Why is the Kingdom concept envisioned so strong? Review Solomon’s Prayer 2 Chronicles chapter 6....
“As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice. Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.” So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.” But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.” So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said, and the Lord replied, “Do as they say, and give them a king.” Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home.”
1 Samuel 8:1-22 NLT
Gen 21 has several key points. Birth of Isaac, Hagar and Sarah dynamic and concept of being a resident alien.
“Now at that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do; so now, swear to me here by God that you will not deal unfairly with me [by breaking any agreements we have] or with my son or with my descendants, but as I have treated you with kindness, you shall do the same to me and to the land in which you have sojourned (temporarily lived).” And Abraham said, “I will swear.” Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water which the servants of Abimelech had [violently] seized [from him], Abimelech said, “I do not know who did this thing. Indeed, you did not tell me, and I did not hear of it until today.” So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant (binding agreement). Then Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock, and Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set apart?” Abraham said, “You are to accept these seven ewe lambs from me as a witness for me, that I dug this well.” Therefore that place was called Beersheba (Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), because there the two of them swore an
oath. So they made a covenant at Beersheba; then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, got up and returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD [in prayer], the Eternal God. And Abraham lived [as a resident alien] in the land of the Philistines for many days.”
GENESIS 21:22-34 AMP
Scroll, what is worthy of being written?
“Then Amalek [and his people] came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek [and his people]. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses said, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the hilltop. Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hand [due to fatigue], Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed and defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this in the book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek [and his people] from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner; saying, “The LORD has sworn [an oath]; the LORD will have war against [the people of] Amalek from generation to generation.””
EXODUS 17:8-16 AMP
Discuss the importance of seals and scrolls. What other parallels can we find in the Bible?
“My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my psalm to the King. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; Graciousness is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever. Strap Your sword on Your thigh, O mighty One, In Your splendor and Your majesty! And in Your majesty ride on triumphantly For the cause of truth and humility and righteousness; Let Your right hand guide You to awesome things. Your arrows are sharp; The peoples (nations) fall under You; Your arrows pierce the hearts of the King’s enemies. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness (virtue, morality, justice) and hated wickedness; Therefore God, your God, has anointed You Above Your companions with the oil of jubilation. All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia; From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made You glad. Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.”
PSALM 45:1-9 AMP How
“King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) imposed a tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. And all the accomplishments of his authority and strength, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many fellow people, for he worked for the good of his people and spoke for the welfare and peace of his whole nation.”
ESTHER 10:1-3 AMP
