2 Samuel 23:4- The King is Beautiful
The other two illustrations in verse 4 fill in the picture a bit. The first is of the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning. The final picture of his reign is as rain. His ‘reign’ – his rule – will be like ‘rain’ that makes the grass sprout. Unlike other rulers who tramp people down, like a heavy boot on the grass, the Lord Jesus will not break a bruised reed or trample down the grass. This is our king. And it’s not just a future picture. Through his word and by his Spirit, his light is already dawning on us. We have begun to experience a refreshing, reviving, rejuvenating power that we won’t experience anywhere else. Is that not your experience if you’ve become a Christian recently? It’s like the morning light has dawned, the sun is shining without clouds, and refreshing rain showers are sprinkling the parched earth.
If we know this king, if we’ve experienced the sun shining on us and been refreshed by the rain he sends, then there should be something different about us. If the king is beautiful, if there’s something attractive about him, then there should be something attractive about us as well. Proverbs 4.18 says that ‘the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day’. And it contrasts that with the way of the wicked, which is like deep darkness. Your life and mine should be a contrast to those around us. And not simply because of what we don’t do. Is Jesus an attractive, beautiful king because of what he doesn’t do? Or because of what he does? Now he is a beautiful contrast to the rulers of this world because he doesn’t do the things that they do. But above all it is his sheer goodness that makes him most beautiful – his positive righteousness and holiness. What does this sort of positive righteousness and holiness look like? It doesn’t have to be anything particularly complicated. It’s just living out the implications of the gospel in our everyday lives: our work, relationships, and so on. Whatever your calling is, simply living it out wholeheartedly as a Christian can really make those around you sit up and take notice. The Psalms talk about the beauty of holiness. We see that in Jesus. And others should be able to see it in us. Yes, the most we’ll ever be is a candle, while he is the sun. But what is true of the king here should be true of the king’s people.
Question
- What kind of things should be different about us as believers?
Prayer Points
- Pray that people will see the beauty of holiness in your life.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.