What comes to mind when you hear the name “Solomon?”
Yeah, that. Wisdom. Too bad he lived long enough to throw his life into reverse.
Solomon was a piece of work. He went from healthy, wealthy and wise to hedonistic, weird and wicked. Finally, toward the end of his reign, the Lord had seen enough. He spoke to Solomon and told him he was going to tear away all but one tribe from his son (1 Kings 11:13).
Okay. But why not clean house? Why not do a clean sweep? He’d done it before with Israel’s first king. And may I just say… Saul may have gone from compromiser to crazy, but compared to Solomon, Saul was a saint.
So what gives with God?
He explains in a prophetic message to the man – Jereboam – who would later do the kingdom-tearing.
“But to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may have a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name” (1 Kings 11:36).
There it was. The unnamed character in the story. The man who stood between Jerusalem and final judgment. And get this: He had been dead for years.
Three places in the Old Testament, a reference is made to David having a “lamp” before the Lord in Jerusalem. In the natural, it meant that David would have an enduring throne with a son on it in Jerusalem forever.
But it also speaks of a man’s spiritual legacy before the Lord, especially when you consider that the Lord allowed repeated generations and nations of people to be destroyed because of their wickedness. Judah also had its share, as generation after generation of wicked kings – descendents of David – occupied the throne.
Nevertheless, one man’s light continued to shine, hundreds of years after his death. One man, who in spite of the fact that he was a well-documented adulterer, murderer and liar, knew the grace of his God.
What Made David So Different?
The Bible is blunt about the humanity of its heroes. David was no exception. He failed in some pretty spectacular ways. He had an affair, he covered it up, he had the “other man” killed, he covered that up… but he had an appointment with Nathan the prophet, and he’d run out of cover.
Let me pause here to say that I have encountered people in this kind of situation who still acted defiant – as if they’d done nothing wrong. I’ve heard some grand attempts at blame or excuses.
But not David. He called it what it was – sin. And he repented before God. Even in his failure, David failed toward God.
When the Lord referred to David as a man after His own heart, He was not referring to a perfect man, but to a man in pursuit of the heart of his Creator. David sang his way, danced his way, warred his way, escaped his way, reigned his way, and yes – even failed his way – toward the heart of God.
David lived a vertical life. “Before the Lord” is the Bible phrase for it. And vertical lives live on. They are lamps before the Lord and influences to future generations.
What Happened to “Forever”?
So if the Lord promised to keep David’s lamp alive forever, what happened to the lamp? The king thing sure seemed to fizzle.
But something else was at play. The Lord had a plan that exceeded national or local politics (imagine that). He was in the process of preparing for a new covenant – a covenant based on one man’s sacrifice for the sins of the whole world – a covenant based on grace, not law. And where did He begin to fulfill that?
With a son of David named Joseph and a daughter of David named Mary.
Trace through the gospels and see what even the blind men of the day saw: “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!”
And so today, the only “son of David” who ever lived a sinless life reigns on an eternal throne. He is referred to as the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the root of David” (Revelation 5:5).
What was so special about Judah? Nothing. He was one of the sons of the wife Jacob never wanted.
What was so special about David? Everything. He pursued the heart of his God.
But look more closely. Jesus is not referred to as the “fruit” of David, but the “root.” In lamp language, Jesus is the oil that fuels David’s light.
And so today, Jesus occupies that forever throne. The Lord could have picked any natural ancestor. What about a son of Joseph or Moses – both from different tribes? But He chose David. And today, that lamp still burns, and will for all eternity.
Light of the World
Hang on a minute. We’re not done yet. What if I were to tell you that The Lamp is still burning on this terrestrial ball?
It is. And you’re it.
The same oil that lit David’s Lamp – that renewed David’s influence for multiple generations – now flows and burns in you. Here’s how Jesus put it:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
If you are a follower of Jesus, however effective you may think you are at it, you are an extension of a light of influence – The Lamp – that can be traced all the way back to the life of the Shepherd of Israel, David. And that tells me some things about you…
It tells me that you have influences – spiritual and otherwise – who still speak to you today. Some of them you have never even met. You stand on their shoulders and profit from their influence to this day.
It tells me that you are part of an everlasting Kingdom, and that your King reigns today. Don’t let outward appearances fool you – He’s still in charge.
It tells me that you can’t put the lamp out. In spite of the unspeakable wickedness that David’s descendents were capable of, that lamp still burned before the Lord. How patently absurd, Jesus said, that someone would light a lamp and hide it under a basket. And you may try, but you’ll just look stupid and have a burned basket. He didn’t say you should be the light of the world. He said you are.
It tells me that you have just as much potential to shape future generations as David did. He had no monopoly on influence, or on the pursuit of God’s heart. And he certainly didn’t live a flawless life. But just as he lived on before the Lord to influence future generations, so can you.
David got it. He was a LifeVestor. You can be, too. Be a light – not just for today, but for future generations.