Proverbs 21:1

The King’s Heart

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

1. This proverb makes one main point: God is absolutely sovereign.

2. God is ultimately in control of everything: even the king’s heart!

The king’s heart

1. The expression, “the king’s heart” includes both his mind and heart. It includes his thoughts and his emotions.

2. But it is even deeper than that.

a. It refers to all the inner thoughts, imaginations, inclinations, intentions, plans, desires, and goals of the king.

b. And everything a king DOES stems from the thoughts and intentions of his heart.

c. Out of his heart flows everything that he does… all the wars he engages in… all the laws he writes… all the bridges he builds… all of the countries he invades… all the taxes he levies… all the schools he establishes… all the people and programs he promotes…

d. Matt. 15:19 – out of the heart also flow all kinds of EVIL. This is true of all men, including kings.

e. Actually, all the good AND all the evil that a king does flows from his heart… his inner man.

3. All of that comes from the heart of the king.

a. In fact, the whole country is moved and directed from the heart of the king.

b. A king has power to control the direction of the entire country.

c. All that guidance and direction flows from his heart.

d. A king could have it in his heart to turn his nation back to God. Several kings of Judah did just that… and brought about great revivals.

e. A king could also have it in his heart to lead his country into idolatry. We have too many examples of that in Israel’s history.

f. An idea can arise in the heart of a king or ruler, and it could change the course of world history!
• An idea popped into the heart of the Japanese emperor and his military rulers to invade Pearl Harbor… and that a brought us into war.
• A judge made a decision in the Brown v. Board of Education and segregation in public education was outlawed.
• Charles Martel made a decision to fight against the Muslims at the battle of Tours in 732 and halted the Islamic expansion of Europe.
» Otherwise, Europe would have been a Muslim region rather than having been influenced by Christianity all these centuries. What a different world we would have!
• George Bush decided to invade Iraq and that changed the course of our nation dramatically.

4. Kings have incredible power.

a. A king or ruler could devise a plan in his mind, pass the legislation, and it could change the way we live!

b. It could affect our freedom… our finances… our culture…

c. They can make one decision which could change the direction of their country…

d. An idea could pop into their minds and it could change the direction of world history.

e. Much power resides in the heart of the king.

f. As a king himself, Solomon knew that first hand.
• His decision to tax the people heavily in order to carry out his ambitious building projects affected the way the Jews lived for decades.
• Many other things arose in his heart that affected the nation for years too (like his desire for 700 wives)!
• Solomon realized that nothing more than a thought that arose in a king’s heart and mind could affects thousands upon thousands of people for generations to come.

1a The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD

1. Now Solomon states that while there is much potential for good or evil in the heart of a king… and while it is true that a king is sovereign over his land and people… there is someone much higher than he: Jehovah God!

2. The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD.

a. The king (in a sense) is sovereign over the people.

b. But God is sovereign over the king… even over his thoughts and the intentions of his heart!

c. To be “in the hand of” speaks of being under the control of.

d. God not only has the king under His eye; God has his heart in His hand!

3. This is quite a thought to contemplate: the king’s HEART is under God’s complete, sovereign control.

a. God controls the thoughts of kings.

b. God controls the intentions of their hearts… their motives.

c. God controls the plans, purposes, programs, and goals of a king.

d. Of course, this thought does not violate man’s free will.
• The king has the freedom to think what he wants… and he does.
• The king has the freedom to come up with his own plans and purposes… and he does.
• Our puny minds are not able to fathom the depths of this apparent dilemma: God’s sovereignty and man’s will.
• But the fact that we cannot reconcile the two does not mean they are irreconcilable. It is no problem for God. After all, His understanding is infinite!

e. God allows kings the freedom of will.
• BUT God controls the entire universe.
• He controls all the circumstances surrounding that king.
• He controls all the events in life that serve as a backdrop to the king’s thoughts… that shape and mold the king’s thoughts.
• Prov. 16:33 – “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.” When a coin is flipped, the outcome is really in the hands of the Lord—the One who causes the earth to rotate… the One who controls the wind and air currents… the One who is sovereign over the tiniest details in this universe… all of which affect the outcome of the coin flip… OR of the casting of a lot… OR of a thought that pops into the mind of a king!
• He’s got the whole world in His hands!

4. Ecc. 9:1 – God controls the WORKS of men as well.

a. He controls not just their inner intentions, but their outward works too.

b. He controls not just thoughts but deeds.

c. God providentially orchestrates events and circumstances such that the thoughts, desires, intentions, and plans in a man’s heart are ABLE to come to fruition… able to materialize into actual deeds.

d. This is certainly true of kings too.

