right?

There are many situations we face that make us doubt that God is good and He still rules over all things. In the moments where it seems like everything is going against us, we doubt that God will remain faithful toward us as His kingdom people. It is hard to find hope that we will one day return to God’s good kingdom place when the world seems like it is crashing all around us. In these dark moments, have you ever cried out, “God! Where are you? Are you still there?”

I’d imagine these same sentiments were strong in the hearts of Abraham’s descendants during their time in Egypt.

The book of Exodus continues right where the Genesis story ends: God’s family of people are located in a foreign kingdom place under the foreign rule of Pharaoh.

 

Under the faithful God-centered rule of Joseph, Egypt blossoms into a place of blessing that provides for God’s image-bearing people across the world during a global famine. Through Joseph’s faithfulness, the gospel of the kingdom breaks through and turns the desert land of Egypt into a nation which taps into the Garden river of life that was always designed to flow out from Eden to the nations! It’s no coincidence, then, that Exodus opens by showing how Israel was fruitful, multiplied, filled this foreign land, and grew to become “exceedingly strong”.

But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. - Exodus 1:7

It wasn’t until a new Pharaoh rose to power in Egypt that God’s blessings suddenly morphed into the reason for Israel’s oppression. Now, under the unfaithful serpent-centered rule of this new Pharaoh, Egypt turns into the next anti-Eden place that would oppress God’s people treating them as slaves rather than dignified image-bearers who rule on God’s behalf.

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burden.

So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” - Exodus 1:8-11, 13-14, 22

 

Imagine the kind of questions the Israelites would have had over the next 400 years of oppression. Does God still rule and care about His people? If He does, why are we enslaved? Did He lead us into a foreign place simply to suffer? Is the kingdom place that was once promised to our father Abraham now out of reach? Were we entirely wrong about this God? It’s at the peak of these doubts where we meet the central character of the next 4 books of the Bible: Moses.

GOD’S RESPONSE: THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

Moses’ life begins by highlighting God’s rule. Amidst the orders of Pharaoh to kill all boys born to the Israelites, Moses’ mother manages to hide her newborn son in a basket (or “tebat” the same Hebrew word for “ark”). This “ark-like” basket floats down a river and just so happens to reach Pharaoh’s daughter who just so happens to raise up Moses as her own. God continues to orchestrate events to lift up Moses who just so happens to rise to a position of power within the ranks of Pharaoh. 

Here is the million-dollar question: could Moses be the serpent-crusher? 

Later on, when Moses eventually learns of his own Hebrew origins, he withdraws from his position in Pharaoh’s household to associate himself with the Hebrew people. Here, Moses comes face-to-face with the brutal oppression of his people and acts in his rage by killing an Egyptian slave master. We aren’t explicitly told that Moses’ defensive actions are wicked or serpent-like, but at the very least this scene forces us to speculate about Moses’ candidacy as the faithful serpent-crusher. 

Now, as a fugitive of the Egyptian authorities, Moses flees to Midian. In the middle of this chaos, Moses sees something strange atop Mount Horeb (tier 3), amidst a bush (tier 2), in a flame of fire (tier 1). Moses is called to take off his sandals as he approaches this holy 3-tiered garden-like place where the Lord has appeared to him! The Lord says:

“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.

… God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” - Exodus 3:7-10, 14

 

After 400 years of slavery, God chooses Moses to become the next representative of the gospel of the kingdom. God was going to rescue His people from slavery, return them to the place flowing with milk and honey, and restore the dignity and rule of His image-bearers. Once more, we wonder if Moses is the serpent-crushing descendant of Eve who would finally reestablish “I AM”’s rule over the serpent kingdom? Let’s watch how Moses responds to YHWH’s (“I AM” in Hebrew) calling.

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” - Exodus 3:11 

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”- Exodus 3:13

Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’ ” - Exodus 4:1 

But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” - Exodus 4:10

But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”  Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. - Exodus 4:13-14

Although the text does not explicitly attribute these doubts to the kingdom of the serpent, our suspicions about Moses continue to mount. One would expect that the great serpent crusher would have a “faith-no-matter-what” attitude in all things similar to the test of Abraham and Isaac. Yet despite this excuse-filled killer, YHWH chooses to bring the Israelites out from Egypt into His promised kingdom! 

