The Beauty of a Good King

10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

The story looks back (and shows God’s faithfulness) and points forward (and clues us into the direction)

You should delight in having a beautifully good king.

The covenant curse that shows the need for atonement

Deuteronomy 28:15–24 (ESV)

15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. 20 “The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

The need for judgment because of past evil

How can you solve the problem of evil without God?

The presupposition of judgment

The tension between community/clan/family and individual

10 commandments - Sabbath, taking the name in vain, coveting, lying

lying to make yourself look good, someone lying to your child about who they are,

The honor bestowed and restored

The king’s command and the plea for the land resolved

The destruction of a bad king

The protection of those under the king’s covenant

The ugliness of atonement

Do children pay for their parents’ sin?

Reparations

David’s incitement to sin

David’s pride in numbers (external symbols of power)

Falling into God’s hands of mercy

The cost to the king

The king operates on behalf of the people - Christ became sin for us

The king deals with the wrath of God for the people - He was the propitiation for our sins

The king (atones) pays the price for the people - He doesn’t offer something that costs him nothing

The king releases God’s blessing through the land on the people - He restores the purpose of creation - to do good to God’s people

You should remember God exalts the humble and humbles the proud.

Judgment is inescapable.

Revelation 20:11–15 (ESV)

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

You should delight in God’s king because He will cling to God’s mercy and satisfy God’s wrath on your behalf.

Do you want a king? Sometimes I don’t.

Communion

God will exalt the humble and humble the proud

God won’t be manipulated through His outward symbols. He’s a rock

God’s loyal king will defeat His enemies, protect His weak people and draw them to God

The wisdom of God will come through the weak

God’s king will cling to God’s mercy and satisfy God’s wrath with something that won’t cost him nothing. Seek him