A Government on His Shoulders

God has always been the foundation for any kingdom.

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,   

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace  

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,    

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness    

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 

(Isaiah 9:6-7).

We usually associate these words of the prophet Isaiah, fulfilled in Christ about 700 years later, with the Christmas season. God’s chosen people anticipated that the promised Messiah would descend from the great King David and would reestablish an earthly kingdom, conquering all the enemies of the Jewish people. We know from Scripture, however, that Jesus was not what they expected. He said plainly that His kingdom was not of this world and rather than talking about conquering, he spoke often of loving others, even enemies, and referred to people as “blessed” who we would not consider to be so – the poor, those who mourn, and the meek.

That in no sense diminishes Jesus’ ministry but rather enhances it. God has always been the foundation for any kingdom. Even in the Old Testament, we are told that The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. (Proverbs 21:1) An example of the Lord using a kingdom for judgment would be in Isaiah10:5 where the Lord refers to Assyria as “the rod of my anger” used in judgment against Israel. An example of the Lord using a king for blessing is found in Isaiah 45:1 where the Lord refers to King Cyrus as his “anointed” that He would use to deliver Judah from the hands of the Babylonians.

In true heavenly fashion, while we didn’t get exactly what we were expecting, we got something far better. We asked for a kingdom on earth, and He responded by saving our souls and building an eternal kingdom where God would dwell with us and we would reign with Him. Starting at the cross, we were declared righteous through faith in Christ and received the indwelling Holy Spirit among numerous other blessings. These blood-bought blessings are purchased at great cost by Jesus’ sacrifice, but free to us by faith. This is only a foretaste of what will be in the future. Theologians refer to this as the “already” and “not yet” aspects of God’s kingdom, analogous to springtime signaling the approach of summer.  

The “not yet” is best described in Revelation 21:1-5: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” 

We can be comforted in difficult days that government has been and will always be on His shoulders. From the earliest days of Law (Legislative), Judges (Judicial) and King (Executive), the Lord has always reigned sovereign. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17.)  

We have a great hope ahead of us, a future glory far beyond all we can imagine!

Dave Stadler is Chaplain to the Maryland General Assembly and the State Capitol Minister of Ministry to State, Maryland.