To Encourage You

2 Samuel 8:13 “And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.”

How do the kingdoms of this world advance? What are their methods?  From the beginning of time there has been only one way – warfare, the taking of human life.  Kingdoms rise by force.  We see it in biblical history as the kingdoms of Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Greece, Persia, and Rome have risen and fallen. As we see in the verse above from 2 Samuel, we have seen it in the nation of Israel as well.  And it continues today.  Hitler slaughtered millions.  So did Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, and Hirohito in the not-too-distant past.  Today we can point to ISIS and the brutality with which they attempted to establish a Muslim caliphate throughout the world.   In America, how many lives were taken in the Revolutionary and Civil wars and in the growth of the United States in its advance westward.  Has there ever been a case where an earthly kingdom has ever become what it was without warfare, mayhem, and the taking of human life?  So, when Jesus told us to pray, “thy kingdom come,” is that what He was talking about?

Obviously, the answer is “no.” One place we see this is when Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36).  You see, in contrast to the kingdoms of this world, God’s kingdom doesn’t advance by bringing death to the physically alive, but by bringing life to those who are spiritually dead.  Rather than taking our life from us, the King of kings gave His life for us. Who ever heard of such a thing?  Who ever heard of a king sacrificing His life for His enemies so that His enemies could be saved from death, “delivered . . . from the domain of darkness and transferred . . . to the kingdom of (God’s) beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13)? 

You see, the kingdom of God is surely advancing, but it’s not advancing like any kingdom this world has ever known.  It advances by the kindness and mercy of God.  In the passage above we see that “David made a name for himself” by killing thousands of his enemies in warfare.  Conversely, the King of kings has saved the lives of many of His enemies “for his name’s sake” (Psalm 106:8).  As the psalmist cried out in Psalm 79:9 “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake!” 

So what should our response be?  Surely, it should be that which is expressed in the following words from the apostle Paul, who was continually overwhelmed by the mercy God showed to Him in spite of his war against the church, the kingdom of God: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).