OT Notes for Christ the King

1) I am reading a new book, Babylon, on the fertile crescent area, and the homage paid to kings over the years certainly has resonance here.

2) This is a good time to reflect on church and state, or the benefits of good government, spiritual v. temporal leadership, pastoral leadership. Put differently, how should the reign of Christ be reflected in church and state? What attributes of kingship would you prize for today? What would be some good alternatives to the word, king for democratic Americans in 2012?

3) I haven't encounter the Strong One of Israel that often, but I like it. How doe sit affect your reading of Christ? Be careful not to equate strength with only physical/military prowess.

4) Rock bespeaks strength but also birth as in Dt. 32:18.

5) Justice is linked to the reverence of God. Justice is a fundamental attribute for a ruler in the OT. It could be a good time to reflect on justice in 2012.

6) v. 5 for freedom to reign, does it not need security ?

7) same verse- order is another basic sense for the OT ag/chaos. Lately chaos is being praised for its creative energies, but in your experience, does it not usually end up in a terrible waste of energy?

8) verses 6 and seven are certainly not going to be in the soft wisdom approach to government, are they? Still going back to Richard Neustadt and the powers of persuasion in presidential leadership, when is command authority and coercion an admission of weakness? Doesn't it hide a basic fragility?

Ps.132
1) Back when I was in seminary in the late eighties, i recall that Brueggemann had a distaste for royal psalms as being inherently static in the condition of elites v. the powerless, but at this point, am too lazy to check if that remained in his work.

2) This psalm is certainly a powerful liturgical piece. it may have re-enacted an ark ceremony. At any rate, it does make explicit links of church and state, of ark and Zion royal theology, of palace and temple.

3) I note that the priest should be clothed with righteousness(9) and then salvation (16)-that could be explored as a theme for this day as well.

4) Here is a great inter-textual piece that makes clear reference to 2 Sam. 7 in 11-18 of the psalm.

5) look at the blessings at the end, presence, prosperity, poor get help.

6) It has a potent messianic blessing at the end.