Kings and Kingdoms #1: Israel’s First Kings

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♪♪♪ male announcer: Welcome to "Our Jewish Roots," with insightful Bible teaching from Israel by Dr. Jeffery Seif. This week, we begin our examination of the kings of ancient Israel and Judah in our series "King and Kingdoms." ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ David Hart: Thank you for joining us today, my name is David Hart. Kirsten Hart: I'm Kirsten Hart. Jeffrey Seif: And I am Jeffrey Seif, and we are going to climb into the bowels of biblical history and consider key people and key moments in the Hebrew Bible. Kirsten: Through the kings of Israel, the royalty. David: Bad kings, right? Jeffrey: Famous and infamous. Tragically, they didn't fare all that well. Kirsten: There's a lot of drama coming up in this series-- Jeffrey: This drama, there's trauma, and there's triumph too when we figure the King of kings, but will get to him later. Kirsten: That's good. David: Dr. Seif is on location at the Mount of Olives. Let's go there now. Jeffrey: This is a great place, and I've got great stories to tell you from it. It's a fascinating place. The great land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem. You can hear bells, I imagine I hear them behind me, someone celebrating something. There's good news, there's bad news, there's all sorts of news here. And today, we're going to explore it with biblical views. I'm interested in the book of Kings. Actually, an old Hebrew Bible, 1, 2, 3, and 4 Kings, from Saul at the beginning all the way to the ending kings with the fall of the northern and southern kingdom, and we're going to explore that in this series, "Kings and Kingdoms." Now, I'm interested in the principals, that is the principal kings themselves, the principals. I'm also interested in the principles, that is the values, the virtues that they lived by or didn't live by. It's a great story. Some were on the rise, others on the demise. We're going to consider that story. Here I am on the Mount of Olives, I'm going to go up the hill and talk to you about it a little more. Stay with me. The story of Israel's kings is rather complex. It's my job to make it simple and to make it relevant to you, and I'm glad to do it from here in Jerusalem. Speaking of here, you'll see that I have here some paraphernalia that goes with the story. A crown, these were expensive, handmade, bejeweled. A scepter, a symbol of authority. These were expensive too. These monarchs held these as--they would point to a certain direction and what they said went. "You, go. You, come." They point, they move, and the world moves. Similarly, there's robes they wore. They were--they were decked out. Of course, there's a tax base that pays for all of this and more, and the prophets warned about that, but the people insisted on it. I mention this because when we look at the period of kings in the Bible, it's precipitated by 330 some odd years of misery. There's no centralized authority, all the tribes were like states, but they weren't forged in a federation. And they were weak, they were constantly overcome by their enemies. And I'm going to open up the Bible in a second and you're going to see where people want a monarch, they want a king. Mono was one, arche is a Greek word for rule, they wanted a leader. And we're going to see leadership's important. It's also important for that principal leader to be tethered to biblical principles, and that wasn't always the case. When we look at the story of Israel's kings, it starts off with Saul, Shaul. But he wasn't bridled by biblical virtues. He dissipates, he evaporates, we see his demise. And against that backdrop, we have the rise of David, who comes out of nowhere, providentially a man after God's own heart. And led by that disposition, we see that he enjoys success in life against all odds. We see, however, that he gets a little too attracted to that which comes with his office, and he forgets the one who gave it to him. He starts living in an entitlement mode, and that becomes his undoing. Happily for him, however, when we look at David, he turns, he repents, and that salvages him and his dynasty. Solomon comes in short order in the biblical text, and his emergence comes with a lot of fanfare and success and good things. But he just proves faithless and spends the better part of his administration indulging in that which comes with it, and this will be his undoing. The net result, his son Rehoboam comes to power, and with him comes a civil war, the north and the south. There's a revolt. The united monarchy ceases, it's what we call a divided monarchy subsequent to Rehoboam, and the net result is political intrigue, war, death, decay, disorientation goes off the charts. The northern kingdom that breaks away is going to have 19 kings, it's going to have 200 years of history before it's destroyed, and 9 dynasties. Lots of intrigue, lots of despair, we want to look at that and consider what happens when people turn away from God. We want leadership that's godly, not just in our broader cultural home, but in our individual homes as well. We're going to see there's a correlation between success in life and commitment to biblical vision and virtue, doesn't matter who you are. Kings can think they're above it all, but they're not, and we see that. We look at the story of the northern kingdom, it spins into decay and de-care and disrepair, and eventual dissolution. The southern kingdom is not going to go through dynastic changes as was the case with the north. They're going to have 28 kings, but only eight of them are going to prove themselves to be men after God's own heart. The net result too is that the southern kingdom is going to experience all kinds of decay and disorientation as well. Well, rather than just talk about the Bible story, I want to take a look at it, if you will, where it all