GOD IS OUR KING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord, your Holy One, your King.”

Isaiah 43:14a, 15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Think about the things that define a king.

First, a king has to have a kingdom, something to rule over and have preeminence over. This includes land and people.

Second, a king reigns over something or someone. They are the one who has the power to save and protect or destroy and punish.

Third, a king is typically rich in value with a large cache of precious, priceless possessions which would not only include real estate but expensive metals, currency, and other goods of great worth.

All those who are subject to a king are expected to bow down before him, honoring and respecting his position. There is a societal hierarchy in play and the king occupies the very top of the ladder. He makes all the decisions and those under him are expected to submit to those decisions without question.

You can usually find the king sitting on his throne as he carries out his official business in overseeing his kingdom. To have something brought before him for consideration, you have to come before his throne and make your request. The king then has the authority and power to address the request in whatever way he thinks is best and once that decision is made, it is final and the actions that he deems, if any, are carried out as ordered.

Why take the time to think about a king, who they are, and how those under him are required to act?

Because all people have a King (capital ‘K”), One who has reigned since the dawn of creation when kingdoms and the people who inhabit them came to be.

That King is God, the King of all kings.

You see, there have been a multitude of kings (small “k”) over the course of history. In regard to the Bible, the Old Testament is full of times when kings ruled, even over first Israel and then Israel and Judah after the kingdom of Israel divided into northern and southern parts. The nations around them, many of them enemies of Israel, also had kings as rulers. Looking at today, you will still find nations with kings as well as other forms of rulers appointed over nations and their associated peoples.

Still, no matter whether a kingdom has a king, a queen, a president, a prime minister, or an emirate, there remains only one King over all of them, one rule and reign that overarches all the world and the mankind within it and that King is God.

In this, the fourth in a series of devotions that examine the nature of God, we see the scriptures from Isaiah 43 proclaim His majesty and authority as King over all. Look again at these words:

This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord, your Holy One, your King.”  Isaiah 43:14a, 15

God, the King of kings, rules over all the heavens and the earth, His kingdom’s boundaries encompass all creation and all the riches therein. Thus, all people are subject to Him as their preeminent Master and expected to follow Him in complete obedience. From His heavenly throne, He rules in awesome, unmatched power, power to judge and correct as well as power to protect and save. No one can challenge Him and it is He and He alone who possesses absolute authority over everything.

Yet despite all His might and prominence, our God, our almighty King, has an intimate desire to compassionately care for each of us on a personal level. He is not like worldly kings who tend to be disinterested in the plight of the less fortunate. No, God, the King of kings, advocates and provides equally for all, from the wealthy to the poor, the strong to the weak, the sick to the healthy. Every person counts in His kingdom and He longs for the best for all of His subjects which He rather sees as His children as He is just as much a heavenly Father figure as He is a reigning King most of the time. We are so very blessed to serve such a Master and Ruler, one who governs in power but also does so in grace, mercy, compassion, and love.

Yes, as we have seen through this series, the Lord God Almighty is the holy One, our Rescuer, our Creator, and King. He is everything to us and is all we’ll ever need.

Today and every day, let us give thanks for all He has been, all He is, and all He is yet to be.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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