Proverbs 16:12 Commentary and Bible Study

This series of proverbs about kings is to be expected from Solomon.The accountability of a man is in proportion to his responsibility. It is no doubt an abomination to any man to commit wickedness, but far more so to a king, for his conduct affects so many others beyond himself. The king has a throne and from that throne goes forth judgments and decrees that affect the whole land. If he commits wickedness, then the corruption spreads powerfully to every member of his kingdom. Those who go along with it are corrupted also, and those who refuse to go along with it suffer his unjust retribution. When the king’s throne is established, it is established not just for himself as if it was only his security and the security of his dynasty that mattered, but it is for all of the people who he reigns over. The establishment of a throne takes consistent righteousness and fairness and justice which is seen to proceed from the throne by all. Only this will convince the people, for a king’s throne is really about the character of the king, and the king’s heart is known by what proceeds out of it constantly and continually. One small act of wickedness can spoil all, because good character is not inconsistent.But many would say that a throne is established by cunning, by ruthlessness, by crushing all rivals. These are the things that bring many to power and they will use any means that work for the advance of their cruel ambitions. But God works against all those who break his commandments, and rewards those who love his standards and live by them. He rewards them in such a way that the practice of righteousness is the very means by which he brings about their establishment. Christ’s throne was established by righteousness and this is the joy of his people for ever. They rejoice that he did not resort to evil at any point, but that Satan was defeated by pure righteousness alone. In this way righteousness is shown to be more powerful that evil, and God’s people feel no disadvantage in following the same path themselves. In this world evil appears at times to have much advantage over righteousness because this world operates according to the principles of evil, giving evil an advantage now, but Christ’s throne and our thrones are established by God as a reward for righteousness, for it is he that establishes us even when our enemy has done his worst. The Spirit of God will enter our dead bodies when they have lain on the street of the great city for three and a half days (Revelation 11:8,11).The application is to each believer for we are kings and priests in the kingdom of God. The Lord has called each one of us to be a king in the image of the King of kings, and to pursue justice and holiness. Each believer is like a king because in the small sphere of this life we dispense justice to all we come into contact with, and because each one of us is given a power through prayer to rule over the situations in which we are involved. God sees us as kings because of this and we are said to reign with Christ (Revelation 5:10) even while we remain in this world. We reign in this fallen world, thought the world does not recognise us, and we will reign with Christ after he has returned. Man has been made from the beginning to have dominion over all else, and that dominion is fulfilled in those whom God has chosen from before the foundation of the earth.Therefore let each one be committed to God’s standards, for any other path through life will lead to disaster. While we do not know every twist and turn that our lives will take, we can be sure that God will lead us in the best way possible if we do his will on a day to day basis.