Thus says the Lord, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word ² and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates,” (22:1-2).

Here we go again; another exhortation sent to the king, another opportunity to turn and walk in His Ways and His Blessings.

Thus says the Lord, “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place. ⁴ For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people,” (22:3-4).

And if the promise of His blessings did not move the king, perhaps the promise of His punishment would pry his tight grip away from his selfish indulgences so he might turn and tend to the needs of the people.

“But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation,”’”  (22:5).

But again, His Word of warning that should have shaken the king from his disobedience, was disregarded. And as He swore, though He had appointed His kings over His people to be fruitful as Gilead and to flourish as the cedars of Lebanon, all that this king had built for himself would become a barren desert.

“You are like Gilead to Me,
Like the summit of Lebanon;
Yet most assuredly I will make you like a wilderness,
Like cities which are not inhabited.
⁷ “For I will set apart destroyers against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will cut down your choicest cedars
And throw them on the fire, (22:6-7).

Though his kingdom was on the verge of toppling, wicked King Jehoiakim was only concerned with building more and more for himself, at the expense of his subjects.

“Like the modern rulers of Constantinople, Jehoiakim went on building palaces when his kingdom was on the verge of ruin, and his subjects were groaning under their burdens… Without wages.—The labourers were treated as slaves, and, like the Israelites in their Egyptian bondage (Exodus 16:3), received their food, but nothing more,” Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers.

And judgment was pronounced, and it is merciless. Not only will he be removed from the Throne, but none will even lament his demise and death.

Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah,
“They will not lament for him:
‘Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister!’
They will not lament for him:
‘Alas for the master!’ or, ‘Alas for his splendor!’ (22:18).

“The prophet proceeds to denounce God’s judgments against Jehoiakim, (Jeremiah 22:18) who, it seems, built himself a stately palace in those calamitous times, and took no care to pay the wages of the workmen; but maintained his own luxury by the oppression of those who were to live by their labour: a crying sin, and too common among the great men of the world, severely prohibited both in the Old and New Testament,” Benson Commentary.

God had established His Throne in Jerusalem that the king would lead reflecting His Just and Righteous Reign so that His people would know and follow Him. And God speaks the name of King Josiah, the last godly king who reigned in Judah before the nation’s exile into Babylon.

For thus says the Lord in regard to Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of Josiah his father… (22:11).

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. ² He did right in the sight of the Lord and walked in all the way of his father David, nor did he turn aside to the right or to the left, (2 Kings 22:1-2).

Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him, (2 Kings 23:25).

But Josiah’s reign would not last, and his grandson, Jehoiakim, would influence the people to follow after him; and as goes the king, so would go the nation. Desolation was coming, and the cause would become known to all.

“Many nations will pass by this city; and they will say to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this great city?’ ⁹ Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’” (22:8).

For in forsaking the covenant of the Lord, they would become like the gods to which they bowed down, consumed with self-serving and without a trace of righteousness or justice.

“Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness
And his upper rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And does not give him his wages, (22:13).

But God had made a covenant with the man after His own heart, that the Throne of David’s kingdom would be established Forever.

“When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever,” (2 Samuel 12-13).

And in great contrast to the ungodly kings who would temporarily hold the throne, as we remember His Covenant made with King David, our attention will turn to the fulfillment of His Promise, to Him Will Sit on the Throne of David Forever.

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; ³³ and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end,” (Luke 1:31-33).

Consider Him Who Will Sit on the Throne of David Forever

• He Will Sit on the Throne of David Forever, becoming poor for our sake rather than competing for the wealth of the world.
  • “Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?…” (22:15).

• • •  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich, (2 Corinthians 8:9).

• He Will Sit on the Throne of David Forever, doing the Just and Righteous Will of His Father, that it would be well for all who believe.
  • “… Did not your father eat and drink
    And do justice and righteousness?
    Then it was well with him,” (22:15).

• • • “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹ This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day,” (John 6:38-40).

• He Will Sit on the Throne of David Forever, pleading the cause of the afflicted and needy.
  • “He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy;
    Then it was well…(22:16).

• • • Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them, (Hebrews 7:25).

• He Will Sit on the Throne of David Forever, knowing His Father and making Him known.
  • “…Is not that what it means to know Me?”
    Declares the Lord. (22:16).

• • • “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; ²⁶ and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them,” (John 17:25-26).

• He Will Sit on the Throne of David Forever, intently gaining souls through the shedding of His precious, innocent blood that we would be rescued from our dishonest and futile ways.
  • “But your eyes and your heart
    Are intent only upon your own dishonest gain,
    And on shedding innocent blood
    And on practicing oppression and extortion.” (22:17).

• • • knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ, (1 Peter 1:18-19).

How do we respond to Him Who Will Sit on the Throne of David Forever?

“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³ and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left,” (Matthew 25:31-33).

He is coming again. Not as the Suffering Savior, but this time in all His Glory, as He Sits on the Throne of David Forever to gather all the nations before Him for His dividing work.

And He will divide those who are of His kingdom from those who are not, separating the sheep who belong to His flock from the goats who have mingled in amongst His sheep but have not surrendered in faith to follow Him as Shepherd.

If you have any doubt as to which side of His dividing line you fall, I pray today, you would hear His voice and surrender in faith to Him Who laid His life down for His sheep, that you would know Him and be brought into His flock to receive eternal life from Him Who Will Sit on the Throne of David Forever.

“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, ¹⁵ even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd… ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one,” (John 10:14-16, 27-30).

And if we, through faith, have been counted as those who are so blessed to be known as His sheep, let us honor Him as the Only One Who Sits on the Throne of our hearts. Oh, that we would live intent to do righteousness and justice no matter the cost, that we would always ready to share the hope we have in Him Who Will Sit on the Throne of David Forever.

 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, ¹⁵ but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence, (1 Peter 3:14-15).

Let’s Grow Together!