Death Reigns (5) Gains Stronghold

When Solomon's son Rehoboam succeeded to the throne, the people rebelled against him. Jeroboam gained control of the Northern Kingdom, consisting of ten tribes. God defused the enmity between the two kingdoms by sending a prophet to prevent a war (1 Kings 12:22-24).

Jeroboam rebelled against God and led the people of his kingdom into idolatry. He created two golden calves for the people to worship and set up an altar on which sacrifices could be offered (1 Kings 12:28-32). A prophet from God declared that the altar would be broken (1 Kings 13:1-3). The King spoke against the prophet and stretched out his hand to seize him, but his hand withered up so he could not pull it back. The altar split and its ashes poured out in fulfilment of the prophecy. Jeroboam then asked the prophet to intercede for him. The prophet prayed for the king and his arm was restored (1 Kings 13:4-6).

A pattern emerged as Death worked with the spirits of sickness under his control.

• A king would rebel against God and lead the people into idolatry.

• A prophet would warn the rebellious king of the power of Death.

• Sometimes, Sickness would strike.

• Death would destroy many.

This is the pattern of rebellion and Death.

Jeroboam son got sick. He sent his wife to Abijah the prophet. He declared that the son would die and that all Jeroboam’s family would be destroyed. Dogs would eat those who died in the city and those who died in the country would be eaten by the birds (1 Kings 14:1-13). The boy died. Jeroboam’s son Nadab only reigned two years. Baasha plotted against him and when he began to reign as king, he killed all Jeroboam’s family (1 Kings 15:25-29). He had given Death a place, but Death destroyed him and his family.

Baasha rebelled against God. A prophet came to him and warned that because he had insulted God, he and his family would be destroyed. His son Elah had only reigned two years when Zimri, one of his officials, plotted against him and struck him down when he was drunk. When he began to reign, Zimri killed all of Baasha’s family (1 Kings 16:8-13). The cycle of Death continued.

Zimri had only reigned seven days when Omri, the commander of the army, rebelled and laid siege to the city where Zimri was based. Zimri set the citadel on fire and burned down around him. Se he was taken by Death, too (1 Kings 16:15-20).

Omri reigned twelve years. He was succeeded by his son Ahab (1 Kings 16:23,29). Ahab took the rebellion a step further by marrying Jezebel, the daughter of a foreign king, and leading his people into worship of Baal. Elijah the prophet warned Ahab and drought made the land sick and nothing would grow. When the drought was ending, Elijah slaughtered 450 prophets of Baal, which probably left him vulnerable to Death, became he became suicidal (1 Kings 18:40). Ahab and Jezebel and all their family were killed by a warrior called Jehu.

Baasha, Zimri, and Omri all used ruthless and brutal power to gain control. Death has always used ruthless power to gain a place wherever spiritual protection is weakened. Jezebel used manipulation, intimidation to gain control. The marriage of Ahab (controlled by Death and Ruthless Power) and Jezebel (using Manipulation, Intimidation and Control), allowed a union of several being spiritual powers. Ahab placed the nation of Israel under the control of spirits called Death, Ruthless Power, Manipulation Intimidation and Control. These spirits still work together in many places.

Failing Kings

Many of the kings of Israel made themselves vulnerable to the spirit called Death, and much death and bloodshed followed. Some prophets fell into the same trap. The following are just a few examples.

• Baasha killed all of Jeroboams family so he could become king (1 Kings 15:29).

• Omri became king by leading a violent rebellion (1 Kings 16:22).

• Elijah slaughtered 450 prophets of Baal, which probably left him vulnerable to Death, became he became suicidal (1 Kings 18:40).

• Ahab killed Naboth to get control of his vineyard (1 Kings 21).

• Elisha cursed 42 children who mocked him, and they were slaughtered by two bears 2 Kings 2:24).

• Jehu slaughtered all of Ahab’s seventy sons (2 Kings 10:6-8).

• Jehu butchered the prophets of Baal whom he had trapped in a temple (2 Kings 10:24-25).

• Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, killed the royal family to gain control of the kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 11:1).

• Manasseh was an evil king who shed much innocent blood (2 Kings 21:16).

• Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. The Babylonian invaders killed his sons in front of him and then blinded him so that their death was the last thing that he saw (2 Kings 25:7). This was the ultimate fulfilment of the prophecy to Eli that his descendants would die young and his eyes would see only grief.

God provided a way for Death to be constrained through the law of Moses and the Tabernacle Sacrifices. Unfortunately, the leaders of Israel and Judah frequently disobeyed God, which allowed Death to intervene in the nation quite frequently. This powerful evil spirit brought about considerable death and suffering.

No Intermediary

A common belief is that God needs a human government to act as his intermediary on earth. Many Christians believe that the Kingdom of God will come when key political positions in their nation are held by Christians and the elected law-makers pass laws that align with the scriptures. They believe that by voting for a godly people to get elected to political power, they are helping bring in the Kingdom of God.

The more power that the person elected has, the more important it is to get a good person elected. This is why Christians get stirred up about elections for President or Prime Minister. Christians believe that if the wrong person is elected, then the Kingdom of God will be shut out. They also believe that if they can get the right people elected, the Kingdom of God will be advanced.

Most Christians just assume that when the Kingdom of God comes to fulfilment in their nation, the political system that has been established in the nation will be an important part of it. Whether they have a republican presidency of a prime minister ruling under a monarchy, they assume that they already have God’s form of government. They believe that they just have to tweak the existing political system by getting Christian politicians elected for the Kingdom of God to come.

Although this view is widespread, it is wrong. The Kingdom of God does not come by political power. The political system uses force, coercion and compulsory taxation to achieve its objectives. Jesus refused to use political power because his kingdom is totally different from the kingdoms of the world. His kingdom is advanced as the gospel of Jesus is proclaimed in the power of the Spirit and people choose to love him and bring their lives into alignment with his will. The only government needed in the Kingdom of God is voluntary judges applying God’s law.

