A King is Born

America is very proud of her democratic approach to government. Every July 4th, we celebrate the fact that we overthrew a king to become our own independent nation. Throughout our history, we've fought against despots and dictators, seeking to free the people of other nations so they might enjoy the democratic freedoms we enjoy. Even during this past election cycle, the Democratic Party made one of their campaign slogans "Democracy is on the line," because they know we Americans hold a beloved belief of the democratic process ensconced in the Constitution. We are a bit like Boromir in the Fellowship of the Ring, who said, "Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king!"

And yet, as I watch our presidential election cycle every four years, and have interacted with humans as a full-time minister for nearly thirty years now, I have come to the conclusion that something within the human heart still longs for a king. It seems to me that many politically active Americans act as though their preferred presidential candidate will save our nation like a great king. Unmarried individuals long for a romantic partner who will be like a king (or queen!) who will swoop in and rescue them from the enemy of singleness. Kids and teens set social media influencers or certain musicians as kings who will rescue them from boredom and give them purpose in life.

We Americans may talk like we don't need a king, yet our actions betray our words. Something within us longs for a king to save us, protect us, and give us purpose. Thankfully, God has provided the perfect person who can fulfill this longing.

Today, we conclude our short, three-week, blog-only Advent series entitled For Unto Us. So far, we've seen that the long-awaited Messiah was to be a prophet like Moses and a priest like Melchizedek. This week, we come to the most famous role the Messiah would hold: a King like David.

King David's Throne

In 1 Samuel 8, the ancient Israelite people longed to have a king like all of the other nations around. God's design, however, was for Israel to be different with Him serving as their king. To show the people an earthly king was not the answer, God allowed them to receive for what they longed.

Saul was a horrible first king. He was insecure, which led to poor decision-making. So God had mercy upon the people and gave them a much better king named David. While far from perfect, David was described by Paul in Acts 13:22 (alluding to 1 Samuel 13:14) as being "a man after God's own heart."

Because of King David's dedication to the Lord, God promised David in 2 Samuel 7 that his throne would be "established forever." While the throne did remain in David's lineage for many generations, eventually it "appeared" to end after so many later kings did evil in the sight of the Lord and drew the hearts of the people away from God. However, both Matthew and Luke show through their genealogies that Jesus was from the line of David, even being born in David's town of Bethlehem, indicating He had the right by birth to take the throne.

And take it He did! However, this time it wasn't to establish Israel as a geopolitical power, but to bring the elect into the Kingdom of God. Instead of a crown of gold, His coronation came with a crown of thorns. And His throne wasn't an impressive seat, but a rugged cross. And He didn't become a king, He was already the King at the moment of His birth.

That is why at Christmas we can celebrate that a King is born!