A Kingdom Mystery

He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 2 Samuel 7:13

You can visit a website that animates the history of Europe for the past 2,400 years (visualcapitalist.com/2400-years-of-european-history/). The site depicts the changes in Europe and Eurasia in one-year increments, starting from 400 B.C.—and there is an enormous amount of change! Geography, borders, invasions, tribes, names, languages . . . so much change. Watching this animation makes one thing perfectly clear: the kingdoms of this world never endure.

David sat in his newly constructed palace full of the finest and best. He looked around at his cedar-paneled walls, and he started to think: Here he was, living in his beautiful palace, but Yahweh proclaimed his name from a wind-blown tent. Surely, he, King David, would build a house, a temple, for the Lord!

But the Lord neither needed nor wanted building help from David. David would not build a house for the Lord; rather, the Lord would build David’s house. The Lord promised to raise up one of David’s descendants who would build a house for the proclamation of the Lord’s saving name. This descendant would inherit an eternal throne, and the Lord would establish his kingdom forever.

The kingdom of God is not a territory. It’s not an outward organization with various departments and offices and bureaus. It’s not a realm with castles and borders. Rather, it is a rule. It is activity. It is all that our Savior God does for our salvation and life. It is the Lord ruling in our hearts and lives through the gospel.

And God’s kingly rule will endure forever. The Son of David whom God sent to this world was born to be mankind’s substitute, to become The Sinner on behalf of all sinners, to endure the punishment of sin in our place, to die for sin once and for everyone. He accomplished this great redemption, and then God raised him from the dead as proof that God has forgiven us. God raised Jesus to forever life to share that forever life with us. Unlike the kingdoms of this world, God’s rule in our hearts and lives never ends. And that means his love for us, his kindness to us, and his joy in us—and ours in him—will never end.

Rule my heart and life, dear Lord, so that I find strength in your forgiveness now and joy in your eternal life in heaven. Amen.

Rev. Jeff Schone serves Martin Luther College
as vice president for student life.