The Gravity of a Godly Kingdom Text: 1 Chronicles 18:9-11
Introduction: Two Kinds of Attraction
There are two ways for a kingdom to attract the attention of the world. The first is through gaudy displays of raw, godless power. This is the way of Babylon, of Rome, of every empire that has ever rattled its sabers and demanded the world's terrified applause. This is the attraction of a black hole, a gravitational pull born of sheer mass and menace, which sucks in everything around it, crushing it into submission. This is the way of Caesar, who demands tribute because his legions are at your door. The world understands this kind of power. It is the politics of the playground bully, scaled up to the level of nations.
But there is another kind of attraction, another kind of gravity. It is the gravity of a kingdom blessed by God. It is the pull of a nation whose king serves Yahweh, whose people live in righteousness, and whose victories are not credited to the strength of their horses or the number of their chariots, but to the Lord who gives the victory. This is the attraction of light, not of darkness. It draws the nations not primarily out of fear, but out of a startled and wondering admiration. They see a peace, a prosperity, and a justice that their own paganisms cannot produce, and they are compelled to come and see. They come bearing gifts, not because they have been conquered, but because they recognize a power greater than the sword. This is the attraction of a godly kingdom, and it is a picture, a type, of the irresistible drawing power of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In our text today, we see this second kind of gravity at work. David has just won a series of stunning victories, not for his own glory, but as the Lord's anointed. And as the shockwaves of these victories spread, a neighboring king, who was not an enemy but an observer, responds. His response is a foreshadowing of how the nations are to respond to the triumphant kingdom of the greater David, Jesus Christ. This is not just ancient history; it is a paradigm for the mission of the Church and the future of the world.
The Text
Then Tou king of Hamath heard that David had struck down all the military force of Hadadezer king of Zobah, so he sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him down; for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. And Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze. King David also set these apart as holy to Yahweh with the silver and the gold which he had carried away from all the nations: from Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, and from Amalek.
(1 Chronicles 18:9-11 LSB)
The Gentile Response to God's Victories (v. 9-10)
We begin with the reaction of a pagan king to the mighty works of God through His servant David.
"Then Tou king of Hamath heard that David had struck down all the military force of Hadadezer king of Zobah, so he sent Hadoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him down; for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. And Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze." (1 Chronicles 18:9-10)
The first thing to notice is what prompts this diplomatic mission: Tou "heard." The fame of God's deeds had reached him. The primary task of God's people in the world is to be faithful, to obey, to fight the Lord's battles. When we do this, the world takes notice. The victories of God's kingdom are not done in a corner. Tou heard that David had defeated Hadadezer, who was a regional menace and Tou's particular enemy. In other words, the victory of God's anointed king brought a blessing, a deliverance, to a neighboring Gentile nation. When the church is spiritually robust, when it is successfully warring against the spiritual Hadadezers of our age, the world benefits. A faithful church is a blessing to the entire world, even to those who do not yet know the name of her King.
Tou's response is instructive. He doesn't see David as the next great threat. He sees him as a source of blessing. He sends his own son, Hadoram, not with a declaration of war, but with a message of peace and honor. He comes "to greet him and to bless him." This is a pagan king blessing God's anointed. This is a foretaste of the day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is a picture of the nations bringing their glory and honor into the New Jerusalem, as Isaiah and John the Revelator prophesied. This is a profoundly optimistic, postmillennial picture. The victories of God's kingdom do not merely destroy the wicked; they attract the nations.
And this mission is not one of empty flattery. Hadoram comes bearing gifts: "all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze." This is tribute, but it is willing tribute. It is the recognition of a superior kingdom. This is the wealth of the nations flowing toward Zion. This is precisely what the prophets said would happen. Isaiah 60 says, "The wealth of the nations will come to you... They will bring gold and frankincense, and will bear good news of the praises of Yahweh." This is not something that happens only at the very end of time. It is a pattern that begins here, with David as a type of Christ, and it is a pattern that is to continue and grow as the gospel of the kingdom advances through history.
The Consecration of the Nations' Wealth (v. 11)
David's response to this influx of wealth is just as important as Tou's initiative. What does a godly king do with the spoils of war and the tribute of nations?
