These were the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Joshua. – Nehemiah 12:1

Today's Scripture Reading (November 21, 2023): Nehemiah 12

The last King of Germany was Wilhelm II, who abdicated from the German throne on November 9, 1918, as World War I drew to a close. For Wilhelm, hope remained in the German Emperor's mind that he could hold onto at least part of the Empire he had built, but it rapidly became apparent that there was no room for a German King in the emerging contemporary world. The reality in much of Western Culture is that the expectations for Kings and Queens have changed rapidly, and only those Royal families who have been able to find their niche in the emerging culture have survived.

But I like to ask a question: what if the monarchy was re-established in Germany for some reason? Maybe in a dystopian future where the democracies have turned in on themselves and contributed to their own destruction, and it is understood that only a monarchy that can do unpopular things can save the day, who is it that becomes King? Maybe, in a world where the premier democracy seems to be walking toward the brink, it might not be an academic conversation. As a result, is it a Napoleon, the French General who, for a time, took the reigns of control from several Kings in Europe before handing those reigns right back to the dynasties that held them before his rise to power, or is it a descendant of the monarchies who used to rule? For the United States, I believe it would be the former. King Charles, the descendant of the last King to rule over the territory now occupied by the United States, need not apply. Too much water has traveled under that bridge. Right now, the Napoleon that would rise to be the new King of the United States would likely be Donald Trump or even Donald Junior. But for Germany, it might be the rightful heir to the throne, the great-great-grandson of Wilhelm II and the head of the House of Hohenzollern, Georg Friedrich Prinz von Preussen. Von Preussen is also the fourth great-grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and a distant cousin of many European Royals. The House of Hohenzollern will likely never reclaim its former glory, but the new King would be von Preussen if they did.

Nehemiah reminds his readers of who the leaders of the nation were. If there were a King, it would have been Zerubbabel, the grandson of the second last King of Judah. As such, Zerubbabel was the Leader of the House of David. Others likely believed that they should govern the nation because of merit. Still, Zerubbabel, a descendant of David and all of the Kings of Judah was chosen to be the Achaemenid Governor over the province of Yehud (Judah). Unfortunately, after Zerubbabel, we lose sight of who the Leader of David's House might be.

Joshua was the High Priest chosen to lead the nation spiritually. Joshua was the grandson of the last High Priest to lead the nation in Jerusalem before the Babylonian exile. And together, Zerubbabel and Joshua, along with other leaders, would attempt to lead the country back from their time in exile.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 13