X. The Davidic Kingdom
The Kingdom of God is at its very core Davidic. To understand that word takes quite a bit of unpacking. It seems as though more thorough scholars than I am willing to be could write volumes on just that one word. We see the name David come up over and over again in relation to God’s Kingdom and His throne. In the prophetic texts, when God says He will set His king over Israel, it is always David. The reason for this is because that which is Davidic is the spirit of Jesus, and vice versa. Just as Saul pursued David, so did the Pharisees desire the life of Jesus. The character of David is at its core the character of Jesus. David’s Kingdom is a full representation of the Kingdom of God.
Saul is the human alternative for God as King. He was a head and shoulders taller than everyone else. By human standards, Saul has an appearance of kingliness. We see the parallel in the Pharisees. By all human standards, these were holy, righteous, and pious men. They were devout and extremely committed to their faith. Yet, the people that Jesus spoke most harshly to were these very Pharisees.
We can see the contrast between David and Saul in a couple of incidents in their lives. In 1 Samuel 15:1-35, Saul is told to kill the Amalekites. He is told to not leave woman, child, man, or beast. Kill everything that has breath in it. The conclusion of the story is that Saul could not bring himself to kill the enemies of God. A partial obedience is no obedience. This kind of disobedience – even to allow the king of the Amalekites to survive – caused for the prophet Samuel to weep all night. There is something here that needs to be dwelt upon and sought out.
The Amalekites, like all nations mentioned in the Bible, are both physical and spiritual. There is the physical Amalekite people from biblical time, but we still have the same age old enemies of God that we wrestle against today. Every nation has a personality. Every nation is ruled by a demonic power. There is something behind the scenes at play, that even when some nations seem to overlap and have very similar attributes, there is a distinction made between Assyria and Babylon. Babylon is the kingdom of darkness – not Assyria.
So when we’re searching this out, we need to feel for who these Amekite people really are. What was it about this kind of disobedience that would cause the prophet Samuel to weep bitterly? The Amalekites are described in their first mention: Exodus 17:8-16. In this story, the Amalekites are the first peoples to attack Israel after coming out of Egypt. Egypt is bondage. Those who were fatigued and weak, and could not keep up with the rest of the congregation of Israel, were attacked from behind. This is the Amalekite: a wolf. Wolves do not go after the strong in the flock, but instead the weak and elderly. They bite the leg so that you cannot flee. Then they gather around in a pack.
This is the exact description given to the Amalekites. When we read of Jesus’ words, “Beware of false prophets,” he adds that they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. That Amalekite spirit is alive and well. Though the people were destroyed by David in 1 Samuel 30, the spiritual Amalekites are continuing to attack the weak, young, elderly, and fatigued of God’s people to this day. Amalek, from which the Amalekites came, was a descendant of Esau. Esau is Edom. God says in Daniel 11:41 that Edom, Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon will escape from the Antichrist. Why? Edom is Esau, Jacob’s brother. Moab and Ammon both cam from Lot, who was Abraham’s nephew – a righteous man. God preserves these nations because He is a redeemer. Though the nations themselves might behave wickedly, they are still descendants of Esau and Lot – of whom the Lord respects and will not destroy them utterly.
Saul being unwilling to utterly destroy that kind of enemy – wolves searching to destroy the weak and defenseless of Israel – is what caused Samuel the prophet to weep. Saul was not jealous over the flock of Israel, and yet he was supposed to be their king. He was unwilling to protect his own people, and is thus considered equally a bad shepherd as the wicked priests.
Only a couple chapters later, Saul destroys the whole community of Nob. He did not allow one living thing to survive. This was a community of priests. Why would King Saul have the drive to kill an entire community of priests, when he didn’t have the drive to kill the Amalekites? The people at Nob helped David. Saul utterly destroyed them – to the extent required to kill the enemies of God, he killed the very priests of God.
That detail also should be dwelt upon. Saul did not have the fervor to perform the will of God against his own enemies. Yet, the foolishness that was David so jabbed at his heart that anyone to help this David – even a community of priests – were deemed unfit to live. It is the very pattern of God. Saul pursues David. The Philistines persecute him. There is no other logic. This is why Jesus warns us: “If they hated me, they will also hate you.” Those same spirits are going to tug at the same people that epitomize Saul.
