Court history, proximity to the divine, the real and the ideal

As I make my way through the Old Testament it's hard not to note its preference for court history (as opposed to stories and allegories of the doings of normal folk). Certainly since this was the central if not sole book in its people's religion back then, it's understandable that they'd want to keep straight who succeeded who and why.

But much more than that is going on, of course, which is why the study of Torah and the rest of the Old Testament is endless. The stories of the successive kings, their actions, their foibles, and the same of those around them is all about being close to God, or currying divine favor, as a guide to right and wrong. And i gets complicated. There are betrayals and pledges and reversals of all shapes and sizes. The great step forward comes when Solomon has a dream early in his reign and asks for the power to listen and discern so as to govern wisely, at which point in time the Lord says: "You got it." 

Shakespeare's work (which I now have a newly kindled desire to dig deeply and systematically into) seems to carry this theme forward, the doings of kings, queens and their consorts serving as models for everyone else, imbued with special significance because of their nominal divine sanction.

It's not like we've grown past this. One of the reasons for the great success of The Crown on Netflix is the richness and depth with which it meditates on the question of the royal family -- and in particular the Queen -- as mediator between real and divine. The last episode I watched, the first to focus on Mohammed Fayed, father of Dodi, soon to be Diana's lover. Early in the episode the young Mohammed -- living in Alexandria -- expresses his admiration of the British, I think even saying they are gods. Later, in the evening the queen discusses something with Phillip before bed and points skywards and indicates that she's thinking about God and his judgment on whatever they're talking about. Then she twice disdains to be in the presence of Mohammed, sending emissaries instead, the second time Diana. This, of course, will have consequences down the line...