Calvin uses
the primacy of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) and the Kingship of David as
examples of prophecy indicating events that would not be according to what human
beings might expect. Somehow in our world today we have been persuaded that Presidents
and Prime Ministers will originate from certain classes and professional backgrounds. The idea that a King might have begun his
working life a s a herdsman feels alien to the ways of our world. Yet this is the enduring power of the living God to which Calvin draws our attention and defends. Where do we see that paradox, the inversion
of our human aspiration? When we see it
do we attribute it to God’s power?
