Rejection of the King

The LORD went before and with the Israelites when they entered the land of Canaan, empowering Joshua and the army to conquer the peoples and take the land as their own possession, according to the covenant He made with their forefathers. During Joshua’s lifetime and the elders who outlived him, Israel served the LORD (Jsh 24:31). For approximately 400 years after Joshua’s death, the people were caught in a repeating cycle of serving other gods, being oppressed by their enemies, receiving deliverance by a God-appointed judge, returning to the LORD, and so on—seven times. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Jdg 17:6, 21:25).

Truly, Israel had a king—the LORD—but they rejected Him as King, so they did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

One day the elders of Israel came to Samuel, who had judged Israel all his life (1 Sam 7:15), and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam 8:5).

1 Samuel 8:6-9 (NKJV)
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

So Samuel obeyed the LORD (1 Sam 8:10-18).

1 Samuel 8:19-20 (NKJV)
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

I cannot imagine how sad the LORD was to hear their words. God’s plan was never that Israel should be like all the other nations, but that they should be set apart, so all the peoples of the earth will know the LORD and be blessed through them. And they had forgotten how the kings of Canaan could not win when the LORD fought for Israel (Josh 6, 8, 10-11). Joshua 12 is all about remembering the 33 kings who were conquered in battle during the days of Moses and Joshua.

1 Samuel 10:17-19 (NKJV)
17 Then Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah, 18 and said to the children of Israel, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ 19 But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans.”

God had Samuel appoint Saul, a Benjamite, as king.

1 Samuel 12:6-12 (NKJV)
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers: 8 When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 And when they forgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. 10 Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. 12 And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king.
13 “Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the LORD has set a king over you.

The root of “desired” in 1 Samuel 12:13 is שָׁאַל (šā·ʾǎl), which means, “ask, inquire, find out, look for, request, question, demand, consult.”¹

Saul’s name is שָׁאוּל (Šāʼûl), “asked for, prayed for.” The king’s name, like a sandwich board sign around his neck, would always remind the Israelites they asked for him! I first learned this in a Hebrew class when I was 23, and I will never forget it.

Perhaps on the day Saul’s rash vow left his entire army famished in battle (1 Sam 14:24-46), they remembered, “We asked for him.” Or when Saul murdered the priests of the LORD because they had helped David as he fled from Saul (1 Sam 22:6-23)—maybe that day the witnesses remembered, “We asked for him.”

Years later, when Jerusalem heard about the one born King of the Jews, they also rejected Him.

Matthew 2:1-3 (NKJV)
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Herod consulted the chief priests and scribes, who knew and quoted the Scripture (Mic 5:2) about where He’d be born–in Bethlehem, the city of David, which is just 5.5 miles southwest of Jerusalem (Mt 2:4-5). Henceforth Herod, moved by Satan (Rv 12:1-4), made the first attempt to kill Him.

See, these chief priests and scribes hated their King.

When He had grown up, as the prophet Zechariah foretold (Zec 9:9), Jesus came to them riding on a donkey. And like their fathers, Jerusalem rejected Him as their King.

John 12:12-15 (NKJV)
12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
The King of Israel!”
14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
Behold, your King is coming,
Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”

Luke 19:39-40 (NKJV)
39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Matthew 21:14-16 (NKJV)
14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”
And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise’?”

“Hosanna” is an expression meaning, “Save us, we beseech thee,” taken from Psalm 118:25. “Son of David” was name for Messiah, since the promised Messiah was to descend from King David (1 Chr 17:11-14).

Matthew 12:22-24 (NKJV)
22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

Matthew 20:29-34 (NKJV)
29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”
32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

These blind men from Jericho recognized their King and worshiped Him! It happened as Jesus was journeying to Jerusalem to be rejected and killed.

Around that time, Jesus told a parable that partially addressed the rejection He would face from the people of Jerusalem:

Luke 19:11-15, 27 (NKJV)
11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’
15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom…
27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ ”

Just days after Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey, the chief priests and scribes delivered Him to Pontius Pilate, demanding He be put to death.

Luke 23:1-2 (NKJV)
23 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

John 18:29-38 (NKJV)
29 Pilate then went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”
30 They answered and said to him, “If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you.”
31 Then Pilate said to them, “You take Him and judge Him according to your law.”
Therefore the Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” 32 that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.
33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?”
35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?”
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.”

Just as their forefathers had rejected the LORD as King and asked for a human king (Saul), now Jerusalem rejected their King and asked for Barabbas—a murderer and insurrectionist (Lk 23:18-19).

Matthew 27:15-21 (NKJV)
15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.
19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.”
20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
They said, “Barabbas!”

John 19:1-15 (NKJV)
19 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. 3 Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.
4 Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”
5 Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”
6 Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”
7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.”
8 Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, 9 and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
12 From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”
13 When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”
15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

The chief priests didn’t care about Caesar—they wished to be free of Rome. Pinning Jesus as a rebel of Rome was their tactic to manipulate Pilate into giving Jesus the death penalty. Also, the numbers they assembled passionately demanding Jesus’ crucifixion threatened the peace. I have heard Pilate had already been reprimanded by Rome because of a previous uproar he failed to contain. Perhaps he worried about personal consequences to his career if he didn’t give in to the crowd’s demands.

Matthew 27:24-25 (NKJV)
24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”
25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”

John 19:16 (NKJV)
16 Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.

Pilate wrote “King of the Jews” on a sign above His head, perhaps to mock the Jews.

John 19:17-22 (NKJV)
17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS
20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

And so it was, that Christ was rejected by His own and crucified. But it was all in the LORD’s plan, that He should bear the guilt of man in order to reconcile sinful people to a holy God.

Isaiah 53:3-6 (NKJV)
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Verse 6 reminds me of the verse from Judges. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Jdg 17:6, 21:25). Those generations in the time of the judges—they weren’t the only ones to reject the LORD as King and do what was right in their own eyes. And the people of Jerusalem—they weren’t alone. Every one of us has done this—and we still do at times (Ro 3:23).

Regardless of whether we accept or reject Christ as King, still He will reign.

Psalm 2 (NKJV)
1 Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

I love the finality of His past tense words, “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.” The raging of the nations will not stop His plan. Psalms 2 is great, too, because it combines His first coming as the only begotten Son of God (Ps 2:7) with His second, when He begins His reign as King over all the nations. The advice to the kings is good for us, too. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”

Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJV)
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Jdg 17:6, 21:25). The LORD was still Israel’s king, but they lived their lives as if He weren’t. If we’re not careful, we can be like them, too! We can pray a prayer and get baptized. We can go to church on Sundays, and Bible study on Wednesdays. We can give money to His work, and volunteer in some type of ministry. We can acknowledge Him with our heads, and even our mouths. But are we convicted over sin? Or are we treating His grace with contempt by choosing to live however we like? Are we actively obeying Him? He has the right to define holiness—how He should be worshiped, and how we should treat the people around us, and how we should treat our own bodies. He’s King on His terms—not ours. Titus 1:16 warns, “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” I shudder to think of the weeping and gnashing of teeth that will ensue when people come before the LORD, sure of their salvation, only to hear they never knew Him (Mt 7:21-23) or they’ve denied Him (2 Tim 2:12).

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Ac 3:19). “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Ro 10:9). “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rv 3:19-21).

Christ is worthy!

1. Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.