The Man Who Would Be King

Throughout history—and throughout the pages of Scripture—we see men who wore crowns, sat on thrones, and carried the title of “king.” Some were born into royalty; others seized the throne by force. But in the light of eternity, the only kings who are truly empowered for their roles are those appointed and anointed by God Himself. These men are not simply named kings; they are “made” and formedinto kings. They are fashioned and forged. They are trained, tested, and established with true royal character.

No one becomes a godly king simply by receiving a title. A crown does not automatically impart wisdom, courage, or godly authority. The call to rule, to serve, to establish a kingdom, and to be a godly leader of people requires something far deeper: the inner life of a yielded servant. Calling comes before capability. God chooses and anoints long before a man feels ready or qualified—and then He walks with him through the process of becoming what He has already declared him to be.

Not all who have worn a crown have lived up to the weight of that position. In fact, only one Man has ever walked the earth and perfectly embodied what it means to be King. The prototype for godly kingship—the standard by which all others are measured—is the King of kings and Lord of lords: King Jesus.

He is the perfect example of a humble servant leader, a just, honorable, sinless Man; a righteous, bold, powerful model of a pure and perfect King. Every earthly king past, present, and future pale in comparison to Him.

Before the Son of God took on flesh and walked among us, Scripture introduces us to another king whose life became the measuring line for all Israel’s kings: King David. This “man after God’s own heart” was a mighty warrior, an extravagant worshiper, and a man of honor and integrity. He was beloved by the people and favored by God. Under his leadership, Israel saw enemies defeated and promises fulfilled, as the nation finally stepped into what God had promised them centuries earlier.

The standard David set as king became the lens through which every king after him was judged. Because of David’s relationship with the Lord, God made him a remarkable promise: from his line there would always be a king to sit on the throne. Fourteen generations later, that promise was fully realized in Jesus, born into the lineage of David. After His death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus took His rightful place on the eternal throne, ruling and reigning not only over Israel but over all mankind as our everlasting King.

Yet David, as highly honored as he was, was far from perfect. His story is not a polished legend—it’s a real man’s journey. His life was marked by great victories and painful failures, deep devotion and real weakness. That is part of what makes him so relatable to us today. If a flawed man could still be called “a man after God’s own heart” and remembered as Israel’s greatest king, then there is something in his journey—and in the way he prepared his son to take the throne after him—that we desperately need to pay attention to.

David’s son and heir, Solomon, would become the wisest man (aside from Jesus) to ever live. When we look at the lives of David and Solomon together, we don’t just see kings; we see a father and a son, a legacy and an inheritance. We see what it means to reign as a king and what it takes to raise sons who can walk in their God-given royal calling.

This book follows that journey. We will walk with David from the pasture to the anointing oil of 1 Samuel 16, learning that the call of a king rests first on God’s sovereign choosing. We’ll listen in on a father’s final instructions in 1 Chronicles 28–29, where David charges Solomon to know the God of his father and serve Him with a loyal heart. We’ll sit beside Solomon as a young king in 1 Kings 3, asking for wisdom and discovering that wisdom is the true foundation of righteous rule.

We will watch how a king builds—not just palaces and temples, but a kingdom aligned with God’s heart. We’ll look at the inner life of a king: his integrity, worship, courage, and the condition of his heart before God. And we will not shy away from the hard parts—the rise and the fall, the slow erosion that comes through compromise, distraction, and unguarded choices. In all of this, we will see how a father’s instruction, a son’s decisions, and God’s mercy weave together into a story that still speaks to us today.

The purpose of this book is to shine a light on the heart, character, and calling of godly kings—and to help us recognize what is essential for our current and/or future roles as fathers, mentors, and leaders. Whether your sons are natural or spiritual, whether you are just stepping into manhood or have walked with the Lord for decades, God’s design is that you would be equipped with purpose and intentionality to raise up men who know who they are and what they are called to. To understand why it is so vital to raise up the generations after us—sons who will take their rightful place and assignment as kings and priests before the Lord.