Sermon Tone Analysis

IDENTITY

WE ARE ROYALS

ROYAL, roi′al: Either belonging to a king (kingdom) or having kingly power, dignity, authority, etc.

In Heb, the word is expressed by using different nouns in the gen.

case (the “construct state”).

They are: (1) melekh, “king”: “Asher … shall yield royal dainties,” lit.

choice morsels of the king, meaning fit for a king (Gen 49:20); “besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty,” lit.

which he gave her according to the hand (the wealth) of King Solomon (1 K 10:13; cf RVm); “a royal statute,” lit.

statute of a malkā’, which is the emphatic Aram, term for melekh, “king” (Dnl 6:7); (2) mamlākhāh, “the power and dignity of a king,” “Gibeon … one of the royal cities,” i. e. a capital city with a king of her own (Josh 10:2; cf 1 S 27:5); “all the seed royal,” lit. the seed of the kingdom (2 K 11:1; cf 2 Ch 22:10); (3) malkhūth, “kinghood,” “kingdom”: “royal majesty,” lit.

majesty of kinghood (1 Ch 29:25); quite frequently in the Book of Est; royal wine (1:7); crown (1:11; cf 2:17; 6:8); commandment (1:19); “her royal estate,” lit.

her kinghood (1:19); house royal (2:16; cf 5:1); royal apparel (5:1; cf 6:8, 15); throne (5:1); (4) melūkhāh, “kingdom,” “kingly power and dignity”: “royal city,” lit. the city of the kingdom, meaning here that part of the city (Rabbah) in which the royal palace was situated (2 S 12:26); “royal diadem,” lit.

turban of kinghood (Isa 62:3); (5) in Jer 43:10 we find the word shaphrīr; its meaning is uncertain: “royal pavilion” (RV and AV), “glittering” (RVm), “scepter,” “a carpet covering a throne.”

The NT uses the word for basilikós, “belonging to a king”: “royal apparel” (Acts 12:21); “the royal law,” something like “the golden rule,” being foremost because including all others (Jas 2:8), and for basíleios (being vested with kingly power and honor), “royal priesthood,” the Heb rendering would be mamlekheth kōhǎnīm, “a kingdom of priests,” i.e. a kingdom whose citizens are priests, emphasizing the two facts that the true Christians have free access to the grace of God and that they enjoy the liberties and privileges of His kingdom (1 Pet 2:9).

WILLIAM BAUR

Scriptures:

But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.

And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them.

And they will reign forever and ever.

5 Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.

6 And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’

This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”

But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you.

And he said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us.

Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins.

Claim us as your own special possession.”

“The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me.

You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me.

Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.

For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God.

Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.

Yet the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects of his love.

And he chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as is evident today.

You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.

And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made.

Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown.

You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.”

The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name.

For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.

Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities— for his anger flares up in an instant.

But what joy for all who take refuge in him!

Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem.

Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.

What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.

Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help!

Don’t ignore my tears.

For I am your guest— a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.

Your sons will become kings like their father.

You will make them rulers over many lands.

The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.

Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns.

He will keep you safe.

But to Israel and Judah he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall.

And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.

For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

What will you do when I punish you, when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?

To whom will you turn for help?

Where will your treasures be safe?

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look!

I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone.

It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.

Whoever believes need never be shaken.

“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.

He is my chosen one, who pleases me.

I have put my Spirit upon him.

He will bring justice to the nations.

Let the whole world glorify the Lord; let it sing his praise.

I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way.

I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them.

Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.

20 The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert.

Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed.

21 I have made Israel for myself, and they will someday honor me before the whole world.

I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.

I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

You will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God.

You will feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches.

They will be called “The Holy People” and “The People Redeemed by the Lord.”

And Jerusalem will be known as “The Desirable Place” and “The City No Longer Forsaken.”

“And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites.

I, the Lord, have spoken!

Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions?

Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush!

Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.

They will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord.

Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions?

Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush!

Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.

They will be brought down when I punish them, says the Lord.

Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies!

On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.

Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter.

And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name your daughter Lo-ruhamah—‘Not loved’—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them.

9 And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my people’—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God.

10 “Yet the time will come when Israel’s people will be like the sands of the seashore—too many to count!

Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.’

At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself.