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Speaking the Truth In Love |
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Article Archive |
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Weekly Devotionals from God’s Word |
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Have you ever stepped outside on a warm spring morning with the sun coming up? Without a cloud in the sky you can tell that the day will be filled with blessing, and it gives you a feeling of excitement of what is to come. The words in this verse were spoken to show the relationship between one who rules in righteousness and its effect on people. When David spoke these words it was near the time of his death. He had a close relationship with God for many years and was reflecting back on it. This relationship had begun when David was a young man and continued throughout his life. David started out as a shepherd and ended as one of the greatest kings that Israel would ever have. Although there were valleys in this relationship, David strove to stay on the mountaintop of righteousness. This was reflected in his reign as king. Through God’s power, David had provided Israel with peace and security. He even gave the people a sense of righteousness by leading them back to worshipping God. God had established David as king, and because David was faithful to Him, God made His covenant with David. God’s promise was that David would have a Son to sit on the throne forever. In addition to looking back on his reign as king, this verse looks forward to the time when Jesus Christ will rule on earth. As great of a king that David was, he still had his limitations and failures. When these things happened, the nation also went through troubling times. But the Promised Son, Jesus Christ, will one day sit on David’s throne. When He does the whole world will experience the joys of living under Someone who rules in perfect righteousness. Wouldn’t peace and security be wonderful? Wouldn’t it be great to live in a land of righteousness? The resent primary races have given some people hope that things will get better in our country. Some have a candidate whose platform best matches what they feel would be an improvement. Others take an opposite view. They believe that the current field is lacking and wish there was someone else. However, no matter what a person’s political view most could agree that a time of peace, security, and righteousness would be great. Having those things would be great, but they will never fully be realized in this or any other country until the promised time of Jesus comes. When He sits on David’s throne, everything God has promised will come to pass. Things on earth can get better before then, but it will never be like what is promised because of sin—sin in the lives of our leaders, our country, and even ourselves. Nothing can be perfect until the sin is gone, and the sin will not be gone until the righteousness of Jesus comes. The time when Jesus reigns will be wonderful, but we need to be sure that we will be there when it comes. We can only live in this promised land of righteousness if we know the righteousness of Christ as our Savior. Jesus came to bring righteousness and peace to people spiritually now. The physical righteousness and peace will be something to look forward to later. |
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“And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.” 2 Samuel 23:4 |
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Hoping for the future |
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by Stephen Lee |
