The People of God--God's Kingdom--VII

A fifth term the Bible uses for the earthly king whom God sets up over his people is "servant." For example, after God sent the prophet Nathan to David to tell him that he would establish David's dynasty for a long time to come, and that he [David] would not build the temple but that his son Solomon would do so, David prayed a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving and petition to God, recorded in 2 Samuel 7:18-29. In this passage, David refers to himself as "God' servant" ten times. Referring to the events related in 2 Samuel 7, Psalm 89:20 quotes God as saying:
"I have found David MY SERVANT;
with my holy oil I have anointed him."

The modern western mind finds it very difficult to understand and accept this concept. To many in the modern world, a king or a ruler is a LEADER of God's people. But in the Bible, God through Jesus Christ is the ONLY LEADER; all others, including the earthly king of Israel, are God's followers, God's servants, Jesus' disciples, etc.

When Solomon replaced David as king of Israel, he went to Gibeon, where he uttered his great prayer asking God for wisdom to rule his people. In that prayer, Solomon refers to David (1 Kings 3:6) and himself (Solomon; 1 Kings 3:7-9 [three times]) as God's "servant."

The law concerning the king in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 makes clear the biblical view of the earthly king. Among other things, God through Moses states: "[the earthly king must] not consider himself better than his brothers." How opposite this way of thinking is to modern thinking and teaching on "leadership!" In the modern world, THE POINT of being a "leader" is to be acknowledged as "superior" to other people in society, to make decisions for other people, to control other peoples' lives, and to tell other people how to worship, how to live, how to think, and how to talk. Such notions are not only different from the biblical view; they diametrically contradict the biblical view of "leadership." Biblically, the "earthly king" of God's people is a "servant" of God [who is the ONLY REAL KING], of the people, and of humankind.

[More to come]