Author: David McKay

What makes a good leader?  Much depends on the sphere in which leadership is exercised.  Often in politics lack of leadership is apparent, and concern with popularity can take priority.  Scripture has much to say about those who lead God’s people.  Both being and doing are crucial.  We now consider 1 Kings 2:1-46 The kingdom secured.

1. Obeying God

We need to understand that Israel’s king ruled the covenant people of God.  This is rooted in the covenant that God made with David (2 Samuel 7), especially the promise ‘I will raise up your offspring to succeed you…I will establish his kingdom’ (v12).  The promise finds its ultimate fulfilment in King Jesus.  Within the covenant God’s requirement of his people is always loving obedience, especially on the part of the King.  Regarding Solomon, David charges him, ‘observe what the Lord your God requires’ (v3).  Within the covenant obedience is the path to blessing – by God’s grace, not because we deserve it.  Without obedience, we cannot claim to love God.  We want to be one ‘who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice’ (Matthew 7:24).

2. Implementing justice

God ensures the welfare of his kingdom.  He gives the covenant blessing, but his people, especially his king, have the responsibility to act in ways that promote the kingdom’s welfare.  The kingdom will not be established without the king’s implementing justice.  We are not to think of David and Solomon as cynical ruthless political operators: they are God’s rulers seeking to implement justice in the ambiguities of a fallen world.

            (i). Adonijah.  He is the architect of his own downfall, the request for Abishag either folly or a renewed attempt on the throne.  He rejects the mercy already shown.

            (ii). Joab.  He had much blood on his hands, including Abner (2 Samuel 3:27) and Amasa (2 Samuel 20:9-10), as well as Absalom.  The justice that David had failed to exact, in fear of Joab, will now be executed.

            (iii). Abiathar.  Although he had stood by David during Absalom’s revolt (2 Samuel 15:24), which now saved his life, he had joined Adonijah’s revolt.  To retain usefulness in the Lord’s service, we must persevere.

            (iv). Barzillai.  His faithfulness to David is rewarded (v7).  The ‘kindness’ is a reflection of the covenant kindness of the Lord who never forsakes his people.

3. Securing peace

Note ‘The kingdom was now finally established in Solomon’s hands’ (v46).  There is peace within the kingdom, based on the justice described.  The rule of King Jesus is established on justice, with the King bearing the penalty due to the sins of his people (2 Corinthians 5:21).  That is how God’s kingdom operates.  Concern for righteousness and justice should inform the discipline of the church.  Ultimate peace will be secured at the return of the King in his judgment of unrepentant enemies, when ‘he has put all his enemies under his feet’ (Psalm 110:1, 1 Corinthians 15:25), securing his Kingdom.

No leader is immortal.  Even the greatest can serve only for a limited time.  Eventually he or she must step aside (or be removed by death or other forces).  That time of change can be difficult and dangerous.  At the beginning of 1 Kings Israel is approaching a time of transition as David nears the end of his life: what will become of the kingdom?  We must also bear in mind that the Lord appoints the king and Israel is a picture of the Kingdom of God, so that the king foreshadows the Messiah, who reigns over God’s eternal kingdom.  We begin by considering 1 Kings 1:1-53 Long live King Solomon.

1. The rebellion planned

The kingdom is in danger since David is ‘old and well advanced in years’ (v1).  He seems to have reached a point of allowing things to happen rather than taking decisive action.  Such apparent weakness provides an opportunity for Adonijah (v5) to foment rebellion.  He seems totally unqualified, making no mention of the Lord and giving no evidence of personal godliness.  David has not exercised control (v6) and the rebellion gathers supporters (v7ff).  Here is a reminder that God’s king and kingdom are always under attack – see Psalm 2 – with the ultimate fulfilment in the Messiah (see Acts 4:24-30).

2. The succession secured

The Lord always has faithful kingdom servants to fulfil his purposes, such as Nathan (v11) who sees the danger and implements a plan of action.  He also includes Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, who received a promise that Solomon would be king (v17).  They understood that trust in God’s sovereignty did not rule out action guided by faith.  God used the action of such faithful servants to preserve the kingdom.  Being ‘shrewd as snakes’ (Matthew 10:16), we must work diligently for the King as he gives opportunity.

