REJOICING IN THE KING OF KINGS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

A large population is a king’s glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined.

A king delights in a wise servant, but a shameful servant arouses his fury.

The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth does not betray justice.

Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness.

Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks what is right.

A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but the wise will appease it.

When a king’s face brightens, it means life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.

A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion; those who anger him forfeit their lives.

When a king sits on his throne to judge, he winnows out all evil with his eyes.

A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them.

Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure.

In the Lord’s hand, the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.

One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.

                                                                                                                             

Proverbs 14:28, 14:35, 16:10, 16:12, 16:13, 16:14, 16:15, 19:12, 20:2, 20:8, 20:26, 20:28, 21:1, 22:11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We have been studying from Proverbs for some time now and we know much of this book is attributed to Israel’s King Solomon who used the gift of wisdom God had granted to pen a whole book of maxims for believers to follow. As we’ll see in our proverbs for today, kings were obviously very prominent in Solomon’s time because he devoted some time writing about them.  

Fast forward to today. We don’t have as many kings today and while you’ll find varying numbers, I counted 14 nations who still have them, a fraction of the world’s nations today. So why are these proverbs relevant to us? Shouldn’t we just gloss over them and move onto other sayings of Solomon which apply more to today?

We could but it would be a big mistake. Because simply looking at these verses through a worldly lens keeps us from missing the bigger picture and learning more about the Lord we serve who is the King of kings, the One who has reigned supreme, not only in the days of Solomon but today as well.

So what do we learn about the King of kings here, the One who ruled and reigns over the Creation He made?

1. His glory is magnified by the number of people who submit themselves to Him.

A large population is a king’s glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined. Proverbs 14:28

Power from a worldly perspective for kings came in the amount of land they possessed and the number of people who were subject to their authority. Without people to carry out their will, kings were powerless to stand against their enemies.

When we talk about the King of kings, His kingdom will reign forever however the glory of His kingdom here on earth is predicated largely on the number of people, His population of believers, who place their hope, faith, and trust in Him. The more people who submit to His will and way, the more His glory is revealed and on display for the rest of the world to see.

2. He delights in the wisdom of His servants.

A king delights in a wise servant, but a shameful servant arouses his fury. Proverbs 14:35

Why did Solomon go to great lengths to share his wisdom with other? Because it was God’s will for him to do so.

God didn’t bless Solomon with wisdom for him to conceal it and keep it from others. No, He imparted His wisdom on Solomon so other would learn from His example and come to seek wisdom themselves through the God who always provides it perfectly.

Those who place their full trust in God, those who seek Him and hunger and thirst for His righteousness will find what they are looking for and find it in abundance for the Lord delights in wise servants and He always longs to make us more and more His delight.

3. He speaks visionary truth and is always just in His words.

The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth does not betray justice. Proverbs 16:10

Our King of kings speaks truth into our present but he also speaks truth into our future. Only He knows what’s ahead for us as he works things for our good but the one thing we can be assured of is that no matter what happens, it will always be fair and just for our Lord is not anything short of this in the way He leads His people.

4. He hates sin.

Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness. Proverbs 16:12

Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks what is right. Proverbs 16:13

Commit wrong in the king’s kingdom and you would probably not live to tell about it if caught and convicted. Commit wrong in the kingdom of the King of kings and you can have a second chance or maybe even a third, fourth, fifth, etc. The point is that the King of kings is a merciful king, a king who forgives His subjects when they sincerely repent and seek help in turning from their sinfulness. He is ever seeking from His throne of righteousness to lead and direct us in the right ways, whether in word or deed, through His will and way for our lives.

5. He will display His wrath on anyone who chooses sin over His righteousness.  

A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but the wise will appease it. Proverbs 16:14

A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion. Proverbs 19:12a

A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion; those who anger him forfeit their lives. Proverbs 20:2

When a king sits on his throne to judge, he winnows out all evil with his eyes. Proverbs 20:8

A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them. Proverbs 20:26

While the King of kings is a merciful God, He is also a God of judgment for those who refuse to turn from their sin and as we have seen from the scriptures, there were times when this wrath resulted in the demise of the sinner. We would be well served to keep this in mind when we consider our sin and how much He despises it.

6. He favors obedience and righteousness, blessing those who practice them.

When a king’s face brightens, it means life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring. Proverbs 16:15

(A king’s) favor is like dew on the grass. 19:12b

In the Lord’s hand, the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him. Proverbs 21:1

We should want to be in no other place than standing in the full light of the Lord, basking in the glow of His favor, a favor that blesses us as His richest good and perfect gifts rain down from heaven upon us and give life just as rain falling on the grass and plants bless them with sustenance in the spring.

7. He loves us and wants us to love the same way.

Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure. Proverbs 20:28

One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend. Proverbs 22:11

Two things the keep in mind about worldly kings as opposed to our King of kings.

The first is that no all worldly kings were very loving. In fact, we need only to go through the books of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles to discover that many kings were just downright evil.

This is not the truth when it comes to our King. For at the heart of our King is a heart of love. The scriptures affirm for us that God is love (1 John 4:8) and He wants us to model His love in the way we deal with others. This is why Jesus, God’s one and only Son, said this when asked about the greatest commandments:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.”

It was all about love. Believers are to have a love for the Lord God, the King of kings, first and when they love Him that way, then His love will be passed onto them to share with others. In other words, when we extend our full devotion to God then He becomes a part of who we are to include the way we love. I

In other words, we become the people He created us to be.

Friends, I pray you will rejoice and be glad today in these verses from Solomon, verses chocked full of the wisdom God gave him, wisdom now extended to us in the 21st century. Won’t you join me today in praising and worshipping the King of kings with the fullest measure of honor, glory, and praise.

He, the One who rules and reigns over all, deserves nothing short of that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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