Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - The Ideal King | The Writings | Psalm 72

Episode Date: June 6, 2024

David had been Israel's greatest king. And yet, in Psalm 72, David speaks of a king far greater than him. In today's episode, Patrick shares how Psalm 72 foreshadows the reign of Jesus, the King who has come to establish his justice and peace. Read the Bible with us in 2024! This year, we’re tackling a group of Old Testament books traditionally known as “The Writings”— Psalms, Chronicles, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth and more! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Psalm 72

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Patrick Miller. Today we're looking at Psalm 72. It closes the second book of Psalms. You might not realize this, but the book of Psalms is actually composed of four separate books, and we've been going through the second one for some time now. And so after this week, we'll actually step away from the Psalms and go to the Book of Job and do some other books beside that, and we'll eventually come back and do book three of the Psalms later. But let's end where book two ends with Psalm 72. It's placed at the end of the second book, not by mistake, but for a very particular purpose.

Thus far, if you've been following along, you've heard many of the Psalms of David. He's the first king of Israel, and in many ways he's kind of an idealized king, what all kings should aspire to be. And yet, the Psalms that we've read have made it clear that he didn't live a charmed life. He was hunted by Saul, he was betrayed by his friends, he was betrayed by his friends, he was betrayed by his family. But it's not just that. David was a sinner. He, in a sense, betrayed himself when he gave into sin with Bashiba. We learned about that in Psalm 51. David was a complicated guy, like you and me. He hurt just like you and me hurt. He felt anger and joy just like you and me.

And so as much as we might like to think of him as the ideal king, he's not a true ideal. He pointed toward the ideal, but he wasn't the substance of it. And that's exactly what Psalm 72 does. It actually describes an idealized king, a coming king. Psalm 72 was written by David's son, Solomon, and summarizes exactly what his father aspired to be and what he prays he will be, or perhaps one of his sons one day will be. What kind of king is that? Well, it's a king whose kingdom encompasses the whole earth, who is perfectly just, who is perfectly good. It's a king who brings justice and wholeness and flourishing and healing to all in his kingdom. He conquers those who seek to harm the weak or harm anybody at all. In other words, the king described here is a lot like

King Jesus. So Psalm 72 tells us not only what David aspired to become, but it also prepares us for the coming king from the line of David who would both fulfill this Psalm and superseded. He is so much more than just Psalm 72 is. So let's read this Psalm, but as we read it, let's reflect on how it points us towards Jesus. Psalm 72, give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son. May he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice. Let the mountains bear prosperity for his people in the hills and righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor. So this king is a king who doesn't show partiality to the powerful. Instead, he does justice.

And as a result, there's prosperity in the land, there's fairness, there's goodness all around. There is no king more good or more just than Jesus. No king who is more fair to the poor, who is a greater defender to the oppressed. You see, Psalm 72 is pointing us to Jesus. Solomon continues, May they fear you, this is the king, while the sun endures, and as long as the moon throughout all generations, may he be like the rain that falls on the moan grass, like showers that water the earth.

In his days, may the righteous flourish and peace abound till the moon be no more. So in this section, Solomon is using natural imagery to describe the flourishing that this king could bring about. You might not realize this, but Israel receives very low, rainfall every year, just a few inches. And so when the rain does fall, grass tends to spring up suddenly and grow up rapidly. Solomon is imagining this king as a rain cloud, the good kind though, who brings sudden life in all of the dry places. Everywhere he goes, there's water and grass is springing up, life is flourishing, people are flourishing, and Jesus is that king.

Psalm 72-8, may he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to to the ends of the earth. May desert tribes bow down before him and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish, that's Spain, and of the coastlands, render him tribute. May the kings of Shiba, that's down in the region of Africa, Ethiopia, and the kings of Siba bring many gifts. May all kings fall down before him. All nations serve him. Again, this king is a king whose kingdom encompasses the whole globe. His kingdom is not merely for Israelites. No, this is a kingdom for people from every tribe and tongue, and they will all serve him. This king is Jesus. Psalm 7212. For he, that's the king, delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.

He has pity on the weak and the needy and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence, he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live. May the gold of Sheba be given to him. May prayer be made continually for him and blessings invoked for him all the day. May there be abundance of grain in the land. On the tops of the mountains, may it wave. May its fruit be like Lebanon. And may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field. May his name endure forever. His fame continue as long as the sun. May the people call him blessed and all nations call him blessed. Here Psalm and prays for the blessing of crops and healthy cities. Again, you might not know this, but Israel was characterized by food scarcity.

They rarely had enough to eat. And so this prayer for big harvest and fruit, it's not just to have a wealthy, abundant life. It's a prayer for life, to have enough to eat. And it's not just that. It's a prayer for the fame and the glory of the king. Only one king can bring about the kind of life imagined in these verses. Only one king can receive the kind of praise described by these verses without being corrupted by it. Only one king will truly have a kingdom that is eternal and goes on throughout all days, and that king

is Jesus. Solomon ends, Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen. The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. And thus ends the second book of the Psalms. If you catch it, Solomon's prayer ends with his ultimate kingly aspirations. He hopes for a king who would point to the higher king, a king who would point everybody to God, who would make God's name great, and who would fill the world with God's glory. Paul says in his letter to the Corinthian Church that Jesus will actually deliver all that he has,

including his kingdom, to his heavenly father, and that in the process his heavenly father will be glorified. This part of the prayer hasn't been fulfilled, but it will be one day. You see, Jesus is the king in this prayer. He is the king in every psalm before this, all the Psalms of David. He is the king in pain. He is the king in joy. He is the king who fulfills God's promises to David. He is the king who fulfills all of Israel's aspirations. He is the king, the world wanted and the world needs. He is the king who can transform all things. So worship your king.