Promise

2 Samuel 7:12-16

There is something inside of us that longs for a good king—there’s something about the safety, being able to trust and depend on the one making decisions, protecting your interests, giving good decrees that provide a sense of security and pride—yes, that is my good king. God’s people had the best king in Him, yet they looked at the nations around them and wanted an earthly king  to judge them and fight their battles (1 Samuel 8).

They thought they had a good King in Saul, but he trusted himself instead of God. David was the man after God’s heart, but he fell, and the end of his reign was full of pain and division. Solomon inherited the blessing from his father, but his kingdom was divided in the next generation. By the end of 2 Kings Israel was in captivity with no king on David’s throne at all. Has God forgotten his promise?

While Solomon was the promised king that God was with like a father, advent season fixes our hearts on the Father’s one and only begotten Son. He would be born in Bethlehem because he was from the house and line of David. He would flip every expectation of Israel’s promised King on its head, coming with peace, humility, and care for the least of these. He would suffer beatings by the rod of man and the stripes of man, not for his own iniquity, but for the sins of the world, coming to take them away. And because of his obedience, even to the point of death, he would be and is given the name King of Kings—our ultimate good King who will reign forever with all the power, authority, wisdom, strength, and glory that every single one of our hearts are longing and waiting for.

Prayer:

Jesus, I surrender to you as King and Lord of my life today.

Question to consider:

Do you see King Jesus as a good king who you can trust and follow, or do you struggle to surrender to and recognize his authority in your life?