“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.” Psalm 45:6
To say that God is Sovereign is to say that He is Lord and King of all creation. He is the supreme authority who governs all existence. Nothing happens without His knowledge and allowance. Whatever occurs, does so either because He caused it or because He allowed for it. In His sovereignty He allows us freedom to make choices, though He may not agree with how we choose. This may create in the minds of many the illusion that we have control and authority over our lives, but the truth is that God is still the one who is in charge. He grants us freedom, but not His throne.
Mankind has been putting kings in power over themselves since the beginning of civilization. Chieftains, lords, Kaiser’s, czars, pharaohs. The titles may change from one culture and language to another, but the idea is always the same. One person rules over the rest, holding ultimate power over the people. But one people group started off differently. Israel languished under the rule of the pharaoh of Egypt until God delivered them out of captivity and brought them into the promised land. Israel was a peculiar people, standing out from the rest of the cultures across the globe. They stood out because of their unique relationship with their God. They worshipped one God, not many. They made no idols for their God, unlike the other people groups. And they looked to their God, not a man, as their King.
Sadly, they eventually rejected this and sought to adopt the culture of the nations surrounding them. Anyone familiar with the history of Israel knows just how destructive the consequences of this proved to be. Civil war, invasions, assassinations, instituted idolatry; the list goes on. But what is probably saddest of all is the loss of Israel’s connection with God as their sole Sovereign and what that meant for their identity as a people. God is Sovereign, which is to say He is Lord and King over all creation. He rules over not just Israel, but all mankind. Though the nations live in rebellion, Israel was expected to model themselves after God’s design. They were to stand out from the world, as a light in the darkness, and reveal to humanity the nature of God. And in doing so, they would show the nations the God that was truly Lord over all the earth. One way that they were to do this was to follow and worship God as their King. But they rejected God as Sovereign as recorded in 1 Samuel 8:6-7, “But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their King.”
Unfortunately, we have all sinned in this manner quite regularly. We call God Lord but do we behave as if He truly were our Lord? Do we obey as a good servant does, following His commands? Humanity tends to follow the leading of sin over that of our King. The scripture continues in 1 Sam. 8:8, “As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.” And we have so often done this too! We may not have made a literal calf of gold with our own hands to worship, but what we have done is equal in its sinfulness and treason against God. We have lived our lives as if we were not submitted to One that is greater than us. Israel was resisting God’s sovereignty the entire journey through the wilderness. We, however, have their story as a lesson. And the author of Hebrews points this out when encouraging us to not copy their rebellious ways.
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the days of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, “They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways. So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.'”
Beware brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:7-13
God is King and Sovereign over all mankind. All who walk in sin do so as an act of rebellion against the King of all creation Who reigns over heaven and earth. For those of us who have encountered Him, claim to serve Him, and be His disciples, there is no excuse to rebel against Him. We are no longer ignorant of His existence as God and Sovereign, therefore our sin is rooted in our own arrogance. We think too highly of ourselves and too little of our God. We see ourselves as our own lord. If we truly believe in God as our Sovereign, we will practice such faith through obedience to His commands. We will trust in His promises and live our lives accordingly.
And this is my exhortation to you today. Stay faithful to God as your King and Sovereign. No matter how you feel emotionally, how chaotic the world gets around you, or how little sense you can make of things in your mind, God is still sovereign. The King is with you. His dominion is over you. Stay obedient to the Kings command.
“I say, “Keep the King’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God.” Ecclesiastes 8:2
The Walk of Enoch 