At Christmastime I was introduced to a song that I instantly fell in love with. This song is sung from the perspective of the wise men who sought out the child Savior to worship. I’ve thought about singing it, but yeah… we’ll cross that fear of mine one of these days. Anyway, I’m so thankful that this song didn’t disappear following Christmas as it’s still being played on the radio today. The song is called “How many kings” and is sung by the band Down Here. It is this song that has inspired this lesson.
Before we dive into this, I think it’s important to look at the lyrics:
Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe after all we’ve projected
A child in a manger
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in His mother’s shawl
Just a child. Is this who we’ve waited for?
Cuz, how many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And, how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?
Bringing our gifts for the newborn Savior
All that we have where the costly are meek
Because we believe
Gold for His honor
And Frankensence for His pleasure
And Myrrh for the cross He’ll suffer
Do you believe?
Is this who we’ve waited for?
How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And, how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me
All for me. All for you.
The bible is full of titles of God. I’m sure we’ve all heard Jesus being called King of kings and Lord of lords as in Rev 19:16: “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”, but having heard this song, I realized, like many other things concerning God and His Word, these are so much more than just titles. All too often we think so superficially and never really dive into what God really gave up to be the sacrifice that bridged the gap between us and God. Listening to this, I thought it would be cool to break it apart to see the truths in it in relation to God’s Word and work.
“How many kings” is sung from the perspective of the wise men. We don’t know how many wise men there were. Traditionally it’s taught that there were three wise men, but honestly that’s just because they gave three gifts. It’s quite possible there were many more. These were men of wealth and knowledge. They were learned men who investigated the stars and studied scrolls. Somewhere in their research they happened upon a new star and recognized it as the indicator of the new King. Do you think that they expected to be seeking a child? (( PAUSE ))
Ok, this is purely for my benefit as this is a pet peeve of mine, but perhaps you can learn from this too. My pet peeve is this… the wise men were not at the manger scene. Matthew 2:11 says “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Notice that they entered their HOUSE and that Jesus was a YOUNG CHILD. This is also why Herrod had all children under the age of 2 slaughtered in fear of being dethroned. Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming. ((UNPAUSE))
These wise men may not have expected a child Savior. But then again, neither did the Jews. They were seeking a triumphant warrior king to save them from their enemies, not a King who came to save them spiritually through servitude and suffering. When you think of a Savior… a Messiah… do you think of a helpless, fully dependent infant child? Most likely not.
But, rather than a continued Christmas lesson I want to look at the Chorus for our song.
Cuz, how many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And, how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?
I have to admit I’d never actually thought about what it meant to be a lord or a king prior to hearing this song. Have you? A king has all he wants. He is served and has no need of anything. His every whim is catered to. Yet, the King of the universe (which He created), stepped down from His throne and WILLINGLY gave up being catered to, gave up His comforts and gave up much of His power (if only temporarily) and came to a world that is fallen and riddled with the effects of sin.
What about a lord? What was the life of a lord like? If you were to look up the word “lord” in the dictionary, you’d find several definitions. Wholistically, a lord is a title of honor to someone with great power and authority. Many times they are land owners and often the proprietor of a manor. These men want for little. They own much property. Stuff… They have stuff. What would you do if you were asked to give up your stuff? Would you walk away from it entirely? Who would you give it up for? God gave up everything for you. He stood up and walked out of His home with nothing so that He could enter into this world without a penny, born in the lowliest of conditions and later working with His hands to earn a living with His earthly family. Why? We’ll get to that one later.
Greatest of all. God is most definitely the Greatest. Simply stated, the Greatest in all the universe became the lowliest of all created. No pomp and circumstance. No glory and honor. A human. Able to be wounded and scarred.
“How many gods have poured out their hearts to romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?” That right there says it all. Have you ever been “romanced”? Have you ever felt that gentle tug of emotion and love when the object of your affections does something for you? Why would God want to romance you? What makes us worthy of His love? Are we? Ah, well therein lies the heart of Christianity and also the end of this lesson… why? Because that my friends is the beginning of another lesson all together! But know this, God desires a relationship with you. He loves you more than you could fatham. God loved you so much He stepped down from His throne, left His home, became the least of all creation… just to be with you.
