KINGDOM
IN THE DESERT
Kingdom of God Defined
Graeme Goldsworthy has
summarized a definition of the Kingdom of God as:
"God's
people in God's place under God's rule."
George Eldon Ladd notes
that:
1.
"The primary meaning of both the Hebrew
word malkuth in the Old Testament and of the Greek word basileia
in the New Testament is the rank, authority and
sovereignty exercised by a king.
2. A basileia
may indeed be a realm over which a sovereign exercise his authority; and it may be the people who belong to that realm
and over whom authority is
exercised; but these are secondary and derived meanings.
3.
A kingdom is the authority to
rule, the sovereignty of the king.
Explaining the definition of a Kingdom:
A kingdom:
Is a defined area containing a subject
people.
Ruled by a lord or king.
The King defines the laws of the land
and blesses all who faithfully serve him.
"I will be your God and you will be my people", Leviticus 26:3-13
The Kingdom is:
The assembling together of all God's
people under his rule and care, experiencing complete unity and oneness with
each other and the Lord God.
God being present, the people seeing him face to face,
knowing him intimately as well as knowing each other in the same way.
The Kingdom is the dimension in which we find God,
ourselves and each other.
It is the ultimate community of fellowship and love - community of God's
children.
Yet, the ultimate reality of the Kingdom
has always awaited a future consummation.
Kingdom not yet come
Today, as with the saints of old, we wait the dawning
of heaven, of the picture of Revelation 21-22.
Revelation 21: 1- 4
1 Then I saw “a new
heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy
City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a
bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a
loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the
people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself
will be with them and be their God.
4 ‘He will wipe
every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying
or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (NIV)
We rely on the promise of the scripture that those who
experience the Kingdom in the present will be full members in the age to come;
they will participate fully in the blessings of heaven
John 5: 24 - "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in
Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has
passed from death into life.
(NKJV)
The
Kingdom of God could not receive its perfection but
under the Gospel, and has its full accomplishment in every member of the
mystical body of Christ.
The
nature of the Kingdom of God is that of a community of
believers bound under the rule of
Christ and blessed through the indwelling presence of the Holy
Spirit - a people gathered with God, ruled by
him, blessed by him.
The spirit and
design of the institution
Exodus 19: 6 'And you
shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words
which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
(NKJV)
They
should be a Kingdom – God as their King
A nation –
a multitude of people connected together –
not a scattered, disordered and disorganized people –
a royal nation – acting under the direction and blessing of God -
using their own rites, laws, subject in religious matters only to
God and in civil matters to the ordinance of man for God’s sake.
A holy nation –
saved from their sins –
righteous in their conduct –
holy in their hearts –
every external rite being not only a significant ceremony, but
also a means of conveying light and life, grace and peace, to every person who
conscientiously used it.
Constituents of a Kingdom:
1.
A king – God, Jehovah/Jesus
2. Citizens/subjects
– OT Israelites/Believers in NT Church.
3.
Laws – establishing
a special relationship to God
Why a regional area and a
cluster of people are are called a kingdom?
Because:
1.
it has its laws,
all the moral precepts of the Gospel:
2.
Its subjects,
all who believe in Christ Jesus:
3.
Its king, the
Sovereign of heaven and earth.
Jesus
Christ never saved a soul which he did not govern
Nor is
Christ precious or estimable to any man who does not feel a spirit of
subjection to the Divine will.
Four stages in the establishment and consummation of the
Kingdom:
1.
The salvation and separation
2.
Preservation in the desert
3.
The final struggle to establish God’s Kingdom
4.
Consummation of the promise of God’s Kingdom.
Salvation of Israel from Egypt:
The
war of God against the gentile gods – defeat of satanic forces that kept
Israelites as slaves
Egypt
and Pharaoh to demonstrate a real bondage as that from which salvation is a
release.
The
hardening of Pharaoh's heart makes it doubly clear that Israel is not able of her own will to break free from this bondage
Exodus 4: 21 - And the LORD
said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all
those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden
his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
(KJV)
1.
Israelites were
not armed
2.
Had no courage to
resist
3.
Was not organized
as a nation.
The
purpose of the miracles of the plagues and the opening of the sea
Exodus 10:2 - "and that
you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son's son the mighty things I
have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may
know that I am the LORD."
(NKJV)
So
they must comply with the command,
Exodus 14: 13,14
13 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be
afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will
accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see
again no more forever.
