A King without a Kingdom

A King without a kingdom, or is it a kingdom without a King? To me, this seems to be a question that provides a reference point for understanding dual applications for the Old Testament book of Judges. On one hand, God is present and reminding the people of Israel that they are his people and he is their God; reminding them of the promise made to multiply the nation and make them great if only they would be completely devoted to him as their only God. On the other hand, the people of Israel do not exactly receive this promise with their undivided attention to the God of their forefathers.

Experiencing their wandering devotion toward material idols and man-made gods, the Lord raised up deliverers to re-direct his nation, teaching them their history and reminding them of his promise. God as King set out to re-claim the attention of his kingdom. These deliverers, or judges, were ordained to lead the ignorers of the promise back to the fully devoted King fulfilling the promise to make the nation great.

The people of Israel became enthralled with their surrounding culture, interacting with outside nations and their multitude of self made gods. Self absorbed and ignorant of the promise, Israel worshiped these gods instead of the one who made the promise to begin with and who is carrying out the plan to rule a great people. As a kingdom, the people of Israel were without a king in favor of self rule and the immediate gratification of easily manipulated idols.

With no reliable or credible leadership in combination with being surrounded by people with major worldview differences, the nation of Israel succumbed to the pressure and influence of divided allegiance, which is a problem for a jealous God. In the current age of multiplicity with mass knowledge and real time information exchange it seems apparent that complete and fully focused worship of the Lord God easily breaks down as there are so many alternate ideas, values, gadgets, theologies, etc. that grab our attention. As a tribe, stripe, group, people (whatever the term) leadership is crucial for detailed direction and overall counsel. As much as leadership is needed, those placed in the position of judge, king, manager, president, and the like are ultimately just servants to God giving oversight as assigned. Individually the responsibility is mine to keep my heart and head on task in my worship. The leaders placed for my benefit aren’t perfect nor are they always available. King or no king, it’s on me to show my hearts true devotion, to stop the cycle of sin and return to God who is the King of the universe.