Abingdon Community Church God’s Big Picture The Partial Kingdom – Land and King Sunday 25th November 2018

The story so far…

The Partial Kingdom - Land “Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo… There the Lord showed him the whole land. Then the Lord said to him: ‘This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…’” Deuteronomy 34:1-4

Taking possession of the land

Joshua 23:6-8, 12-13 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or the left. Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.” “But if you turn away and ally yourself with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out those nations before you. Instead they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.”

Joshua 24:14-15 “Now fear the Lord, and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Oppressed by their enemies The cycle of Judges The people rebel God is angry Oppressed by their enemies The people cry out God raises a judge Peace in the land The judge dies

The Partial Kingdom - Kingship “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” Judges 21:25 The king anticipated: “I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.” Genesis 17:6 “And God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body’” Genesis 35:11 “The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet.” Genesis 49:10

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite. The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.”

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 “When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees, and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.”

The Partial Kingdom - Kingship Israel’s desire for a king “Then we shall be like all other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 1 Sam 8:19 The false start - Saul “…an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites – a head taller than any of the others.” 1 Sam 9:1-2 “But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 1 Sam 13:13-14

The Partial Kingdom - Kingship David “Do not consider his appearance or his height… The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Sam 16:7 “David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.” 1 Sam 8:15 Solomon “…his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” 1 Kings 11:4 After Solomon... Israel divided -> Kingdoms of Israel and Judah Conquest by Assyria and Babylon

2 Samuel 7:5-7, 11-16 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’’”

2 Samuel 7:5-7, 11-16 “The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father and he shall be my son. When he does wrong I will punish him with the rod of me, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.”

Abingdon Community Church God’s Big Picture The Partial Kingdom – Land and King Sunday 25th November 2018