22: One king will rule them all
24 “My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever. 26 And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers,[a] and I will put my Temple among them forever. 27 I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy.”
There was a commercial back in the day when Joe Greene played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ’70s. He was called “Mean Joe Greene” because, on the field, he was ferocious in his pursuit of the quarterback. The mean way he played the game authored his nickname forever, “Mean Joe Greene.” The commercial shows Mean Joe heading to the locker room after a game. A small kid gives him a Coke, and Joe tosses the kid his jersey. The kid responds with a surprised, “Thanks, Mean Joe.” Everyone knew number 75 was not just a number, it was Mean Joe’s number.
Roll back the clocks of time and you’ll find that the nation of Israel had a reputation. The book of Judges outlines multiple, everyday folks God used to rescue His people before Israel had a king. When Jericho was being taken, the Bible tells us fear had spread throughout the area because of what the Lord did for the Israelites coming out of Egypt. Fear struck the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land when Israel invaded the Promised Land the Lord had given them. The Philistines both hated and feared God’s people. David, a young teenage boy, took down Goliath, the best warrior they had. Later, the Ark of the Covenant was stolen by the Philistines and returned on a cart pulled by cows because it caused all kinds of bad things to happen in every town it was placed. The prophets of God were also known and feared. Many times, God would show His hand through the prophets of Israel and to other nations. If Israel was following the Lord’s laws, they were unstoppable and feared by everyone around them.
The main theme throughout the Old Testament is this, when the Lord is on your side, everyone knows it. Our verses today come from Ezekiel, while the Israelites are in captivity in Babylon. The Lord is giving His people a prophecy of Christ before He appears on the earth. It says they will have “one shepherd,” and “My servant David will be their prince forever.” It goes on to tell us that He will make a covenant of peace, and that He will give them their land and increase their numbers. He says, “I will place my Temple among them forever,” this is a foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit. It also tells us that the Lord will make His home among us. The kicker is this, it says that when “my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy.”
If you follow Christ today, you are the new nation of Israel. People should know you walk with the Lord. They should see your devotion to Christ. They should see you bring peace in the middle of chaos. They should see you make scattered lives into a home filled with love. You should be a magnet for people because of the Lord in your life. You should be atmosphere changers, you set the thermostat in your office, home, and relationships. Your life should be filled with the fruits of the Spirit. Your Jesus should be on full display so that everyone you encounter can tell something is different, and that difference is Christ.
The number 75 will go down in Steelers history because of Mean Joe Greene. It is high time this world takes note of and remembers the people of God because of the peace, love, and victory that seem to follow us everywhere we go. It is not us who make the difference, but Christ in us, the hope of glory, who shines bright and changes the lives of everyone who encounters Him. You may not be a huge football player who can sack quarterbacks, but with the Lord, all things are possible to him who believes.
Prayer: Father, help us to understand the great love You have for us. Help us to grasp what Your Spirit does when we let Him lead our lives. I praise You for all You have done in our lives, and I look forward to what will happen when we give You control. When we wear the jersey of Christ, we live in victory and display His mighty love and grace to those around us. Help us to display You, Lord, in everything we do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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