To Encourage You

2 Samuel 19:41-43 “Then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, ‘Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?’ All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, ‘Because the king is our close relative. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?’ And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, ‘We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?’ But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.’”

The Bible tells us that “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).  This statement is bookended by these two statements about Jesus: “he (i.e., Jesus) has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” and “so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”  These references are to Jesus’ first coming, which we celebrate at Christmas, and His second coming, that has yet to occur.  What this means is that we are all living in the interim, and what we do regarding Him during this time will have everything to do with what happens when we face our own time of judgment. 

In the passage above we have an account of the second coming of another king, King David. He had been anointed by God as King of Israel but had been rejected by that nation (except for a remnant that had remained loyal to him) as Absalom usurped the throne in a civil war. David, although still the rightful king, went into exile, but now the rebellion had been put down and David was returning to Jerusalem to again reign as king.  It is interesting to see how the people of Judah, which was David’s tribe, and Israel, which was made of 10 of the other 11 Israelite tribes, reacted.  As their situation slowly dawned on them, they realized that they had been in serious error by following Absalom. Now Absalom was dead, and what should they do?  Israel makes the first move and decides that they should now invite the king back.  David, when he heard about this, reaches out to Judah with these words: “Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king? You are my brothers; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?”  It is only then that Judah acts.  The passage above gives us Israel’s reaction to this and the conflict that results between the tribes. The 10 tribes felt that they had been despised by Judah by taking the initiative to bring David back without their involvement. They felt they had a “right” to David because they represented the majority of all the nation. Judah, on the other hand, believed that it was their “right” to bring David back, because they were from David’s tribe and the most closely related to him.  The truth of the matter was that neither Israel NOR Judah had a greater interest in the king – for they had both rejected him and were only returning to him now as a last resort. Their “eagerness” in welcoming back David was rather hollow, and their bickering over which entity was more “worthy” to bring back the king was nothing more than evidence of their unworthiness to be ruled by One Who had been anointed by God. 

So, what does this have to do with you and me? Is there a lesson here for us as we wait for the King of kings return? Well, for one, again as we are told in Hebrews, at the final judgment the only ones who will be received with open arms by the King are those who have been “eagerly waiting for him.” You see, Jesus came the first time as a sacrifice for sin.  We are living now in a period where that sacrifice can be accepted by us, by faith, as sufficient for our own sins – or not. The Bible is clear that this is the only basis for salvation.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” That means that none of us, whether we be Jew or Gentile, will be able to claim any other right to the kingdom of God in the end. The Bible says that Jesus “came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11).  Just as both Judah and Israel rejected David, the Jews of the first century rejected Jesus (as have most Jews ever since), who was their own brother.  Of course, we all, whether Jew or Gentile, have likewise rejected Him, as our sin against the Law of God attests.  And so, we are told that “the Scripture imprisoned everything (meaning everyone) under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (Galatians 3:22).  In other words, our defense at the judgment will not be that we are of Jesus’ family (i.e., Jews) by birth. Neither will it be that we have some other justification based on who we are (e.g., we are in “the majority” in some form or other, such as the 10 tribes) or what we’ve done.  Jesus warned that in the end, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).  No, on that day NO ONE will boast, for the only basis anyone will have to enter the kingdom will be that they have confessed their sinful rejection of Him, and have humbly asked for His forgiveness. It will be on the basis of what He has already done for them, not in what they have, in any way, done for Him. It is only those who have gratefully placed their faith in Him that are actually looking for Him eagerly right now.

So, does that describe you? Are you eagerly waiting for the King of kings? Or are you unwittingly continuing to follow the usurper while the true King, with great patience, waits in the wings.