NO KINGS?
Recently, there were political protests and rallies around the country whose name caught my attention—the “No Kings” protests. At its root, the protest is against authority, a “you can’t tell me what to do, I’ll do what I want” resistance to the political agenda that is currently in office. But when you dig further, it isn’t that they really want “No Kings”, they want kings of their own choosing (usually themselves!) and the ability to control things to get the outcomes they desire, even to the point of restricting others and placing limits on them, just as they are protesting the limits that they are experiencing.
Thinking about this, I remembered that biblically, this isn’t a new thing. In the last five chapters of Judges (17-21), we see a very similar situation. In these chapters, there’s a common refrain—“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted”—at the beginning (17:6) as well as the very last verse of Judges (21:25). Also, the observation “In those days there was no king in Israel” is repeated in 18:1 and 19:1. As you read through these chapters, you encounter several odd and even some shocking behaviors, but all share the common thread, “everyone did whatever he wanted.”
To say that we have “no king” and to believe that we can be in control is a repudiation of God’s sovereignty. It’s the kind of thinking and behavior that we expect from those who hold the world’s values, such as the nations that surrounded Israel in Judges; however, it wasn’t the nations surrounding Israel that Judges is speaking of—it is Israel itself, the people of God and their relationship to God. Nor is it limited to the Old Testament. As Paul expresses in Rom 6:15-23, all of us are under the control and thus serving, one of two options (and there are only two!) Either we’re enslaved to sin, obeying its desires, or we become slaves to God, walking in righteous obedience to Him.
Unfortunately, Israel continued pursuing their own desires—eventually desiring a king but still not their true king. In 1 Sam 8, is the story of Israel demanding a king from Samuel. The situation was precipitated by Samuel’s age and the behavior of his sons—they didn’t walk in his ways, they turned toward dishonest gain, took bribes and perverted justice. “Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have…” Samuel considered their demand sinful, so he prayed to the Lord. But the Lord told him, ‘Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you—they have rejected Me as their king.” Samuel then, at God’s instruction, explained the implications and realities that their request would result in. But in v 19, “The people refused to listen to Samuel. No! they said. We must have a king over us. Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.”
The problem is that sin has a peculiar way of using deception to make us think that we’re serving God when we are actually serving our own desires. In Jer 2:5-37, Jeremiah graphically points this out. God’s perspective is that Israel was following worthless idols and becoming worthless themselves (v 5), causing God to exclaim, “Has any nation ever exchanged its gods? … Yet My people have exchanged their Glory (God) for useless idols (v 11). Rather than being “horrified at this, shocked and utterly appalled” at the enormity of their apostasy, as Jeremiah was, they were unaware of their offense, in which they acted even more faithlessly than the nations around them. They had abandoned the Lord--in spite of being set free from captivity by God, they “insisted, I will not serve!” (v 20)
God’s perspective was that they had sinned by following other gods (which weren’t really gods) but Israel disagreed, and protested, offering their own viewpoint—in v 23, “I am not defiled, I have not followed the Baals.” And later, in verse 35, “I am innocent… I have not sinned.” In their minds, they were still worshipping God (ritually) but their hearts were far from Him.
Isaiah presents a similar picture in chapter 53, placing the responsibility for Jesus’ suffering and death directly on all of us. But we see it as God’s doing—“but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down and afflicted by God, v 4.” Isaiah immediately corrects this perception, “but He was pierced because of our transgressions and crushed because of our iniquities, v 5.” Why? Because, “we all went astray like sheep, we all have turned to our own way.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Not only in Judges but also 1 Pet 2:24-25, “For you were like sheep going astray.” Yet, in spite of all this—our rebellion—“He submitted Himself to death and was counted among the rebels, yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels (v 12.)” See also 2 Cor 5:21.
The Reality—There is a King!
Is 43:15, “I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” Is 44:6, “This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, says: I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but Me… vv 8-9, You are My witnesses? Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I do not know any. All who make idols are nothing and what they treasure does not profit…”
God is after a people who set themselves to seek His righteousness—that seek the treasure that does profit. That’s the entire point of the gospel. We were going our own way and it wasn’t going to end well. But our King also is our Redeemer—“who existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead, He emptied Himself… (Ph 2:6-11) He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness (1 Pet 2:24-25). He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him 2 Cor 5:21).”