David is entirely different. What is it about David that is so heavenly? “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal,” John 12:25. David, like Jesus, was willing to lay down his life in preserving Saul’s life in 1 Samuel 24. In this story, David has the opportunity to relieve himself from the oppression of Saul. Saul walks into the cave that David and his men are hiding, and instead of killing Saul, David allows him to go free.
This is a deeper moment than we realize. David had opportunity to put to death that which was threatening and intimidating. Many of us are unwilling to allow the threat of survival to persist when even our ministry or calling or legacy are at stake. There is more to losing your life than death. Satan’s kingdom is predicated upon self – God’s upon sacrifice. David would not kill Saul. Even though he had every right, and even though the Lord had brought Saul into his hand (1 Samuel 24:4). But David was of a different caliber. He didn’t pursue Saul. He allowed that threat to survive because he would not allow himself to kill God’s anointed.
How many of us would at any opportunity like to hack into pieces the thing that calls itself “Church?” That is not the heart of David. Though it is apostate, and though it is an enemy of God, the heart of David is to allow the person to live. I will undergo suffering on their behalf because they are still the Lord’s anointed. In the same way, I might speak harshly about the so-called-church, but I will not harm them. Those people are still people. Let it be God to judge them, and never I.
It says in 1 Samuel 24:12 that David was convicted because he touched the Lord’s anointed. What manner of a man is this? Too many of us would have taken that opportunity to kill Saul and relieve self from oppression. David allowed Saul to live, and therefore remained under oppression. But it doesn’t stop there. David had such a heart after God that he was convicted for even “touching” the Lord’s anointed.
How many of us have “touched” the Lord’s anointed by raising objections to denominations, church leaders, etc? David’s heart was grieved because he cut the edge of Saul’s robe. This action of embarrassing Saul was unnecessary, and the very heart of David recognized it. David – and therefore God – lived by another wisdom. Jesus speaks of some ruling over ten cities, and some ruling over five. If we are to be rulers of this kind of Kingdom, then we need this same heart and attitude that David demonstrates.
The Heart of David
Saul towered heads and shoulders over everyone else; why did David intimidate him? When we study out the contradictions in Saul and David’s characters, we come to conclusions that the very thing that brings the Sauls to a boil is the foolishness that the authentic is unselfconsciously in God. In our authenticity before God, we are unaware of our own characters. That very character is foolishness. It is so different and contrary to the world. And yet it is also the very thing that causes hostility.
Our absolute dependency upon God reveals all of the forgery in others. In this, we can see the plight of the Remnant Church in the last days. For those that are indeed authentic in God, even those who claim to be in Christ will persecute them. It says in Daniel 7:21, 25 and Revelation 13:7 that the Antichrist will overcome the saints. We have assumed that Revelation 12:11 means we suck it up and take death willingly. But what if our overcoming of the devil is actually found in the death?
Is our freedom constituted in that our death serves an ultimate purpose of God? Can we die in such a way as to express a mystery? Revelation 12:11 says that they loved not their lives even unto death. I heard the story of a Christian missionary community in Zimbabwe, Africa that was being tormented by the armed insurgents. These armed men delighted in intimidating and murdering white farmers. This community had no weapons and decided not to defend themselves. “Let God be our defense.” One night death came with great suddenness. One by one they were taken into a shack – hands tied behind their backs by barbed wire – and hacked to pieces with an axe so that no shots could be heard. There was not a whimper, one scream, not a plea for their lives. Somehow they had sublime confidence in the sovereignty of God – even though it flies in the face of every natural and religious category. Was this a waste?
Could it be that God did not care so much about the ponds and chicken coops they built to help the village as He cared about a fulfillment of wisdom displayed through a willing Church that there is something more important than this life? What was expressed to that community was that these men were not simply there to help with the economy. They weren’t only trying to establish schools and hospitals. Something was driving them that is deeper than life. The perpetuation of our breathing is not everything. There is actually something more important than the sanitation and provision of food.
I have heard another story of missionaries. I could not tell you where they were. This family was buried alive. The children asked their father, “What is happening? I’m scared…” The father replied with, “Lets sing songs.” They sang hymns until they were under too much dirt to breathe. This man was able to hear the moment when his children and wife were no longer singing, and he was now all alone. Yet, he continued to sing hymns. Their persecutors overcame them. But that isn’t the end of the story. One of those men that killed this family sought out a Christian missionary when he had opportunity. He expressed this story and explained that he has come to realize that what he is living is a lie. Whatever that family had, he needed it.
