In the ancient world, the king oversaw public building campaigns, led the nation’s armies in battle, administered a system of justice, and propagated wisdom in all these efforts. The king was the embodiment of the kingdom’s identity, he was the perfect expression of his people, and he was often described as the father of the nation, suggesting a deeper relationship between the king and his people than one that merely involved politics or government. The relationship between the king and his people was, at its best, a glorious possibility for human flourishing and, at its worst, a terrifying opportunity for human suffering.
the king in god’s plan of redemption
Humanity was always meant to have a king, because humans were created as part of God’s kingdom. This is what God intended when He made us according to the imago Dei, “the image of God,” forming man from the land to occupy and ultimately fill His earthly domain with His image. In Genesis 1, the earth is depicted as a physical palace that will one day be filled and subdued by human regents who are made after the image of their divine Creator-king (vv. 27–28). This kingly identity informs our human identity at its most foundational level. Even in light of the utter failure and destruction of the fall, humanity is still called to set its sights on this vision of an earth filled with God’s glory, and redeemed images of God are called to pray that God’s kingly rule will be applied to earth just “as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10; see Isa. 6:3). Jesus told us to pray that way because He looks forward to that day too.
After the fall, God appointed a family from among all the families of the earth from whom a line of kings would come, now as a part of His work of redemption. Abraham was promised not only that God would make him into a great nation dwelling in a great land but that “kings shall come from you” (Gen. 17:6), an indication that the hope for redemption outlined in the patriarchal era of the Old Testament included the hope for a human king to come from the line of Abraham.
This picture is filled out further in the Mosaic covenant, where we find rules and constraints for a future king intended to encourage him to remain faithful to the Lord (Deut. 17:14–20). We ought not to be surprised that such a passage comes before the coronation of an actual king. Much of the Mosaic teaching assumes the blessing that had yet to be provided for the people of Israel. There on the outskirts of the promised land, perched on the steppes of Moab, the grand extent of the Israelite hope was laid out in detail in the book of Deuteronomy, including God’s provision of a sanctuary, the terms for living in the land, the structure of the theocratic state, and the profile of the kind of king Israel should have to rule over her.
The historical books of Joshua through 2 Samuel depict the story of how Israel laid hold of this hope, and so we should not be surprised to see the kingship come up again in another covenant, this time establishing the throne eternally in the line of King David (2 Sam. 7). Like Abraham and Moses before him, David received the promise whose fulfillment would come many years in the future.