KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

We all long for a just society and governments in our nations led by people with integrity.  

Today’s Old Testament passage Isaiah 32 reads in part:

“See, a king will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.
Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.
The fearful heart will know and understand,
and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear”.

The New Testament passage is Matthew 15:21-28 and reads in part; 

“Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes, it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

The clear message that runs through these passages is the good news about the anticipated Kingdom of Righteousness looked forward to in the Old Testament. That justice will be the order of the day. The king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Also, there will be a witness of great quality of faith in God among all including those thought to be disabled by fear, difficult in speech and understanding. This Kingdom was inaugurated by our Lord Jesus Christ when He walked into the human history. He healed the sick and was able to see the quality of faith in the lives of those thought to be far from the Biblical faith. Of all the people Jesus recognized the faith of a non-Jewish Canaanite woman that Jesus addressed saying  “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. Matt. 15: 28.