This is the Davidic heart. Read the Psalms. Even in the midst of adversity and persecution, David does not cry out against it. He submits himself to God. He blesses God. He rejoices in the God of his salvation. It is this kind of heart that really seems to stand out as being truly Davidic. This kind of heart defers.
Every king of Judah started their rule when their father died. That is, every king but one. Solomon was appointed king. David passed the torch. No other king of Judah did so. Until sickness or death disabled the king to continue their rule, they sat in their place of authority. David surrendered his authority. There is something about David that we all need to learn from. When it is time to pass on your ministry to the next generation, you need to pass it on. It is actually sinful for us to continue to expect that God will bless us.
True submission is unto the Holy Spirit. Any submission to authority is unto God, not to man. For the older generation to pass the torch is for them to submit to authority. For the next generation to take up that rule is to submit to authority. True spiritual authority is found when the eldest and wisest takes counsel in the youngest and most unlearned. When the elder can have his feet washed by the youngest, then we have reached a point of true authority. To that authority I submit. It is solely on the basis of God’s anointing. If the anointing is lacking, then submission is unnecessary.
If Saul was God’s anointed, then why didn’t David submit to his authority? Why did David flee? If the Pharisees were the authority, then why did Jesus so oppose them? The answer to those questions is answered in understanding that our submission is first – and only – to God. The lack of God’s wisdom and leading is all that is needed to be justified before God. You listen to God’s voice. If that comes through another human being, then it doesn’t matter how old or young they are, you submit to that authority.
The elders today have a lot of blood on their hands. Generation after generation has fought to continue their rule. They have fought to continue to stay in power. True authority and power is established when we defer authority and power. This is what it means to have the heart of David. This is what is required to rule and reign with Christ. Jesus will not return and somehow beat into submission all that do not follow Him. He will rule with an iron scepter, yes. That iron scepter is not used to bludgeon. He is meek and lowly. He is humble, and from that humility comes His authority.
The Heart of Davidic Worship
When we desire to understand the heart of David’s worship, there is no better place to turn than to the Psalms. In Psalm 56 and 57 (to only examine two), we find them both starting with persecution. The one is persecution from the Philistines, and the other is persecution from Saul. In this we have symbols of persecution from the world and persecution from the backslidden Church. I find it interesting that even with both of these two very different oppressors, the first few verses in both the Psalms reference David being “trampled.”
“Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; fighting all day long he oppresses me (Psalm 56:1). He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me (Psalm 57:3).” This is the unfortunate fate of a “David.” David symbolizes the man of faith – which is ironically the one that always gets trampled upon by men of the world, whether religious or otherwise. Though in both Psalms David is being trampled, his cry is to God and God alone. He does not raise his voice against the Philistines or against Saul.
In Psalm 56, we find that verses four and eleven repeat one another. In verse 11 we read: In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? In another translation it uses the word “flesh” instead of man. What is the “flesh” and who is the “me” being spoken of? We have already seen from verse one that David is being trampled upon. So obviously flesh is doing something to him. Not to mention, if David is taken, there is a lot of torture that man can do to another man. Yet David insists that man can do nothing to me.
The “me” must mean something more than the physical body that can indeed be harmed by men. However, what he is in God, the essential David, cannot be harmed. In this we have the basis for why we shall not fear. This is the basis for worship. Who we are in God cannot be taken from us. We are something very distinct and different from our bodies. Though we are contained within our physical bodies, the reality of who we are is not destroyed with our body. This is why in the midst of persecution we can find solace in God.
In all of the saints of old, whether Old Testament or New Testament, we read that the glory of God is revealed in both their lives and their deaths. Martyrdom is not merely in death, but a lifestyle. When we can live as though we have already died, then we are truly living. Our lives are not our own. God is somehow in control and is bigger than our lives. Everything we do is to the glory of God. Nothing is for self.
In this, our death is taken in a way to say, “There is something more important than self-preservation.” In order to die at the hands of persecutors and make that kind of statement through your death does not come at the end of your life. You aren’t going to somehow find the gusto to endure pain. This kind of manifestation is displayed through your life – your death is only the final enactment. Any persecution that is faced, whether to the death or we live through it, will display full well the wisdom by which we truly are governed.
