Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. – Hebrews 1:8
A scepter, a staff held by the king, denotes royal authority. A scepter of righteousness, as in today’s verse, signifies that God rules in righteousness. In Matthew, Jesus teaches on the Kingdom of Heaven. As you submit to Christ’s authority, you will live by Kingdom principles, not Earthly principles.
The first Kingdom principle Jesus preached was to repent, or turn from doing what’s wrong to doing what’s right (Matthew 4:17). In the Beatitudes, He taught that those who belong to the Kingdom of Heaven are poor in spirit or humble, they are persecuted for doing what’s right, they do and teach God’s commandments, and they live by the spirit of the law, not just the letter like the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5:10, 19-21). Another Kingdom principle is to walk the walk, not just talk the talk (Matthew 7:21).
The kingdom is entered by faith (Matthew 8:11-12). It’s accessible on Earth and is one of life and healing (Matthew 10:7-8). Unbelievers may react violently toward Jesus and his followers (Matthew 11:11-12). In Matthew 13, Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. He explained about the seeds being God’s word and how those with understanding would bear fruit in their lives. He taught about the coming judgment resulting in reward for the believers and punishment for unbelievers. He emphasized that the Kingdom of Heaven is more important than anything on Earth.
Through prayer, life on Earth is affected (Matthew 16:19). Jesus said believers must come into the Kingdom as a little child (Matthew 18:1-4). Pray that in these troubled times believers in the United States will increasingly live by Kingdom principles.
Today’s Verse: Hebrews 1:8
But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Colossians 3:12-17
2 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