3. The king proclaimed

The news from Nathan and Bathsheba transforms David.  The ‘old David’ is needed and returns.  He is powerfully motivated when he understands the danger in which the kingdom stands.  He has a profound awareness of the Lord: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble’ (v29).  He does all that is required for Solomon’s coronation as co-regent (v32-40).  His action is necessary for the fulfilment of the sovereign plan of God.  Like David, we should be stirred by a deep concern for the welfare of God’s kingdom as we serve King Jesus.

4. The kingdom preserved

Adonijah’s rebellion disintegrates in the face of the king’s action and Solomon’s anointing.  Though David’s action was crucial, he knows that it is by God’s hand that this has happened – ‘Praise be to the Lord’ (v48).  Ultimately the rebellion of the nations is frustrated by the appointed Messiah – ‘I have installed my king on Zion’ (Psalm 2:6).  The Lord will not allow his kingdom to perish and so we can rejoice in faith.

If a royal visitor was coming, you would make the best preparations you could.  You would not think that second best would be ‘good enough’.  Not least, you would want to look your best, dressed suitably to meet such a dignitary.  If that is the case for a merely human ruler, how much more careful should we be when we know we will stand before the King of kings?  We now consider 2 Peter 3:14-18 The Lord is coming.

1. Exhortation to prepare

The details of the Second Coming of the Lord exercise a fascination for some people, but we must not try to go beyond what he has actually revealed in Scripture.  The information we are given is to have a practical effect on the lives of believers.  Thus we read, ‘since you are looking forward to this, make every effort’ (v14).  It is a call to action, an exhortation to the hard work that will prepare for the Lord’s coming.  We will ‘be found in his sight’ (v14, lit.) – the final judgment.  How are we to prepare?  Note ‘at peace’ – chiefly with one another, as disunity among believers dishonours the Lord.  In our personal spiritual life we are to be ‘spotless, blameless’, our desire is to be like Christ (see 1 Peter 1:19).  Note also Hebrews 12:14 ‘without holiness no-one will see the Lord’.

2. Exhortation to learn

We have here a fascinating insight into the development of the New Testament.  Peter quotes Paul in support of his teaching: ‘just as our dear brother Paul also wrote’ (v15).  Note the authority of his writings: ‘the wisdom given him’ (v15; ‘by God’ not in the original, but the meaning is clear).  Paul’s writings are classed with ‘the other Scriptures’ (v16) – they are equally part of the ‘God-breathed’ writings (2 Timothy 3:16).  In time the church came to recognise the inspired nature of our NT documents, acknowledging (not granting) their authority.  We are to learn from them and submit to their teaching.  Granted we find ‘some things that are hard to understand’, but we must not be like ‘ignorant and unstable people’ who twist Scripture and damage their souls.  We need to be firmly grounded in the truths revealed in the Word of God.

3. Exhortation to grow

With deep pastoral concern Peter gives final instructions:

• Negative: We are to remain steadfast in the truth we know and ‘be on your guard’ (v17).  If Christians do not guard against the subtle attacks of error, they may become unstable and unable to resist the temptations that would be destructive of their spiritual life.  There must be no complacency (1 Corinthians 10:12).

• Positive: ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (v18).  Being firmly rooted in truth is the beginning, but then there must be growth and progress.  Knowledge must be translated into godly living.  We never relax in this life (Philippians 3:12).  The focus is to be on Christ and the doxology is a fitting conclusion.

The end of the world is a subject that fascinates many people – how might it happen, when will it come?  In unsettled times, times of conflict, the end of the world does not seem to be a remote prospect.  People can offer all kinds of theories and speculations, but only the sovereign Lord can tell us what he has decreed for the future.  We now consider 2 Peter 3:1-13 The Day of the Lord.

1. The ridicule of unbelievers

What Peter says may well be related to the activity of false teachers already described.  ‘First of all you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come’ (v3).  The last days began with the first coming of Christ (Hebrews 1:2).  Error is again related to immoral conduct – ‘following their own evil desires’.  The nature of the scoffing is questioning the reality of Christ’s return – ‘Where is this “coming” he promised?’ (v4).  A problem in the early church was that some Christians misunderstood Jesus’ teaching and thought he would come back almost at once (see Mark 9:1).   When he did not come back, they became distressed and open to the attacks of scoffers – ‘everything goes on as it has’ (v4).  The challenge that believers often have to face is that unbelievers refuse to believe what their senses cannot detect and Christian faith becomes an object of ridicule.

