A signet ring signified the authority of a ruler to make laws and decrees in ancient days. It was used to place the king’s official seal onto documents or onto other objects to designate them as being from the king, owned by the king, or under the authority of that king. A king could also give the signet ring to another as a symbol of giving that person the king’s own authority.
Genesis 1:26-28 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Figuratively, in this passage it is as if God the Creator gave mankind His signet ring. As Creator, He has complete dominion and authority over everything in creation. He gave mankind authority over all the earth, and over every living thing.
Genesis 2:15-17 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” God only gave Adam one commandment – you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Enter the serpent, also known of as satan, the devil, the Prince of the air. He met with Adam’s wife, Eve, while Adam was there with her. He spoke with Eve and called God a liar by saying: “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5) Eve took and ate of the fruit along with her husband, Adam. Sin entered them and instantly corruption and ultimately death became theirs. Not only were they made corrupt, but all that had been under their God-given dominion was also made corrupt and subject to death. And (again, figuratively) the signet ring of God – the authority He had given mankind – passed from mankind to the devil/satan, the Prince of the air. Satan’s cruel rule of death and corruption continues to this day.
The Book of Esther seems to be a parable of sorts which has strong similarities to the transfer of power just described – even though this ancient story has been substantially validated as being historical. In the story of Esther, King Xerxes rules from his throne in Shushan and holds all authority over the kingdom of Babylon. Xerxes gives his authority to Haman (signified by giving Haman his signet ring). Haman was an evil man who eventually hatched a plot to kill all the Jews in the kingdom of Babylon.
King Xerxes’ wife, Esther, a Jewess, and her uncle, Mordecai (and God!) thwart the plans of Haman, revealing his evil plans to King Xerxes. Haman is executed, Xerxes’ signet is returned and is then given to Mordecai. Mordecai and Esther work a plan of deliverance for the Jewish people.
The story of Joseph’s rise to power during the kingdom of Egypt is another in which the signet ring as a symbol of the transfer of authority and power is seen. Joseph, a Hebrew slave (son of Jacob/Israel), was given the opportunity to interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams through a series of circumstances. Joseph’s wisdom and his understanding of the dreams caused Pharaoh to elevate him to second in command over all of the kingdom of Egypt. Pharaoh gave Joseph his signet ring as a sign of his authority. The interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams led to Joseph stewarding well the harvests of the land during 7 years of plenty such that the storehouses were full when the 7 years of famine came. Because of his wise stewardship, the food stocks in Egypt were sufficient to sustain not only the Egyptians, but they also sustained the Hebrews of Jacob’s family. The Egyptians and the people of Israel were delivered from sure death by starvation.
The stories of Esther and of Joseph both involved the transfer of power from a Gentile (non-Jew) leader to a Jewish man as signified by the giving of the leader’s signet ring. This power was then used to deliver people from certain death.
Returning to the story of mankind and our cruel ruler, the devil, the Prince of the air…. Just as God provided a deliverer in the stories of Esther and Joseph, God has also provided a Deliverer for all of mankind and all of creation in Jesus the Messiah. There will come a day when God through Jesus will take back the dominion mankind forfeited to satan, the Prince of the air. Jesus, the second Adam, will rule and reign over all of the earth and all living things, just as God intended from the beginning.
Revelation 19:13-16 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 20:2-3 He (an angel) laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.
Praising God, the all-powerful One. Our Deliverer, Jesus the Messiah, is coming SOON. God will take the “signet ring” back from our enemy, the devil/satan, and He will give it to King Jesus who will rule and reign in righteousness forever.
HALLELUYAH!