Ruth 1:2 My God is King

 

The man’s name was Elimelech. (Ruth 1:2)

Elimilech means ‘My God is King’

Before I look at Elimilech as a man and what the Bible can teach me about him….his name immediately causes me to ask myself some questions…is it true? Is my God is king? What does my God is king mean for me and in my reality, my personal decisions, my priorities, my parenting, my home, my marriage?

In the time of the judges when everyone does what seems right in their own eyes, a couple choose to call their kid ‘ MY GOD IS KING’…

Why did his parents call him that?

Knowing that his name would be called out at home, in the street, in the market place, at the temple….why did is parents call him THAT?

‘my God is king’..that small phrase is what speaks to my heart today.

IS MY GOD KING?

MY GOD IS KING ..when?
It is not ‘my God is king at certain times’ or when we want him to be or when He feels like it. There are no parameters and context to make this statement true. It is either a statement I live by or I don’t. This is a theological statement spoken over a young boy and his friends and family every day of his life.

MY GOD IS KING is a declaration. In the context of blessing and health AND in the context of famine.

When God has told the Israelites over and over again that they don’t need a king because he is their king and he is enough…Elimilech is a a statement of affirmation. He is king when every other nation around us has their own kings

Is he king?
Is he MY king?
When is he king? …always, only when it suits me, in the past? In the future …sometimes later ? Only when things are gong well.
Where is he king?

As soon as you use the word king..it speaks a authority, lordship, rule, jurisdiction, who is he king over?

what is he king over?

where is he king?

What jurisdiction does the king have and where?

In an era when Israel kept asking God for a king …Elimilech is a reminder that Israel is not like the other notation.. Israel has no need of a king because their God is king….but for much of the time in judges …they do no listen to their king or obey him or honour him or worship him.

Elimilech’s parents called him this to speak into the situation they were in. Maybe the king of Moab was ruling over Bethlehem at the time and his name was given to defy their natural king becasue a Jew knew that their only king was God.

When those in authority are defying My king …my declaration is MY GOD IS KING. He has authority and dominion.Iin a world where everyone does what seems right in their own eyes…kingship seems dated and unsuited to how we live.

Is my God King…whether I come into agreement with that or not..he is still king. Is he king of my heart? my life? my decisions? my responses? my will? my dreams? my hopes?

How is MY GOD IS KING have an impact on my life? ….my family and my world.

If God is king, why am I don’t have to be?

Is he on the throne of my heart or is something else or someone else or am I?

How is my life a declaration of MY GOD IS KING?

When the three wise men came looking for a king ..they didn’t think to look in Bethlehem or in a stable. They came looking for a king vastly different to what God had in mind as a King.

Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God as a king …articulating a culture, language and rhythm of life that declared ‘My God is King ‘ but not how we like kingship to work. ‘Seek first the kingdom’ start with understanding who is my King and seeking him first’

When the Jews pushed a crown on Jesus head and scrawled his title ‘King of the Jews’, the disciples hearts thudded with their own revelation of ‘My God is King’. ‘My God is King’

We know something about the boy called Elimilech..he grew up and married Naomi and when it came to their sons..we find two boys who’s names declare a very different story…