• Download Video
• Download Audio
• Print
• Email
• Save As PDF

"Where the word of a king is, there is power"

Text: Ecclesiastes 8:4

DESPOTIC POWER

Solomon’s search for wisdom included the study of how kings ruled. Though he was a king himself, he did not assume that he understood everything about a monarchy. Much was being learned along the way as he pondered the different aspects of a kingdom.

“Where the word of a king is, there is power;
And who may say to him, ‘What are you doing?'”
Ecclesiastes 8:4

1. “Where the word of a king is”

a) Words may be understood in different ways.

b) Common understanding of words

i) Means of communication.

ii) Expressions of thoughts and feelings.

c) Words between equals

i) The words of equals are of the same value.

ii) A person is entitled to express a viewpoint as much as another.

d) But what about the words of a king?

i) On the surface, his speech is made up of “words”.

ii) But underneath, his words are not the same as that of the common man.

2. “There is power”

a) A citizen’s word does not have much power at all.

b) But a king’s word has power.

i) His word will command obedience.

ii) His word can set a prisoner free.

iii) His word can also cause a person to be sentenced to death.

iv) His word can plunge a country into war.

3. “And who may say to him, ‘What are you doing?'”

a) This was a sobering question.

i) His authority could not be challenged.

ii) One may pose this question, but he may be at risk of being punished
by the king.

b) The king in the ancient days had almost unlimited power.

i) He answers to no one.

ii) He is a law to himself.

iii) He could be benevolent.

iv) He could also enslave the people to do his bidding.

4. Power unlimited

a) There is great danger when so much power is in the hands of a king.

b) But nations in the past did not have the right to question their rulers.

c) Such “unlimited power” can go to one’s head and corrupt him.

Solomon would explore further the role of a king in his quest to find wisdom.