As the heart of the king goes, so goes the kingdom.
This truth was tied to the old covenant Hebrew people with the same power as the “If you, then I” promise. That latter was God’s outline to Abraham and his descendants. IF YOU obey, trust, love, and worship the one true God THEN YOU will experience blessing and prosperity as a nation. However IF YOU turn, disobey, rebel, worship other gods THEN YOU will be cursed as a nation. We see that unfold over and over again during their journey through the desert, their conquest of the Promised Land, and the early days under the watch of the Judges. However now a new era is upon these chosen people.
“Give us a king!”
So Samual inquired of the Lord. “And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” (1 Samuel 8:7). The people were complaining because they wished to be like other nations that made up the Kingdom of Man. However God was working to bring back the Kingdom of God, whose politics were of a different design. He was their God and He longed for them to be His people. He had a different King in mind for them. So he sent Samual back to them with a warning.
“Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” (1 Samuel 8:9)
The list of the burden the human kings would put on them were long. However the greatest of consequences wouldn’t be their demands, but how their rule would impact the country. It turned out that the heart of the nation would follow the heart of the king. If the kings heart was seeking after God, such as David’s was, so would the nation. If the king’s heart was seeking after idols, such as Ahab’s, the nation would be under a curse. As the heart of the king goes, so goes the kingdom.
Yet the people insisted, and God in his great wisdom gave them the desire of their hearts. “The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” (1 Samuel 8:22) It was only a handful of years later when Saul, the tall king-like man was turning from the will of God to his own desires. Even with this turn of events, the master plan of God continued to unfold. In fact, it was only one king later that a prophetic placement would reveal the ultimate will of God.
David was far from perfect. In fact the list of his sins and faults leaves one scratching their head wondering why he continued in the grace of God. Grace here is the key word. Even in his broken humanity, he found himself humble and broken in the hands of a great God. It was in his kingship that the true heart of God was revealed. Not only was it God’s will to give the people a king after all, but all that came before was only a shadow of the Kingdom that God’s true chosen King would rule over. We have seen this Kingdom before. It held sway on the earth before the will of man usurped it. However to think it had lost any of i’s power or dominion would be to misunderstand the essential of God Himself.
The Kingdom to return was the Kingdom of God, and its King was Jesus himself.
As he hung dying on a cross the sign nailed above him declared he was the King of the Jews. Many might have seen this as a mocking decree from the Roman state, but the truth was in the sign. He was that and so much more.
Isaiah prophesied this great King’s coming. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders….” (Isaiah 9:6a)
Paul broke out in spontaneous praise to this King while writing to young Timothy, “God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)
John the Revelator witnessed with all of heaven this Kings in all of the glory described above, “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:16)
If this year is anything, it’s to see clearly how the whole Word of God can be seen as two things… the story of the Kingdom of God, and the story of its King. After all, as the heart of the King goes, so goes the Kingdom. THIS is where the search for Jesus really picks up the pace. Hang on tight!
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