"King David also set these apart as holy to Yahweh with the silver and the gold which he had carried away from all the nations: from Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, the Philistines, and from Amalek." (1 Chronicles 18:11)
David dedicates it all to the Lord. He sets it apart as holy. This is a critical principle. The wealth of the world, whether it is taken by force from God's enemies or given willingly by those who honor Him, belongs to God. It is not for the king's personal enrichment. It is not for building a bigger palace or funding a more lavish lifestyle. It is to be consecrated for the service of God's house. As we know from later in the Chronicles, David was stockpiling these resources for the construction of the Temple, which his son Solomon would build. The victories of the man of war were providing the materials for the house of the man of peace. The spoils of battle were to become the instruments of worship.
This has a direct application for us. The fruit of our spiritual victories, the "spoils" we gain as we advance the kingdom of Christ in our families, our businesses, our culture, are not for our own vainglory. They are to be dedicated to the Lord. All our successes, all our influence, all our wealth, must be laid at the feet of King Jesus for the building of His church. When God blesses a Christian businessman, that wealth is not just for a bigger boat; it is fuel for the Great Commission. When God gives a Christian artist great skill, that talent is not for self-expression alone; it is to be consecrated to declare the beauty and glory of God.
Notice the list of nations from whom David took spoils: Edom, Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, Amalek. These were the inveterate, generational enemies of Israel. Yet their wealth, the very substance of their pagan kingdoms, is now being repurposed for the worship of Yahweh. This is a picture of the gospel's power. The gospel does not just destroy paganism; it plunders it. It takes the art, the music, the philosophy, the wealth, the intellectual capital of fallen cultures, and it baptizes it, consecrates it, and puts it to work in the service of the King. All the skills of the Egyptians were repurposed for the building of the Tabernacle, and here all the wealth of the Canaanites is repurposed for the building of the Temple. In the New Covenant, all the logic of the Greeks and all the organizational genius of the Romans is to be brought captive to the obedience of Christ and used to build His church.
The Greater David and His Growing Kingdom
This entire episode is a beautiful miniature of a much grander reality. David is the type, but Christ is the antitype. David's kingdom was a local and temporary manifestation of the kingdom of God, but Christ's kingdom is global and eternal. The victories of David were shadows; the victory of Christ at the cross and resurrection is the substance.
When Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father, He was installed as the great warrior-king, greater than David. He is now reigning, putting all His enemies under His feet. And as the gospel of His kingdom goes forth, it accomplishes the very things we see in this text. First, it defeats the spiritual Hadadezers of this world, the principalities and powers, the demonic strongholds that keep men and nations in bondage. The gospel is a declaration of war that results in victory.
Second, as the fame of Christ's victory spreads, the nations "hear." And they respond. Some, like Hadadezer, respond with hostility and are broken. But others, like Tou, respond with awe and admiration. They see the goodness, truth, and beauty of Christ's kingdom, and they are drawn to it. They send their sons and daughters, their best and brightest, to honor the King. They bring their tribute, their wealth, their cultural treasures, and they lay them at the feet of Jesus. This is the meaning of the Great Commission: to disciple the nations, teaching them to obey everything Christ has commanded. This process is not a retreat, but a victorious advance. It is the gravitational pull of a godly kingdom.
And what does our King do with this tribute? He does what David did. He consecrates it. He sets it apart for the building of His house, the Church. He takes redeemed sinners, with all their various gifts and resources, and He makes them into living stones in a spiritual temple (1 Peter 2:5). The wealth of the nations, in the new covenant, is not primarily gold and silver, but redeemed people from every tribe and tongue and nation, offered up as a holy sacrifice to God.
This passage in Chronicles, then, should fill us with a robust and cheerful optimism. The kingdom of God is not a losing enterprise. The story of the world is not one of the church being slowly backed into a corner, waiting for a last-minute cavalry charge. The story is one of a victorious King whose fame is spreading, whose enemies are being subdued, and whose glory is attracting the willing tribute of the nations. Our job is to be faithful in the battles He has given us, to fight with courage, and to dedicate all the spoils of our victories to Him. For He is the greater David, and of the increase of His government and of peace, there will be no end.