As the kids and I wrap up our long-running OT reading (and minimal discussion) of the history of Israel's kings (finishing up 2 Chronicles), one notable takeaway is this:
So prophets are intermediaries between God and men, often bringing God's word to his people, right? And then priests are another kind of intermediary, offering sacrifices to God?
So also the "good" kings of Israel are another kind of intermediary, specifically in how they are often asked to bear punishment from the Lord for the people. David, Hezekiah, and Josiah (and Moses too, in fact!) are all "tested" on this point, when faced with God's imminent judgement upon the people of Israel.
For example, David sees the angel of the Lord raising his sword over Jerusalem, and he exclaims, "Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house."
There's a kind of completeness to the work of Jesus, a completing of these OT roles of prophet, priest, and king. But there's a deep connection between his death on the cross and his role as king. After all, he establishes a "Kingdom of God" based on sacrifice and suffering in his earthly ministry. It's as the kingly descendant, the "lion of Judah, the root of David", that he appears in Revelations as the slain lamb. And just a couple of verses later we have the ultimate summation:
"Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth." (Rev 5:9,10)
Jesus is the king that sacrifices himself, to create his kingdom. He's the one that conquers and triumphs over the world through his death. We become a nation, and he claims us as his subjects, when he takes our sins upon his own head. "Worthy is the Lamb" indeed!
