Mike
Scriptures: Revelation 3:7 Isaiah 22:15-23 Isaiah 9:62 Chronicles 26:21 Luke 13:24
When the Risen Lamb appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos, John was given messages to the seven churches in Asia, these messages revealed a number of important facts about our Risen Lord.
Philadelphia and Sardis were the only churches that did not receive a rebuke from the risen Lord, Philadelphia was known as the church of “brotherly love” and Jesus revealed Himself to them as the “Holy One” and the “True One” and more specifically as the One who has the Key of David. Revelation 3:7 “These things saith He that is Holy, He that is true, He that hath the Key of David, He that openeth, and no man shuts, and shuts that that no man opens. I know thy works, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it, for you have a little strength, and hast kept my word and not denied my name.”
I had always wondered about the significance of the key of David and what it represented to God’s people. In Isaiah 22, a man named Shebna is mentioned, he looks to have been appointed by King Hezekiah, and is the treasurer who is over or “master” of the palace. Shebna looks to have been an unfaithful treasurer and it is prophesied that he is to be driven from his office and the position that he holds. The prophesy continues that Shebna would be driven from his station and be replaced with a man named Eliakim. “He will be clothed with your robe, and strengthen with your girdle and I will commit the government in to his hands that he will your authority and be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open and I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honour for his family and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house.”
We start to see the extent of the power that Eliakim receives when he receives the "key of David." He was to receive a new title and become the "master of the palace" or “master of the house” or as a regent king over the people, just as Joseph had in Egypt many years ago. King David had been dead many years when this took place. Therefore, this verse shows that the office of key holder / master of the palace, was an office with successors just as the office of king was. It was the transferring of the keys that denoted the transfer of power to the new successor of this office as the king’s representative, his regent, the master of the household (palace).
But this is clearly the office that Jesus was born to inherit and again was prophesied by Isaiah Chapter 9:6 “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is give and the government shall be upon his shoulders and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace”
2 Chronicles 26:21 "King Uzziah remained a leper to the day of his death. As a leper he dwelt in a segregated house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD. Therefore his son Jotham was over the kings house (regent of the palace) and ruled the people of the land."
From this verse we can see that the holder of the KEYS, "the regent / master of the palace" ruled as an agent or representative for the king. So, we see how the holder of the keys, the master of the palace, was a ruler with authority.
So what does the “KEY OF DAVID” represent to believers today. We should rejoice that the Babe born in Bethlehem now has “Total Authority” over the house or household of the Covenant People He holds the Key of David, and, for now, the door to the Kingdom remains open. However, it is important to remember what Jesus warns us in Luke 13:24, we must strive to enter in at the strait gate. Once the door is shut, it cannot again be opened.
Prayer: Father God, grant us Your Grace to remain alert, to grasp hold of the opportunity for salvation that You have given us in the Person of Your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. In His Precious Name, we pray Amen.
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