1b As the rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will.

1. Solomon takes that thought of God’s sovereignty a step further.

a. The king’s heart is in God’s hand: God possesses sovereign control.

b. Here Solomon states that God actually uses that sovereign control over the hearts of earthly kings in order to accomplish His will and His purpose.

2. As the rivers of water

a. Solomon uses the illustration of water to illustrate the EASE with which water can be made to change directions.
• Some readers might think that it is quite difficult to turn the heart of a king.
• Solomon says, “Not so.” God can turn his heart as easy as turning the direction of water!
• Water is chosen to illustrate the EASE with which God is able to turn the heart of the king.

b. Water changes direction very easily. It doesn’t take much to channel water in a different direction.
• Men do it all the time.
• Men redirect rivers, streams, and canals.
• You can change the direction of a stream of water with a pile of rocks.
• In fact, even a little beaver can change the flow of water, and they often do!

c. God is able to turn a king’s heart with the greatest of ease. It is not a problem at all for an omniscient, omnipotent, and sovereign God.

3. He turneth it withersoever He will.

a. Men often change the direction of the flow of water for their own purposes.
• They might build a dam to create a lake.
• They might build a dam for hydroelectric power.
• They might reroute a section of a river to avoid having to build a bridge… or create a lake…
• When men channel a river in a different direction, it is to accomplish their own purpose.

b. Solomon states that God turns a king’s heart to accomplish His own purpose too.

c. Thus, without violating their own free will, God works sovereignly and providentially in the background in such a way that guarantees that as the king chooses of his own free will, the choice he makes is the exact choice necessary for God’s own plan and purposes to come to pass.

d. Proverbs 16:9 – A man—even a king—may make plans, but God ultimately directs his steps…

4. There is a perfect example of this in Isaiah 10.

a. In this chapter we see the sovereignty of God TURNING the heart of the King of Assyria to carry out God’s purpose.

b. Vs. 6 – God’s plan and purpose was to use the Assyrian king and his armies in order to inflict judgment upon His own sinful people, Israel.

c. Vs. 5 – God refers to the Assyrian as the “rod of MY anger.” God was going to USE the King of Assyria and his armies as God’s ROD to punish Israel.

d. Vs. 15 – God speaks of Assyria as:
• An axe in God’s hand! God is USING Assyria to accomplish His purpose.
• A saw in God’s hand who is shaking it…
• A rod and God is the one lifting it up… to use it to strike

e. Vs. 7 – Howbeit, the Assyrian king didn’t see it that way.
• It was certainly not the Assyrian’s king’s intention to be used as TOOL in the hand of the God of Israel! Israel was an enemy of Assyria.
• The Assyrian king certainly had no intentions of being used to accomplish God’s purpose!
• He never would have believed you if you told him this either.
• Vs. 7b – It was in his mind to destroy Israel (and others).
• Vs. 13-14 – It was in his mind to ROB and get rich.
• Thus, the king operated in his own free will. He chose to attack Israel for his own purpose: treasures!
• But God USED that king… and God USED even his depraved intentions to accomplish God’s purpose for Israel.
• God was the One who providentially and sovereignly arranged political circumstances behind the scene, which opened up the doors of opportunity for this attack to occur… knowing that the king would choose to attack under the right circumstances.

5. God had the Assyrian king’s heart right in the palm of His hand… and God turned that pagan king’s heart as easy as water to accomplish His divine will.

6. And it wasn’t just that one king.

a. Pharaoh (Ex. 10:1-2) – God hardened his heart to bring judgment upon Egypt and redemption for Israel.

b. Cyrus (Isa. 45:1-4)

c. Artaxerxes (Neh. 2:1-8) – To allow Nehemiah to return to rebuild Jerusalem.
• Ezra 7:27 – “Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.”

7. God providentially and sovereignly controls the movements of American presidents too.

a. He turns their hearts and allows them to make “choices” which God incorporates into His eternal plan for the ages.

b. Yes, God is still on the throne.

c. What a mighty God we serve!

d. We don’t have to worry that world events are swirling out of control. They are in perfect control… all being orchestrated to fulfill God’s will…

e. That’s the kind of God we can trust.

f. The king has the power to think thoughts, make plans, and execute those plans at will… and change the lives of thousands… and change the direction of his country. He can even change the direction of world history!

g. Kings can be quite powerful and frightening!

h. But God holds that king’s heart in His hand… and can turn it at will. God can turn the thoughts… the intentions of his heart… and change his plans… and thus his actions in order to bring GOD’S will to pass.

i. Fear God; not man!