The key of David

“Then it shall be in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open” (Isaiah 22:20-22 NKJV).

This prophecy from Isaiah points towards a man to come, who will be given authority to open so no one can shut, and shut so no one can open. This authority is called “the key of David”. To understand these words of Isaiah we must first look at two things, firstly: who was Eliakim? And secondly; what is the origin of ”the key of David”?

Let us begin with a closer look at Eliakim, and go to 2. Kings chapter 18 and 19. “And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them” (2.Kings 18:13). What a dramatic situation for them to be in, and it would get even worse. Sennacherib sent his large army towards Jerusalem and besieged it. He wanted to win the city by starving out the inhabitants. To demoralize the people of Jerusalem Sennacherib said to them: “Thus says the king: “Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lords, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria”” (18:29-30).

“And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household...to Isaiah the prophet, the son Amoz“ (19:1-2). Hezekiah needed to hear from the Lord in the serious situation he and Judah were in, so he sent Eliakim along with some others to Isaiah. “So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land” ’ ” (19:5-7). Shortly after “the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Look, he has to come out to make war with you” (19:9). “So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword” (36-37).

Eliakim, who was over the household, brought the prophetic word from Isaiah to King Hezekiah, a word that brought hope and redemption in a seemingly hopeless situation. No matter how difficult a situation may seem, a prophetic word from God has the power to change any situation.

Now, what about the origin of “the key of David”? We find the answer in 1.Kings chapter 1, a chapter that tells the story of Adonijah, son of David. “Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him”. (1:5). This happened when David had become an old man. David had not appointed Adonijah as his successor, Adonijah had appointed himself. He celebrated with his accomplices to convince the people of his coup. “And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel; he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his brother” (1:9-10). Solomon was not invited, because he was the rightful heir to the throne.

When Bathsheba, wife of David and mother of Solomon, heard what Adonijah had done, she went to the chamber of the king and told him what had happened. She ended with these words; “And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders” (1:20-21). As she was talking with David, Nathan, the prophet, also came in. He said “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?” (1:24).

The words of Batsheba and Nathan started a legal process for the takeover of the throne. “And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. The king also said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’” (1:32-34)

The key of David is the authority that David had to open and to shut. By David's authority he appointed Solomon as king, and his inauguration changed the whole situation in Jerusalem. “So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar...” (1:45a). Adonijah and his accomplices were made responsible for their actions, and lost their lives. Bathsheba, the king's wife, is a picture of the bride, who comes to the king for him to, by his authority, judge right. Her words were confirmed by the prophetic words of Nathan the prophet.

We have now looked at who Eliakim was, and the origin of the expression “the key of David''. Isaiah's prophecy is pointing towards someone who was to come, to bring the prophetic word to open every locked situation, and who has the authority to open and shut, to appoint and remove. In Revelation we read: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” (Revelation 3:7)

Jesus is the one who has the key of David. He appoints, and he removes. He shuts so no one can open, and He opens so no one can shut. He has given the key to his church: “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).

Jesus has created everything by his authority. “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalms 33:9). When the Lord created he had two things, he had the Word, and he had faith. Since the key of David is given to those who belong to Jesus, we can execute the same authority by faith: “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak” (2.Corinthians 4:13).

Whoever has faith can open and shut doors! We can proclaim what is to come. When Eliakim brought his prophetic word to king Hezekiah, a key message with an unbeatable strategy towards the enemy, it brought a change in the atmosphere. The situation was locked, but the word of God unlocks it! Jesus used the key of David, and so shall those who belong to Him do. “...because as He is, so are we in this world” (1.John 4:17b). Eliakim means “God will raise up”. He brought a message where God had raised up a plan that no one could beat. If Eliakim had remained passive, hoping that Sennacherib would retreat, Jerusalem would have been taken. The enemy comes to take over, but the people of God have the key to stop him, and to win a great victory. If the enemy of our souls had known what wisdom God would give to his believers, he would not let Jesus be crucified. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1.Corinthians 2:7-8). Because now, not only can Jesus exercise the authority of the key of David, but also all those who belong to Him and believe.