The Key Of David
TiffanyAnn Lewis 9/2006

“...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.” Rev. 3:7

 For years I have asked the Lord what the key of David is.  Most of the footnotes that I have read say the key of David symbolize kingdom authority.  That made sense to me, however something remained open and unanswered in my spirit.  I asked the Lord again recently and sat there weeping as He revealed what I believe, just may be a clue to what this key is. 

What I am about to share is a jewel the Lord revealed to my heart.  This writing is not intended to become a doctrine but rather something to ponder and glean from if the Lord speaks to you through it.

 Is. 22:22 says; “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.”   This is the key to the house/kingdom of King David that was passed down through generations to King Jesus.  Jesus is the One who opens the door to heaven giving us access to the Kingdom of God that no one will shut.  Can I hear an Amen in the house!!!

 However, in the book of Revelation, Jesus reveals Himself as the One who is holding the key of David, not the key of the house/kingdom of David.  That sparked something in my spirit.  It seems to me that there are two keys.  The first is the “key of the house of David” from Isaiah 22:22 which we’ll call the ‘kingdom key’.  The second is the “key of David” from Rev. 3:7 which we’ll call the ‘heart key’ because God called David a man after His own heart. (1Sam. 13:13)

Why was King David “one after God’s heart” and King Saul wasn’t?  Both David and Saul sinned in their lifetime.  Both had fallen short of the glory of God.  Both were told there would be consequences for their actions and both acknowledged their transgressions.  I believe the key to the answer is found in how they responded when their sin was revealed for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34)

- When Saul’s sin was revealed to him, he pleaded with Samuel saying “honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel…”  (1 Sam. 15:30) Basically Saul wanted Samuel to save his face and keep him looking good to others.

- When David’s sin was revealed to him he pleaded with God not the prophet.    David fasted, prayed and then when the consequence of the sin was fulfilled and his child died scripture says that David worshiped! (2 Sam. 12:20-21)   Imagine, his child dies and he worships! 

Neither Saul nor David had done what was right before the Lord’s eyes.  But Saul was concerned with looking good in the eyes of man where as David was concerned with looking good in the eyes of God.  “The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  (1 Sam 16:7)  Because of what God saw in David’s heart He gave David, not Saul the kingdom. 

 David got the kingdom but what he was really after was God’s heart.  David struggled with the same things that we do.  He stumbled and fell plenty of times but ultimately he was more concerned about abiding in the very heart of God than he was about his “kingdom”.  Psalm 27:4-5 says there was only one thing and one Person that David wanted.  The one thing, to “dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life” and the One Person “to behold the beauty of the Lord.”  In good times, in bad times and all the times in between, David wanted to be right smack in the middle of where God’s presence dwells.  There were things he wanted in and from life but there was nothing he wanted more than God.  From the depths of his heart he cries; “take not Thy Spirit from me!” (Ps. 51:11) 

 God remembered David’s desire and in Revelation 3:7 when Jesus reveals Himself, it’s with the “key of David” in His hands.  The Lord brings David’s desire to an eternal reality by promising that “he who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more…” (Rev. 3:12)  The door to the kingdom of God has been opened by the ‘kingdom key’, which is the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  Salvation is a gift from God that comes with no strings of overcoming attached.  However there is still a whole lot of overcoming to be done in order to enter into the abiding presence of God that David was longing for, yes?  There’s a whole lot of little things in my life that distract me from the “one thing” that David desired.  David had plenty of distractions too; he had a whole kingdom to run but he overcame these distractions with the heart of worship. 

 The key to overcoming the things of this world so we can enter into the very heart of God is the “key of David”, which is the heart of worship.  This key opens a door in the Spirit into a very tangible communion with our God.  It won’t make everything just magically disappear but we will find a peace that surpasses our understanding in the middle of the storm.  We will become so smitten with God that the things of the world don’t have power over our emotions, our time, our finances, and our decisions anymore.  We can dwell in His presence, gazing upon His beauty all the days of our life, here on earth as it is in heaven.  And be unmoved by the storms around us.

 Jesus is standing beyond salvation’s open door with the “key of David” in His hand inviting us to “come up here” to come into the very heart of God. 

Amen and Amen.