EXODUS (PT. 1): REESTABLISH AND RESCUE

In a story you may be familiar with, YHWH rains down a series of 10 plagues to crush the Egyptians. YHWH reestablishes that He has always been the one true ruler over all things, including the gods of the Egyptians.

 

This sequence culminates at the infamous 10th plague in which God kills the firstborn sons of all those in the land of Egypt (in response to Osiris - judge of the dead and patron deity of Pharaoh). Thankfully, in the same way YHWH provided a sacrificial ram to be a substitute for Isaac, YHWH instructed His people to sacrifice a substitutionary lamb and paint its blood on their doorposts so that the destroyer of the firstborn (see Ex. 12:23) would “pass over” the Israelites. 

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,  and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight….“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.” -  Exodus 12:5-7, 13

The gospel of the kingdom breaks through once more as YHWH reestablishes His rule by crushing Pharaoh and his gods through the plagues. Then YHWH completes His rescue mission for His people even when the Red Sea and the Egyptian army stood in their way! In a song of thanks, Moses recounts: 

For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. -  Exodus 15:19

EXODUS (PT.2): RETURN AND RESTORE

The rest of Exodus continues to show how God would return His wandering people back into the promised land place and restore His image-bearers so they would rule in a way that loves God, loves others, and obeys the boundaries of YHWH. Pay attention to this very similar garden-like choice facing Moses’ generation.

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.  All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. - Exodus 19:5-8

Just like God had placed certain boundaries in the Garden of Eden, Israel’s end of the bargain was to listen and obey the Lord’s commands as they developed into a larger nation. 613 commandments were given to Israel (including the famous first 10 commandments) that talk about the ways in which the people of Israel would use their delegated rule to love God (no other gods before me, keep the sabbath, Lord’s name in vain, etc.) and love their neighbors (murder, adultery, covetousness, etc.)! Once again, here is how Israel responds to YHWH’s law they had just received…

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they [Israel] said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” - Exodus 24:7-8

The next set of instructions shows God’s desire to dwell with His family during their return journey since they weren’t in the promised land quite yet. Moses is given instructions to create the portable 3-tiered, garden-like tabernacle on earth (Courtyard, Holy Place, Holy of Holies) so that God’s place - guarded by the veil of cherubim - could be in the midst of His people wherever they went!

And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it…And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. - Exodus 26:31, 33

There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory.  I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.  I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. - Exodus 29:43-45 

YHWH has reestablished His kingdom rule over Pharoah, rescued His people from a serpent-like regime. He is now actively returning them to the promised place. His people were committed to use their delegated rule to love God, love others, and obey YHWH’s commandments in the law. Could this be the end of the serpent era?

GOD’S RESPONSE: THE SERPENT CRUSHER?

Unfortunately, it did not take long for the Israelites to disobey and bend their knee to the serpent. While Moses had ventured up to the top of Mount Sinai (tier 1) to meet with the Lord, the rest of the elders of Israel remained halfway up the mountain (tier 2) and the camp stayed put at the base of the mountain (tier 3). Aaron along with a significant portion of the community at the bottom of the mountain did not want to wait for Moses to return from his 40-day trip into the Lord’s presence. Instead, these image-bearers determined that it was “good” to build an image they could comprehend; a calf that represented the Egyptian god Apis (see plague 5).

Although Moses’ actions up to this point have been cause for concern, the next scene offers a “serpent-crusher” type of response that resembles the sacrificial faith of Abraham and Isaac.  

The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”  So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold.  But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” - Exodus 32:30-32 

Once again, our kingdom narrative oscillates between the serpent-like actions of mankind and the faithfulness of YHWH enacted through one faithful servant. On the one hand, God decides to justly handle the sinful actions within the camp the way He sees fit. On the other hand, God continues to be slow to anger and merciful towards the descendants of Abraham due to Moses’ intercession.

