The Kingdom of God
Are you uncomfortable with the Kingdom of God as the central organizing principle of the Bible?
- Why not the death and resurrection of Christ?
- Why not justification by faith?
Our uneasiness results because we have a 17th or 18th century European model of a kingdom and not an Ancient Near Eastern model.
In a European model there is a king and subjects and the subject are to obey the rules and laws of the king.
Q. What happens to subjects of the king that do not obey the law?
If the subjects do not obey then they are wiped out by the king.
King
Obey
Subjects
The European model creates a legalistic/authoritarian model of a kingdom which is why we are uneasy allowing it to be the organizing principle of the Bible.
In the Ancient Near East the model looks different. Instead of a king and subjects, there were actually three levels: the suzerain, the vassal, and the subjects.
Suzerain
Obey
Vassal
Subjects
Pharaoh was the earthly representative of the sun god Amun-Ra. Amun-Ra is the suzerain and pharaoh is the vassal. To the degree that the pharaoh correctly pleases Amun-Ra through his actions and rites, the pharaoh’s subjects benefit by Amun-Ra’s maintenance of ma’at.
In Babylon the King was seen as the earthly representative of Marduk.
II Chronicles 9:8 - Israel has similar concept.
In the Ancient Near East this concept also worked between different nations. The arrangement to form this relationship is called a covenant.
Example: Egypt may have a bigger army than the Hittites but fighting a war would by costly for both. Instead of having a battle the Hittites from a covenant with the Egyptians. The Egyptians promise the Hittites protection in exchange for the loyalty of the Hittites.
Covenants usually have six parts:
1. Preamble - Identifies parties
2. Historical Prologue - Story of the relationship between the two parties
3. Stipulations - Actions required of the parties
4. Documentary Clause - Arrangement for storage of the covenant document
5. Divine Witness - Statement about who oversees covenant
6. Sanctions - curses and blessings the divine witnesses will administer depending
on the obedience of the vassal to the stipulation
Q. In this model how do the subjects, say a simple date farmer, receive the blessings and curses of the covenant?
- The blessings and curses are based on how well the vassal keeps the covenant stipulations.
I Kings 9:1-9 shows that Ancient Israel had this concept.
- The European concept of monarchy only has two levels, the Ancient Near East has three. The vassal king acts as a mediator between the suzerain and the subjects.
Q. How does this construct work in Christianity?
- God is the suzerain, Jesus is the vassal, and we are the subjects who receive the blessing of the covenant based on Jesus’ obedience.
Q. What principle operates between the suzerain and the vassal? What principle operates between the vassal and the people?
- This is why the birth of a King in Luke is good news to shepherds. Jesus is the obedient Vassal King who will bring the blessings of the Suzerain to his people.
- Those who recognize Jesus as the obedient Vassal king and identify themselves with Him will receive the blessings of the Kingdom. That is why when Jesus heals people He tells them their faith has made him well.
- Using this model, faith becomes a more concrete and less abstract concept. Faith is like when the Fellowship of the Rings when the Fellowship pledge their lives to Frodo. They have faith in Frodo in his plan and his work.
- So we see the Kingdom is about faith, faith in the vassal King Jesus. This concept contains the concept of grace since the subjects receives the blessing through the work of the vassal and not their own work. All of this is accomplished in the person of Jesus.
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