One of the three central themes of the Rosh Hashanah Musaf service is Malchuyot—Kingship. Verses declaring God’s sovereignty over all the earth are recited, and the shofar is sounded as a coronation blast. “The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!” (Psalm 99:1). “Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns!’” (Psalm 96:10). “The Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and His name one” (Zechariah 14:9).
The restoration of Israel is inseparable from the universal recognition of that kingship. When the kingdom is restored to Israel (Acts 1:6), it will be the kingdom of the God of Israel exercised through the Son of David. Every time we pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we join the longing of the prophets and of the apostles for that day.
Yeshua’s proclamation of the kingdom was the center of His message. The apostolic witness looks toward the moment when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). To recite Malchuyot is to align oneself with that future and to acknowledge the King’s claim on the present.
Proclaiming the kingship of God is not merely liturgical; it is a daily decision to live under His rule. Every area of life—work, relationships, speech, finances, and hopes for the future—comes under the claim of the King. As we recite Malchuyot we reaffirm that claim and look toward the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that the God of Israel reigns.
Practice for Day 27:
Spend focused time simply declaring the kingship of the God of Israel over your own life, your family, your community, the nation in which you live, and the entire world. Sound a shofar if possible as an act of coronation. Pray for the day when that kingship is acknowledged by all Israel and by all the earth.
