“And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins” Leviticus 26: 18

Queen Elizabeth I was one of the greatest of all English monarchs, certainly one of the most popular. Referred to affectionately as Good Queen Bess, her reign was one of the most significant in the history of the Israelite peoples, perhaps rivaling the monarchy of King David. So much has been written or placed on screen about this remarkable lady of history that it seems incomprehensible that it could be added too. Yet, even great historians like Churchill have missed the mark by not completely tracing her lineage. For without knowing that Queen Elizabeth I descended from King David, there is no way of totally understanding her significance in the Plan of God. Indeed, we can look to the past or the future from her reign and clearly understand why God chose her as a Monarch of Destiny.

As if to prepare this monarch for her future awesome task, her early life was beset with the greatest of difficulty. When Elizabeth was three, her father, Henry VIII, ordered her mother, Anne Boleyn, to be beheaded for adultery. What’s more, he had Parliament declare his marriage with Anne Boleyn invalid, thus forcing Elizabeth to go through early life as illegitimate. When she was sixteen, her life was in peril when she was linked to a tryst with Thomas Seymour, later beheaded, and it was only her great poise that saved her. She was thrown in the tower during the reign of her sister, Mary I, and it was only through God’s Grace that Mary ignored her Catholic advisors that Elizabeth be executed so the Reformation could be brought to a standstill. These ordeals helped shape the strong characteristics she inherited from her father, traits that gave her the determination and courage to guide England’s fortunes in the critical years of the late sixteenth century.

When Mary died, her successor, Elizabeth I, fell to her knees and exclaimed, "This is the Lord's doing: it is marvelous in our eyes." It wasn’t that she disliked her sister, but Mary, the least successful of all England’s monarchs, had brought England to its knees. She lost the last vintage of their French possessions, depleted the treasury and in the name of Catholicism, ushered in a reign of terror that earned her the name of Bloody Mary. The sorry state of affairs was summed up very well by a member of the Court at the time Elizabeth ascended the throne, “The Queen poor, the realm exhausted, the nobility poor and decayed. Want of good captains and soldiers. The people out of order. Justice not executed. All things dear. Excess in meat, drink and apparel. Divisions among ourselves. Wars with France and Scotland. The French King bestriding the realm, having one foot in Calais and the other in Scotland. Steadfast enmity but no steadfast friendship abroad.” Is it any wonder that when Mary died, the country rejoiced?

Elizabeth was a hardworking monarch and approached her responsibilities with great determination. An early task was to bring religious peace to the country. During Bloody Mary’s reign, where nearly 300 prominent Protestants were put to the stake, the country reeled from the attempt to re-assert Catholicism. Elizabeth repealed all such legislation. In fact, her parliament made the country Protestant by law and declared that Elizabeth and future monarchs would bear the title “Supreme Governor of the English Church.” This act didn’t totally end the growing pains of the Reformation but the fact that her subjects had more choice in Bible interpretation and could freely read and distribute the writings of Bible scholars was a huge step forward. Nevertheless, despite the new legislation, it did not end the fear of the parliamentarians that another Catholic could succeed Elizabeth. They did not rest until they implicated her Catholic successor, Mary, Queen of Scots, into a plot to assassinate Elizabeth. The order to behead Mary was given by Elizabeth, which was perhaps the most agonizing decision of her reign.

Elizabeth, in concert with her parliamentarians, also injected great energy and determination into the nation’s other problems. After a relatively few years, England was at peace and returned to a state of prosperity. The Queen’s policies engineered a great revival in trade, agriculture and manufacturing. Exploration was encouraged and many overseas colonies were claimed for England. It was a golden period in the nation’s growth. Yet, the highlight of her reign was the emergence of Britain from under the shadow of the great European powers. It was 1588 and Spain had finally decided to descend upon Britain with the might of her military. Dispatching an overwhelming force of some 130 heavily armed ships and more than 30,000 soldiers, the Spanish Armada set off for battle. One of Elizabeth’s most inspiring speeches was given to her troops at the anticipated landing site of the enemy. Among hers words were these, “…I have come amongst you, as you see, resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all, and for my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust.” England’s great generals, John Hawkins, Sir Francis Drake and Lord Howard, provided superior leadership and did much to rout the enemy. Yet, history has shown that the Lord God Almighty came to the aid of His Israel People and invoked weather conditions that crippled the Spanish forces, sent many of their larger vessels to the deep and sent the rest limping back to a Spain that would never again pose such a threat. One of the medals struck to commemorate the war said it all, “Affidavit Deus et dissipantur”, meaning, “God blew and they were scattered.” The gratitude toward God Almighty reached a peak in the few years after the battle. Indeed, religious emotion ran through the land as British Israel paid homage to the source of their greatness. It was a time of such triumph and pride for the entire English nation that it inspired Shakespeare to later write his immortal words, “Come the three corners of the world in arms, And we shall shock them, Nought shall make us rue, If England to itself do rest but true” (The Play “King John”).