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” - Exodus 34:6–7

Even in the bleakest of circumstances, God remains on the throne! Out of Israel’s situation in Egypt, God was able to reestablish His supreme kingdom authority in the hearts and minds of His people by crushing the rule of Pharaoh and instituting His rule of law, by rescuing His kingdom people as they ran for their lives across the Red Sea, and by making the sojourning Israelite camp His kingdom place via the portable tabernacle. God was faithful to the promises that He had made!

I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ ” - Exodus 6:7-8

Yet the story is far from over. All of the events of Exodus take place at the foot of Mt. Sinai. God was preparing to lead His people back to the promised kingdom place - the land of Canaan that was promised to Abraham. God was still molding His beloved family of people into a kingdom of priests who use their delegated rule to love God, love others, obey God’s laws, and spread His glory throughout the world!

Would the gospel of the kingdom fully break through and be successful? Interestingly, after a whole book in which Moses is able to approach the Lord (i.e. the burning bush, Mt. Sinai, the tent of meeting, God passing by), we are told that Moses is now unable to enter the tent of meeting to speak with God.

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out.  But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up.  For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. - Exodus 40:34-38

The fangs of the serpent and his kingdom remained embedded deep within the hearts of Israel. Exodus leaves us wondering how would Israel ever find a way to enter into God’s presence again without being utterly destroyed because of their allegiance to the kingdom of the serpent? Could YHWH still work through Moses to make him the serpent crusher? For now, Exodus leaves us anticipating that this same YHWH would one day orchestrate the same type of Exodus for His family of people. This time, it would need to be an Exodus from the kingdom of the serpent! 

Share the Gospel: Even in the bleakest of circumstances, God remains on the throne! Out of Israel’s situation in Egypt, God was able to reestablish His supreme kingdom authority in the hearts and minds of His people by crushing the rule of Pharaoh, by rescuing His kingdom people as they ran for their lives across the Red Sea, and by making the sojourning Israelite camp His kingdom place via the portable tabernacle.

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5. Share the Gospel + Life Group Discussion Questions

Day 5 • Week 3

Week 3 • Day 5

This week, we have explored the effects of sin and the serpent kingdom that are outlined in the remaining chapters of Genesis.

So many people get tripped up about the idea of sin when having a gospel conversation. That is why we need to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have!

This week, we encountered two potential stumbling blocks. The first hurdle revolved around a topic called theodicy. This is a fancy word for philosophical debates around the existence of sin in God’s good world. Be sure to watch this 2-part video outlining the Christian’s answer to the problem of sin!

Second, we were introduced to the scene of Abraham offering his own son as a sacrifice. Make sure to check out the Bible project video about “the test” to learn more about how the story of Abraham and Isaac fits into the overall narrative of scripture!

The existence of sin and the serpent kingdom allows us to understand God’s pursuit of His kingdom people through Abraham! The GOOD NEWS as Christians is that God did not sit on the sidelines as we suffered. God comes down to us and begins his rescue mission. This story is not about how we accomplish salvation, but how He chooses to accomplish the gospel of the kingdom!

Share the Gospel Video:

 

Week 3 Life Group Discussion Questions

Icebreaker: What is your favorite part of Genesis and why?

Question: What observations / reflections / prayers stood out to you about this week?

The Kingdom Lost: Genesis 3 is unique in its acceptance of the difficult human experience of life under the kingdom of the serpent. It also explains the cause, the purpose, and the results of sin. While we may not have all the answers to explain God’s will behind the origin of sin and the serpent, we can find hope in Genesis 3 as it points us to the one thing that will give us the God-given strength we need to persevere in the midst of our current reality of sin and suffering all around us. There is hope in the good news of God’s mercy and in the one who would come to crush the serpent while allowing the serpent to bite his heel!

Question: How have you reconciled with the existence of sin in this life? How might you approach a gospel conversation differently after reflecting on all that Genesis 1-3 has to say?

