"Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu, Melek ha olam..."
This phrase, above, is often found in Hebrew prayers. "Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe."
Our Father is proclaimed King in the scriptures, and His Son is proclaimed "King of kings".
In Psalm 47, the LORD's Kingship is magnified and praised:
"For the LORD Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is King of all the earth;
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
v. 2, 6, 7, 8
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus is described:
"And He has written on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."
As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, around this same time of year as this is being written, right before His last Passover, before His betrayal, suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection, the crowds lined the street and welcomed Him as King of Israel, as reported in all four Gospel accounts.
This great Kingship doesn't stop there, however. The scriptures teach that He has made us kings as well.
"To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen."
and
"... And have redeemed us to God by Your blood...And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."
Rev. 1:5-6, and 5:9-10
There is a special meaning and importance to the position of "king". It can be agreed, that kings are not like regular people. In the scriptures, the position of king, carried a special responsibility, as it has done throughout history since.
The first king in scripture was Adam. His Creator gave him dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth (Gen. 1:28). The English word "dominion" from the Latin root, means: the power to rule, the right to rule, authority, absolute ownership, sovereignty. The Hebrew word used in this same verse, ra-da', means: to dominate, rule, subjugate, to tread (with the feet). There is no doubt from the definitions of the word in both English and Hebrew, that kingly authority was given to Adam. The first Adam, gave away the kingdom. The second Adam, Jesus, bought it back again, and even more, with His own obedience, and with His blood (1 Cor. 15).
What does this say, then, about our kingship? What is expected of us, and what are our responsibilities in this position? Why do we even have to hold a position of "king"? Sometimes, because of their special position, there are situations that only kings can handle. Even presidents and representatives are limited in what they can do. In spiritual terms, the same idea applies. Sometimes it requires a king to deal with certain things. It takes a king, for instance, to deal with other princes. I would like to look at three examples in scripture.
The examples refer to three people who were raised from obscurity to positions of royalty, or royal authority, because they were called and purposed by God to confront royal, or princely, adversaries.
First, Moses was born a Hebrew slave in Egypt. God raised him up miraculously to become an adopted member of the king, Pharaoh's, household. Moses became a prince of Egypt (Ex. 2:10). As an adult, he would one day have to confront Pharaoh and command him, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness." (Ex. 5:1). Who was this man who could walk into Pharaoh's court and make demands? He was a prince of Egypt, just as Pharaoh was.
Secondly, Esther, a young Jewish woman, was elevated by a foreign king to become his queen. From this position, she was able to trap the enemy of the Jews, Haman, and save her people from destruction. Haman was a descendant of the king of the Amalekites, Agag, and was referred to as a prince in this land of Sushan (Est. 3:1). If Esther had not been in the position of queen, she would not have been able to have access to the king, nor to confront Haman. Esther was reluctant to confront the king, her husband, and Naman, but her uncle, Mordecai, told her that it was for this very purpose that she was elevated to royal rank- for the deliverance and relief of the Jews:
"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Esther 4:14
Like Esther, we also have been brought into the kingdom for such a time as this. Having been elevated to royalty, we also, must not remain silent.
Finally, there is the story of Joseph. He had been sold into slavery, and served in Egypt. He was falsely accused and placed in prison. His spiritual gift of interpreting dreams brought him to the attention of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The Pharaoh, valuing Joseph's gift, promoted him, setting him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh put his own signet ring of kingly authority on Joseph's hand. All the people of Egypt were ruled according to Joseph's word. Though he was not officially king, no one in the land was higher than he was except for Pharaoh, himself. Because of this kingly authority given to him, he was able to save not only Egypt, but also Israel (Canaan) in the time of a severe famine. Joseph had the power from Pharaoh, even over the royal princes of the land (Psalm 105:22). He could imprison them, if he chose to. The reason that Joseph was so promoted, was because Pharaoh recognized Joseph's gift for seeing and interpreting secret, hidden things. Proverbs 25:2 describes this gift as a kingly gift from God:
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter (dabar-word),
But the glory of kings to search out a matter (dabar-word)."
As God's people, He has also called us to be kings, who search out and reveal the hidden things of God - His kings who delve into the deep things of God, of His word, of His Spirit, and are given the authority to reveal the power of those hidden truths to principalities and powers. Like Moses, Esther, and Joseph, we have been lifted from obscurity, and placed in kingly places for the purpose of bringing our Father's sovereign will into the earth. We can go before oppressive princes and say: "Thus says the LORD: Let My people go."
Our Father is a King.
"Awesome"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz8BgLSC24E
"He Reigns"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKTqwBetI1I
"Take Me to the King"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYU5aGQV6j0