begans-- where it all begins, excuse me. Where it all began, past tense, for the purpose of kings and kingdoms. We're looking in the book that we call 1 Samuel. The reason why I say that we call 1 Samuel is because the ancient Hebrews called this 1 Kings, and what we call 2 Samuel 2 Kings, et cetera. But any case, never mind that. In chapter 8, verse 5, people are pressing the prophet to anoint. They want God's hand in the matter. They want God's approval. They want his anointing, but they want a singular king. And they press him vociferously, they're pressing, "Appoint for us a king to judge us." Now, with that, they weren't just looking for an administrator for their civil affairs. True, they wanted that, but beyond that. Well, I would imagine the reason why they appealed to that is Samuel, the guy they were appealing to, was the judge, but he was regional, not national. And not wanting Samuel's sons as a replacement, they say, "Give us a king to judge us." But really they're looking for more than that, they're looking for someone to bring them together in a federation and give them good success by uniting their energies to stave off the troubles of the day. Used to be back in the day if the tribe of Issachar was invaded, so was it--it was Issachar's problem. But now if a singular tribe is invaded, the king sends forces to bear from all the tribes. The thinking is, and it makes a lot of sense, that they can have good success because the king can marshal more energies in order to have success. And this is true in principle, but as we're going to see time and time again in the biblical text, and I hope you see it when you cast your vote for whatever you're voting for or for the way you live your life, that there are things that can make sense in a human sense, but as we're going to see, people need to be tethered to biblical vision and virtue. One thing that's clear in the biblical text is that when it comes to kings, kingdoms, leaderships, success in life, it's fidelity to biblical literature that pays the dividends. ♪♪♪ Jeffrey: It's one thing to dress like a king, it's another thing to actually be one. And if you're going to be a king, you have to have a kingdom. The word "kingdom" itself is a conflation of two words, the king's domain. That is the area where the king rules. If a king is going to rule from an area, a king is it going to need a capital. And no one knew that more than Israel's essentially first and arguably greatest king. Well, there was one before David and we'll get to that in a moment, but David himself, when he came into his own, he really felt that compulsion to go for capital city in a place known today as Yerushalayim. The city itself or the area itself, however, was inhabited by the Yebusi, the Jebusites. And here, this is an "Our Jewish Roots" exclusive, we're taking you right to the place. We're retrojecting back in time 3,000 years. If these stones could talk, they would speak of the Jebusites who built these as part of their fortifications. We read in the biblical literature about the Jebusites, and we learn how David stealthily got the better of them and established his city and his capital not right here, but up there in the city of David. I love taking you to it, and I love taking you to the Bible that tells the story of it. And as we look at kings and kingdoms, indeed that's a story that we need to tell. Men are always clamoring for power, and there is so much political intrigue associated with it because people want to wear the crown. I mention that because we see political intrigue in advance of David's ascension to power. There's political intrigue throughout his reign, all kinds of tensions. And then in David's waning years, there's political intrigue associated with who's going to succeed him. I'm going to open up the Bible in a little bit and speak to that, but now just the issues associated with that. In a series that deals with kings and kingdoms, even in biblical literature, we see all kinds of machinations at work yesterday much as we see them today as individuals are jockeying to be the man of the hour with the power. A difference in the biblical economy, however, is that leaders were not elected, leaders were selected. That is to say the story begins with God himself appointing, anointing in fact. We know in biblical literature the word "mashiach" or messiah means anointed one. It might as well mean appointed one because there's providence at work with God picking a person. Well, God picks the person with a net result is they're given power. Their keeping power and using it successful is predicated not on the dint of their own determination, but to the extent that they adhere to biblical principles. I say that because as we go through this series and we're really just beginning it now, as we go through a series looking at kings and kingdoms, you are going to hear me alighting upon issues associated with faithfulness to biblical vision, virtue, and value. That in and of itself, according to the biblical text, lends itself toward the success of the kings and then the success of the kingdoms. I'm going to open up the Bible a minute and we're going to see how that's played out, that is this jockeying for power and what God does with it. "The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you. When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom." Coming here now from the very base of the Jebusite city of old, and you can see it's the base 'cause we're right down to bedrock now. And you can see with the Yebusi, the Jebusites placed rocks on top. They're building up their city and their fortifications all around, but we're right here at the bedrock. To me, it's a good point to talk about building a life on good bedrock. Jesus talked about a good foundation that's built solidly, and then it stands the test of time. There's so much political intrigue with power, dynasties come