The Effects of the Serpent Kingdom: In the midst of a world of sinners, there was one person who God found to be faithful towards His kingdom rule. For the first time, we see the gospel of the kingdom begin to break through as a result of Noah’s faithful actions. Unfortunately, Noah could not overcome the kingdom of the serpent. Who will be the “new Adam” who will crush the serpent and rescue, return, and restore God’s kingdom?

Question: How is God telling you to stand out amidst our current cultural environment?

Humans Take The Throne: The pattern of the serpent kingdom is rather predictable. Genesis 11 is the anti-Eden image. The tower of Babel is where humans force shalom on a community of people attempting to use the resources of God’s created place to construct their own kingdom-tower and ascend to the heavens for their own glory. Humans had abandoned God’s powerful rule in favor of ruling over themselves.

Question: In what areas of your life are still attempting to make a name for yourself on your own throne rather than trusting God? What are the distinctions between the Tower of Babel and the story of Abraham that you see?

Abraham and His Family: Abraham is called to have faith in God’s promises. Abraham’s simple act of trust in the rule of God was enough for God to bestow upon him the quality of righteousness. Amidst the chaos caused by Abraham’s serpent-like family, God continues to orchestrate events on a cosmic scale and the gospel of the kingdom begins to slowly break through Abraham and his family.

Question: In what ways do you envision your faith being used to further God’s kingdom? Answer this by addressing the framework of God’s rule, over God’s people, in God’s space! What are some of the obstacles that hold you back from this vision?

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4. Abraham and His Descendants

Day 4 • Week 3

Week 3 • Day 4

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” - Genesis 12:1–3

In the midst of the prideful generation at the Tower of Babel, Abraham (who used to be called Abram) was called out by God to be the father of a humble and God-centered family of people. Oddly enough, Abraham was childless and past the age where he could have reasonably expected to have an heir to carry on his name, let alone become a “great nation” that would influence the world. He had very little way to build up for himself any kind of kingdom on earth.

Despite all of this, God announces these promises for Abraham and asks him to have faith in an unknown plan. Amidst the chaos caused by the serpent kingdom, God continues to orchestrate events on a cosmic scale and the gospel of the kingdom begins to slowly break through Abraham and his family.

Through Abraham, God promises to rescue His people from the fangs of the kingdom of the serpent in order to bless them as their true God!

Through Abraham, God promises to orchestrate all things to return His family to - “the land I will show you.”

Through Abraham, God promises to restore our image-bearing rule by making Abraham’s family a nation that would dispense blessing to all people!

Could Abraham be the serpent-crusher we have been looking for to reestablish God’s rule?

The sequence is completed with yet another story of an entire generation doing wicked things during their time.

GOD’S MERCY TOWARDS ABRAHAM

Just after Abraham makes a sacrifice to God to thank Him for their new relationship, Abraham decides it is “good” to leave the promised place to which God had led him in order to go to Egypt during a famine. In Egypt, Abraham decides that it is “good” to lie about his wife and endanger his family of people - namely His own wife Sarai. In the face of these “moment of truth” situations, Abraham rules according to his own knowledge of good and evil rather than trusting the good promises that God has made for him.

In all ways, unfortunately, Abraham remained under the ruling thumb of the serpent.

However, God routinely orchestrates the events of Abraham’s life according to His mercy in order to take steps in the direction of the gospel of the kingdom. First, in response to his sinful wanderings, God focuses on creating a way for Abraham and his family to remain in a safe place despite Abraham’s faults.

Genesis 13:14–17. “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”

When God speaks to Abraham in Genesis 15:1 (AMP) saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; Your reward [for obedience] shall be very great,” Abraham gets cheeky with God. Essentially, He responds with something to the effect of “What reward? Because what I really want is a child to be my heir, and all I’ve got now for an heir is my secretary.” God doesn’t get mad at Abraham’s forwardness, but instead gives him one of the most beautiful messages of reassurance in the Bible: the promise of his very own family of people through a biological son!

