He will spare the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy. He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; and precious shall be their blood in His sight. (Psalm 72:13-14)
The Law of Moses was very specific about certain standards that the kings of Israel were to diligently uphold. In a nutshell, they were to lead the people with righteousness and justice. The challenge in doing this, as I see it anyway, is that the king had the luxury of ruling by decree — i.e. what he said goes. And so, to govern righteously required the monarch to override his baser instincts and consider the greater good as opposed to his own personal interests. To be more specific, it is written of kings that, “he shall not multiply horses for himself … nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself” (Deuteronomy 17:16-17).
In other words, the kings of Israel were forbidden to amass huge fortunes of silver and gold in excess of what was needed to supply the army and run the government. This ethical boundary, coupled with David’s prayer, infers that the excess was to be used to alleviate the suffering of others within the nation. Of course, later in life, we see that Solomon broke these laws and, unfortunately, began to turn his heart away from God signaling the beginning of the end for the united kingdom of Israel. That in turn means that, ultimately, this prophecy did not speak of Solomon but of the Messiah.
It is He who is most sensitive to the plight of the needy, not just in material things but, more importantly, in matters that have eternal ramifications. When some of His disciples wished to call fire down on Samaritans who did not greet Him properly, His response was “The Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them” (Luke 9:56). Unlike earthly rulers, Messiah does not advance His kingdom at the expense of human misery; to the contrary, His kingdom advances in order to deliver the oppressed and save the needy because, in His sight, their blood — wherein lies the life of these souls — is precious.
Therefore as denizens of His Kingdom, it is given to us to advance His Kingdom that those in bondage might be set free. We are to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the poor and needy that “the blind may see, the lame walk; the lepers be cleansed, the deaf may hear, and the dead be raised up (Matthew 11:5).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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