A KING SPEAKS ABOUT THE KINGDOM!!!!!

Exodus chapter 20




Today we are walking in: A King Speaks About The Kingdom!!!







Today we look to the word SCEPTRE-H7626-shebet- from an unused root probably meaning to branch off; a scion, i.e. (literally) a stick (for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.) or (figuratively) a clan: correction, dart, rod, sceptre, staff, tribe.





The Torah Testifies………………………….





Genesis 49:10




The sceptre H7626 shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.






Numbers 24:17




I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre H7626 shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.






The Prophets Proclaim…………………………





Ezekiel 19:4




And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre H7626 to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.





Amos 1:5




I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre H7626 from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.






The Writings witness……………………………..





Esther 8:4




Then the king held out the golden sceptre H7626 toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king,





Psalm 45:6




Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre H7626 of thy kingdom is a right sceptre H7626.







KINGS, PROPHETS, AND THE KINGDOM




Normally, when we talk about the Kingdom of The Most High Yah, we think only of what Yahusha said about the subject as recorded in the four Gospels. Although it is certainly true that in His life and words Yahusha revealed the Kingdom more fully than ever before, they were simply the culmination of all that The Most High Yah had been working toward from the beginning, as was His life in general. Everything The Most High Yah says and does relates to His Kingdom. The entire Bible deals with the Kingdom of The Most High Yah. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture reveals The Most High Yah as the great and almighty King of heaven and earth resolutely at work on His plan of the ages.




“And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel (Exod. 19:6, NAS).




For the kingdom is the The Most High’s, and He rules over the nations (Ps. 22:28, NAS).




Your throne, O The Most High Yah, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom (Psalm 45:6).




They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power (Ps. 145:11, NAS).




And in the days of those kings the The Most High Yah of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever (Dan. 2:44, NAS).




That plan is to reverse and destroy the works of the devil and fully restore His rule over the earthly realm through His human representatives.




We have already said that the Bible is not about religion, but about a Kingdom. Everything centers on the Kingdom of The Most High Yah. All the saints of the Old Testament recognized this fact. Abraham knew it. Moses knew it. Samuel knew it. David, the king of Israel, knew it. The prophets knew it. Yahusha knew it. All the apostles and other believers in the New Testament knew it. Everyone, it seems, understood the priority of the Kingdom; everyone except us, that is. In recent years the focus in much of the Body of Hamachiach has shifted away from the Kingdom of The Most High Yah to other issues. The tragic result is that multitudes of believers today know little about the Kingdom, and even fewer understand their place and rights as its citizens.




Often, even in spite of all our sophistication, education, and technology, we of modern and “enlightened” democratic societies are worse off than the people of Old Testament times when it comes to matters of understanding the Kingdom of The Most High Yah and how our world relates to it.





A KING SPEAKS ABOUT THE KINGDOM




The Book of Psalms is full of references that make it clear that David and other psalm writers in Israel knew and revered The Most High Yah as King of kings:




“I have installed My King on Zion, My holy hill.” I will proclaim the decree of the The Most High: He said to me, “You are My Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of Me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery” (Ps. 2:6-9).




Not only do these verses speak of The Most High Yah as King, but they also look ahead prophetically to the coming of Yahusha, who would inherit the Kingdom from His Father.

The The Most High is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from His land (Psalm 10:16).




King David understood that human kingdoms are temporary, but The Most High Yah’s Kingdom is eternal.




Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The The Most High strong and mighty, the The Most High mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The The Most High Almighty—He is the King of glory (Ps. 24:7-10).




The The Most High sits enthroned over the flood; the The Most High is enthroned as King forever (Ps. 29:10).




In these verses, David, Israel’s second and greatest king, praised and acknowledged the The Most High The Most High Yah as the “King of glory” who was enthroned forever. The word glory literally means “heavy” or “weighty,” especially in the sense of referring to someone of great importance and high esteem. With the phrase “King of glory,” David exalts The Most High Yah as the greatest King of all and worthy of the highest esteem.




Your throne, O The Most High Yah, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of Your Kingdom (Ps. 45:6).




How awesome is the The Most High Most High, the great King over all the earth!...Sing praises to The Most High Yah, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For The Most High Yah is the King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalm of praise. The Most High Yah reigns over the nations; The Most High Yah is seated on His holy throne (Ps. 47:2;6–8).




These verses from Psalms (attributed to the “sons of Korah”) speak of the throne of The Most High Yah, from where He “reigns over the nations” and extends a “scepter of justice.” A scepter is a symbol of kingly rule and authority. Many earthly kings have raised over their subjects a scepter of cruelty and oppression. The Most High Yah’s scepter, however —the defining characteristic of His rule—is justice.




The The Most High has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all (Ps. 103:19).




