Proverbs 29:14 A King Who will rule forever

If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure.

In his commentary, Matthew Henry noted that the rich can afford to defend themselves, but the ruler of a nation must defend the poor people within his borders. Leaders of nations, large or small, are called to be impartial in their judgements and to see to the needs of all of their subjects, rich or poor.

Leviticus 19:15 You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: you shall not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.

In the Psalms God promises the Hebrew king that his throne will be established forever if he is faithful to the poor, and in the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar is told this:

Daniel 4:27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of your tranquility.

In a literal way, this also refers to our Lord Jesus, since the Bible says that He will return to earth and rule for a thousand years. The early Christians believed this implicitly, and Paul said more than once that His return was "at hand." (Philippians 4:5, and II Thess. 2:2) At hand was a phrase that conveyed the concept "will happen quickly."

Can you blame them for not figuring it out? They were anxious for Him to return! But in the same way that they had missed the way the prophecies lined up about their Lord (His suffering, death and resurrection), they also missed the fact that:

A thousand years in your sight
    are like a day that has just gone by,    or like a watch in the night. Psalm 90:4

So then, if two thousand or even three thousand years pass before He returns, that is still just the blink of an eye to God.
Christ's reign will be firm, just and fair. Christ, who will be the most righteous King of all, was always gentle and merciful to the poor, and in Revelation we are reminded that He will reign forever:

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

“The kingdom of the world has become
    the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
    and he will reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15

I'm with the early Christians -- even so, Lord, come quickly!!

Proverbs 14:28

Please let me remind you that we encourage discussion! When you leave a comment, there is a box that you can mark that will send all comments to your email so that you can join in. If you are reading this study even months later than the rest of us...we will still love your comments and/or questions. If you are joining by email, then just email your comment to me, and I'll post it. Once again, even if it is months from now! Discussion is a big part of learning and we encourage it. Thank you!

In a multitude of people is a king's glory, But in the dearth of people is the prince's ruin. NASB

As you can tell from above, I use the New American Standard version for my personal Bible study. I am so glad I do, because it made me dig a little deeper today. "Dearth" is used by this version as it is closest to the original Hebrew text. "Dearth" means 'scarcity' or 'shortage of'. 

So, basically the verse says in Tonya's words, "A king that has a big kingdom is blessed, but a prince that has no subjects is ruined." 

Now we know that King Solomon was probably writing these Proverbs to his son. And King Solomon for sure had a very large kingdom. So, it was probably a good thing to be telling his son. In other words, "Take care of your people so that you will prosper." 

Ok, well, I am pretty sure that none of us reading this are part of a royal family. 

Oh, but wait! We are!

And as part of His family it is our job to further his kingdom. 

We have for sure discussed this now and again, so today in your personal time I'd like you to re-visit it a moment. How can you, right where you are TODAY, further Christ's Kingdom?

Please, I would love to see discussion on this! 

--Tonya--