From God is the Lawgiver, we move on to the truth that God is King! Again, Scripture make this clear in Isaiah 33:22, “For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver; the LORD is our king; he will save us.”
The thought of God as King may bring concern to some when their knowledge of kings in general is not very flattering. Well, I certainly concede that human kings in their humanity fall way short of the perfection of God and don’t give us a very clear picture of God as king. Even the kings of Israel chose to sin in defiance of God’s clear teaching in the law. If David and his son Solomon would have followed the command of Deuteronomy 17:17, “And [the king] shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away”, history would be different. But we must remember that God is not a man as one Old Testament prophet rightly declared: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19). What God the King says is always true, what He promises will be fulfilled, and what He declares will always come to pass. Now that is one powerful King! When you connect the rest of God’s attributes to the truth that He is King you have much reason to quickly bow in humble homage to God the King.
The Psalms reveal mankind in relation with God the King. Because He is King, we can call upon Him during times of need, “Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray” (Psalm 5:1-2). Furthermore, Psalm 47:6-9 calls us to worship God as King, “Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (Psalm 47:6-8). Without doubt our God is a great King as the Psalmist expressed it in Psalm 95:3-6, “For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!”
How often do your reflect on God the King in worship and adoration? Paul gives us a powerful revelation in the New Testament of God the King when he wrote to Timothy:
- 1 Timothy 1:17, To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Timothy 6:13-16, I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time–he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
Shall we bow the knee?
With Prayer, Mark © March, 2011
Selected Verses on God is King
ESV – Emphasis added
1 Samuel 10:19, But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.”
1 Samuel 12:12-20, “And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king. And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the LORD has set a king over you. If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well. But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king. Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking for yourselves a king.” So Samuel called upon the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.”
Psa 84:3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
Psa 145:1-3, I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
Rev 19:10-16, Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Magnify! 