The earnest student of the Bible is made constantly aware of the manner in which the Lord turns the perverseness and iniquity of men into instruments for accomplishment of his purpose. Thus the brothers of Joseph moved by envy and jealousy sold him into bondage, only to have him later tell them, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Gen. 50:20). The psalmist declared, "Surely the wrath of men shall praise thee" (Psalm 76:10). A good instance of this is found in the clamor of Israel for their first king.
When Moses rehearsed the law, he anticipated that Israel would some day cry out for a monarch. They had lived for generations in Egypt under a king, and it would be natural for them to ascribe to the king, all of the wealth, power and prestige of this advanced and enlightened nation. Too, when there is danger of attack from a foreign power, men tend to turn to a strong leader, and it is a common thing for a military hero to be given prominence when victory is won. As a safeguard for the theocratic government in such an eventuality, Moses laid down certain stipulations governing the election of a sovereign ruler. These may be found in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 and are as follows:
1. No one must be chosen as king who was not a native born Israelite. A foreigner could never be designated as king and this was a very wise arrangement, for Israel was to be segregated from other peoples to prevent amalgamation and loss of national identity. One who was an alien might not appreciate God's purposes in this regard, and a foreigner might think more of his native land and its customs and habits than of the preservation of the ideals of the elect nation.
2. They could set as a king over them only one "whom the Lord your God will choose." This would tend to eliminate rivalry, political maneuvering and the installation of those who would exploit the people for personal gain. The first king was chosen by lot at Mizpah when Samuel assembled all Israel for the public selection, but the acceptance was not unanimous at first, some worthless fellows deprecating Saul's ability (Cp. 1 Sam. 10:17-27). In the case of David, the Lord ratified his choice by saying, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he" (1 Sam. 16:12). With the introduction of this family into royalty God made the throne hereditary, that the Messiah might establish his right to David's throne.
3. The king was instructed that "he must not multiply horses for himself, or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.'" The purpose of this prohibition was dual in nature. It should be remembered that the ancients did not use the horse as a beast of burden. The ox and the ass were used for menial service. The horse was used exclusively for warfare and became a prophetic symbol of war, either literal or spiritual. Israel was permitted by divine constitution to maintain a standing army for resistance of aggression, but as the land was subdued by infantry it was to be so protected and defended. Ancient nations with highly organized cavalry units became aggressors and sought the lands of others, but God wanted his people to be satisfied within their own boundaries, where he promised them "milk and honey" to sustain them.
Another reason for this restraint was found in the fact that Egypt was the great horse mart of the world, and the Lord did not want his people to engage in traffic with the Egyptians, lest by their interchange of trade pacts, exports and imports, and general bartering back and forth, the people of Israel be persuaded to return to this land of their former degradation, and adopt the idols thereof as they did in the case of the golden calf of Aaron's construction, undoubtedly a reproduction of the Egyptian bull god Apis, with which they were so familiar.
4. The king was further forbidden to "multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away." Most of the oriental monarchs maintained harems for gratification of carnal lust. The tendency to strengthen political position by marrying foreign women of royal extraction is well known to every student of history, both sacred and profane. Such women brought with them their foreign deities, and often seduced the king to worship such, using all of the wiles of feminine flattery and appeal.
5. Again the king was not to "greatly
multiply for himself silver and gold." The accumulation of wealth
leads to avarice and luxury, which in turn breeds sensuality and
licentiousness. The people become impoverished through the heavy
burden of taxation, pampered princes are rendered incapable of
ruling justly, and decadence of morals obtains at a time when the
gold and silver are piled highest in the realm.
. It was further required that upon accession to the throne, the king had to personally copy down in a book the complete law, securing for this purpose the original which was kept in trust by the Levitical priests. This copy he had to keep with him and "read in it all the days of his life," thus constantly refreshing his memory relative to the statutes and commandments of God. This is an important factor for it is proof that the theocracy was not discontinued from the accession of an earthly monarchy, but the kings were to be recognized as mere envoys of the Lord. They could not enact laws, nor could they repeal or revoke old ones. All legislative power remained with God, and the king was not absolute in authority, but merely an executive to enforce the laws of the Lord.
7. The solemn charge was given to the king that he was not to be proud or arrogant, and his heart was not to be lifted up above his brethren. With this judicious restriction upon him, the king would recognize himself as a special servant of the brotherhood rather than a despot over slaves. Conscious ever of his own shortcomings and of the standing and position of his friends, he would not assume cruel and dictatorial attitudes. It is worthy of remark that when the first king was anointed, "Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord" (1 Sam. 10:25).
Samuel was greatly perturbed when all of the elders of Israel presented their demand at Ramah, but God told him to grant their request for it was he whom Israel had really rejected from being king over them. After the prophet had predicted that the choosing of a king would result in a forced military draft, excessive taxation and virtual enslavement of the populace, all of them even more vociferously demanded such a monarch. Accordingly, a Benjamite named Saul, the son of Kish, was notified at the conclusion of a private feast that he would become king. Shortly afterwards, in a great conclave at Mizpah, he was designated by divine lot, and Samuel said, "Do you see him whom the Lord hath chosen?"
