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| September 9, 2001 |
Volume 11, Number 36
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The popularity
of the film has taken the country by storm. Although the film has been distributed
on video for sometime now, children and adults alike are still captivated
by the plot and animation of Disney’s presentation. Yet, while Disney’s Lion
King is getting all of the attention, the Lion Kings of the Bible get very
little public press. What’s that? You didn’t know that there were Lion Kings
in the Bible? Yes, indeed. In fact, a close study of the Scriptures reveals
at least four different kind of "Lion Kings."
There
were men whom the Lord appointed to reign as kings over lions.
Samson
came to the vineyards of Timnath: and behold a young lion roared against him.
The Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would
have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand (Judg. 14:5-6). Samson was
a lion king of the Bible.
David
was a lion king extraordinaire. In defending his ability to take on Goliath,
David explained to Saul, "Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there
came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out
after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose
against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant
slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be
as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David
said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out
of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.
And Saul said, Go, and the LORD be with thee" (1 Sam. 17:34-37). Try
to visually picture David yanking up a lion by its beard and slaying it. David
was a courageous lion king.
Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow (2 Sam. 23:20). It is amazing enough to slay a lion in ideal weather conditions, but to slay a lion in a pit with poor traction on a snowy day certainly elevates one to "Lion King" status.
There
were lions whom God appointed to reign as kings over men.
The lion
and the young prophet.
In 1 Kings 13, a young prophet was sent by God to condemn King Jeroboam and
the idolatrous priests who served under him. After being humbled by having
his hand miraculously withered, Jeroboam invited the young prophet to come
home with him. The young prophet declined on the basis of prior divine instruction
forbidding him to eat bread, drink water nor turn again by the way that he
came (1 Kings 13:1-9).
Later, an old prophet from Bethel gave a similar invitation to the young prophet
to return home with him. When the young prophet explained the instructions
God had given him, the old prophet lied and claimed that he had received authorization
from God for the young prophet to visit his home. While the young prophet
was sitting at the old prophet’s table, a word of judgment from God came to
him. After he had gone, a lion met him by the way and slew him (1 Kings 13:10-25).
God appointed a lion to punish the prophet for his disobedience.
The lion
and the disobedient neighbor.
The Old Testament reveals that "a certain man of the sons of the prophets
said unto his neighbour in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And
the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not
obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me,
a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found
him and slew him (1 Kings 20:35-36)."
There
is a roaring lion who seeks to reign over us.
Satan is characterized as a roaring lion, walking about seeking whom he may
devour (1 Pet. 5:8). In the Disney movie of The Lion King, an evil lion by
the name of Scar diabolically seeks to bring down that which is good. Similarly,
Satan is busily engaged in scheming to bring us down so that he may reign
over our hearts. We must not be ignorant of his devices (2 Cor. 2:11).
There
is one lion king who reigns over all.
Jesus is described as the lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5). He is spoken of as the
"King of Kings" (1 Tim. 6:15). Thus, Jesus is the "Lion King."
He reigns over his church and has the pre-eminence in all things (Eph. 1:22-23;
Col. 1:18).
The imagery of Jesus as a lion is significantly overlooked by a large segment
of the religious world and even our own brotherhood. It is more common to
hear Jesus referred to as a lamb than as a lion. In reality, he is both our
Passover lamb which taketh away the sin of the world (1 Cor. 5:7; John 1:29)
and the lion of Judah who stands firmly and sternly against those who would
oppose or alter his will. In dealing with the Pharisees, Jesus was a lion.
He bluntly denounced their hypocritical activity and minced no words (Matt.
23; Matt. 15:12-14). He plainly revealed the terms of discipleship without
partiality (Luke 14:25ff; John 6:60-68).
The next
time you see an advertisement for the Disney presentation of The Lion King,
remember these Lion Kings of the Bible, giving special emphasis to the greatest
Lion King of all--Jesus Christ, Our Lord!
B.J.
Clarke
