A Tale of Three Kings

by Gene Edwards

Outer power will always unveil the inner resources or the lack thereof.”

“I must tell you that what has been given to you is a glorious thing—the only element in the universe that can change the human heart. Yet even this element of God cannot accomplish its task nor grow and fill your entire inner being unless it is compounded well. It must be mixed lavishly with pain, sorrow, and crushing.”

Then do you find it strange that this remarkable event led the young man not to the throne but to a decade of hellish agony and suffering? On that day, David was enrolled, not into the lineage of royalty but into the school of brokenness.

And what about your king? Is he the Lord’s anointed? Maybe he is. Maybe he isn’t. No one can ever really know for sure. Men say they are sure. Even certain. But they are not. They do not know. God knows. But he will not tell.

God has a university. It’s a small school. Few enroll; even fewer graduate. Very, very few indeed. God has this school because he does not have broken men and women.

“Is this man the Lord’s anointed? And if he is, is he after the order of King Saul?”

The answer is “You get stabbed to death.” “But what is the good in being speared?” You have your eyes on the wrong King Saul. As long as you look at your king, you will blame him, and him alone, for your present hell. But be careful, for God has his eyes fastened sharply on another King Saul. Not the visible one standing up there throwing spears at you. No, God is looking at another King Saul. One just as bad—or worse. God is looking at the King Saul in you.

David the sheepherder would have grown up to become King Saul II, except that God cut away the Saul inside David’s heart. That operation, by the way, took years and was a brutalizing experience that almost killed the patient.

There in those caves, drowned in the sorrow of his song and in the song of his sorrow, David became the greatest hymn writer and the greatest comforter of broken hearts this world shall ever know.

Suffering was giving birth. Humility was being born. By earthly measures he was a shattered man; by heaven’s measure, a broken one.

“Better he kill me than I learn his ways. Better he kill me than I become as he is. I shall not practice the ways that cause kings to go mad. I will not throw spears, nor will I allow hatred to grow in my heart. I will not avenge. I will not destroy the Lord’s anointed. Not now. Not ever!”

There is a vast difference between the outward clothing of the Spirit’s power and the inward filling of the Spirit’s life. In the first, despite the power, the hidden man of the heart may remain unchanged. In the latter, that monster is dealt with.

What does this world need: gifted men and women, outwardly empowered? Or individuals who are broken, inwardly transformed?

Men who go after the Sauls among us often crucify the Davids among us.

Are you so certain your king is a Saul and not a David that you are willing to take the position of God and go to war against your Saul? If so, then thank God you did not live in the days of crucifixion.

Men who speak endlessly on authority only prove they have none.

“David taught me losing, not winning. Giving, not taking. He showed me that the leader, not the follower, is inconvenienced. David shielded us from suffering; he did not mete it out.

“authority from God is not afraid of challengers, makes no defense, and cares not one whit if it must be dethroned.

Righting the wrongs always becomes secondary to ascent to power.”

“You see, there is no kingdom without discord. Even God had his critics in heaven, you know.

“Rebels who ascend to the throne by rebellion have no patience with other rebels and their rebellions. When Absalom is faced with rebellion, he will become a tyrant. He will bring ten times the evil he sees in your present king.

This particular kingdom is different from all others. This kingdom is composed of God’s people. It is a spiritual kingdom. I tell you emphatically, no rebellion in the kingdom of God is proper, nor can it ever be fully blessed.”

“Beginning empty-handed and alone frightens the best of men. It also speaks volumes of just how sure they are that God is with them.

“Those who lead rebellions in the spiritual world are unworthy. There are no exceptions.

“The kingdom hangs in the balance. It seems I have two choices: to lose everything or to be a Saul. I can stop Absalom. I need only to be a Saul. In my old age, shall I now become a Saul? I feel the Lord himself awaits my decision.

I did not lift a finger to be made king. Nor shall I do so to preserve a kingdom. Even the kingdom of God! God put me here. It is not my responsibility to take, or keep, authority. Do you not realize, it may be his will for these things to take place? If he chooses, God can protect and keep the kingdom even now. After all, it is his kingdom.

“Any young rebel who raises his hand against a Saul, or any old king who raises his hand against an Absalom, may—in truth—be raising his hand against the will of God.

I seek his will, not his power. I repeat, I desire his will more than I desire a position of leadership.

The Sauls of this world can never see a David; they see only Absalom. The Absaloms of this world can never see a David; they see only Saul.”

“There are always problems in any kingdom,” replied Zadok. “Always. Furthermore, the ability to be able to see those problems is a cheap gift, indeed.”

The throne is not mine. Not to have, not to take, not to protect, and not to keep.