A Man Of Rest

In 1 Chronicles 22:9, The LORD promises David that a son will be born to him who will give his people rest. In fact, he will be a man of rest, and will give peace to Israel all of his days. This son was Solomon, who ruled Israel during it's most peaceful and prosperous days. I love the section of Chronicles that tell us about the golden years of Solomon's reign. Peace on all sides and every man under his own fig tree, it's a brilliant picture of the future for God's people.

Solomon is David's son, a man of peace. Just like Jesus, a man of peace, the Son of David, the head son, the king son, the Son. All God's promises are yes and amen in Him, and so every promise made by God to His people in the Old Testament is a promise made to us, and 'amened' in Jesus. So Jesus is the man of rest who will give us rest. He came to give us peace.

He came to give us peace with each other. No wars in Heaven. No cross words caused by the million faces of pride, no marriages in strife. Because Jesus is a man of peace and He brings peace to all who are in Him. In His Kingdom there will be no broken hearts, no tears shed. We'll have peace with each other.

What's the source of our restlessness with other people? Our restlessness within ourselves. No one ever fell out with someone needlessly because they were perfectly happy with their own hearts. How often are our frustrations with others actually just reflections of the restlessness in our own hearts. Our sins are wracked by sin. They are ruined by our pursuit of self. Follow your heart has to be the worst advice you can possibly be given, because your restless heart will lead you astray. But in Christ's Kingdom, when we're face to face with the man of peace, our hearts will be full of Him, and there'll be no room for ourselves in there. And what a day that will be...

And the reason we don't have peace within ourselves, and with others? Is because we do not have peace with God. That's what we were made for, that's who were made for. The Kingdom of Israel was made for peace, made to be a light to the nations, but they turned their hearts and worshipped other Gods. They ripped themselves away from the source of all their peace, and were sent away, but not forever. We've been sent away too, but not forever. One came out of the wilderness and across the water, He fought the devil in the desert and prevailed. He has borne our sorrows and our trials. And our restlessness, and our lack of peace. He died under the weight of it and left it in the grave. And only in union with peace Himself can we find peace ourselves.

1 Chronicles 22:9 calls us to look beyond Solomon, because we know how his story ended. Beyond a son of David, to the Son of david, and find rest in Him.