 Christ's
Kingdom in i Samuel
David
M. VanDrunen,
Ph.D.Dear Alumni,
Whether you’re serving as a pastor or working full time in a
secular field, one thing that I hope we have in common is
devotion to the church of Jesus Christ. Preaching recently from
1 Samuel 24 was a helpful reminder to me of the nature of
Christ’s kingdom as we now experience it in the church. Perhaps
a few reflections on this chapter of Scripture may be of
encouragement to you as you labor for the church in various
ways.
1 Samuel 24 is part of the larger story of Israel under the
reign of its first king, Saul. Israel sinned in asking Samuel to
appoint for them a king like the kings of the nations all
around—which they received in Saul, who was tall and had good
weapons and undoubtedly looked impressive at the head of an
army. God has indeed appointed kings for the nations all around,
and they serve important purposes in the present world (Romans
13:1-7).
But OT Israel was not like the nations all around. They were
God’s covenant nation, a type of the eternal kingdom. They
needed a different kind of king, one who could serve not merely
temporal interests but bring in eternal righteousness and peace.
In Saul’s failure, Israel suffered the consequences of seeking a
king like those of the nations all around. But God did not
abandon his people, instead sending them David, a different sort
of king, one after God’s own heart, one who would point the OT
people to Christ perhaps in richer ways than any other OT
figure.
1 Samuel 24 is a marvelous example of this. Here David finds his
fortunes reversed. While being hunted by Saul he suddenly
becomes the master of the situation, when Saul relieves himself
in the very cave where David and his men were hiding. David’s
followers told him to strike (as any king of the nations all
around would have done), but he refrained (24:6). He hoped for
God’s vengeance, but he himself would not lift his hand against
Saul (24:12).
What a wonderful picture of Christ and his kingdom. Christ
himself would be urged to take vengeance upon his enemies by his
disciples, yet he refused (Luke 9:54-55). He knew that his
calling was to suffer for our salvation, and he endured
persecution, crying out to God for vindication without lifting
his own hand in vengeance (Isaiah 53:7; Hebrews 5:7). As
citizens of a kingdom that serves this sort of king, we are
called to love our enemies, turn our cheek to those who wrong
us, and leave vengeance to God (Matthew 5:11, 38-48; Romans
12:17-20). And as God brought about victory for David despite
his refusal to strike down his enemy, and as God brought about
victory through Christ’s humble sufferings, so still today he
brings victory and salvation through his church, which advances
not through the weapons of this world, but through patient
obedience to her Lord, with no other weapon than the powerful
word of God.
May each of you prosper as you conduct yourselves in this way in
your service to Christ and his church.
David VanDrunen
Robert B. Strimple Associate Professor of
Systematic Theology
Copyright 2006 Westminster Seminary
California. All rights reserved.
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