Proverbs 14:28 Commentary and Bible Study

On the surface this proverb teaches that the glory of a king depends entirely on the size of the population, on the number of people in his kingdom. It is obvious however that a vast but divided kingdom is worth little, for although it may have many people they are not working together, and if there is any loyalty to the king in one part of the kingdom it is cancelled out by opposition in another. What really counts therefore is the unity of the people, and this proverb in effect exhorts a ruler to reach out to his people and win their affection, so that not only are his territories extensive but his people support their king. In order to achieve this, a king must promote justice in his jurisdiction; he must recognise those who are loyal to him and reward them; he must give his people wise leadership, and defend them from their enemies so that they have security. These things are a rare commodity among the kingdoms of this world, but they are the glory of the kingdom of heaven. The King of kings and Lord of lords rules his people with perfect wisdom and is loved by them all. What he has done for his people cannot be measured, for he is not a distant ruler, personally unknown to the great majority of them, but he has individually loved each one of them, and given them the right to belong to his kingdom. He has redeemed them from their sins and taken their punishment, releasing them from death and hell. Having made them his own, he now rules them with kindness and fairness, so that every detail of their lives is governed by his will, and he is in the process of transforming them inwardly in preparation for eternity. He showers them with individual blessings so that none have reason to feel any lack of personal attention. He has the capacity to do all this because he is also their High Priest, both God and man in one person, who has become their surety and intercedes for them in heaven. He is therefore loved by all his people and they are ready to lay down their lives for him. But they are also an innumerable people whom no man can number, as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore so that the kingdom of heaven is the greatest of all kingdoms. It is he that gives them their security and therefore it is in their interest to love their King with all their hearts. On earth, the kingdom of God is represented by local churches. These are often quite small, but they are part of that vast universal church which includes all the elect in all places and all ages. Each local church is a colony of heaven and is governed by the same wise King and ruled by the same wise principles. He governs them by his word which tells them all they need to know in order to live as his citizens. There is another kingdom on earth, the kingdom of darkness, which obtains loyalty from its people by deception. It cares nothing for them but pretends to value them long enough to keep them away from the kingdom of heaven. Ultimately it will abandon them, and as its ruler, Satan, sees that he is about to be destroyed, he will sacrifice everything in order to save his skin, as he has predicted. How different he is from the Man of love who pledged himself to his people as their surety and remained loyal to them through death.