A Word about an Exalted Kingdom

 

Today I want to share a word about an Exalted Kingdom as I comment on Scripture passages from 2 Samuel 5. 

In our last episode, we saw how an uncivil war had broken out among God’s people after the death of Saul. Instead of following the clearly understood will of God, His people acted just like the subjects of every other kingdom of the world do when they are confronted with a succession crisis. They fought each other for power and control, and we learned important lessons from their experience. First, we learned that conflict comes when people sinfully exceed their authority, and the level of conflict is accelerated by unchecked aggression. We also learned that conflict is made more complicated by playing politics, and that conflict is no justification for assassination, either physical or reputational. In the end, we learned that conflict is resolved when we yield our will to God’s. In this case, David was anointed king over all of the Tribes of Israel, and this led to what I consider to be an exalted kingdom. 

Our world is full of kingdoms which make great promises, but they don’t fulfill them, or if they do, their benefits don’t last. One example of that is Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. It appears to be a wonderful place, and it is often called “The happiest place on earth,” yet, in fact, it is all a huge illusion. For example, those three-story buildings along Main Street are really only about two stories high, but the technique of forced perspective is used to make them seem taller. The third floors of those buildings are actually only half as tall as they should be. Some other buildings in the park are constructed so that they obscure views of the hotels and other modern buildings outside the park, to prevent the illusion from being shattered. 

In addition to the clever use of architecture, essential items that are not attractive, like trash cans and other such objects, are painted with a color that the Disney staff, who are called imagineers, call “Go Away Green.” Other items that are higher in elevation are painted “Blending Blue.” These colors help those ugly necessities to blend into the background, and they tend to remain unseen unless a visitor needs to throw away some trash.   

The most interesting, and possibly insidious, feature of the Magic Kingdom is the use of smelitizers, which are machines that emit artificial aromas such as the smell of fresh-baked cookies. The magic of the Magic Kingdom is how the imagineers create such powerful illusions of grandeur, mystic, and downhome comfort. The Magic Kingdom is wonderful and captivating, but it is an illusion. To be unkind, it is all fake. Even more, no one can live there! 

As David took the throne over all of Israel, an exalted kingdom would emerge. God’s people would realize their best lives in the Promised Land. But why? How? Let’s begin by reading 2 Samuel 5:1-5,  

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood. Even while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led us out to battle and brought us back. The Lord also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over Israel.’” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began his reign; he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah. 

The Right King Must Be On The Throne: 

Long before it was a common saying, the Children of Israel learned the truth of the phrase, “United we stand and divided we fall.” In a healthy kingdom, only one king can reign and rule, and only one throne can exist. If that authority is divided in any way, chaos and weakness will ensue.  

In our last episode, we saw that Israel and Judah had been divided and that they each had their own king. The result was conflict, war, death, and an abundance of trouble. One people with two kings obviously doesn’t work, but what about two peoples with one king. Is that any better? Actually, no. 

An interesting historical example of that was the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which joined two independent countries under one king, Emperor Franz Joseph, in 1867. They had one king and one throne, but each country had veto powers over the kingdom’s laws, policies, and budgets. This made the nation unstable, and that instability helped spark World War I, which, ironically, resulted in the collapse of the dual monarchy itself. They were not united, and so divided, they fell. 

The only way that a kingdom works is for one people to have one king who is their sovereign ruler. This is the way it works in human kingdoms, and it is the way that it works in God’s Kingdom as well. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and no one else can be on the thrones of our lives. For Christians, that should be an obvious statement, and it is. Sadly, we too often try to qualify that statement, however. Jesus cannot be a part-time, or sometime King of our lives. We can’t decide to obey Him when we want to but then decide to go our own way when we want to. He can’t be the Lord of some parts of our lives, but not Lord over other parts of our lives. As Hudson Taylor, the missionary to China, said, "Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all." 

God’s Exalted Kingdom begins with the right King. Then, we must let Him overcome the strongholds in our lives. Next, let’s read 2 Samuel 5:6-8, 

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites had said to David, “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you” thinking, “David can’t get in here.” Yet David did capture the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. He said that day, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must go through the water shaft to reach the lame and the blind who are despised by David.” For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame will never enter the house.”  

Strongholds Must Be Overcome: 

A stronghold is any obstacle that separates us from God or from accomplishing His mission. The easiest strongholds to recognize are the physical strongholds like Jericho, and Jerusalem, both of which were fortifications that were held by the enemies of the Children of Israel. While these strongholds were different in many ways, they were both too strong for the Israelites to overcome on their own. 

In the time of Saul and David, it was not possible to successfully attack a well-prepared, fortified city. The armies of the day had no artillery, no explosives, and no aircraft. Neither did they have the Roman siege engines like the catapults and towers that they used to defeat the Jewish revolt in A.D. 70. If a city like Jericho or Jerusalem had the opportunity to stock-up on food, and if there was a well or other source of water in the city, then its people could hold-out almost indefinitely. It is no wonder that the Jebusites were so confident.  They saw their own strength, and they saw no way the army of Israel could prevail. 

Israel, on the other hand, could not abide the presence of strongholds like Jericho and Jerusalem. Until Jericho was reduced, the Jews could not enter the Promised Land and claim their inheritance from God. Until Jerusalem was reduced, the Jews could not be united as one people under one king who had been appointed for them by one God. The kingdom could never be exalted as long as such strongholds existed. 

