To be Ruled by a King

I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.' (1 Kings 9:5)
​

​In 1 Kings 9-10, we are told of how God appeared to Solomon and reminded him of the promise that he made to his father, David.  There God says to him, “And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’”  In the rest of the chapter, and then in chapter 10, we are told of the enormous wealth that God blessed Solomon and Israel with, of how the queen of Sheba came to Solomon to see if the rumors were true and to test his wisdom, and how she discovered that the rumors were true (10:6-10).  But by the time we get to chapter 11, we see Solomon turning from the Lord and things begin to unravel, which ultimately culminates in the division of Israel after his death.  Solomon failed to remain faithful to God, and God had warned him what would happen if that were the case (9:6-9).  Nevertheless, God’s promise to David that he would some day give him a son for whom he would “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:13) is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.  Ultimately, the promise given to David, and then repeated to Solomon, pointed to and was fulfilled in Christ.  Matthew makes this clear as the phrase “Son of David” as applied to Christ appears no less than ten times in his gospel.  And while we see Solomon reigning over a vast kingdom from the Euphrates River to the border of Egypt (4:20-21) and reigning over vast amounts of wealth, it is nothing in comparison to what the ultimate son of David will inherit.  In Revelation 21 we read, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband…. And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’…I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end” (vv.1-6).  Christ, the son of David, will someday sit upon his throne and rule over and take possession of the entire earth, not just the land between the Euphrates River and the border of Egypt.  As we experience the political turmoil of our day, we can look forward to the day when believers will live under a monarchy, when we will be ruled by a loving and perfect and generous and merciful king.  I look forward to the day when I can exchange this republic for a monarchy.