“For this reason, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow…” Let us bow our knees in humble obedience to His desires, His plans, following in Jesus’ steps—speaking His words and doing His works as Jesus did in submission to His Father. We have a King—JESUS!
Thinking about this, I remembered that biblically, this isn’t a new thing. In the last five chapters of Judges (17-21), we see a very similar situation. In these chapters, there’s a common refrain—“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted”—at the beginning (17:6) as well as the very last verse of Judges (21:25). Also, the observation “In those days there was no king in Israel” is repeated in 18:1 and 19:1. As you read through these chapters, you encounter several odd and even some shocking behaviors, but all share the common thread, “everyone did whatever he wanted.”
To say that we have “no king” and to believe that we can be in control is a repudiation of God’s sovereignty. It’s the kind of thinking and behavior that we expect from those who hold the world’s values, such as the nations that surrounded Israel in Judges; however, it wasn’t the nations surrounding Israel that Judges is speaking of—it is Israel itself, the people of God and their relationship to God. Nor is it limited to the Old Testament. As Paul expresses in Rom 6:15-23, all of us are under the control and thus serving, one of two options (and there are only two!) Either we’re enslaved to sin, obeying its desires, or we become slaves to God, walking in righteous obedience to Him.
Unfortunately, Israel continued pursuing their own desires—eventually desiring a king but still not their true king. In 1 Sam 8, is the story of Israel demanding a king from Samuel. The situation was precipitated by Samuel’s age and the behavior of his sons—they didn’t walk in his ways, they turned toward dishonest gain, took bribes and perverted justice. “Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have…” Samuel considered their demand sinful, so he prayed to the Lord. But the Lord told him, ‘Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you—they have rejected Me as their king.” Samuel then, at God’s instruction, explained the implications and realities that their request would result in. But in v 19, “The people refused to listen to Samuel. No! they said. We must have a king over us. Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.”
The problem is that sin has a peculiar way of using deception to make us think that we’re serving God when we are actually serving our own desires. In Jer 2:5-37, Jeremiah graphically points this out. God’s perspective is that Israel was following worthless idols and becoming worthless themselves (v 5), causing God to exclaim, “Has any nation ever exchanged its gods? … Yet My people have exchanged their Glory (God) for useless idols (v 11). Rather than being “horrified at this, shocked and utterly appalled” at the enormity of their apostasy, as Jeremiah was, they were unaware of their offense, in which they acted even more faithlessly than the nations around them. They had abandoned the Lord--in spite of being set free from captivity by God, they “insisted, I will not serve!” (v 20)
God’s perspective was that they had sinned by following other gods (which weren’t really gods) but Israel disagreed, and protested, offering their own viewpoint—in v 23, “I am not defiled, I have not followed the Baals.” And later, in verse 35, “I am innocent… I have not sinned.” In their minds, they were still worshipping God (ritually) but their hearts were far from Him.
Isaiah presents a similar picture in chapter 53, placing the responsibility for Jesus’ suffering and death directly on all of us. But we see it as God’s doing—“but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down and afflicted by God, v 4.” Isaiah immediately corrects this perception, “but He was pierced because of our transgressions and crushed because of our iniquities, v 5.” Why? Because, “we all went astray like sheep, we all have turned to our own way.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Not only in Judges but also 1 Pet 2:24-25, “For you were like sheep going astray.” Yet, in spite of all this—our rebellion—“He submitted Himself to death and was counted among the rebels, yet He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels (v 12.)” See also 2 Cor 5:21.
The Reality—There is a King!
Is 43:15, “I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” Is 44:6, “This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, says: I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but Me… vv 8-9, You are My witnesses? Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I do not know any. All who make idols are nothing and what they treasure does not profit…”
God is after a people who set themselves to seek His righteousness—that seek the treasure that does profit. That’s the entire point of the gospel. We were going our own way and it wasn’t going to end well. But our King also is our Redeemer—“who existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead, He emptied Himself… (Ph 2:6-11) He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness (1 Pet 2:24-25). He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him 2 Cor 5:21).”
“For this reason, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow…” Let us bow our knees in humble obedience to His desires, His plans, following in Jesus’ steps—speaking His words and doing His works as Jesus did in submission to His Father. We have a King—JESUS!
by Mark Ott, Elder
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