- Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,
and your princes feast at the proper time,
for strength, and not for drunkenness! -
The first part of this verse may rub you the wrong way if you are an American. We are known quite famously for our distaste for nobility.
Not to mention this insane discussion about a king.
This verse builds off the prior. As we read it, we need to compare it with the previous in order to understand it better.
Previously, we were told woe was coming to the nation who had a child as a king. Now we are being told to be thankful that our king is the son of nobility?
How do these two relate?
Perhaps the bad king is not from the line of nobility. This may be because he is a usurper or the favorite son of a conqueror.
In a sense, he has no history with the nation, no ancestry to lean on or someone to guide him in how to rule a specific country.
The woe referred to in sixteen may have already occurred in his or his nation’s conquest of the land. The parties and feasting may be at the nation’s expense that has already lost their men in a war.
Why would you want your king to be a member of the nobility? Well, like it or not, they are the only family in town with any experience in running the country.
Smith. Baker. Weaver. We gave these names so people would have an instant connection between the family and their trade.
The same is true for kings in the past. We understand that information and skill sets today don’t necessarily come from one’s birth, but it is definitely a head start.
The second part of this verse informs us that the king mentioned here is not a youth. How do we know? Because the princes are feasting at the proper time.
As we said last week, it is good to have a king with experience. It is not a guarantee of wisdom, but it is the most common way by which men obtain it.
Finally, and this is a beautiful part of the verse, they feast not for drunkenness but for strength. What does this mean?
To be honest, most times after I have a big meal, I’m not good for much else than sitting on the couch. How can you feast for strength?
If you have a celebration for a victory, does it not strengthen the crown? If you feast in response to a bountiful crop, doesn’t it grow the bonds of friendship between one another?
It is as if you could feast at the proper time!
Excess at some points in our life is a celebration of bounty. It is an echo of the paradise awaiting us. But, we are to never forget that this place is not our home. To do so will lead to drunkenness.
What’s the lesson for a nation without a king? Perhaps it’s that a land is happy when its leaders and its supporters are all in the proper place, both ability and stage of life.
We should strive in our own lives to make this true. We should trust in God where the brokenness of this world has caused this to not be true.
Lean on God to see this world with His eyes.
Ecclesiastes 10:17