All You have made will praise You, O The Most High; Your saints will extol You. They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might, so that all men may know of Your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations (Ps. 145:10-13).




David, once again, was focused on the Kingdom of The Most High Yah. Although he himself was a king, David knew his place. More than King Saul who preceded him, and all the other kings who succeeded him, David understood his role not only as a king under The Most High Yah with civic obligations to his people, but also as a priest before The Most High Yah with spiritual responsibilities on behalf of his people. He is an example to all of us of our place in the Kingdom. Like David we are called to rule as kings in this world as well as to fulfill the priestly role of carrying out our spiritual care of the people in the earthly regions.





ANCIENT PROPHETS AND THE KINGDOM OF THE MOST HIGH YAH




Psalmists such as David and the sons of Korah were not the only people of Old Testament times who understood the kingship of The Most High Yah and how the kingdoms of men are related to it. Many of the prophets also received powerful visions and insight into the glory and splendor of The Most High Yah and His Kingdom. One of the most familiar of these visions is found in Isaiah:




In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the The Most High seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the The Most High Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!




For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the The Most High Almighty” (Isa. 6:1—5).




It would be difficult to find a more powerful depiction of a king on his throne than Isaiah’s picture of the The Most High surrounded by a host of angelic attendants who were ceaselessly praising Him and hastening to do His bidding. Isaiah recognized immediately that he was in the presence of absolute holiness and glory. He had “seen the King, the The Most High Almighty,” and the majesty of his vision so overwhelmed him that he feared for his life. His own human sinfulness stood out suddenly in such starkness against the awesome purity and holiness of The Most High Yah that Isaiah expected to be struck down any moment.




Instead, he experienced the merciful justice of The Most High Yah:




Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Then I heard the voice of the The Most High saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa. 6:6-8)




Isaiah’s vision of The Most High Yah the King precipitated a spiritual crisis in his life. Once he had experienced the cleansing of his sin, the power of his vision inspired him to respond to the King’s call. Isaiah became an ambassador for the The Most High Almighty, called and appointed to proclaim the message of the Kingdom of The Most High Yah to a wayward people who had ignored and rejected it.




In another place, Isaiah recorded the insight he had received regarding the King’s heir and the nature and character of His Kingdom:




For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty The Most High Yah, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the The Most High Almighty will accomplish this (Isa. 9:6-7).




What is the Kingdom of The Most High Yah like? It is a realm ruled by a The Most High Yah who is mighty and everlasting, and who is a Wonderful Counselor (a wise and just Judge); a realm characterized by peace, justice, and righteousness.




Jeremiah was another prophet who had a profound understanding of the kingly nature and lofty status of The Most High Yah. He said:

No one is like You, O The Most High; You are great, and Your name is mighty in power. Who should not revere You, O King of the nations? This is Your due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like You....But the The Most High is the true The Most High Yah; He is the living The Most High Yah, the eternal King. When He is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure His wrath (Jer. 10:6-7,10).




To Jeremiah The Most High Yah was “King of the nations,” “the true The Most High Yah...the living The Most High Yah, the eternal King” whom people of all the nations should revere and honor. As King, The Most High Yah sat rightfully as Judge of the earth, and under His wrath and anger the nations could not endure. What a powerful picture of The Most High Yah! Jeremiah knew The Most High Yah as a King who was truly sovereign over His entire domain, both spiritual and physical. The strongest and most fearsome of human kingdoms are nothing in comparison to the Kingdom of The Most High Yah.





A KINGDOM MADE NOT BY HUMAN HANDS




Perhaps no one in the Old Testament received more revelation and insight about The Most High Yah’s Kingdom than did the prophet Daniel. As a matter of fact, the entire focus of the Book of Daniel involves the sovereignty of the Kingdom of The Most High Yah over the kingdoms of men. Several times throughout the book, the strength and will of earthly kings are pitted against the strength and will of The Most High Yah, and The Most High Yah comes out on top every time. Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace could not touch the servants of The Most High Yah who were covered by His mighty hand, and so Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the flames without even the smell of smoke on their clothes. A den of hungry lions was no match for the angel of The Most High Yah who shut their mouths and protected Daniel from becoming their next meal.




Daniel was a member of the “exile generation,” those Jews who either were removed from their homeland by the Babylonians and forcibly relocated, or who were born in exile in Babylon. Even as a foreigner and an exile, Daniel rose to a position of great prominence and trust as a civic leader and administrator in the Babylonian government. He was a really sharp guy, a true intellectual, superbly educated, and highly gifted as an administrator. In addition to these qualities, Daniel was a man of impeccable integrity who loved The Most High Yah. Because of his extraordinary gifts and competence, Daniel directly served a succession of several Babylonian kings. These rulers wanted trustworthy men around them and could have found no one better than Daniel.