King Zedekiah was promised his life if he surrendered to Babylon. There was a problem. He feared men more than God. Because he feared what the people of Israel would say, he was brutally tortured and ultimately killed. His death was not valiant. Isaiah, tradition says, was cut in half while hanging upside down. While they hacked him asunder, he was still prophesying. Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego took “death” (fiery furnace) without wavering. They claimed, “Even if God does not deliver us, oh king, we still will not bow down to your stupid antichrist statue!”
When we view Acts 16, we see the story of Paul and Silas. These two men are beaten and thrown in prison unjustly. At midnight, they start singing songs of praise to God. In the midst of their worship, the prison doors swing wide open. What is it about the worship of Paul and Silas that would cause for such a phenomena? When you can give testimony of God like that to the world in the midst of adversity and trials, then you have given the ultimate witness of God that glorifies God and can be used as a witness to save the nations.
When our worship comes from a heart that knows God’s character and that He would not allow anything to befall us if it did not glorify Him, we have stepped out of the realm of music as worship and into the realm of Davidic worship. Even in the midst of prison and death, Paul and Silas rejoiced in the God who saved them. Death could not keep them from Him. Why fear? If we die, we go to see the Lord. If we are tortured, then we should count it privilege to be found as worthy vessels to take the same torment that Christ received. Isn’t this why Peter and John rejoiced after being beaten by the Sanhedrin in Acts 5:40-42?
Probably the greatest travesty of our age is the use of manipulation during worship to rile up the emotions and senses during the music time. True worship should be a spontaneous expression of a reality that has been obtained corporately, by a people who have been long enough and intensely enough together to obtain it. Choruses should be the expression of joy, not its substitute. Music can be a powerful thing, but when music becomes a means to feeling, we have forsaken the holy worship in Spirit and truth.
There is a wickedness beyond human capacity, which is of the principalities and powers of the air. If we do not recognize (and wrestle) them now, then we will not recognize them during the time of persecution. We will assume that mankind is purely corrupted, and in that we will possibly lose heart. But what do we lose heart in? It is ultimately that we lose faith in God, and we therefore lose our own humanity as well.
Our lifestyle must be born out of the real belief in a soon coming Tribulation and return of the Lord. With this, our view is properly centered to not fret with the things of this life, and to endure patiently until the end when we shall receive reward. My struggles in daily life are things to rejoice in. I know that the tougher the struggle the greater the work of sanctification it will bring. I rejoice that in pain there is comfort, in struggle there is ability to overcome, in persecution there is endurance, and in torture there is a crown.
Humility
David was humble. His character is at its center humble. Our understanding of humility is often times very shallow. Moses wrote about himself that he was the most humble man on the face of the earth. Was he arrogant, or was he right? If we say that the Scriptures are infallible, then we must say that he was right. But what kind of humility did Moses exude that would allow him to make that statement, and yet at the same time he is telling the truth? When we have come to a place where we can make that kind of a statement about ourselves, and not have a hint of pride in the statement, then we have reached ultimate humility.
While on the topic of Moses, I’ll also point out another interesting detail. When Moses came down from the mount, he found the Israelites dancing before the golden calf. Moses then broke the tablets of the law. He commanded that the calf be ground to powder and that the Israelites would drink it. Is there anything strange with this? Not one person seems to speak against it. There is not a hint of anyone who murmurs against Moses’ demand. Apparently there was something about the demeanor of Moses that would cause for the Israelites to not even question that demand, but to obey and drink their shame. There is a conjunction between humility and authority.
This is something to dwell upon. The use of authority is very important. We do not use our authority to coerce or manipulate. It is on the basis of humility that we exercise our authority. We entreat. And that is the very statement of God’s humility. When you view the statements of God to His people, He never seems to deride or mock them. His statements – even the harshest statements in Ezekiel – are always given in reference to what Israel used to be, or to the redemption that God has planned. God humbly speaks to Israel. He doesn’t force. He entreats. And similarly, David also never exerted force or intimidation.