“This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he [Abram] believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. - Genesis 15:4-6

It was then Abraham’s simple act of trust in the rule of God that was enough for God to bestow upon him the quality of righteousness. In that moment, Abraham didn’t have to be perfect, or sinless, or win a battle, or preach a sermon, he just had to surrender his own throne in favor of buying into God’s kingdom rule over the situation. He couldn’t have made himself right with God on his own merit as one who remained under the rule of the serpent. Rather, it was God who mercifully reached out to this broken man and offered a relationship, a family of people, a place to live, and a purpose he never could have earned by himself.

The story of the Bible oscillates between human sin in the kingdom of the serpent and God’s mercy in the kingdom of God.

OUR RESPONSE: FAITH AND TRUST!

From Abraham’s generation forward, things would be different! This time, God establishes a covenant promise with Himself to go through with the plans of the gospel of the kingdom via Abraham and his family. In the passages below, we find this mysteriously divine “us” taking an extraordinary form and making a promise to rule by providing for Abraham’s family.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram...When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” - Genesis 15:12, 17–21

Like Adam, Noah, and the generations before him, God anticipates that Abraham would inevitably “fall asleep at the wheel” of faith. So God begins to slowly work out the gospel of the kingdom through Abraham not because of any internal, Abraham-ish quality, but because the divine “us” uses His powerful rule to take initiative in the relationship. God calls Abraham, squares his rap sheet, and chooses to lead his family of people into the place of promise. In this Abrahamic covenant, God decides within Himself to maintain this promise for however long

it would take knowing that this was going to be a serpent-like family.

GOD’S MERCY TOWARDS ABRAHAM AND HIS FAMILY

If the serpent-kingdom pattern remains true, then we should expect to see the steady downfall of Abraham. Consider how Abraham’s life follows a pattern we have already seen..

 

Yet in every case of Abraham’s life, God would remain true to His covenant. After being sexually abused then sent away into the desert, God appears to Hagar, soothes her fears, and promises that even Abraham’s illegitimate family was known and He had a plan to help them. Hagar’s sentiment after experiencing God is so beautiful:

Genesis 16:13 “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

In the same way, God would intervene to protect Sarai from the multiple lies of Abraham and rescue Lot from the serpent’s kingdom-city that had developed around Lot’s family. Surely, God would be faithful to choose someone from his family to be this faithful serpent-crusher!

But if not Abraham, then who? That is what makes the next story so shocking.

OUR RESPONSE: FAITH AND TRUST!

Abraham eventually received the heir he longed for, so he learned to faithfully follow God’s

instructions, even if it meant offering the same promised son to be sacrificed on an altar.

“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” - Genesis 22:2

 

WHAT A DISTURBING PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE! Yet, we have seen that God’s plans were consistently being twisted toward the glory of the self over and over again. Therefore, God saw fit to use this time to see if Abraham was following God to glorify the King of Kings or if Abraham wanted this son only to lift his own family legacy high. As a result of Abraham’s faithfulness in this ultimate test of faith, we receive one of the most powerful pictures of the gospel of the kingdom momentarily revealing itself! Thankfully, the Angel of the Lord stops Abraham and provides a substitute sacrifice to die in the place of Isaac.

But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” - Genesis 22:11–14

The imagery of this Mt. Moriah scene is stunning!

  • Abraham - the father of many nations - has a faith in God so strong that he is willing to offer the promised son of blessing as a sacrifice!

  • Isaac - the promised son of Abraham - remains obedient to death and is brought from sure death to life!

  • God’s chosen family is able to continue because of the sacrifice that God provides!

In this moment, Abraham decides to take the heavenly perspective and radically trust in the Lord’s rule over his life. Thousands of years later, we are still pondering this shocking and exemplary story of faith! Our minds still cannot comprehend a father who is willing to sacrifice his beloved son. We still wonder why Isaac was such a willing participant in laying down his life on the altar in complete obedience to his father. Why does God test anyone like this and is there a scenario in which God would ever let someone go through with this kind of act?

