Israel: The Kingdom Begins Again
Entering Conversation
Meaning is given by understanding context. Many of us have words/lyrics/phrases that re-play in our mind often and carry a particular meaning, but if we were to speak them out loud, few others would "get it". Can you identify something like this in your own mind? Would you be willing to share? (No context needed!) Let as many share as would like.
Read this Sermon Recap
Chapter 3: Israel
Feeling “bleh” about our lives is a familiar experience to many of us. We wake up tired, un-enthused about the day’s agenda – whether school or work or another day at home. Even if you have a sense of accomplishment, the question “Is this all there is?” is more present than we'd like.
What if this feeling of meaninglessness is tied to living in the absence of a meaningful context, a story strong enough to bear the weight of life? Our sense of meaning will live or die based on the stories we believe are true about ourselves and about the world. The story of the Kingdom is a story big enough and deep enough to hold all our grief, joy, purpose, pain, life and death.
The story of Israel is, in a sense, a story of two kingdoms: one where we rule ourselves; the second, the Kingdom of God. From Babel to Abraham, Egypt to Sinai, and Exile to the promise of a coming Messiah, we see a pattern emerge: God calls his people out of a self-destructive, self-made kingdom into a kingdom where God does the blessing and making, and the people join in in blessing the world.
Over the course of Israel's history, empires like Egypt and Babylon become more than places or nations—they become symbols or archetypes of what kingdom becomes apart from God. The people are called to be, in the words of Tim Mackie, a "contrast kingdom": holy or set apart, a "kingdom of priests," making tangible God's presence in the world. Instead, over time, Israel becomes like Egypt and Babylon. This is the irony of Israel’s story. When they reject God’s rule, they inevitably drift toward the character of the kingdoms they needed to be delivered from in the first place.
This is the story of Israel, and the Bible claims it is (and can be) your story too. Our sense of meaninglessness can be put to rest as we slowly, over time, relax into God's story and love, receive his power and presence, and respond to the same call or choice set before us. Will we continue to build into a kingdom that will not last? Or will we accept God’s welcome into his kingdom—the one that can hold the full weight of life?
Stepping into God’s kingdom includes embracing the radical challenge to become a kingdom of priests, an eternal kind of contrast community. But it also sometimes is like a tiny seed—a small shift that in one sense nothing has changed, but everything is different.
This Evenings Practice
(Leaders: Before going into the questions, you may want to give your group a minute or so of silence, reflecting on and listening to the Spirit around the question, “What is Jesus inviting you to notice tonight?”)
Tonight, we are going to use this set of questions to guide our discussion. You may want to pull up the guide on your phone to help you process and reflect.
1. What thoughts or ideas stood out for you from this part of the story? Let as many answer as would like.
2. This part of the story dramatizes the competing kingdoms present in the story of Israel. Can you describe how you feel that tension in your own life?
3. The Bible presents the role of His people as being priestly, joining in God’s desire to bless the world. Take a moment and consider: where might God be inviting you to demonstrate His desire to bless right now? Allow for a space of quiet before asking if anyone might be willing to share their answer.
Practice for the Week
As you close your time, remind your group that next week will be the last scheduled week of the term. Pray together, acknowledging the places of tension named earlier, and asking for the Spirit’s help to discern how you might need to relax, receive, or respond.