INTRODUCTION
We’re in a series titled ‘Learning from David.’ Today’s talk is on David the king. I think today’s talk is the most important talk in this series. That might seem surprising to you. We’ve had ‘David: man of prayer.’ We all hopefully pray. We can relate to that. We’ve had David the musician. We can relate to musicians. We’ve had David the warrior. We can relate to that. We know what soldiers do. But David the king? That’s hard to relate to.
We probably don’t have much to do with kings. But a more serious point is that kings today are almost all in ceremonial roles. Kings today don’t function like kings of long ago. David was a king 3,000 years ago. How can it help us to know what he was like as a king?!
My answer is that, first, David shows us qualities of leadership that are vital for any leader, not just a king. And second, David shows us qualities of Jesus which we haven’t seen yet.
Let me explain – or at least, explain about qualities of leadership. I’ll come back to qualities of Jesus later.
There are lots of people in the world today who we think of as leaders: people like Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelensky, Bill Gates, Elon Musk or Greta Thunberg. Lower down the rungs there are leaders too. The senior sister in charge of a hospital ward is a leader. The coach of your kids’ football team is a leader. A king is also a leader.
Different roles need different skills and qualities.
If you want to be a worship leader, you should know something about music. If you want to run a food kitchen, you need to know the food safety rules. If you want to be a king, some qualities are going to be especially important. But what are they?
We can learn about the particular qualities that a leader has to demonstrate by looking at David, one of the outstanding leaders in the Bible. This will help us if we’re in a leadership role. It will also help if, for example, we have to choose a leader. So, it should be helpful to consider what kind of king David was. This is what I’m going to look at in the first part of this talk.
The second thing I plan to talk about is how David shows us qualities of Jesus which we really haven’t seen yet. I believe that this is an even more valuable thing we can learn from looking at David as king. That will be the second part of this talk.
PART 1: WHAT DAVID WAS LIKE AS KING
The Old Testament has lots of historical records about what David did in the time when he was king. He led military campaigns. He organized temple worship. He had lots of wives and children. But the historical records don’t show us much about the qualities David displayed as a king.
However, the Bible tells us that two foundational qualities are needed to be a king. And it tells us that David had those.
What would you guess those two foundational qualities are? Love? Faithfulness? Mercy? Creativity? Honesty? Those are all great qualities. But the two foundational qualities needed to be a king – according to the Bible – are righteousness and justice. Where do I get that from?
The qualities of righteousness and justice often appear as a pair. They come up over and over again in the Old Testament. And they’re often linked with kingship. For example, the psalms tell us in two places that righteousness and justice are THE FOUNDATION OF GOD’S THRONE [Psalm 89:14 and 97:2]. These are not simply good qualities. They are the foundational qualities that God’s throne – God’s kingship – rests on.
If those two qualities are the foundation of GOD’S throne, then it’s a safe bet that they’re the foundation of ANY throne. They are the foundational qualities that any king, or for that matter, any leader, must display.
If you want to be a worship leader, you need to know about music.
If you want to run a food kitchen, you need to know the food safety rules.
But if you want to be a king, you need the qualities of righteousness and justice.
Did David demonstrate these qualities? The Bible cautions us against judging. But we can accept the Bible’s view of David. The Bible clearly tells us that David displayed these qualities of justice and righteousness. Here’s 2 Samuel 8:15:
‘So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS for all his people.’
1 Chronicles 18:14 is word-for-word the same.
The Bible tells us, twice, that David administered JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS.
So, we know that justice and righteousness are the foundational qualities to be a king – and David demonstrated them. But what exactly are these qualities? And why are they so important, especially for a king?
Let’s start with JUSTICE. I looked online for a definition of justice. Wikipedia suggested this: ‘Justice, in its broadest sense, is the concept that individuals are to be treated in a manner that is equitable and fair.’
In the late 18th century, there was no law in Britain which prohibited people from having or trading slaves. It is not in the least bit fair that one person should be able to enslave another person. The absence of a law allowed there to be injustice. Later, of course, Britain passed an act for the abolition of the slave trade.
We can think of many examples of injustices through history. For example, segregation laws in the United States. Apartheid in South Africa. Laws in India under the British Empire which made it illegal for Indians to collect or sell salt. Laws in Nazi Germany which stripped Jews and others of citizenship.
What about today? When future generations look back on the early 21st century what will they see as the injustices of our time? Without question, I would put global warming at the top of the list.
The world needs to pass laws to stop the destruction we’re causing. But the world hasn't done that. Our political leaders understand the issues. It's unjust for the poor to suffer as a result of the actions of the rich. It's unjust for our children and grandchildren to suffer for the sake of our generation's comfort now. Why will our leaders not pass the laws we need? I can't help thinking the same reason applies as applied to the slave trade in the late 18th century. Profit comes first.