The reality is that there are more questions than answers surrounding this passage. However, the pattern of the Bible tells us that when God’s servants remain faithful, the gospel of the kingdom begins to break through. Perhaps the invitation is to anticipate a moment in which a father rules by faithfully offering his own son as a sacrifice. Perhaps we are given an even clearer picture of the serpent-crusher; the promised offspring of Abraham who would remain faithful even to the point of death. Perhaps this scene shows us the sacrificial means by which God’s family of people would be saved! Perhaps something significant will happen later on a mountaintop located in the place of Moriah!

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. - Hebrews 11:17–19

As we eagerly anticipate the fullness of the gospel of the kingdom, our journey moves on from Abraham (who has already fallen to the serpent) onto this child of promise named Isaac as the next “serpent-crushing” candidate. Could this young man - who remained faithful to his own death - grow up to be the serpent crusher that we have been waiting for?

GOD’S MERCY TOWARDS ABRAHAM AND HIS FAMILY

Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance. - Genesis 26:1,6–7

Isaac’s serpent-like decisions precisely match Abraham’s lies threatening the safety of his wife. As the son imitates the sins of his father and bows the knee to the serpent, would we once again see this ugly spiral into sin? If so, in the same way Adam and Eve’s pair of children (Cain and Abel) experience strife, and Noah’s son acts wickedly (Ham), we should expect Genesis to introduce us to a similar story of hostility involving siblings.

 

Right on cue, Genesis introduces us to Isaac’s pair of twin children named Jacob and Esau. Per the kingdom of the serpent, Jacob schemes to cheat Esau out of the family blessing leading to a long period of hostility. However, instead of this event leading to murder, war, or any other serpent-like reaction, Jacob escapes the situation and God mercifully meets him in a dream.

Behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” - Genesis 28:12–15.

God does not only spare Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel after “wrestling with God”), He reaffirms His covenant promises, He works behind the scenes to reconcile Jacob’s relationship with Esau, and He blesses Israel with 12 sons. At the moment you would expect war and disharmony to break out, the Bible shocks us with a scene of beautiful reconciliation.

And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. - Genesis 33:1–4

If you are keeping score at home, you should now expect to see a story about the troubles and complications of existing in a world in which people are slowly multiplying.

 

Abraham’s great-grandson named Joseph, was terribly mistreated by his large family of 11 brothers. The scriptures remind us, however, that God was with Joseph the whole time; even when he was in a pit left to die, accused of sexual misconduct, sold into slavery, and thrown into prison. Since God was working behind the scenes, Joseph’s enslavement slowly transformed

into a situation of respect. What seemed like steps backward to our eyes became the very means by which God raises up Joseph from the pit of death to the #2 leader in all of Egypt!

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” - Genesis 41:39–40

Under the faithful rule of Jacob, Egypt becomes a place of abundance and blessing that provides for the family of people all across the world during a period of famine. Through Jacob’s rule, the gospel of the kingdom breaks through once again turning the desert land of Egypt into a space which taps into the Garden river of life and blessing that flows out of Eden and to the nations!

OUR RESPONSE: FAITH AND TRUST!

Yes, the pattern of the serpent continues forward through the serpent-like family of Abraham. At the same time, God has committed Himself to working through the sinful actions of this family in mighty ways! The summary of the Genesis story can be found in the passage below:

Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives”

In Genesis 50, Joseph is forgiving his 11 brothers (yeah, those guys that sold him into slavery and started a whole chain reaction of terrible life events for Joseph). Joseph explains how the free-will decisions of humans in this life couldn’t stand against the outcome that God had planned for His kingdom. God can do anything, even use awful things to bring about His powerful rule over His family people in His kingdom place !

God rules over all things and always provides!

But when we look at the story of Genesis up to this point, we discover a family of people whose hostility continues to increase, located in a foreign kingdom place called Egypt under the foreign rule of Pharaoh. In the midst of God’s work, the serpent still roams free. While we have seen glimpses of the gospel of the kingdom seeping through the stories of Genesis, God has yet to provide the one who would crush the serpent.

