This is the first post in a series that I am doing based on the lives of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), the accounts of which are found in the book of Genesis. In spite of the title of this series, the record of the experiences of the men listed above are only incidental to me. What I find far more interesting, relevant, and important is the revelation of the character and nature of God that we can see by observing these men's lives. Each post will coincide with a lesson being taught in a classroom. As such, they will not be in a traditional essay format. Rather, it will be a slightly expanded version of the notes that I hand out in class.
Introduction: The Two Kingdoms – scripture describes two different kingdoms
of God
The Universal (spiritual) Kingdom – This kingdom is the ever present reality of all time and
space, over which God reigns as the supreme and unchallenged monarch. He is the creator of all things, the
sustainer of all things, sovereign over all things, and the beginning and end
of all things. (1 Chr. 29:11; Psa. 29:10;
103:19)
The Mediatorial (physical) Kingdom – This kingdom, which is confined to earth, rather than
being ruled directly by God, is governed by human surrogates beginning with Adam
and culminating with Christ. It is an
extension of the overall authority that God exerts over all of creation through
the Universal Kingdom (Gen. 1:28; Matt.
6:9a, 10; Rev. 19:11-16)
How important is this kingdom concept to a proper understanding of God’s
overall meta-narrative? It informs the principle message
of repentance that Jesus preached during His earthly ministry (Matt. 4:17). It is inter-woven into the structure of the
ideal pattern of prayer that He taught His disciples (Matt. 6:10). And this
concept of kingship and kingdoms is the very basis upon which the fulfillment
of God’s design for all of creation is revealed (Rev. 20:4). So you might say
that it’s pretty important.
How is this relevant for our study of the Patriarchs?
From chapter 12 of Genesis through the rest of the Pentateuch and on
into the historical books of the Old Testament (Joshua, Judges, etc.) we
witness the record of the founding and establishment of the nation of
Israel. God, through His chosen human
agents Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants, sought to bring into being
a kingdom on earth that would complement His kingdom in the heavens that was
already in place. In light of this,
these accounts of the lives of the Patriarchs serve to form the framework of God’s
design for the Mediatorial Kingdom.
The Genesis Account
Gen. 12:1-3; 15:1-6 – This is the original covenant that God established with Abram. This “Abrahamic Covenant” is supremely
important because it is both the vehicle through which God would eventually
fulfill his promise to crush the head of Satan through the offspring of Eve and
it is the foundation upon which God will ultimately complete the building of
His Mediatorial Kingdom on earth.
Gen. 23 – In
spite of all his adventures and experiences Abraham was still a homeless
wanderer in the land of Canaan. He was
rich and powerful but he held no land.
This meant that when he went to bury Sarah he would have to do so on
foreign soil. This was unacceptable and
prompted him to purchase his very first property, for an exorbitant sum of
money (Ephron was not being generous as the text makes it sound), and
demonstrated his great faith in God’s future promises. Furthermore, this simple business transaction
holds massive ramifications when viewed in the context of being somewhat of a
down payment on the future nation of Israel.
Gen. 24:1-9 – Abraham
was determined to keep his bloodline pure by not allowing Isaac to inter-marry
with the Canaanites. But notice that he
was likewise absolutely determined to stay right where he was among them. Further, he was committed to the idea of his
son Isaac continuing to live in Canaan.
This demonstrates Abraham’s reliance on God’s covenant on two levels; on
the one hand God had told him that his seed would be blessed so therefore he
wanted Isaac to stay within the family because it was that family who would
receive the blessing; on the other hand God had said that this was the land
that He would give Abraham’s descendants so Abraham was fixated upon the idea
of staying here and not going back to Mesopotamia.
Gen. 27:27-29
– Jacob, through deception, received the blessing that Isaac had intended for
Esau. Notice that this blessing is
exclusively material and physical.
Gen. 27:39-40
– This lesser blessing, given to Esau as a sort of consolation prize, may have
been originally intended for Jacob. Consider
that Isaac never actually says he doesn’t have another blessing prepared. He just says that he cannot do anything to
reverse the blessing he had already given to Jacob. Further, notice that this blessing also deals
with the material and immediate situation of his son. He dictates that the recipient of this
blessing will initially serve the recipient of the first blessing, but that in
the due course of time that servitude will be ended.
Gen. 28:1-5 – This
third blessing, given exclusively to Jacob, is the actual continuation of the
Abrahamic Covenant (confirmed by God in
Gen. 28:13-15). Notice the symmetry
between it and the original promises given both to Abram (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:1-6) and Isaac (Gen.
26:1-5). Isaac here holds to the
tradition of his father; that his sons take wives from among their own family tree. This was a tradition that Esau had already
broken (Gen. 26:34-35). Whether due to Esau’s rebellious lifestyle or
perhaps stemming from Rebekah revealing to her husband that God had told her
Jacob would eventually be the more powerful of the two boys (Gen. 25:23), and in spite of Isaac’s
apparent favoring of Esau, the scriptural evidence suggests that he had always
intended for Jacob to be the one to inherit the Abrahamic Covenant, perfectly
in line with God’s plan.
Questions For Meditation
Two questions come to my mind after consideration of the above passages and in light of the two kingdoms doctrine stated above. The first is, what was the point of God going
through all this trouble to establish a Mediatorial Kingdom in the nation of
Israel that He knew would not fulfill what He wanted? I believe light is shed on this by passages such as Romans 10:1-4. These verses describe the futile attempts by the Jews to keep to the standards of the Mosaic Law through their own efforts. The Apostle Paul says that his fellow countrymen did have a zeal for God, but that it was not according to knowledge. The implication is that good intentions matter for naught if they are based on an invalid foundation. So I believe that on one hand God chose to establish a human nation to serve as His Mediatorial Kingdom, even though He knew it would ultimately fail, because He needed to prove to humanity that they could not possibly hope to measure up to God's own standards on their own. This would pave the way centuries later for the arrival of a Messiah, or savior, in the person of Jesus Christ the Son of God. This man would be the fulfillment of God's design for a physical earthly kingdom. Because of this future reality, the establishment of the nation of Israel and its subsequent downfall was actually not a failure at all. It was simply one development in a larger plan.
The second question that comes to me is; what is the ultimate goal, or end
game, that God has in mind through seeking to establish a Mediatorial Kingdom
to complement His already existent Universal Kingdom? My answer to that question is the source of the title of this piece. God is a king. He is the supreme and unchallenged ruler of all that exists. So the establishment of a kingdom(s) is perfectly in line with God's royal stature. Furthermore, God is well aware of the fact that He is the best thing in all the universe. The most excellent way for Him to bless any of His creations is to share Himself with them. This is the most truly "right" action that God can possibly take. And a kingdom to visibly rule and a throne upon which to visibly sit is an unequaled medium through which to display that glory and majesty that is intrinsic to His nature. As such, the building of a physical kingdom to merge with His already existent spiritual kingdom fully and unmistakably displays God's majesty and therefore is a concrete proof of His righteousness.
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