Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 12
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IMMERSE
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KINGDOMS
whenever their disobedience results in their falling under foreign control. The Israelites see themselves as a nation consisting of twelve
tribes, and the tradition of tribal leadership is strong. But still, this period shows that while they have no king, “all the people did whatever
seemed right in their own eyes,” leading to disastrous consequences
for the whole nation.
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses foresees that the people will
want a king. And when they do, the king will be required to make himself a copy of the law and “read it daily as long as he lives,” enabling
him to lead the people into covenant faithfulness. As the period of the
judges comes to a close, the time certainly seems right for a king like
this to exert a central authority over Israel and restrain the rampant
lawlessness.
So when Samuel, the last of the judges, is growing old, the I sraelites
ask him to appoint a king for them. God sees this as a rejection of himself as their King, but he relents and tells Samuel to anoint a man named
Saul. Saul eventually proves stubborn, s elf-willed, and disobedient, so
the Lord tells Samuel to anoint David to replace Saul as king.
After much intrigue and danger, David finally comes to the throne.
He makes grave mistakes himself, but God still knows David as a man
after his own heart because he deeply loves and respects God and his
covenant.
David’s faithfulness to the Lord serves as the standard by which all
of his successors are measured in the long book of Samuel–Kings, which
begins with the stories of Samuel, Saul, and David and then traces the
whole future course of the Israelite kingdom. However, because the
kings turn away from the Lord and worship other gods, violence and
oppression are introduced and the kingdom splits in two. Both kingdoms are later conquered by foreign empires, and the Israelites are
forced into exile.
At this point, God’s plan appears to be deeply threatened. His chosen people have failed to fulfill their commitments in the covenant
relationship and are therefore losing their Temple, their king, and their
land. Just as Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden of God at the
beginning of the Story, so now Israel is exiled from God’s new Eden,
the Promised Land. The tension in the overall Story rises here to fever
pitch. Abraham’s descendants are supposed to be the means by which
God will bless and restore the world. But now, all seems lost.
Only one thread is left: God’s new covenant with King David promises that God will not abandon David’s family and kingdom. Whatever
work God will yet do through Israel for the sake of the world, he will
do through this royal line.