Instead, all of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve remained “strapped to the altar” of the serpent. Death awaits us unless our Heavenly Father stops the knife of judgment that will destroy us. Will God provide a substitute that can bring us out from the pit of certain death?

It wasn’t Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or Joseph. But we are given more information about the one we ought to be looking for from the tribe of Judah (1 of Israel’s 12 sons with a troubled serpent-like history, yet the one who was willing to sacrifice himself so that his brother Benjamin might live).

The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. - Genesis 49:10

Could this descendant from Judah destined to take a king’s scepter be the king who would crush the serpent and - like Joseph - escape the pit of death to make his way to the throne of glory? As you can tell from our chart below, our story is far from over!

 

Share the Gospel: Abraham is called to have faith in God’s promises. Abraham’s simple act of trust in the rule of God was enough for God to bestow upon him the quality of righteousness. Amidst the chaos caused by Abraham’s serpent-like family, God continues to orchestrate events on a cosmic scale and the gospel of the kingdom begins to slowly break through Abraham and his family.

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3. Humans Take the Throne

Day 3 • Week 3

Week 3 • Day 3

In many ways, the patterns we have seen in the story of Adam and Eve as well as their descendants reads very similar under the kingdom of the serpent. It all starts with a small act of succumbing to the kingdom of the serpent. With Adam and Eve, it was a bite of the forbidden fruit. In Noah’s case, it was over-indulging in the “fruit” of the vine and getting drunk. Next, this simple act of disobedience escalates into Cain’s murder of Abel. In the same way, the story of Noah continues by looking at the actions of his sons to see what they would do.

 

Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” - Genesis 9:20–25

Sure enough, Ham escalates sin by engaging in a rather lewd act considering that the phrase “saw the nakedness of the father” is thought to be a euphemism for something sexual with Noah’s wife, or his own mom. The serpent kingdom continues to advance and innovate in its wickedness as humans take their own thrones from generation to generation.

Earlier in Genesis, Cain’s story moves from his egregious sin to him multiplying and building his own kingdom-city in which humans progress in both technological innovations and serpent-like innovations (think Lamech). In the same way, the Bible takes us on a journey to see what would happen to Ham as his descendants multiply rapidly.

 

The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. - Genesis 10:6–12.

Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed. - Genesis 10:15–18.

Ham’s descendants develop into multiple kingdom-cities that spread across the world and grow into kingdom-nations recorded in Genesis 10. Remember, God’s kingdom place was designed so that the 4-fold river in Eden would provide life for these very nations! Now, the exact same kingdom-nations which descended from Ham, flow through the line of Canaan, and built by Nimrod would quickly become filled with enemy combatants in the serpent kingdom.

With the first Adam, the story moved from his own sin, to Cain’s murder of Abel, to the development of Lamech’s sin in Cain’s kingdom-city, then to an entire generation of wicked people during Noah’s time. In the same way, Noah’s story (a second iteration of Adam) flows from his own sin, to Ham’s lewd sexual act, and to the development of enemy kingdom-nations of Nimrod and Canaan.

 

The sequence is completed with yet another story of an entire generation doing wicked things during their time.

THE SERPENT KINGDOM REALIZED

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” - Genesis 11:1-4

From the beginning, God’s kingdom family of image-bearing people have been designed to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth by working and keeping creation. We see evidence of humanity doing exactly this with the latest technological advancement made with the raw materials of God’s kingdom place: brick and mortar. Then, as humanity multiplied, these kingdom people were destined to co-exist, co-labor, and co-operate together to further the human project. This is what image-bearers were designed to do!

In order to achieve this kingdom cooperation, Genesis 11 informs us that there was one language amongst all the people of the land. Could you imagine a world in which everyone spoke one language? All the words meant exactly what they meant, everyone understood what was being said, and all mankind shared the same experiences with each other. The Lord knew what His people could do with one language: build a kingdom! In fact, this specific building project would only be the beginning of what they could do. The scripture tells us that they would be able to do anything they proposed in this kingdom-city.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. - Genesis 11:5-6

And so with the rule and authority that had been given to them by God, these kingdom people - just a few generations away from the Garden but with clarity in one language - used the latest technological advancement in God’s kingdom place and did everything they could to get back to that perfect place, the center of which was God’s kingdom rule. Isn’t that what we all want? What’s missing from the story? Why wouldn’t God allow this and where is God in this story?