14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold
your peace."
(NKJV)
Covenant to Abraham
The
relationship of the covenant to Abraham and to the salvation of Israel from
Egypt is clearly seen in Exodus 2:23, 24.
Exodus 2:23, 24: “. . . their cry under bondage came up to
God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with
Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob."
The
great exodus from Egypt forms the pattern of salvation in the Bible.
As to the cause of salvation, we see that it is grace alone.
As to the cause of salvation, we see that it is grace alone.
It
is on the basis of God's gracious promise
to Abraham and not on the basis of any merit in
Israel that God works salvation.
Joshua 24: 14, 15
14 Now
therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other
side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
15 And
if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will
serve; whether the gods which your fathers served
that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
16 And
the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to
serve other gods; (KJV)
From
this exhortation of Joshua we learn of what sort the gods were, to the worship
of whom these Israelites were still attached.
1. Those which their fathers worshipped on the
other side of the flood: i.e., the gods of the CHALDEANS, fire, light, the sun.
2. Those of the EGYPTIANS, Apis, Anubis, the ape,
serpents, vegetables, &c.
3. Those of the CANAANITES, MOABITES, &c.,
Baal-peor or Priapus, Astarte or Venus, &c., &c.
The Laws of the King
When God gave His
covenant stipulations at Sinai, He addressed Israel as His people.
It is clear that
this Law of Moses is not a program of works for salvation.
Salvation is of
grace, and the covenant of Sinai was given, not so that Israel might be saved,
but because she was saved.
The law is thus a
manifesto for the people of the kingdom.
Provisions in the Kingdom in the Desert
Basic needs:
1.
Food – eating and drinking
2.
Shelter
3.
Clothes – clothes including foot wares
Psalms 105:37 - 45
37 He
brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble
person among their tribes.
38 Egypt
was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to
give light in the night.
40 The
people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of
heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and the waters gushed
out; they ran in the dry places like a river.
42 For
he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.
43 And
he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness: {gladness:
Heb. singing}
44 And
gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the
people;
45 That they might observe his statutes, and
keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD. {Praise...: Heb. Hallelujah}
(KJV)
Exodus
16: 35 - And the children of Israel
did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat
manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. (KJV)
Joshua 5: 10 - 12
10 And
the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the
fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.
11 And
they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover,
unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.
12 And
the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the
land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of
the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
(KJV)
All daily provisions are
guaranteed.
It is not withdrawn even when the Israelites rebelled against God.
Matthew
6:25 - Therefore I say to you,
do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor
about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body
more than clothing?
(NKJV)
Matthew 6:31 - Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we
eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
(NKJV)
Other needs
1.
Healing from disease
2.
Protection from enemies – man and animals
3.
A path to follow
Exodus 13:3 - And Moses
said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out
of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from
this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.
{bondage: Heb. servants}
(KJV)
Exodus 15: 23 - 26
23 Now when they came to
Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.
Therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24 And the people
complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"
25 So he cried out to the
LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the
waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And
there He tested them,
26 and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God
and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all
His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on
the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." (NKJV)
Deuteronomy 29:5,6
5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have
not worn out on your feet.
6 You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink,
that you may know that I am the LORD your God.
(NKJV)
Pillar of cloud
This
was the Shechinah or Divine dwelling place, and was the continual proof of the
presence and protection of GOD.
Exodus 13:20 - 22
20 So they took their
journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness.
21 And the LORD went before
them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way,
and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and
night.
22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by
day or the pillar of fire by night
from before the people.
(NKJV)
Signification of gathering under the pillar
By
coming under this cloud they signified their putting themselves under the conduct and command of Moses.
Protection draws allegiance
1. This
cloud was the badge of God's protection
2. And
so became the bond of their allegiance.
3.
And it signifies the special conduct and protection for the church of Christ in this
world.
Guide to direct through the wilderness
It was necessary that they should
have a guide to direct them through the wilderness
They need to be guided even had
they taken the most direct road
But they took a circuitous route
not usually travelled, and of which they knew nothing but just as the luminous
pillar pointed out the way!
Exodus 13: 17, 18
17 And it came to pass,
when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of
the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest
peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness
of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the
land of Egypt.
(KJV)
These three are not guaranteed, but conditional.
It is conditioned by the faithfulness and loyalty
towards God.
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