Passing just laws is one step in the process of providing justice. Of course, the just laws have to be enforced. That falls to the king or the government to organize. Today, we have a police force. We have courts and judges. If we didn’t have such things, everyone could do just as they pleased. A king has to provide justice. So does a government, and so do leaders.
Let’s go on to RIGHTEOUSNESS. The king himself must be righteous if he is going to establish a system that operates righteously. And he must ensure that laws are applied with righteousness. If a person can pay a bribe and, hey presto, some law doesn’t apply to them, then that is not righteous.
Political parties publish manifestos. They set out what they will and won’t do. For example, ‘Labour will not raise taxes on working people.’ A ‘commitment statements’ is a bit like that. It’s a way for an organization to set out what it’s committed to doing. King David once wrote a commitment statement for himself. He put in writing the kind of king David was committed to being. It’s Psalm 101. I think of it as ‘Leadership 101’ – the basics of leadership. One of the things that strikes me in David’s commitment statement is how committed he is to dealing with wicked people. David concludes the psalm by saying this:
‘Every morning I will put to silence
all the wicked in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer
from the city of the Lord’ [Psalm 101:8].
What have we learned? To be a king, you have to live in a righteous way yourself, as far as it’s humanly possible to do so. You have to be committed to righteousness and justice. Those two qualities have to be deeply ingrained in you. You have to pass laws that are just. You have to set up systems – police, the courts, for example – that will dispense justice. And you have to resolutely deal with injustice and wickedness. None of those things are easy. And if you or I are going to be leaders, the same requirements apply to us.
PART 2: DAVID AS A TYPE FOR JESUS
Earlier in this series I talked about the strong connection between David and Jesus.
Jesus is, of course, king. As king, do we expect Jesus to display justice and righteousness – the qualities that are the foundation of God’s throne? Of course! Jesus IS God! It would be VERY strange if Jesus, being God, did not display the qualities that are the foundation of God’s throne!
In the Old Testament, prophets anticipated the coming of the Messiah. They knew the messiah would be king – and they were very clear that he would show these qualities of justice and righteousness.
One of the most famous verses in the Bible is Isaiah 9:7. It’s a prophecy about Jesus. Isaiah writes:
‘Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with JUSTICE and with RIGHTEOUSNESS from this time forth and for evermore.’
You can’t get much clearer than that!
Here’s another famous verse, Jeremiah 23:5.
‘Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS in the land.’
These prophecies are so clear and emphatic! When the Messiah comes, he will provide JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS. This is what Jesus would do.
Or was it?! Jesus entered our world and declared, ‘I did not come to judge the world but to save the world’ [John 12:47].
How does that make sense? The Messiah is supposed to provide JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS! How can he do that if he isn’t going to judge?
The answer is that Jesus wasn’t going to judge THEN. But he would judge in the future. Look at what he told his disciples:
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats…’ [Matthew 25:31-32].
Jesus doesn’t use the word ‘judge’ but it’s clear that he is judging. But notice when it happens: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him…’
Jesus is king now. But he will judge when he comes in his glory. Then he will establish his reign of justice and righteousness.
One of Jesus’ parables is helpful to understand this. It’s the Parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19. This parable is similar to the Parable of the Talents, in Matthew, but there are differences.
In the parable, Jesus introduces a nobleman who would receive a kingdom.
The nobleman in the parable is Jesus. 2,000 years ago, Jesus was already king. His authority was evident. He acknowledged to Pilate that he was king. But he hadn’t yet up fully taken his kingship.
In the parable, the nobleman heads off into a far country.
Jesus was crucified. God raised him from the dead, and he ascended to heaven.
In the parable, the nobleman returns.
Jesus will return.
In the parable, after the nobleman returns as king he declares, ‘But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me’ [Luke 19:27].
Jesus is telling us what he will do . When he returns, he will dispense justice and establish righteousness. He will deal with injustice and wickedness. It will be painful for many.
This is a side of Jesus we haven’t seen yet. But we should be aware that it’s a part of Jesus’ character. We see it in David, a type for Jesus. We see it in Jesus’ words, in this parable. We also see it in Revelation, although we haven’t looked at that today.
Let me conclude.
First, we’ve thought about David, ruling as king of Israel. We’ve seen that the foundational qualities needed to be a king (or a queen, for that matter) are righteousness and justice. We might not be a king or a queen but we might well be a leader in some form. We will have to demonstrate the same qualities.
Second, we’ve thought about Jesus, who will one day return and fully take up his rule. He will establish righteousness and provide justice. It will be painful for some and very good for others. We haven’t yet seen Jesus in this mode. But I believe that in David, a man after God’s heart, ruling as king, administering justice and righteousness, we can see something of what Jesus will be like when he returns and fully takes up his reign.
I’m looking forward to that day. And I have a feeling that it isn’t so far away.
TALK GIVEN AT ROSEBERY PARK BAPTIST CHURCH, BOURNEMOUTH, UK, 10.30 A.M. SERVICE, 20TH OCTOBER 2024.