The same is true for us today, although few physical strongholds stand in our way like Jericho or Jerusalem. Many other strongholds can exist in our lives, however, which separate us from God, and from the abundant life promised to us by Jesus. Emotional strongholds like arrogance or doubt or fear can keep us from committing our lives to God. Likewise, we may be faced with other strongholds, like an unhealthy relationship, or like an unwillingness to risk ridicule from the culture which surrounds us today. Some of us may be confronted by economic or financial strongholds which we can see no way to overcome. Regardless of whether the stronghold we face is spiritual, physical, emotional, or relational, and regardless of whether it is internal to ourselves, or imposed from outside of ourselves, the basic fact of a stronghold is that we need help to overcome them. From where does such help come? From God, of course, when we turn to Him the way that the Jews did before Jericho and before Jerusalem. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 

For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. 

 God overcame the stronghold of Jericho, and He also overcame the stronghold of Jerusalem. He is willing and able to overcome the strongholds in our lives as well, if we will allow Him!  

For an exalted kingdom to be created, strongholds must be overcome, but foundations must also be built upon, as we see in 2 Samuel 5:9-12, 

David took up residence in the stronghold, which he named the city of David. He built it up all the way around from the supporting terraces inward. David became more and more powerful, and the Lord God of Armies was with him. King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David; he also sent cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. 

Foundations Must Be Built Upon: 

Although tearing down strongholds is essential, it is not sufficient. Indeed, simply removing obstacles from our path is different than following that path to achieving God’s will for our lives. Solomon, David’s son, said in Ecclesiastes 3 that there is “a time to tear down and a time to build.” He also said that there is “a time to plant and time to uproot,” and that there is “a time to tear and a time to sew” as well. We must allow God to root out the bad things in our lives, but we must also allow Him to build-up the good things as well. This is what Jesus taught about this in Matthew 12:43-45, 

“When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ Returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.” 

Clearly, once the strongholds in our lives have been thrown down, we must shift our focus from fighting strongholds to becoming fruitful for God’s Kingdom. Fruitfulness is clearly God’s will for our lives, as demonstrated by when Jesus cursed the fig tree in Mark 11:12-14, 

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.  

Later, in Mark 11:20-25, we also read, 

In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. 

 Jesus clearly wants us to grow and mature and be fruitful as we walk with Him. If we don’t, I don’t believe that Jesus will curse us. People are far more valuable to Him than a fig tree, which we know is true because Jesus died so that all people would have the opportunity for salvation. Still, this event clearly shows us that we must lay the foundations for growth in our lives, and allow Jesus to nurture us, the way a gardener tends his garden. 

Remember, Jesus has also sent us the Holy Spirit, who lives in our lives, and who gives us spiritual gifts for growth and maturity and the edification of others. Also, if we let Him, the Holy Spirit will produce the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives, as Paul taught us in Galatians 5:22-24, 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and selfcontrol. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 

King David led the Children of Israel into building an exalted kingdom through having the right king, through overcoming strongholds, and through building on firm foundations, but one other thing was also necessary, as we will see in 2 Samuel 5:17-25, 

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they all went in search of David, but he heard about it and went down to the stronghold. So the Philistines came and spread out in Rephaim Valley. Then David inquired of the Lord: “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord replied to David, “Attack, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.” So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated them there and said, “Like a bursting flood, the Lord has burst out against my enemies before me.” Therefore, he named that place The Lord Bursts Out. The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off. The Philistines came up again and spread out in Rephaim Valley. So David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not attack directly, but circle around behind them and come at them opposite the balsam trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the Lord will have gone out ahead of you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” So David did exactly as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer. 

The Lord’s Way Must Be Our Way: 

Finally, we must walk with our Lord in our daily lives. David’s actions here are a great model for us to follow. First, a need arose, and David recognized that it was a need. Second, David turned to God, not just once, but on a regular basis. Third, God responded to David, as we know He always does to the needs of His people. Finally, and essentially, David followed the revealed will of the Lord.  

Something we must not overlook here is that David inquired of God twice, and God responded twice, but the details were different. Every challenge that comes into our lives is not the same. Noted football coach and sportscaster John Madden once wrote a book, and his title reminds us of this fact: One Size Doesn’t Fit All. As an extra-large person in a world designed for medium-sized people, that sentiment resonates with me, and not just for fashion reasons alone. 

Spiritually, we must remember that God’s will for one situation might be different than it is for another situation. But get this: God’s will for two similar situations might be different, or it might even mature into something else halfway through the same situation. So, is God’s will as chaotic and arbitrary as the Transportation Security Agency’s airport boarding policies seem to be? 

No, of course not. 

Our God is an intentional God, but His ways are vastly higher and more complex than ours are. We don’t have to understand all that He is doing, however, to trust Him and His will. What we must do, however, is stay in touch with Him. One of the first signs of trouble in the Garden of Eden was when God came to fellowship with Adam and Eve, but they hid from Him because of their sin. Instead, let us confess our sin, and stay in touch with God! 

Conclusion: 

 No one lives in the Magic Kingdom, and truthfully, no one lives on the mountain top experiences we can have from time to time with God, either. If, however, we get real with Him, we can live our best lives in His Exalted Kingdom, both with Him here on earth and also in the hereafter with Him in heaven. 

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt