JESUS, OUR KING, BOTH LOVES AND HATES
Hebrews 1:8-9 (NIV 1984) But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness….”
We were made for a king. The highest form of government on the earth is not democracy but monarchy, oh, not a natural monarchy like we see in England where the king or queen reigns from Buckingham Palace, but a supernatural monarchy where the King reigns from heaven. This is why every form of natural leadership at best frustrates, and at worst oppresses. We are designed for supernatural leadership, and that leadership is a king. Kings have thrones and scepters. I know this because I watch movies. Notice here that Jesus has a throne. It is heavenly. It is eternal, and it lasts forever. In other words, no one has, or ever will, overthrow it. He also has a scepter, and it is a scepter of righteousness.
When royalty is being anointed a straight scepter is given, which represents a righteous and just ruler, whereas a crooked scepter represents an unjust ruler. David Pawson points out that historically there have been kings and queens who were eligible, but not capable; they were tyrants. Of course there are many capable rulers who are not eligible. Jesus is both eligible and capable, and his righteous scepter is demonstrated by the fact that He loves righteousness and hates wickedness; consequently, as His followers it is not enough for us to simply love righteousness, we must also hate wickedness. Do you hate wickedness? Or do you brush it off as irrelevant or inconsequential? We live in a world that says that all hatred is bad, and we have new legislation called “Hate Crimes Legislation” that appropriates this belief, adding penalties to a crime if it can be determined that hate was behind it. How does one determine with certainty such a subjective motivation behind a deed?
Nevertheless, the Bible tells us that there are things to hate. Test yourself here. Do you hate that we have legalized murder of the unborn in our nation? Do you hate that what the Bible calls perversion is being promoted as normal and desirable throughout our media and targeted on our children? Do you hate that 150 years after ending slavery, and 50 years after civil rights legislation, we still have racial tension and confusion about what racism actually is? Do you hate that mankind is overly elevated and Jesus is not loved and exalted in the way that He deserves? More personally, do you hate the murderous, perverse, racist, humanistic attitude discovered in you own heart? We need a righteous king to lead us in righteousness forever. That King is Jesus! He loves righteousness and hates wickedness. Let’s follow our King and do the same.