The interesting thing is that when God speaks, He is so precise in His words that He acts as though there is no other opinion. You find this also in the writings of the apostles. It is so exact. There is no other truth other than what is shared by the apostles. Any other opinion is a false Gospel. Only those that recognize the truth in the statements of Jesus and the apostles are welcome to come and speak. They will not bring a false reality. But this kind of dogmatism to claim anyone who says something counter to what you have said sounds so arrogant.
Here lies the whole of it. A false humility would never make these kinds of proclamations. False humility will come with an appearance of being humble, but it is only self-effacing. When we think of meek, we think of mild, deferring, quiet, lowly, placid, soft, and docile. How do we reconcile meekness with Jesus flipping tables?
Meekness is obedience. If it is simply being timid, then we have lost every reality of the faith. Why do I say so? There are times where Jesus was not timid. There are times where Jesus is flat out rude and/or violent. How do we reconcile kindness, gentleness, humility, patience, and self-control with the outbursts that characterize certain times in Jesus’ ministry? Was Jesus out of the Spirit? It can only be reconciled if we come to the understanding that all of these things are first an obedience to God, no matter how much that might mean it is an affront to man.
We are first jealous for God and His glory. We desire to honor Him and guard His name and integrity. James has said that we are to be first pure, then peaceable. Humility is found in submission to God. When He calls upon us to perform His will, it might be entirely contrary to what this world thinks is peaceful or gentle or any of these other fruits of the Spirit. Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal. All of the prophets spoke against Jerusalem and the Temple – an act that was unlawful and almost resulted in Jeremiah’s death. Our false humility and piety will lead us to taking the name of God in vein. We will think that we are actually protecting God’s name, but in actuality we are bringing an offense because we are out of sync with His character.
This kind of humility is unself-conscious. We don’t even realize that we are performing this sort of characteristic. It is true for all of the fruits of the Spirit. When we are truly generous, we don’t understand why people call us generous. When we are truly practicing kindness, we don’t even perceive that we are being kind. It comes naturally or not at all. Does a tree strain to bear fruit? Does a plant have to wake up in the morning and remind itself that it needs to make seed? It is a natural process that the tree and plant were made to do. Likewise, those in the Spirit will bear the fruit of the Spirit.
We must come to the place where we are able to repeat the words of Paul, “Be imitators of me,” 1 Corinthians 4:16. How is it that Paul could tell people to imitate him? Shouldn’t we be imitating Christ? And yet, these words are found in our Bible. The lazy scholar (who often times are the liberal scholars) will read this and say that it is an error. Paul didn’t really mean it. Or Paul was only speaking out of the flesh in that moment. Or Paul was speaking in the sense of being sexually pure. The problem with this is that we now must decipher which verses of the Bible are spoken from the Spirit and which verses did the author speak out of the flesh?
This verse, even though it is controversial, is a true statement. We are to actually imitate Paul. And that is not contradictory. We are to be imitators of Christ, but we are to be imitators of Paul. How? It is because when you examine the life of Paul and the words that he wrote to the Churches abroad, you find that his character is so Christ-like that we must conclude he and Christ were indeed one. We, too, must come to the place that we so mirror the image of Christ as revealed in us through His Spirit that we can say, “Be imitators of me.” We too must be able to say, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father; I and the Father are one.”
It is actually a display of the Davidic character that drives Jews to jealousy. This is our great calling as the Church (Romans 11:11, Deuteronomy 32:21). The way that we display this great character is to be humble unto death for their sakes. Resurrection life means a life lived by the Spirit, which is to say, through the power of God. God’s power is only truly working when His character is alive through us. Our death does not have to be literal, although I think in many cases it will be. Our deaths are like Paul’s death: we die daily.
When we have attained to such a place that we are truly living in humility of this kind, the evidence will be seen through our children. Our children will testify to whether we are truly living this or not. The way that they react to our lives is our testimony – do they follow us as we follow Christ, or do they reject Christ? The book of Philemon addresses this very thing. It hit me once when I read it. This man Philemon was called a brother and Paul expresses the reasons that he knows this man to be true to the faith. He showed love to the brethren, and he had church in his house. Why did his slave run away? He ran to Paul. Why?
Is it possible that Onesimus heard the stories of Paul, heard messages of God’s grace, mercy, and love, and heard his master speaking so highly of this Jesus, but didn’t see the reality in his life? Is it possible that Philemon was a phenomenal example of what Christianity is supposed to be, but when it came to his slaves he somehow treated them with c