“Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention.”
Isaiah 32:1-3 ESV
A king will reign in righteousness!
What king in the history of the world has ruled in righteousness?
Maybe there is one I don’t know about. If you believe the Bible, though, no man is righteous. Not one. (Romans 3:10-12)
Only one person in history might fit this description, and his name is Jesus. Pilate called him “king of Jews”, and Jesus didn’t deny it (John 18:33), but he died on a cross at the hands of the dominant power in the First Century: Rome.
During his life, Jesus predicted his death, but he said he would come again. (See, for instance, John 5:28-29, 14:1-3; Luke 21:25-28; and Matthew 24:23, 36-44) His First Century followers claimed that Jesus rose from the dead, and he ascended to the right hand of God. (Revelation 3:21; Matthew 22:44; Acts 2:33) They wrote about his coming back to rule the earth. (See, 2 Peter 3:10, 4:7: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 5:1-3; Hebrews 9:28) In the vision John the Apostle famously saw, he says:
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.“
Revelation 1:7
“See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end….”
Revelation 12:12
During his life, Jesus said he came to preach the good news of the kingdom of God, (Luke 4:43), and he traveled around from town to town “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” (Luke 8:12) He said the kingdom of God has come (Luke 10:9), and it is in our midst. (Luke 17:21)
From these things, we learn that Jesus claimed to have brought the kingdom of God to earth, but he also said he would die. He also said he would rise from the dead, and come again. His followers claim he did rise and return in the flesh, but only for 40 days. Then, he left and ascended into heaven.
Jesus said, and his followers claim, that he would come again (again), but that hasn’t happened yet. In the meantime, Jesus claims he introduced the kingdom of heaven on earth. So, where is it?
Jesus told Pilate his kingdom is “not of this world.” (John 18:36) And, he said this right before he was crucified We might write Jesus off as a lunatic except for the fact that he seems to have risen from the dead according to hundreds of his followers (1 Corinthians 15:3-8), and he spent time with them over 40 days before he reportedly ascended to the right hand of God. (Acts 1: 3–4)
Even for people who have difficulty believing these claims, no one can deny the lasting influence Jesus has had. One has to wonder how such a person who was not born into nobility, who was not even a ranking religious leader in his local community, who worked with his hands, who never had political power or influence, who was poor, and who is more famous for dying than living could have become the symbol and hope of Western Civilization. Not only that, but he is revered, followed and worshipped in every nation around the world.
Paul called followers of Jesus “ambassadors” with a “message of reconciliation”. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21) He says this because Jesus came to reconcile the world to himself – to God the Father, with whom Jesus called himself one. He cam to reconcile the world to God, and we who follow him are commissioned to share the same message.
This is the good news of the kingdom of God: freedom for people who are imprisoned and oppressed, recovery of sight to the blind, and an invitation to enter into God’s favor – His kingdom. (Luke 4:18-19) Jesus is the king of this kingdom that is not of this world.
But, we are to be despised of all people on the earth if we have nothing but a kingdom that is not of this world (and nothing beyond it). If Jesus was not raised from the dead, we have nothing, and our faith is less than useless.
Thus, the testimony of those early followers who watched him die on a Roman cross and be buried and who claimed that he appeared to them, sat with them and broke bread with them, and taught them for 40 days before he ascended into heaven is the foundation of our faith. (1 Corinthians 15:3-7)
Because of their witness, we believe his promise that he will come again to bring his other-worldly kingdom to this earth in a final resolution and redemption of all that God created. If we trust the Bible, we find that his coming was foretold centuries before he was born:
“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”
Isaiah 5:9-7
“One like the son of man” was also foretold by Daniel, a person who would be “given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him….” (Daniel 7:13-14) Jesus claimed to be this “Son of Man”. (See, Matthew 16:13-20 and Luke 22:48) Indeed, Christians believe Jesus is this Son of Man who was foretold, and that he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Jesus is the “king who will reign in righteousness!” And Isaiah says that “princes [rulers, officials, captains] will rule in justice.” Among the meanings of the Hebrew word sar (שַׂר) is a vassal (a protected servant of the king), who has power and authority under a king. As followers of Jesus, that is us!
We are all vassals of King Jesus. Peter calls us a “royal priesthood”. (1 Peter 2:9) Isaiah says that each of the vassals of the king of righteousness will rule with justice. Each of us!
How do we do that today in the kingdom of God that is not of this world?
Righteousness (צֶדֶק (tsedeq)) and justice (מִשְׁפָט (mishpat)) are often closely aligned principles in Hebrew. They mean what is right and just. We think of them in terms of reward and punishment, being good or bad and getting just desserts for what we have done.
We think of these terms in transactional ways, but the Bible uses these terms in more relational ways. Thus, the Prophets, instruct us to “act justly and love mercy” (Micah 6:8); to “administer true justice: show mercy and compassion to one another” (Zechariah 7:9); and “loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free….[,] to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wandered with shelter….” (Isaiah 58:6-7)
In God’s judicial economy, justice and mercy go hand in hand. Isaiah says that God waits to be merciful to us and “exalts himself to show mercy to you” because He is a God of justice. (Isaiah 30:18) As ambassadors of Jesus, who called himself one with the Father, this is how we should “rule” as his vassals/servants.
Each of us. Each and every one of us can do this in our own ways, in our own lives, among our families and the people in our social circles, in our neighborhoods, in our churches, and in our communities. Then, Isaiah says,
“Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.”
Isaiah 32:2)
My inspiration for this blog today comes from Marty Solomon in the BEMA Discipleship Podcast, episode 136: Each One (linked below). I love how excited he gets talking about how “each one” of us is commissioned and empowered by God to “rule” in this way for Jesus. In Marty Solomon fashion, I ask,
“Are you a hiding place from the winds buffeting the people around you? Are you a shelter in anyone’s storm?
Are you like a stream someone else’s desert?
Are you like a shade rock in anyone’s weary land?
You should be!
That is what you are called to do!
THIS is what it means to rule with justice in the kingdom of the righteous King. We can do this here and now because Jesus brought the kingdom of god to us. It is in our midst.
THIS is what it means to rule with justice in the kingdom of the righteous King. We can do this here and now because Jesus brought the kingdom of god to us. It is in our midst.
The kingdom of God may not be highly noticeable now. As Jesus said, it is like a mustard seed that is small and unassuming, but it grows to become a sheltering place to support the birds in its branches. You can be that sheltering place for the people around you; and they for you.
This is what it means to rule in the kingdom of God now. Jesus called it living as salt and light. We rule by being hiding places and shelters in peoples’ storms, streams in peoples’ desserts, and shades in peoples’ weary lands. If we do that, Isaiah says, then
“Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention.”
iasaih 32:3
“Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
Isaiah 58:8
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”
Navigating by Faith 
One thought on “Each: How to Be a Ruler in Your Corner of the Kingdom of God Today”