The kings And Subjects

The Kings and Their Subjects. Prov. 16:10-15

Prov 16:10-15
10 A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.

11 A just weight and balance are the LORD's: all the weights of the bag are his work.

12 It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.

13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.

14 The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.

15 In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
There are so many things we have to understand about the relationship between the kings and their subject. In every society before the modern era there were kings who saw to the day to day running of our society. Some of them have been high handed while some are moderate and their policies have been much criticised and much praised. In essence they more or less like the double agent for God and Satan.

Verse 10
10 A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.
Many of the pronouncement, the decrees and statement made by the kings came directly from God. Some times we may not like or like those pronouncements yet they could not have come into fulfilment without God’s consent. Any pronouncement of a king that fails does not come from God: that king does not speak divinely.
Example of divine sentences
1. Pharaoh refusal to let Israel go
2. Herod’s decrees to kill children in the age bracket of Jesus
3. Nebuchadnezzar’s decrees to bring the Children of Israel to Babylon.



Lessons
1. We must be careful how we relate to the king over our lives. The kings in your life could be your pastor, your leader: spiritual and temporal and your father and husband
2. Don’t offend God because He cannot be physically seen around, He uses kings to punish you. The king may just pronounce a decree that will ruin your entire life.
3. Be careful how you criticised your leaders over certain decision. He may be acting divinely and you acting and reacting against God. Prov.21;1 says that

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

Verse 11
A just weight and balances are the Lord’s all the weight of the bag are his work.
Only God can judge correctly in any matter that arise and the reason he can do that is because he alone has the instrumentality of measurement, the necessary tools to do that which is right.
- he designed the rules of judgement
- he made the decrees and commandment
- he enforces judgement on offenders
- he alone has the prerogative of mercy
- he can read between the lines to see what ordinarily many of us do not know nor consider.
- He has the facility and the ability to read human minds
- He sometimes order the steps of men to achieve his special purpose

Verse 12
It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness
When a thing is an abomination it means that it is horrible and horrendous. It is horrible for kings to do wickedly. An act of sin is an act of wickedness.
- Gen.6:5 sodomite and act of terrorism
- Gen. 39:9 Joseph saw the act of fornication as wickedness
- Acts. 8:22: Prov. 17:23 sorcery, bribery as wickedness
- Prov.8:7 saying things that are not proper as acts of wickedness

The king becomes a wicked person when does wrong and knowing fully well that the law proceeds from him. The opposite of wickedness is righteousness. A throne can only be established when the king does what is right and expected. That is why the next verse becomes more relevant to our discussion:

Righteous lips are the delight of the king. He loves those who speak righteously
As one would expect, since the throne is established in righteousness the king would love those who speak the truth
- Truth makes it easier for him to rule and dispense justice
- Truth guides him to take right decisions
- Truth brings him the joy that he has subject that could be trusted

The king has favourites
People have always asked why a king / God should have favourites when he should be a father to all.
- He will naturally prefer those who tell him the truth to those who tell him lies
- He will prefer those who believe in the efficacy of the truth even at the cost of their lives.

Verse 14: The wrath of a King is as a messenger of death but a wise man will pacify it.
So many times we have seen some of our king in great wrath that we cannot comprehend and we wondered why.
- The king has so much work load on him than to give chance to nuances and allow precious time to be wasted.
- The king always refused to be deceived
- The king is not just a personality but a symbol of the state and its apparatus and failure to give him that respect is tantamount to disrespecting the state
Biblical instances of the king’s wrath- dan.2:1-6

How can we pacify the king?
1. By being truthful and honest
2. By wisdom
3. By honour, praise and worship
4. By doing what is expected of us
5. By giving gift
6. By seeking for his favour
7. By doing the things hat makes him happy.

Verse 15: in the light of king’s countenance is life and his favour as the clouds of the latter rain.
The personality of the king should always be kept in good mood if the subjects are to remain alive and well. The benefits of giving the king/ God a good countenance is so that he may shower his blessing upon us.
What makes the king happy?
1. Appreciation:- when his subject appreciate him for his role in the affairs of their lives he ultimately wants to do more. Your complaints which disregard all his efforts make him hostile to you.
How can he be appreciated?
- By saying thank you
- By encouraging him
- By valuing what he has done

2. When supported: The king is happy when he has the support of his people. Most couples do not support each other and that create a lot of problem and reactions. Matt. 23:37-39
3. Trust: When the subject put their trust in him that he meant well for them and that he can deliver in time of troubles.
4. The prosperity of his people: a French monarch once said ‘ I do not want to be a king where the subject cannot afford a chicken once a week’ when you are doing well your king will be happy and sees you a the product of his labour. He feels the same thing a doctor feels when his patient is responding to treatment.

Other things about the king
• He must be feared Prov.20:2
• His heart is unsearchable

- He is deep in wisdom and knowledge because he is the head. All the wisdom of his citizen belongs to him as the head of the state.
- He is not permitted by the state to divulge certain information no matter what the pressure may be.
- He is limited in words but more in action.