The Peaceable Kingdom

We all want 'Peace on Earth," no matter who we are.  I would think that even the criminals, the low-life, those who "live by the sword," would say they want peace on the earth.  I'm sure that the struggle against continual violence exhausts all of us.  Surely, both the abuser and the abused want cessation from the constant anger, conflict, and oppression, even though the abuser cannot seem to stop himself from anger, hatred, and the continued imposition of harm on another.  I have heard of serial killers who begged to be caught and stopped because they were unable to stop themselves from committing the next crime.

So how on earth will we ever achieve Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men?  (Another translation:  Peace on earth to men of good will.)  How does the peaceable kingdom arrive?  Is it even possible?  All the U.S. Presidents who have called summit meetings at Camp David for discussions of peaceful co-exitence between the Jewish State and the Arabs will probably tell us that"peace" is impossible.  Anger, hostility, vengeance, and 'pay-back' will always rule in the Middle East.  In fact, the Jews reject Jesus even today as the promised Messiah just because He did not bring about "peace on earth," and establish Israel in peace in their own land.  The Messiah is supposed to be The Prince of Peace, so how then can Jesus be the Promised One?

When Joshua led the tribes of Israel into the Promised Land, he appointed by God's direction certain allotments of land to each tribe.  The boundaries were clearly described and marked out.  Each tribe was given territory, clan by clan, as a perpetual inheritance from the Lord.  And "the land had rest from war," (Joshua 14:15) because each tribe preserved its inheritance from anything that was not holy.  No tribe or clan even desired what belong to another, for they all recognized the gift of God given to each one of them.  When one tribe was attacked by foreigners, all the rest went to the aid of the one attacked.

Today, peace on earth will arrive the same way it did in the Promised Land.  Jesus 'assigns' to each one of us, to each family under His Lordship and Command, our inheritance.  The boundaries are clearly marked, and we are not to 'covet' anything belonging to our neighbor.  Furthermore, we are to preserve what has been given to us by the Lord, driving out anything unclean or unholy from our territory.  This property, from here to there, from front to back, belongs to the Lord.  On this territory, God's kingdom is the rule.  I have submitted it all to Him; here, Jesus is Lord of heaven and (this part of the) earth.  He gave it to me; I submit it to His rule.  Nothing unholy has any part of this (my) kingdom.  I cannot rule my neighbor's kingdom; only he can do that -- but from this boundary marker to the that, the kingdom belongs to God.  I do not desire my neighbor's inheritance, for God Himself has given that to him.  I desire only what God has given to me.

Then, and only then, will we all experience 'peace on earth.'  For those who will not submit themselves and their kingdom to the rule of God, violence will continue within and without.  Proverbs 19: 23 says this:    

The fear of the Lord leads to life;

Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

 

We will never see Peace on Earth until each man, woman, and child acknowledges the Lordship of Jesus Christ, who came to estalish the Kingdom of God on earth.  It is only by each one of us submitting all that we 'own' to His rule that we will know freedom from anger, hatred, jealously, bitterness, greed, and lust. 

 

Thy kingdom come!