After this week’s readings, we now know that there is one more additional experience introduced to humanity: sin. And we have already seen that the consequences of building a kingdom in the name of the serpent as opposed to the name of God can be catastrophic.

The truth in the language of the Bible is that there was no mention of these people ever looking to return to God’s kingdom, only the people wanting to get to the heavens and make a name for their own human kingdom. Instead of God’s people multiplying and “filling the earth” to spread God’s glory throughout His kingdom place, the tower of Babel marks the human attempt to stay put in one centralized location, build their own kingdom place, and sit on their own thrones.

It may have seemed nice that there was one common language and use of “the same words”, but this could equally be interpreted as those with powerful ruling positions dictating language and determining what others could and could not believe. Everyone, under the rule of the serpent, saw fit to believe the same things which motivated them to build a name for themselves instead of honor God. The Tower of Babel is like the anti-Eden. Here, we see the forced shalom of one family of people attempting to use the resources of God’s created place to construct their own kingdom-tower and ascend to the heavens in their own glory. Humans had abandoned God’s powerful rule to rule over themselves.

When Noah’s generation escalated to this level of rebellion, God allowed the chaos waters to flood the earth. Since the Tower of Babel is the imagery the Bible uses to show us the completed elevation of man’s own kingdom once again, how would God respond?

GOD’S RESPONSE: THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. From there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. - Genesis 11:5-10

At this moment of complete rebellion, God responded with His mercy once more! The divine “us” comes down to protect humans from themselves in this state of being. Just like God prevented Adam and Eve from eating of the tree of life in their sinful state, God keeps this generation from doing anything and everything that they wanted apart from Him. He knew that their own knowledge of good and evil will inevitably lead to disaster. Therefore, he scatters their language and forces His image-bearers to fill the earth.

I can’t help but reflect on the fact that God’s word translates to my own sinful actions. Genesis 11 shows us how we all need a posture of humility in order to put God’s kingdom agenda ahead of our own serpent-like plans. Yet so often we fail. Over the past 3 days, as we have looked at Genesis 3-11, I see the Bible shouting to me that I too have inherited the sinful nature of Adam and Eve and that the kingdom of Satan has a grip on my heart in so many ways. Yet I pray that we can also find a growing desire to see the gospel of the kingdom fully realized: that there is hope that God would be merciful upon us and that one day the serpent will be destroyed.

GOD’S RESPONSE: THE SERPENT-CRUSHER?

In the flood generation, God singles out Noah and decides to work through him due to his faith. As a result, we saw glimpses of the gospel of the kingdom. This should leave us to wonder - at the Tower of Babel would God be able to find anyone that is righteous like Noah? Is there still hope that someone would come and finally crush the serpent?

 

Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran. - Genesis 11:27–32

The end of chapter 11 focuses on a genealogy that leads to a man named Abram. This genealogy shows God’s powerful rule over everything that has happened so far. As you see how Shem lived 500 years and fathered children who fathered children and on and on, it brings to life that all throughout the escalation of humanity’s sin, God still continues to orchestrate all things together! The early chapters of Genesis grows our desire to see the gospel of the kingdom fully realized including the demise of the serpent along with the rescue, return, restoration, and reestablishment of all things! Our attention now shifts to the next candidate to become this “serpent crusher” - Abram!

Share the Gospel: The pattern of the serpent kingdom is rather predictable. Genesis 11 is the anti-Eden image. The tower of Babel is where humans force shalom on a community of people attempting to use the resources of God’s created place to construct their own kingdom-tower and ascend to the heavens for their own glory. Humans had abandoned God’s powerful rule in favor of ruling over themselves.

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