The Ideal President

[Proverbs 19:12; 20:2]

What do you think of the president of the country where you live? Do you consider him to be the ideal president? When I think of the word “president,” what comes to my mind is the title of a devotional I meditated on based on 1 Samuel 15:23, when I heard the news in March 2004 that former President Roh Moo-hyun’s impeachment had been passed in the National Assembly. The title of that devotional was "The Rejected King." I still vaguely remember being surprised by the timing of that event. In other words, I wasn’t intentionally seeking to reflect on the impeachment of President Roh and meditate on the story of King Saul being rejected by God in 1 Samuel 15:23. Rather, the word came to my heart, and as I meditated, the events surrounding the impeachment of President Roh unfolded. So, while preparing this sermon today, I went back to meditate on 1 Samuel 15:23, where I considered the seven reasons why King Saul was rejected by God: disobedience, pride, hypocrisy, excuses, greed, idolatry, and fear of people. At that time, as I reflected on the "rejected King Saul," I was comforted by the fact that although Saul was rejected in the midst of suffering and crisis, there was also a David, the king after God’s own heart, who was raised up during the same period. How shocking must it have been for the entire nation when their king was rejected? Yet, God was preparing David, a man after His own heart. Why was David a man after God’s heart? The reason was that David, as 1 Samuel 15:22 says, "obedience is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams," listened to and obeyed God’s word. Although he committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her faithful husband Uriah to cover up his sin, when God rebuked him through the prophet Nathan, he immediately confessed his sin and repented. At that time, I ended my devotional with a prayer, saying, “I sincerely pray that God will raise up a ‘king’ (president) who is after His own heart for our country, Korea.” Later, when I looked back at the QT file where I had meditated on “kings,” I saw that in June 2008, I had meditated on Psalm 101 under the title "The Ideal King and His Ideal People." I read it again and remembered that during that time, Pastor James Dobson, one of the leading evangelicals in the U.S., had pointed out that Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, had a "confused theology." That time was also when Lee Myung-bak, a Christian elder, had recently become president of South Korea, and there were candlelight protests under the slogan of renegotiating the beef import deal. It was in this context that God led me to meditate on Psalm 101, making me think deeply about the heart of an ideal king according to God’s word. I reflected on three things: first, the heart of the ideal king longs for mercy and justice; second, it is a humble heart; and third, the heart of the ideal king distances itself from malicious hearts (crafty hearts, living inconsistently both inside and outside). The last QT I did about “kings” was in May 2012, titled "A Good King Who Pleases God." This reflection was based on Proverbs 16:10-15, and during that time, I came across an article in the Korean Herald that said, “Obama is the First Gay President.” Obama, the first president to support same-sex marriage, led me to reflect on whether he is truly a good president who pleases God. I meditated on three things about a good king who pleases God: first, a good king who pleases God makes the right decisions with God’s wisdom; second, he hates evil; and third, he listens well to the counsel of the faithful. As I have been reflecting on God's word about kings, today, we also see that in the verses of Proverbs 19:12 and 20:2, King Solomon, the author of Proverbs, speaks about the ideal king. So today, I want to meditate on two aspects of the ideal king that God teaches us through these verses, and pray that our country’s president may be a president who is worthy in God’s eyes.

First, the ideal president governs the nation with justice.

Today, let us look at Proverbs 19:12 (the first half) and 20:2: “The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion…” (19:12), “The king’s anger is like the roaring of a lion; whoever provokes him harms his own life.” (20:2). The writer of Proverbs, King Solomon, says that the king’s anger (wrath) is like the roaring of a lion. From this, we can ask two questions. The first question is, "Why does the king become angry?" The king becomes angry not because he is a tyrant, but because, as a righteous king, he abhors the sins of the nation he rules over, and his anger reflects that (Park Yun-seon). Let’s look at Proverbs 16:12: “It is an abomination for kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.” Therefore, the anger of the king mentioned in Proverbs 19:12 and 20:2 reflects righteousness. When meditating on the king’s wrath that reflects righteousness, I thought of God’s righteous wrath, the King of kings. Recently, as I heard the news about the U.S. Supreme Court's review of same-sex marriage, Romans 1:18 and the following verses came to mind. Clearly, the Bible says, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). And what is one of the results? Let’s look at Romans 1:26-27: “For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature; likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” It is natural for a man and a woman to marry, yet when a man desires another man, or a woman desires another woman, it is the result of God’s wrath or His retribution for sin. The second question is, "What does the Bible mean when it says that the king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion?" The phrase “like the roaring of a lion” means that just as the roar of a lion can be heard wherever it dwells, the king’s administrative power should make the wicked of the land fearful no matter where they are (Park Yun-seon). For this reason, the apostle Paul says in Romans 13:7, “Fear to whom fear is due,” and adds, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities” (Romans 13:1). The reason is that “there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Romans 13:1). Paul also said that rulers should not be a terror to good works, but to evil works (Romans 13:3). What does this mean? It means that rulers, appointed by God, should use their authority to govern with justice, and they should be a source of fear to those who do evil. Let’s look at Romans 13:4: “… But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is God’s servant, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” In a sense, the president of a nation is God’s servant, avenging those who do evil according to God’s wrath. That is, the president is an authority appointed by God to govern the country with justice. Therefore, he should punish the wrongdoers and reward those who do good (1 Peter 2:14). We must honor such a righteous king (1 Peter 2:17).

