From Kingdom to Christ

1. Humanity and the People of God

a. the institutional state

b. humans living everyday lives

c. the afflicted remnant

d.the community of the promise

2. The Place of God’s Rule

•Where does God exercise his kingship?

a. In creation

—Pss 19:1-6;

—Pss 103 (human life), 104 (creation), 105 (history);

—Pss 93 (e.g. vv.1-2); 95 (e.g. vv.1-3); 96 (e.g. vv.10-12); 99 (e.g. vv.1-5)

—Job 38-41—God’s ordering of creation

God’s blessings, his order in his creation, his sovereignty is wider than a concern for his

covenant people—for the creation as creation; for all people as people.

b. In God’s place for his people

—2 Sam 5-7—Jerusalem, ark and temple

—1 Kings 4:20-21—the extent of the land

—exile (Ps 137:1-6; Lam 1:1-7; Isa 66)

—Jerusalem as a symbol of future hope (Isa 2:2-3; Pss 46, 48; Isa 33:17-24)
3. How Does God Rule Over His World and His People?

a.God’s rule discerned by the sages

i. Prosperity and success in God’s world (Prov 3)

ii. Ordering the world (Prov 30:24-31)

iii. Questioning the ordering of creation (Job 38-39)

b. God’s rule through the kings

• the reign of David and the kingship of Yahweh.

• The word as promise (2 Sam 7:4, 11-17)

• The Davidic kings were to be under the law (Deut 17:14-20).

• The king and the prophetic word (1 Sam 13:7b-14; 15:10-23).

c. God’s rule through the prophets

• Moses (Deut 34:10; 18:15-22)

• Prophetic actions (Ezekiel 3-4; Hosea)

• Covenant mediators (1 Sam 8-15)

• The succession of prophets

d. God’s promised future rule

• The messianic hope (e.g. Isaiah 11)

• Apocalyptic literature—e.g. Daniel

e. God’s rule in the world of the nations

• raising up Assyria, Babylon, Persians

f. Conclusion

—looking for some further expression of God’s kingship.