Our daily Bible reading schedule has produced quite a contrast in recent weeks. On most weekdays, we’ve been reading through the history of the kings of ancient Israel and Judah. It’s not the most encouraging section of Scripture, primarily because of the quality of the kings involved. Scene after scene, chapter after chapter we read the same sad refrains:
“He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.”
“He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam.”
“He walked in the way of the kings of Israel.”
Here and there we get small glimpses of faithfulness in the lives of men like Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, or Josiah, but they only lived so long. A different influence briefly stems the tide, and then the king dies. Small reforms are made, the king dies, and the flood of unfaithfulness returns to rise even higher. So why spend valuable time wading through the historical sludge of idolatry, bloodshed, stubbornness, and covenant failure?
At the same time, we’re also reading the Gospel of Luke, the good news revolving around a very different kind of King. He is gentle and lowly in heart. He was tempted in every respect as those kings of old were (and we ourselves are), yet without sin. He came down from heaven, not to do his own will, but the will of his Father, for the good of the world. He touched the untouchable, noticed the outcast, joyfully welcomed the attention of children, and exhausted himself in the service of the unworthy. He died as the Lamb provided by God for the sins of humanity and was raised never to die again. He is exalted in heaven as King of kings and Lord of lords. He rules over a kingdom not of this world and never to be destroyed.
He is the one King worthy of worship, and that’s our blessed opportunity today.
Those Old Testament kings served themselves. Our King served others to the point of dying for all. Now he calls us to live no longer for ourselves but for him who for our sake died and was raised. So let’s honor him today and live for him this week.
Happy Lord’s day.