The King Who Models Righteousness

No man is an island 🏖️The older we get, the more we recognize the profound influence that our parents, coaches, and mentors have had upon us as they have shaped the people we have become and helped show us what it means to be good spouses, parents, coworkers, friends, entrepreneurs, etc.They instructed, taught, corrected and modeled for us how to practically walk through life. We all need people like this in our lives. Last week, we saw how you and I are commanded by God to live in Psalm 15.  Well, this week, we see how David, the King of Israel, models the righteous life that God’s people are called to live.  As such, David instructs, teaches, corrects and models for us what it means to have a righteous life; a life that runs from wickedness and submits to God, is governed by God’s Word, and seeks to obey all of the righteous requirements of Psalm 15. In fact, the Bible explains that living a righteous life was the expectation of every Israelite, but especially the King.  Thus, God’s King was to be an exemplary Israelite, modeling what a lifestyle that honored God looked like so that the nation of Israel might see his example and follow him in living righteously so that God is glorified in their shared faithfulness. Now, while David’s rap sheet shows that he wasn’t a flawless model for the nation of Israel, the Old Testament constantly assesses kings who come after David by asking: did they walk in the ways of David?  If so, they walked righteously.  If not … well, they were wicked.Before we gather this weekend, spend some time thinking about Psalm 16 and reflecting on David’s words and how crucial it was for him to model righteousness for Israel.  Then, flip over to Acts 2:22-41 and Acts 13:13-52 and see how the NT authors quoted Psalm 16 and even call David a prophet who spoke about the resurrection of the Christ. Then, revisit Psalm 16, seeing how this Psalm is perfectly fulfilled in Jesus, the truly righteous and flawless Anointed King. If He is our Anointed King who models righteousness for us and beckons us to follow His example, in what ways are you not doing so?