Proverbs 19:12
The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favor is as dew upon the grass.
Of Earthly Kings and Princes
I was intrigued this week to see a video posted on Facebook in which Prince Charles spoke very favorably of the church in the UK. He was referring to a particular event called The BigChurchDayOut, but the positive manner in which he described the church was most encouraging. Prince Charles is not yet King Charles, but he is next in line to the British throne, and his favor is definitely worth having. In fact, Prince Charles has bestowed his favor on many through his involvement with various charities through The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation.
While Prince Charles is unlikely to display wrath, many of his ancestors were skilled in anger. Before the monarchy became constitutional, the Kings and Queens of England were the most powerful individuals in the land, and their subjects were wise to avoid their wrath. Anger the king and you might up in The Tower of London, facing torture and execution. Not even the rich and famous were safe. It seems amazing that the great explorer Sir Walter Raleigh met his end not during some dangerous expedition, but at the blade of the executioner’s axe.
King of Kings
Psalm 47:7 states: ‘For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise’ while in Revelation 19:16 God is referred to as the ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.’ God is King above all kings, but unlike other kings He does not demand our allegiance. The King of kings gives us a choice. He doesn’t threaten us with His wrath, but instead promises favor that is like dew on the grass, or icing on the cake (to bring this proverb up to date). But while God’s wrath may not fall on us now if we turn our backs on Him, there will be a day when all humanity will be required to stand before the King (Matthew 25:31-46).
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Proverbial Thought 
May 10th, 2013 at 8:32 am
I think there are many of us who have no idea what it is like to be ruled by, as you mention, the former kings and queens of England for instance. We also have no idea what it is like to relate to priests (i.e. those of us who were not ‘brought up’ in the Anglican or Roman Catholic traditions). So when we read that Yeshua is King and High Priest, what does this mean to us? This has been a personal challenge.
But recently I’ve read a Viking series by Waldo Tomosky, regarding the Nordic/Icelandic kings. It certainly gives an idea of allegiance to kings, and what happens when you don’t join the king’s retinue at his invitation.
In the Bible we read about King Saul at whose table sat a number of invitees – King David also had invitees at his kingly table. When a person failed to pitch up at their tables for one day, you could be forgiven. But continuing to ignore such a privilege of eating at the king’s table was tantamount to treason, or an open threat to the king.
Yeshua messiah invites us to eat at His table. I’ve been challenged by the late David Wilkerson’s talk on what it means to not pitch up at the Lord’s table (He is our daily bread). What is the level then, of our allegiance to him?
Thank you for reminding us what it means to be “subject to the King.”
May 10th, 2013 at 8:40 am
Thank you so much for adding to this post and bringing such clarity to the challenge of our allegiance to the King. The thought that repeatedly failing to accept our invite to the King’s table could be viewed as treason really puts it into perspective.