July, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
218
e s c h * - 4 o t . o ^ Ki usftO'YN OF i o D c S U P E R K I N G D O M
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B y GRANT SJRÓH* Chicago, ÏÎL
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race and bring about the permanent establishment o f His earthly kingdom. God personally revealed to Abraham that o f him He would make a great nation, and that in him all nations o f the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:2, 3 ; 18:18,19 ). The reason was that in Abraham He found a man who would “ command his children and his household aftrir him, and they shall keep the way o f the Lord, and do justice and judgment.” The rulership o f the world was thus early enthroned in the descendants o f Abraham. This explains the persistence o f God’s dealings with the oft rebellious nation of Israel. Overleaping the next five hundred years or so, we come upon the nation o f Israel established in the chosen land. The government was tribal, yet centralized. Without vis ible king, the nation possessed a system of laws unequaled by those 6f any other people, which, according to their records and their beliefs, came directly from God. Moses is universally considered the greatest lawgiver in history, but he did not originate those laws. He simply received and recorded them. Directly and divinely given, those laws were to govern the political, social, and religious life of the nation. They also were the norm by which their absent King would either bless or punish His people (Deut. 28). The later history of the nation undeniably demonstrates this fact. No other ex planation accounts for the unparalleled prosperity o f Israel and also for the desolation of the land and the present world-wide scatterment yet miraculous preservation of that people. God Himself was, and is, Israel’s King. When Moses died, it was God who appointed his successor. As God was with Moses, so whs He with Joshua (Josh. 1 :5). As God had brought the Israelites through the Red Sea under the leadership of Moses, so now He brought His people through the Jordan under the leadership of Joshua. V ic tories followed his battles, but they were God-given. His God was the “ living God,” the “ Lord o f all the earth” (Josh. 3:10, 11). W e cannot enlarge upon these facts. Note this: Although invisible, God was always present. Throughout the forty years in the wilderness, the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night were the visible signs o f that presence. Often by audible voice or in some theo- phany, He in later history manifested Himself. Always He was Israel’s King, -directing, supervising, controlling, blessing, or judging. It was God who fought their battles when they were obedient to Him, and it was God who per mitted defeat when they were disobedient. In times o f crises, Jehovah was specially near and revealing. When the period o f the judges ended— that long period of alternate apostasies, bondages, repentances, and returns—the day came when the people demanded o f Sam uel that they have a king like all o f the surrounding nations. It hurt the heart o f the old prophet when they said, “ Give us a king to judge us.” But Samuel “ prayed unto the Lord.” The reply in part was, “ They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them.” I know of no sadder words than these. Woe
. n t h e s e days o f un certain, inefficient, and unstab le governments, men are trying to peer into the future. Will a n y government en- dure ? Is present history • to be merely a repetition
D r . S troh
o f the past ? Our reply is that there is a kingdom that has existed from the beginning, never has been overthrown, and will endure forever. This kingdom is “ super” in the sense that it is abso lute. It is the center and source o f all power and authority. The powers that be are ordained of God. Rulers have no authority except by divine appointment or permission. Every person in every position of' rulership or administra tion is accountable to God, the supreme Ruler o f the uni verse, who has reserved the right to suddenly call to ac count His human stewards or representatives whensoever He will. This is the true explanation o f the history of nations and o f every form o f human government. A n c ie n t T e s t im o n y The very first words o f God to man were words of command: “ Be fruitful,” “ multiply,” “ replenish,” “ have dominion.” Commands imply responsibility. Man is under authority— the highest authority. He may rebel against it, but he is accountable to it. He can obey or disobey, choose the way of life or the way of death, but his free choice determines both his present welfare and his eternal destiny. Sin is rebellion against God. It is lawlessness, and since God is sovereign, man must take the consequences. Man’s first rebellion, there in the earthly paradise, in augurated a state o f rebellion in the heart o f man which has never ceased. Because of it, man lost his place of head ship and rulership in this world, and it was usurped by Satan. All history is a record of the rebellion o f man against God and the restoration o f man to rightful relations to God as the supreme Ruler o f the universe. The second rebellion introduced into the world wrong worship, anger, impenitence, hatred, murder, and lying. Truly Cain “ was o f that wicked one.” Obedient to the sug gestions o f Satan, whose kingdom o f darkness constantly opposes the kingdom of light, Cain and his descendants lost their fellowship with God, and in the end wrecked the antediluvian civilization. Corruption and violence filled the earth and necessitated the judgment o f the flood. Only by that overwhelming destruction were the supremacy and authority of the superkingdom reestablished upon the earth. Following the flood, the third revolt o f man against God occurred and manifested itself in the building of the city and tower o f Babel. This was put down by the confusion of tongues and the world-wide dispersion o f the race. W it n e s s o f t h e C h o s e n P e o p l e Out of a rebellious and idolatrous world, God called Abraham in order to start His redemptive purposes for the *Professor of Church History and Pastoral Theology at the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.
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