Before we dive into this, I think it’s important to look at the lyrics:
Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe after all we’ve projected
A child in a manger
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in His mother’s shawl
Just a child. Is this who we’ve waited for?
Cuz, how many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And, how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?
Bringing our gifts for the newborn Savior
All that we have where the costly are meek
Because we believe
Gold for His honor
And Frankensence for His pleasure
And Myrrh for the cross He’ll suffer
Do you believe?
Is this who we’ve waited for?
How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And, how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me
All for me. All for you.
The bible is full of titles of God. I’m sure we’ve all heard Jesus being called King of kings and Lord of lords as in Rev 19:16: “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”, but having heard this song, I realized, like many other things concerning God and His Word, these are so much more than just titles. All too often we think so superficially and never really dive into what God really gave up to be the sacrifice that bridged the gap between us and God. Listening to this, I thought it would be cool to break it apart to see the truths in it in relation to God’s Word and work.
“How many kings” is sung from the perspective of the wise men. We don’t know how many wise men there were. Traditionally it’s taught that there were three wise men, but honestly that’s just because they gave three gifts. It’s quite possible there were many more. These were men of wealth and knowledge. They were learned men who investigated the stars and studied scrolls. Somewhere in their research they happened upon a new star and recognized it as the indicator of the new King. Do you think that they expected to be seeking a child? (( PAUSE ))
Ok, this is purely for my benefit as this is a pet peeve of mine, but perhaps you can learn from this too. My pet peeve is this… the wise men were not at the manger scene. Matthew 2:11 says “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Notice that they entered their HOUSE and that Jesus was a YOUNG CHILD. This is also why Herrod had all children under the age of 2 slaughtered in fear of being dethroned. Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming. ((UNPAUSE))
These wise men may not have expected a child Savior. But then again, neither did the Jews. They were seeking a triumphant warrior king to save them from their enemies, not a King who came to save them spiritually through servitude and suffering. When you think of a Savior… a Messiah… do you think of a helpless, fully dependent infant child? Most likely not.
But, rather than a continued Christmas lesson I want to look at the Chorus for our song.
Cuz, how many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And, how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?
I have to admit I’d never actually thought about what it meant to be a lord or a king prior to hearing this song. Have you? A king has all he wants. He is served and has no need of anything. His every whim is catered to. Yet, the King of the universe (which He created), stepped down from His throne and WILLINGLY gave up being catered to, gave up His comforts and gave up much of His power (if only temporarily) and came to a world that is fallen and riddled with the effects of sin.
What about a lord? What was the life of a lord like? If you were to look up the word “lord” in the dictionary, you’d find several definitions. Wholistically, a lord is a title of honor to someone with great power and authority. Many times they are land owners and often the proprietor of a manor. These men want for little. They own much property. Stuff… They have stuff. What would you do if you were asked to give up your stuff? Would you walk away from it entirely? Who would you give it up for? God gave up everything for you. He stood up and walked out of His home with nothing so that He could enter into this world without a penny, born in the lowliest of conditions and later working with His hands to earn a living with His earthly family. Why? We’ll get to that one later.
Greatest of all. God is most definitely the Greatest. Simply stated, the Greatest in all the universe became the lowliest of all created. No pomp and circumstance. No glory and honor. A human. Able to be wounded and scarred.
“How many gods have poured out their hearts to romance a world that is torn all apart?
How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?” That right there says it all. Have you ever been “romanced”? Have you ever felt that gentle tug of emotion and love when the object of your affections does something for you? Why would God want to romance you? What makes us worthy of His love? Are we? Ah, well therein lies the heart of Christianity and also the end of this lesson… why? Because that my friends is the beginning of another lesson all together! But know this, God desires a relationship with you. He loves you more than you could fatham. God loved you so much He stepped down from His throne, left His home, became the least of all creation… just to be with you.