In the Old Testament age, Israel chose to have a king like other nations, but this was not God’s plan for them. He allowed them to have a king as a concession to human weakness, but the king was not essential for his kingdom. Old Testament kingship was a second-best option, so it is not a justification for modern political power/People in the Old Testament struggled to hear God, so they needed prophets and priests to act as intermediaries on their behalf. Now, God has given has sent us his Holy Spirit to act as an intermediary between him and his people.

Jesus announced the priesthood and kingship of all believers (Rev 1:6). We can enter the presence of God through Jesus and hear him speak through the Holy Spirit, so we do not need a priest to act on our behalf. We can give our allegiance to Jesus and serve him by obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit. We do not need a king to tell us what to do.

God does not need a king or other human government standing as an intermediary between him and the people. The Holy Spirit can tell people what he wants them to do. His laws still provide the best possible basis for resolving disputes between people.

The idea that God needs a human government or a holy roman empire to act as a king and establish a kingdom using military and legal power is nonsense. Human governments rely on force and coercion, so they cannot be part of the Kingdom of God. Their love of power allows them to be controlled by government-spirits in the spiritual realms, so they are part of the kingdom of darkness. God cannot use them to bring in his kingdom, because it is totally different from the kingdoms of the world. His kingdom is expanded by love and serving in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Kings are Evil

God gave his perfect system of government to Moses (voluntary judges applying his law). Allowing Israel to have a king was a serious compromise, because having a king proved disastrous for Israel.

This should not have been a surprise, as the king idea was copied from the evil nations that surrounded Israel. Good cannot spring from evil. Samuel warned that kingship would be a disaster, would rob their wealth, divide their families and steal their freedom.

The problem is that political power corrupts even a good heart. Saul was a good humble man, but political power wrecked his life.

David had a beautiful heart as a youth. He loved God and worshiped him with a humble and contrite spirit.

Yet David turned out be a terrible king. He copied the nations around him and went to war each spring. That was never God’s plan.

David committed adultery with the wife of a loyal friend. That was bad, but he had her husband murdered by a devious use of state power.

He had broken four of the Ten Commandments.

• You shall not kill
• You shall not commit adultery.
• You should not covet your neighbour's wife.
• You should not bear false witness.

David robbed his people of justice. Absalom was able to seize power by helping the people who had suffered injustice under David’s rule.

David appointed a taskmaster to seize the surplus wealth from his subjects . He appointed another to run forced labour gangs (2 Sam 20 24). There was no justification for this harshness in the law (where all government isvoluntary). Slavery was used to build the temple. What a contrast with the tabernacle which was built gladly with voluntary labour.

At the end of his reign, David made another mistake and took a census of the people. God gave him a choice of consequence. He chose a punishment that would hurt the people, but leave him untouched. This was an ugly thing to do. Only when thousands of people had died in the plague, did he change his mind and chose a different option, but it was too late.

David was by far the best king that Israel ever had. Yet he committed all the evils that modern despots are condemned for.

David was a skilled fighter and very successful in war. He would have a great temporary military leader. If he had gone back to being a sheep breeder and poet after defending Israel, he would have been a great man.

All the other kings of Israel were worse than David.

Solomon committed adultery and idolatry. He used forced labour and slavery. Many other kings followed idols. Most were violent and fostered injustice.

Israel was not kept safe, (the reason they wanted a king) but were continuously invaded and impoverished by foreign armies. The kings’ mistakes eventually led the nation into exile.

For the people of Israel, the kingship was a massive mistake. This was not surprising. Attacks by their enemies were the natural consequence of forgetting God. They thought that a king could protect them, but that would be impossible, while their forgetfulness continued.

For modern people, placing their hope in a political leader is the same mistake.

Perfect System

God showed how he wanted a community of people to live together in the Land in Exodus and Deuteronomy. He gave no government, as we know it. He gave no group of people to make laws or rule over the rest.

He simply gave a set of laws and promised to raise up voluntary judges. The Israelites rejected God’s way and chose a King. Samuel is clear that this was a massive step down.

We are no better. We reject God’s way and chose democratic politics (rotating kings in a permanent kingship). Consequently, we are now reaping the whirlwind.

Kings and Priests

We are called to be priests and kings.

He washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father (Rev 1:5-6).

Since the reformation, Christians have been serious about the priesthood of all believers, even though we do not always practice it.

We have not taken the kingship of all believers nearly so seriously. We are kings.

A king does not need another king to rule him. If he surrendered to another king, he would stop being a king.

If Christians are kings, they don’t need a king or some other political system to rule them. We need to work out what that means.

Kings and Jesus

A king kneeling and giving liege to a stronger king is resigning his kingship. He is agreeing to become a vassal, so he is no longer a real king. His role was totally changed. He lost his authority and became a ambassador or governor enforcing the will of the conquering king. He went from being a king to being a puppet.

Some surrendering kings were allowed to keep their title, but this done was to keep the people of the conquered nation under control. They would resist a foreign governor, like the Iraqi people hated Paul Bremer. The defeated people would often give up their resistance, if their previous king took the governor role, because foreign domination was easier to accept if it had a local face..

Herod was allowed to call himself king, but he was just a puppet. He had to go to Rome and plead for the role. If he did not carry out the directions of Rome he lost the Rome. He was not a real king. His role in Galilee was equivalent to the role of Pontius Pilate in Judea.

If kings surrender to Jesus, he does not need to keep them on as puppets to be the acceptable face of his kingship, because the Holy Spirit is his ambassador, conveying his instructions. The same applies to Presidents and Prime Ministers.