One of the catchphrases of the late Muhammad Ali was ‘I am the greatest.’ In his prime, of course, Ali was an outstanding boxer, and as a man he transcended the sport, becoming one of the most well known men on the planet. Yet the best of men are men at best. Ali was only human, with all our human weaknesses and foibles – as his three ex-wives would no doubt testify.
In the English language, an ‘est’ on the end of an adjective is referred to as a ‘superlative.’ So we have ‘great, greater and greatest.’ Superlatives in the Bible, though, are a little different. These use the word ‘of’ in the middle instead. The greatest man would thus be described as ‘a man of men.’ The tastiest food would be described as ‘a food of foods’, and the greatest time would be ‘a time of times.’ The following four ‘Bible superlatives’ are most instructive.
The Holy of Holies
In both the ancient tabernacle and the temple in Jerusalem there stood the ‘holy of holies’, referring to the holiest place of all. In the holy of holiest stood the Ark of the Covenant – a box containing the Ten Commandments – overshadowed by two carved cherubim. The lid of the ark was known as the mercy seat.
The holy of holies was the holiest place of all, because the omnipresent God dwelt there in a particular, localised way. Entrance to the holy of holies was thus strictly forbidden. Only the high priest could go in there, and he only once a year, and only with the blood of an atoning sacrifice.
When Jesus died on Calvary’s cross, the Bible records that the curtain separating the holy of holies from the holy place was mysteriously and miraculously ripped up. It was God’s own way of showing that Jesus’ death achieved something. It put away our sin and gave us immediate access to God Himself. ‘Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God’ (1 Peter 3:18).
The Song of Songs
One of the poetical books within the Bible is entitled ‘The Song of Songs’, meaning, the greatest of all songs. The Song of Songs is all about human love. Marriage, that is, monogamous, heterosexual marriage, is a divine ordinance, and the Song of Songs celebrates this. Christians however have always read the book in the light of Christ’s love for the church. In the Bible, the church – that is, the redeemed community – is described as ‘the bride of Christ.’ And so Song of Solomon 2:4: ‘He brought me into the banqueting house, and His banner over me is love’:-
From heaven He came and sought her, to be His holy bride
With His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.
Vanity of Vanities
The biblical book of Ecclesiastes opens with the words ‘Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity’ (Ecclesiastes 1:2), meaning that everything seems absolutely meaningless and pointless. Hard experience taught the preacher that life does not always seem to make sense. It can seem utterly meaningless with no rhyme or reason to it. Generations come and go. Streams run into the sea. We eat, drink, work and die. What is the point and purpose of it all? The answer of the whole Bible is to bring God into the equation. He created all things. He has the answers. Our chief end is to know and love Him – ‘to glorify God and to enjoy Him for ever’ (Shorter Catechism). Ecclesiastes is a somewhat pessimistic read, but it ends with a gleam of light. ‘Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man’ (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
So, we have the holy of holies, the Song of Songs and vanity of vanities. They are all Bible superlatives. Fourthly though, consider:-
The King of Kings
In Revelation 19:16 the Lord Jesus Christ is describes as the ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.’ This designates the absolute supremacy of Jesus. He is supreme. He is beyond superlative. Currently His is enthroned in heaven at God’s right hand. Scripture foretells a day when He will come back to earth in power and great glory, and reign for ever. He will put down all His enemies, and all that is incompatible with God’s kingdom, and raise His own people up to glorious immortality. Why? Because He is supreme. He is the ‘King of kings.’ ‘That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Philippians 2:9,10).
Christ executeth the office of a king in subduing us to Himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies (Shorter Catechism).
Biblical superlatives. They are expressed differently from the way we express superlatives:
The holy of holies – refers to the holies place of all, the very presence of God.
The Song of songs – refers to the greatest song of all.
Vanity of vanities – life ‘under the sun’ apart from God is meaningless
King of kings – there is none life the Lord Jesus Christ.
And finally we note that Psalm 136:1-3 uses bible superlatives to praise God. ‘Give to our God immortal praise.’ He is incomparable in His person. ‘O give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His steadfast love endures for ever. O give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures for over. O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures for ever.’
Timothy Cross