2. The reply of Peter

Peter is undeterred and offers his readers a twofold answer:

• Things do not go on unchanged (v5-7).  Creation has once before undergone dramatic change at the Flood (Genesis 7).  This is a token that the Lord can do the same again, this time by fire – ‘reserved for fire’ (v7).  Scoffers are wilfully blind to the truth.
• It is folly to believe that God is subject to our timescale – time is irrelevant to God.  He ‘is not slow in keeping his promise’ (v7).  The ‘delay’ is to allow time for repentance.

3. The renewal of creation

Peter uses dramatic language to describe the final events.  The focus is on God’s action.  There will be ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ (v11) – renewal, not annihilation.  This is also taught in Romans 8:22.  The cosmic transformation is bound up with the completion of our salvation, our adoption.  There will be a perfect creation as a result of God’s sovereign work.  The ravages of sin will be removed from believers and the creation

4. The response of believers

The description of the final cosmic renewal is not given to inspire fear in believers – they have nothing to fear as they meet their Saviour.  We ‘are looking forward’ (v13) in anticipation.  There is, however, to be a practical response in the present – ‘what kind of people ought you to be? (v11).  The prospect of the passing away of the temporal order should be a spur to a life of obedience.  God uses our efforts to prepare the way (v12).

Nobody wants to give unnecessary offence.  We want to avoid hurting others.  These are right and proper concerns.  They can however lead us to refuse to disagree with opinions that we believe to be seriously wrong and harmful.  One of the highly regarded virtues of our society is tolerance, but when it comes to issues of truth there have to be limits to tolerance.  Those who teach error regarding the basics of the gospel cannot be ignored.  We now consider 2 Peter 2:10b – 21 Beware false teachers.

1. A wicked life

Peter knows that false teaching and those who spread it can have a fatal attraction.  It appears that something more exciting than the old orthodoxy is on offer.  Hence Peter’s lengthy indictment.  There seems to be a spiritual arrogance in these teachers – ‘Bold and arrogant…not afraid to slander celestial beings’ (v10b).  The ‘celestial beings’ are fallen angels (v11) – the teachers seem to have a casual attitude to spiritual dangers.  They fail to recognise their own smallness.  ‘They ‘blaspheme in matters they do not understand’.  There is a moral laxity (v14), with their whole life infected by this outlook.  Even the company of Christians is not a restraint.  Also ‘they are experts in greed’ (v14).  False teachers seem to offer much but in fact deliver nothing – ‘springs without water’ (v17).

2. A destructive influence

False teachers can enjoy a measure of success, but are also one of the ways God chastens and awakens a sleepy church.  They make an impressive sound that can have an effect on the spiritually immature.  Even true believers can be led astray for a time.  In particular danger are ‘those who are just escaping from those who live in error’ (v18).  Old sins can exert a strong pull and knowledge of the truth can be limited, and so they are vulnerable.  False teachers ‘promise them freedom’ – freedom from any restraint, even of God’s law.  They are told they can live as they please.  In fact such a life is bondage – false teachers are ‘slaves of depravity’ v19).  The danger is real.  Many follow false ways to their cost.  True believers can be influenced by them if they are not on their guard.  The greatest danger is to those not well-grounded in the truth.  That is why the church must be so careful to instruct the Lord’s people well.  Truth protects.

3. A lost opportunity

Sadly, these false teachers had a knowledge of the truth that could have led to a heart commitment to Christ (v20).  They know the way of salvation and it has had some effect, but Peter is not saying they were ever truly saved.  Some can go a long way in understanding the gospel yet never actually believe.  To go back instead of forward spiritually is a very serious matter – ‘they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning’ (v20).  Remember Jesus’ story of the man from whom a demon was exorcised, but nothing good was put in its place (Matthew 12:45).  Peter offers two unflattering illustrations (v22).  Some knowledge of the truth and some moral renovation are not enough – our only hope is in Christ, made ours by repentance and saving faith.