Two Kings!

I'm preaching this morning about the Magi, or Wise Men, from Matthew 2. Last night I was reading the New Interpreter's Bible and an idea struck me. The author of the NIB Matthew section, M. Eugene Boring, writes about the problems caused when the Magi come to Herod, the "king of Judea" and ask him where the "new" king was to be found. Herod was understandably upset. Who was this new king and why hadn't Herod heard about him before this?

The commentary goes on to nicely contrast the two kings and the two kingdoms that will be played against each other throughout Matthew's gospel. Herod's realm is an earthly one, Jesus' is much more than that. Despite this, the threat to the established order (Herod's) is quite real.

When reading this, my mind was cast back to the fall of 2000, when I took Intro to the Old Testament under Dr. Stephen Cook at VTS. I wrote a paper on First Samuel 16, where the Lord instructs Samuel to go to Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse, and anoint one of his sons. This is a radical act. Anointing is what you do to kings, and there already is a king in Israel: Saul! The two texts both contrast two kings and two kindgoms. In the Samuel story, God has grown disappointed with Saul and has decided to select as a new king someone after His own heart. Davis is this new king, but he is anointed as a child, while Saul still sits on the throne. Fortunately for David, his anointing is kept secret while he grows up and eventually ends up in Saul's court. Still, the tension between Saul and David begins soon after they meet ("Saul has killed his thousands and David his tens of thousands!") and continues throughout their lives, soon erupting into violence.

Anyhoo, I'm NOT preaching on this parallel story, but I wanted to write it down before I forgot it!