ARMY OF GOSPEL WORKERS

By Thandeka Moyo
Document 8: Israel’s First Kings

In the Bible the first mention of a man ruling over a kingdom after Adam’s
dominion was usurped by Satan is in Genesis 10:10, which speaks of Nimrod
whose first kingdom was Babel. It was there at Babel that the tower built in
disbelief of God’s promise not to flood the world again (as well as in direct
defiance against God’s command to spread out and fill the earth) was built in
honour of the king, his entourage and those who chose to follow after him. It is
from Nimrod, his wife Semiramis and Semiramis’ child Tammuz (born a while
after the death of Nimrod) that the worship of the counterfeit Godhead springs
from. Right from this first example we can begin to see the conflict that arises
between God and man when an earthly king is set forth to rule over the
people rather than God Himself; the question of to whom worship is due.

The next mention of a king comes in the time of Abraham when the five kings
from the plain of Shinar and surrounding areas fight against the four kings
from the land of Canaan including the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. This
event points out one if not the main reason for having a king rule over the
people: to lead the people to fight in wars against perceived enemies.
Remember, to go to war against others is a concept that was triggered in
heaven by the Devil himself, as discussed earlier. War brings out the worst
passions in men and kings are appointed to lead out in the violence,
executing judgment, even condemnation, upon the souls of people that have
most likely never met prior to the battle.

When Abraham went down to Egypt we find yet another point of contention
that having a king brings against God’s authority over the people: the
tendency to take many wives unto themselves or simply to fornicate as seen
with Pharaoh taking an interest in Sarah. These three main conflict points: the
fear of God, war and fornication (steps 1, 3 and 4 from Deuteronomy 17),
arise when earthly kings are set up to lead nations as will be seen as we
progress in this study.
In Genesis 36:31-43 we find the first lineage of kings given in the Bible; the
kings of Edom. The sixth in line to reign over Edom “before there reigned any
king over the children of Israel,” (verse 31) went by the name of Saul whose
roots can be traced right back to Nimrod, king of Babel. To choose of the tribe
of Benjamin (a type of God’s remnant people) the son of Kish (Kish being
described as “a mighty man of power”) who was the tallest and the most
handsome of all the men in Israel and for the same to bear the name Saul is
no coincidence. The name choice really foreshadows the fatal step Israel took
in following after their cousins in Edom, for if you study it out you’ll find that
Edom is a type of the Papacy, which is mystery Babylon the great of
Revelation 17:5.

By selecting Saul God showed that man’s decision to lead himself with a
strong hand will only end up in ruin. His reign started off well but he took
matters into his own hands more often than not as his popularity and self-
confidence grew over time, defying God’s direct commands and counsels
repeatedly starting in the third year of his 40 years on the throne until he
grieved away the Holy Spirit. He who once prophesied by the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit sought after one who consulted with lying spirits and he suffered
the consequences for his actions.

Even though the next king in line would start out as a man after God’s own
heart, having been a shepherd boy, the man’s way of life would be corrupted
step by step with the shedding of blood, marrying many women and the tragic
sins that followed in his life. If it were not for David’s close relationship with
God and how often and completely he sought after God in repentance when
he fell from grace one would easily have accused him of being a frightening
butcher and womanizer. Despite having the ability to procure all the resources
to build the temple of God, King David would not be allowed to build it
because of the blood on his hands. This shows us that God’s temple has
nothing to do with men of war in its ministration. Of course the temple services
rejected no man that came seeking God’s forgiveness and His grace, but
credit for the building would most likely be given to a man who took the lives
of so many in his generation on the throne of Israel, thus tainting what God
stood for before all men.

And so to have a son named “Peace” oversee the building of the temple in a
time of peace bore much weight in what God’s Sanctuary stood for. Sure,
Solomon did have some people executed before building the temple but he
was nowhere near as brutal as his father who did not always shed blood as
God directed him to. So Solomon built the temple, finished it and dedicated it,
however during construction Solomon took his own steps to ensure peace to
the realm by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter in a marriage alliance to keep
Israel’s enemies at bay. Solomon had now set in motion the cycle that Moses
had warned against so long ago:
- He multiplied horses unto himself, enlisting the help of Egypt to do
so;
- He married many wives, Pharaoh’s daughter being the first, in order
to secure trade and military alliances; and
- In order to support these alliances and his household he wound up
greatly multiplying gold unto himself to the point of imposing a
yearly tax of 666 talents of gold upon Israel in homage to the god
he now served, i.e. the sun god or Satan, and led the rest of Israel
to idol worship because of his wives.
On the number 666 let me mention this; the Greek word for “count” found in
Revelation 13:18 can only be found in one other place in the New Testament
and that is in Luke 14:28:

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and
counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?”

In the five verses that follow this question from Christ, the Saviour recounts
events in Israel’s history that point without a doubt to King Solomon; for which
other king built a tower or castle (the word for tower can also be translated as
castle according to the Strong’s Concordance) that would point to being a
follower of Jehovah which was halted in constructing it’s foundation (see
Desire of Ages page 597) and yet went on to decide to broker peace with the
chief enemy of Israel by forming an alliance with Egypt, sealed by marriage,
rather than avoid their help altogether and depend solely on God as their all-
sufficient defender? In taking the step to ally with Egypt, Solomon had
decided to embark on a path to do the Lord’s work in his own way. If only he
had learned from the lesson of building the foundation of the Temple; that the
Lord will provide for every need of His people, bear up and shield those who
choose to be called God’s own people, even God’s disciples.

Though Solomon repented and was converted by the end of his life, Israel
was now set on a course of rebellion they would struggle to give up until God
allowed Babylon to demolish Jerusalem and bear sway over them completely
in 586BC. In 120 years of kingship, Israel was set on a path to have the
scepter of rule over the earth taken from their hands. The results for non-
compliance with what God has said can be seen in the judgments that fell
upon the children of Israel when they eventually ended up where God said
they would be if they had a man as their king to march them into wars against
men. The battle has ever been a spiritual battle against “the rulers of the
darkness of this world; against spiritual wickedness in high places”
(Ephesians 6:12). God would rather that we seek to be peacemakers, “for
they shall be called the children of God,” (Matthew 5:9).

Shouldn’t we as Seventh-day Adventists then be more weary of God’s

visitation upon our church for keeping a foreign law in our midst for 101 years
for our children to swear by? For us to take on the teachings of a system of
idolatry that is used to train children to sympathize with wielding the sword
and forcing the will upon the weak? For if we continue to train and live in the
Pathfinder way then the Lord will allow that way of living to overtake us
(Revelation 13:10)…and someday soon without His mercy shielding us. You
reap what you sow.

We will take a look at the relation between three kings of Judah, their
accompanying armies and their relation to idolatry in Israel’s history after
coming out of a total state of apostasy and compare their history with what
happened in church history after the Dark Ages in our next two studies.
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy
God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy
unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.” -
Deuteronomy 5:9-10.