Sunday, October 27, 2013

Sovereignty of god and monarchs


Jesus of Nazareth HW 2
Paul Fischer
July 17, 2010

Sovereignty of god and monarchs
The power of the Son of Man, of the holy trinity itself, is directly accessed by the monarch of Israel. This is directly ordained in the Bible to David and his descendants. Admittedly, today most everyone in Israel is probably related to David in some way or another. In Zechariah the king is described in semi divine terms, as Christ or the Saviour. This notion of divine power behind the monarchy stuck on to become a central part of the religion.
Through the development of Christianity, rulers clung to a covenant of divine rights, being born into class and society. This hereditary system is endorsed and ordained by the Holy Bible in several different places. In Samuel the government is supported by the masses as an indifferent god stands by. He doesn’t feel jealousy because his essence is present in the king himself. Rather than stealing his power or glory, the earthly king helps to lead the chosen people, as a shepherd to his flock.
Central to this system and these ideals was the belief that kings and princes would somehow access the power of God directly or indirectly through prayer. The idea that there were multiple facets to God is related to the Holy Trinity, which shows different sides of God to man. As the Bible was codified and collected, the Trinity was heavily emphasised, its existence being among the major differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. Before this, as described in the Old Testament, Jews hoped to centralize their society by centralizing their religion into one church and god. The temple of Jerusalem was established, as seen in Kings, and dedicated by the kings descendant from David and Solomon.
In both the Psalms, it is always clear that God will provide a good and righteous king, the verses are repetitive, and short, praising either hosanna or a chosen king. What his responsibilities are, or to what extent he can be corrupted was not only a consideration for believer, but also his potential for tyranny. Nearly every argument against the monarchy, from tyranny to taking glory from God, is found in the selected reading from Samuel 1, yet the people in their ignorance shout for the king to lead them. The text doesn't seem to judge them, though an irate god does send a pestilent plague. There is also context that makes their uneasiness without leadership understandable; having a king would help god protect them from foes and disaster.

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