What kind of King ?

I remember well the Bible study. I was remarking on the naivety of the people when they clamoured for a King. God warned them :

"This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."

But the people said, "No! We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

I remarked "What king have you ever heard of who fights his people's battles ? It's just not like that. When we have a King we pay taxes and we serve the King. We stay poor and the King gets ever richer. The King declares war but we are the ones who fight and give our lives. What King ever goes out before us and fights our battles !"

One person replied, "David did."

Exactly.

David is the King after God's own heart. He goes out before the people and fights their battles. He is not perfect, however. He enriches himself and also takes a man's wife and engineers his murder... Still we have to await the proper King.

And when the proper King comes he makes himself poor to make us paupers rich. He is the one who goes out before us and fights our battles. No one else can go with him. His strongest and closest followers all run and hide. Like David before Goliath, Jesus goes forth alone against the foe. In the desert, in the temple, in the garden, on the mountain, he fights alone - and wins.

How do you think of your King ?

I hope you weigh the kings of this world by the measure of the proper King, and not the other way round.

I hope you think of him as your champion rather than us as his soldiers.

Comments

minternational said…
Fab post, Alain. I couldn't agree more. Well said, fella.
10:27 am
Alan said…
( That's the new chairman of our Mission Council, The Reverend Richard Mint. )
2:13 pm
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