and go, and it's good to have a foundation to build upon. And the Scriptures, it's just the best foundation that I know of. And we can see when we look at the life of David, Saul himself was initially the king, but he got too much into being the king. He wanted to wear the robe and have the power, but he didn't want to do that which went with the job. He wound up losing the power and the job. David, on the other hand, seemed to march to the tune of a different drummer. He, in fact, was a man after God's own heart. And the Torah beckons individuals-- [speaking in Hebrew] We're to love the Lord with all our hearts, soul, and might, and that's a great foundation for a leader. Unfortunately, when it comes to leadership, there's all kinds of machinations and intrigue. And sometimes there's pretense of obedience to the Lord, but it doesn't work out in substance. I note that because even in David's own life, when we open up to 1 Kings in the first chapter, we're told that Adonijah the Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." Now, this was David's fourth son. Two were killed, we don't know what happened to the one between them, but this fellow figured he--you know, "I am the heir and I'm entitled to this." You know, and David is waning with his faculties and with his health, so he asserts himself. What's going to happen is Bathsheba, his wife, is going to inform him, "Time out, stop. No, it's Solomon who's the one to succeed." I mention this because when it comes to politics, there's always political intrigue and jockeying. I think it best to look for individuals who are endeavoring to build on bedrock of good promise as opposed to scheming and manipulating the way to get to the top with fancy words and extension of their own ambition. I don't mind ambition, but what would I look for in a leader, and as we look at kings and kingdoms in the Bible, you're going to see what the Bible looks for in leaders and holds them accountable to, is whether or not they build their own lives and kingdom on the bedrock of biblical faith, vision, and virtue. More on that as we continue in our series. male announcer: Our resource this week, the series "Joshua: More Than a Conqueror" on DVD. This eight-program series reveals how Joshua went from spy to Moses's apprentice, and then became the faithful leader of the Israelites during the conquest of the land of Canaan. With dramatic reenactments, vital teaching from Dr. Seif, insight from Chaim Malespin, music, and much more. Contact us and ask for your copy of the DVD series "Joshua: More Than a Conqueror." announcer: If you only watch us on television, you're missing additional content available only on our social media sites, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. You can always visit our website, which is home base for all of our ministry activities and information. There you can sign up for our free monthly newsletter, watch the TV program, or visit the online store. You can sign up for a tour of Israel and Petra, or a cruise to Greece and Ephesus. Please contact us for more information. Kirsten: There's a wealth of extra content on our social media sites. Find us there, lots to watch and read. David: This series Dr. Seif will be teaching on location. We could not do any of this without your financial support, so we just want to say thank you so much for that. Right now, let's go to Sarah Liberman, and she's going to be teaching us this whole series "Words of Praise and Worship." Today's word is praise. ♪♪♪ Sarah Liberman: Shalom haverim. Welcome to our new series of "Words of Worship in Hebrew." I am so excited as a worship leader to bring these words to you because I know that they will change your life. You see, in English, we have about two words to describe praise and worship, but in Hebrew, when you study what the Word says, you will understand that there's so much more of the expression of worship and praise, and I know that it will transform your life. Our first word today is the word "lehallel" which comes from the root word "hallel," which means praise. We have over 400 of these references In the Bible in verses like, "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised." Or, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." [speaking in Hebrew] Now, the word "hallel" means to brag, or to boast, or to be the greatest fan. You know, like when people go to watch their favorite sports, or group, or rock band, they're yelling out, they're shouting out, they're boasting about the great accomplishments of their idol. This is the same attitude that we have in worshiping God. It is to be the biggest and greatest fan of the Lord. So, next time you're in a worship service, I hope that you think about this. And when you praise and you worship God, you exhort him and you become the greatest fan that you can be of the Lord. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. ♪ One of your own. ♪ ♪ Call him to meet us, ♪ ♪ establish his throne. ♪ ♪ I have chosen a shepherd ♪ ♪ after my heart. ♪ ♪ King of my people, ♪ ♪ my anointed one. ♪♪ ♪♪♪ David: We love having Marty with us, he will be with us throughout this series. Kirsten: Marty has been a friend of this ministry for many years, and so has Avi Lipkin. And recently, Jeff sat down with Avi to speak about the kings of Israel. Let's go to that conversation now. Jeffrey: Avi, so good to be with you. Avi Lipkin: Great to be back with you again. Jeffrey: We're kind of tethering into a program here that's looking, among other things, at Saul and David, political struggle, the right kind of person, the right kind of ideas to emerge. What do you think about all of that? Avi: Well, we are looking at different stages in the history of Israel. As you know, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were a family. We went to Egypt, we came out a people. We came to the land of Israel and we were tribes, and we