Small King, Big God

By Shane Saxon

One of the all-time worst political ads is the commercial that Christopher Knight paid for in 2006 to promote his campaign to the Rockingham County Board of Education. In the excruciating sixty-two second run-time, Christopher “Jedi” Knight (I kid you not) wields a lightsaber as he promises his future constituents that he will summon the power of the force to improve public education in rural North Carolina. 

Christopher Knight was not elected. 

Knight’s ad is a funny example of the way all political ads today attempt to promote candidates by presenting them as strong, capable, and wise. But in Psalm 21, we read an “ad” for the king of Israel, and it’s exactly the opposite of what we might expect. Instead of boasting about his strength as the king of a mighty nation, David says the strength of the king is the Lord. 

I’m sure there were a few citizens in Jerusalem who felt safe when their king was physically strong; King Saul was a sturdy six-foot-tall, broad-shouldered warrior. When they saw David on the throne, they saw a small, young man with a fair complexion. But David didn’t trust his own strength. He knew that the God of Israel was a “man of war” (Exodus 15:3). In Psalm 21:8-12, David says that it’s Yahweh who will seize the opposing forces, swallow them with flames, and route His enemies. David was a king who trusted his God—the Lord who rides the clouds as his war chariot—to bring his people into shalom.

David’s approach to humble kingship not only brought peace but also prosperity. According to Psalm 21:2-7, The king of Israel has rich blessings, a golden crown, a long life, happiness, and splendor. How did he get these blessings? It wasn’t through a new economic plan for Israel, strong borders, inventive trade agreements, or savvy diplomatic solutions. Instead, David points to a better way. The king of Israel prays to God: “You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips” (Psalm 21:2). And he trusts in God: “For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved” (Psalm 21:7). This was a kingdom built not on the strength of men, but through reliance upon the Almighty. Truly, Israel under David’s kingship could gladly claim Deuteronomy 4:7: “What great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us!”

And yet…within two generations this kingdom would crumble. The prosperity would be lost and the peace would be stolen. Over the next millenia, Jerusalem was captured and destroyed several times over. But suddenly a carpenter’s son, named Jesus, appeared declaring that he was a king like David and that Israel could return to the peace and prosperity of David’s reign only if they also returned to the way of David: reliance upon God. As Jesus taught, in His kingdom “the meek will inherit the earth,” so seek righteousness and all these things will be given to you.

What do you trust in? The strength of nations? Or the strength of your God?