However, when I think of the president of our nation, I wonder whether he is truly a president who deserves to be honored by the citizens from a biblical perspective. Somehow, he seems to be a president with a confused theology, as Pastor James Dobson said, and I cannot help but question whether his faith (if he has any) aligns with biblical teachings. The Bible clearly says that a king should rule the nation with justice, but when I consider whether the president of our nation is doing so, personally, I cannot say, “Yes, he is.” One example of this is the fact that the president and the government of our country not only support same-sex marriage but also seek to legalize it. I believe this cannot be considered a form of ruling the country with God’s justice. In Isaiah 32:17, the Bible says, “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” But I doubt whether there is peace, quietness, and security in this country. If we continue down this path, I fear that in the future, the generations of our children and grandchildren will live in an extremely unstable society. In Proverbs 14:34, the Bible says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” As president of the nation, he should rule the country with justice to “glorify” the nation. Instead, by leading the nation to sin, he is disgracing our citizens. In fact, King David, the father of Solomon, walked “before the Lord in truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart” (1 Kings 3:6). Therefore, the Lord showed great mercy to David, allowing his son Solomon to become the king of Israel. God loved Israel and appointed Solomon as king to execute justice and righteousness, so that He might establish Israel forever (2 Chronicles 9:8). I pray that the president of our country, like King David and King Solomon, may rule the nation with justice and righteousness, so that God may establish our country.

Secondly, the ideal president governs the country with love.

Look at the second half of Proverbs 19:12 today: “… his favor is like the dew on the grass.” Friends, who do you think receives the king's favor? Do you think someone who disobeys the king's commands will receive it, or someone who obeys? Naturally, it would be the one who obeys the king's commands who receives his favor, right? King Solomon speaks about two responses of the king in this verse of Proverbs 19:12. The first is that the king will become very angry, like the roaring of a lion, toward those who disobey his commands; and the second is that the king will show grace (favor, kindness) to those who obey his commands. Therefore, King Solomon already said in Proverbs 14:35: "The wise servant will find favor with the king, but the one who brings shame will face his wrath." Who is the wise servant? In Proverbs 16:13, we see that the wise servant is the faithful one, and the faithful ones have "righteous lips" and speak honestly to the king. The king delights in these servants, as Solomon says. However, the servants who bring shame, especially those who, according to Proverbs 16:12, do evil, are treacherous servants who inevitably will face the king’s wrath. This principle also applies to the relationship between God, the King of kings, and His people. That is, when we, God’s people, obey the Lord, the King of kings, God extends His favor to us. Look at Psalm 5:12: "For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield." God blesses the righteous who obey His will, and He surrounds them with grace like a shield. Friends, can you imagine that? Can you imagine seeing signs of God’s grace everywhere, in every direction—north, south, east, and west? Though those who disobey the Lord’s word will only find problems and difficulties all around, those who obey the Lord will be surrounded by His grace. Solomon describes this grace in the second half of Proverbs 19:12 as being like the dew on the grass. What is the king’s favor, which is like the dew on the grass? "Grass" is a metaphor for the common people, who seem weak and nameless, and the king’s favor, like the dew on the grass, means that the king does not come to his people with majesty, but with a quiet and gentle love, like the dew (Park Yun-seon). In other words, the ideal king does not only expect to be served by his people, but he also loves and respects them (Park Yun-seon). Of course, this is when the people obey the king's commands. If the people disobey the king's commands and do evil, the righteous king, who hates evil, will have no choice but to punish them with his wrath. However, when the people obey the king’s commands and live according to God's will, the ideal king will serve his people with love and respect them. As a result, the people of the nation will enjoy the public benefits (16:15).

As I meditated on this word, I thought about the country in which we live. Then, I asked myself these questions: "Is the president of this country enabling the citizens to enjoy benefits?", "If so, what kind of benefits are they enjoying?", "Is this truly an act of love and respect for the citizens of this country?" What do you think? Personally, when I see that the president of our country is trying to provide health benefits to all citizens by making everyone sign up for health insurance, and attempting to legalize same-sex marriage for a minority of citizens (the LGBTQ community), I wonder if this is truly an example of loving and respecting the citizens with a calm and gentle love. I may not know much about health insurance, but at least when I observe the president and the government of this country pushing for the support and legalization of same-sex marriage, I believe that this is not, in any way, an effort to love the people and help them enjoy benefits. The reason for this is that such love is not God's love but a love that deviates from the truth. Love that is not grounded in God's truth is meaningless love.

I would like to conclude this meditation. Today, we meditated on the ideal king in two aspects. That is, we learned that the ideal king governs the country with justice and love. As we reflected on this word, we couldn’t help but think about the president of our country. In doing so, we couldn’t help but wonder: "Is the president of our country the ideal president when compared to the word of God?" Friends, at this time, let us pray together for the president of our country.