had judges, and we had no king. And all of a sudden, the people clamored for a king. And God says, "You don't need a king," but the people wanted it, so we got a king, and that was Saul. Terrible things happened to Saul and Jonathan. And after Saul and Jonathan, we see the rise of King David. And King David turned us not into a nation, but a superpower, and it was a great thing. We were all the way from Egypt to the Euphrates. Jeffrey: Yeah, it is an evolutionary process at one level. I'm not speaking in the scientific term, but you just did the whole good part of the history of the Old Testament in 30 seconds. How does it apply to the modern world that we live in? Any thoughts? Avi: Well, again, we went into the Holocaust as a-- like a family. We were butchered, we were killed. And then one of the greatest miracles in human history was the resurrection of the state of Israel. And Jews came home from all over the world. Actually, Jews and some Christians also. And I predict that for the future also, that many Jews and Christians will be moving to Israel. And all of a sudden, we see Israel in a little compact United Nations partition plan becoming the 1949 borders, then the '67 borders, then '73 borders. And we are now, I believe, in the period before a major war at some stage with major border changes as a result of ISIS causing complete collapse of the Arabic countries around us, creating a vacuum, and then we pull in. So, this is kind of like a neo-David era. Jeffrey: Yeah, and so to your point, difficulties notwithstanding, the kingdom expands. There's obstacles, there's tensions, but by God's grace, we all carry on. ♪♪♪ David: Dr. Seif, you have some impressive titles under your belt like, let's see, policeman, pastor, and today you look like a professor. Jeffrey: Well, yeah, 30 years of Bible college seminary professor. Why do you ask? David: Well, what is this? Kirsten: Well, 'cause this looks like a score card, something. Jeffrey: Well, a report card, you know? I wanted to give a grade. Kirsten: Those always make me nervous. My palms are sweaty right now. David: I see a red one over there too, a red one. Jeffrey: You know, I'm not God. Saul right off the bat, I give him an F. I'm very unimpressed by him pretty much from the get go. He was in it for himself, he wasn't minded to lead, and he didn't want to brave the hazards, jump into the fray and take care of business. So him, sorry Saul, it is what it is. I'm a tough teacher. David: You are. Jeffrey: David, it's not a whole lot better. To tell you the truth, I like David personally. I mean, he's one of my favorite figures in the Bible, I love it. You know, he starts off, you know, Judea's in trouble, and it expands under his administration. As a leader, he's just the best of the best of the best. Good heart, you know, jumps into the fray, a warrior. I love all that, but I have trouble forgiving him because of Bathsheba. I think he had too many women personally. There are eight wives, never mind concubines. Kirsten: A to a D. Jeffrey: You know, yeah, it's kind of like, well, you know, overall, I just got to finish up with a D, you know, because I'm just reminded, you know, as a leader, as a politician, I give him an A, but I look at him through a religious lens and I'm very unimpressed by the deal with Bathsheba, the adultery, the murder, the deceit. God could forgive him that, his own sons didn't. The end of his days end in misery, he's running from his own kids, there's turmoil in his own house. David: Seems like there's a little theme there, maybe backsliding. Jeffrey: Yeah, I think he went backwards. The grace of God, you know, put a check to that, and I trust I'll see him on the other side of the grave-- Kirsten: But he was still a man after God's own heart, right? Or did he lose that? Jeffrey: Well, he lost it for a season, he regained it, but he lost his family even in regaining. You know, God forgave him, his sons didn't apparently because again, he finishes poorly in that regard. On the whole, as far as leaders go, pound for pound, he's as good as they get in the Old Testament. But it's hard for me to overlook those indiscretions. Kirsten: Let's keep that humility in the hunger for God, yes? Jeffrey: Yes. David: Looks like just the beginning also of what we're going to learn. Jeffrey: It's just the beginning, yes. Let's not make the same mistakes, what do you say? Kirsten: Come back-- Yeah, I was just going to say, come back next week and join us for another "Kings and Kingdoms." Jeffrey: Please do. Until then, sha'alu shalom Yerushalayim. David: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. announcer: Join us right now for additional content that is only available on our social media sites, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Visit our website, levitt.com, for the current and past programs, the television schedule, tour information, and our free monthly newsletter, which is full of insightful articles and news commentary. View it online, or we can ship it directly to your mailbox every month. Also on our website is the online store. There you can order this week's resource, or you can always give us a call at 1-800-WONDERS. Your donations to "Our Jewish Roots" help us to support these organizations as they bless Israel. Please remember we depend on tax deductible donations from viewers like you. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ announcer: This has been a paid program brought to you by Zola Levitt Ministries.
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Channel: Our Jewish Roots
Views: 4,029
Rating: 4.9652176 out of 5
Keywords: Our Jewish Roots, ZLM, Zola Levitt Ministries, Jewish roots of Christianity, 2017
Id: eYLrj4hSM4g
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Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)
Published: Wed May 06 2020
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