“The king’s favor is toward a wise servant, but his wrath is against him who causes shame” (Proverbs 14:35).
When serving a king, seeking his favor and approval is often a matter of life-or-death. As monarch, a king makes, enforces, and adjudicates his empire’s laws. His legislative, executive, and judicial powers are absolute. He is the law.
Therefore, being a wise servant is imperative to surviving in the royal palace. Displeasing the king is not a wise career move. Though Queen Vashti did the right thing, she paid dearly for falling out of King Ahasuerus’ favor (Esther 1:10-19).
This proverb speaks volumes about what the wise and appropriate response each of us should have toward the One described by Paul as “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15).
David’s counsel about the One who can break the nations and their kings with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel (Ps. 2:9) is most clear: “Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him” (Ps 2:10-12).
John’s vision echoes the same message: “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” (Rev. 6:12-17).
How foolish to fear an earthly king’s wrath but not the King of kings!