Although a few dissented and despised Saul, he soon became a national hero as the result of a victory over Nahash, an Ammonite king, but refused to exercise vengeance upon those who had previously derided him. At this time Saul gave credit to the Lord, declaring that he had wrought deliverance in Israel. After this victory, Samuel summoned all of the people to Gilgal where he publicly and solemnly anointed Saul, and took advantage of the occasion to recount the deeds of God, justify his own conduct in office, and demand that even the slightest deviation from the path of rectitude as a judge be pointed out. When the multitude acknowledged the purity of his administration he censured them severely for demanding a king, but said, "If you will fear the Lord and serve him and hearken to 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 hearken to 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" (1 Sam. 12). The abdication of Samuel and the transfer of duties to the new regime officially ended the period of the judges, although Samuel continued in the office of national prophet.
Saul demonstrated by his own language that he had acted in full knowledge of his sin, and Samuel said, "You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God which he commanded you; for now the Lord would have established your kingdom for ever. But now your kingdom shall not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be a prince over the people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you" (1 Sam. 13:13,14).
It is apparent that Saul either never fully grasped his relationship to the theocratic government, or was so self-willed and obdurate as to render it impossible for him to properly function in such an arrangement. Motivated by political aspirations, influenced by fear of the people, and nervously upset by any temporary hitch in his plan, he acted impulsively and impetuously.
The character of Saul was forcibly manifested in another test of his willingness to conform to God's arrangement. He was given a direct order from the Lord to completely destroy the Amalekites, and to eradicate both man and beast among them. However, Saul and the people retained the choicest sheep and oxen and also spared the life of Agag, the king. When Samuel came to him at the instigation of the Lord, he asked him, "Why did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?" (1 Sam. 15:19). After an ineffectual attempt to argue the case, Saul said, "I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice."
The final demonstration of headstrong disregard of divine commands, caused the Lord to repent that he had made Saul king (1 Sam. 15:11). Samuel said to the cringing and disobedient monarch, "The Lord has torn the kingdom from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you." After this Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but he continued to grieve over Saul.
With the end of this initial dynasty approaching we should recapitulate and refresh our minds concerning the rule of God over Israel.
1. The termination of the judges and the introduction of the kingship did not affect the theocratic principle. The chief difference seems to have been that while the former received their instruction by consultation with the Urim and Thummirn, the latter were apprised of the will of God by prophets.
2. The regnancy of Benjamin, the smallest tribe, through the family of Saul, could have been established over Israel during the whole Mosaic Dispensation (1 Sam. 13:13).
3. The forfeiture of this right through the stubbornness of Saul, provided an opportunity for the Lord to achieve his will in establishing the tribe of Judah in the kingship; just as the wilfulness of the whole nation in demanding a king, made possible the introduction of the system which was a prelude to the reign of the Messiah, which was to grow out of the theocracy.
4. The successor to Saul, David, was a man after God's own heart, and better than Saul, because of his proper concept of relationship in the kingdom. As an individual, David had many private shortcomings, but in his official standing in relationship to the rule of God, he was faultless. Although guilty of great and grievous personal crimes, he was without flaw in his official concept of the theocracy.
5. David demonstrated this even prior to his coronation. Saul constantly sought to kill him and "was David's enemy continually" (1 Sam. 18:29). Once, when David and his men were sitting in a cave, Saul entered alone to attend to the demands of nature, and David's men urged him to slay his enemy. Instead David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe, and then was filled with remorse, saying, "The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my ruler, the Lord's anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed" (1 Sam. 24:6).
6. It was David's constant recognition as given in his own words, 'The Lord is king for ever and ever'" (Psalm 10:16) that enabled the Lord to say to him that his son should succeed him, "But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever" (2 Sam. 7:15,16).
We are thus ready to begin our investigation of the accession of Judah to the kingship, and of the throne of David, upon which the Messiah was to sit. And we cannot but recall the words of the aged Israel as he summoned his sons to his dying bedside. "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples" (Gen. 49:10). That this is a prediction of the reign of the Messiah to come, both Jews and Christians have generally agreed. The Jewish Targums paraphrase it: "Until the time when the King Messiah comes to whom it belongeth." The following observations are in order.
1. With the investiture of the regal rights upon Judah there would be a guarantee that regardless of what defections might arise, there would be no absolute termination of the kingly prerogatives in the eyes of the descendants of Israel until the advent of the Messiah.
2. This would demand that regardless of the amalgamation and disruption of other tribes, the tribal identity of Judah would be maintained until the coming of the Messiah.
3. The destruction of tribal identity in such a manner as to render it impossible to trace the lineage or descent therefrom, would be positive proof that the Messiah had already come. No Jew upon earth today can designate or point out the tribe of Judah. Herein is found one of the greatest proofs that the Messiah has come.
4. The relationship of the rule of God over the fleshly descendants of Abraham to that of the Son of God over the spiritual descendants of Abraham is clearly shown. The sceptre was granted to Judah on a temporal basis only until he comes to whom it belongs.
5. No one can understand the rule of God's anointed by ignoring the rule of God under the prior dispensation. The roots of "the kingdom of God" reach far back into the past. It is with becoming reverence that we prosecute our research further into the divine purpose as revealed.