Page 52 - TH130 Kingdom of God A4 Final

The Kingdom of God

God as King in the Historical Books

God’s intention for all people is that they submit their lives to Him as
their Sovereign Ruler. That is what He intended for the nation of Israel.
However, they wanted a king like the
nations around them. Early in Israel’s
history, the elders in Israel came to
God’s intention for Samuel with a request. They said,

all people is that “Give us a king to lead us.” This request
disturbed Samuel, so he went to the
they submit their Lord in prayer. The Lord answered

lives to Him as their him, “Listen to all that the people are
saying to you; it is not you they have
Sovereign Ruler. rejected, but they have rejected me as
their king” (1 Samuel 8:7). God wanted
to be their King, but they chose an
earthly king to rule over them “such as all the other nations have” (v. 5;
compare 10:18–19).

The rest of the Historical Books tell the story of what happened
because of Israel’s rejection of God’s reign over them. It is a sad story
of rebellion, strife, and eventual captivity. It is a warning to us today
of what happens when we choose to rule our own lives rather than let
God rule them.

God as King in the Psalms

In the Psalms, God is called the “King” 21 times (Psalm 2:6; 5:2; 10:16;
24:7–10; 29:10; 44:4; 47:2, 6–7; 48:2; 63:11; 68:24; 84:3; 95:3; 98:6; 99:4;
145:1; 149:2). He is called “King forever and ever” (10:16), “the King of
glory” (24:7–10), “the great King over all the earth” (47:2, 7), and “the
King above all gods” (95:3).

In addition, eight times God is said to reign over His creation
(Psalm 9:7–8; 68:16; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1; 146:10). For instance,
David wrote, “The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for
judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the
peoples with justice” (Psalm 9:7–8).

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