I’ve been reading about King Solomon lately. The son of King David and Bathsheba, his older brothers tried to cut him out of the kingship. You can’t blame them really – he was a younger brother and there was a lot of family drama surrounding the line of succession. But David, himself a younger son unexpectedly made king over his brothers, understood that God chooses and assigns the stewards of His Kingdom, and God had chosen Solomon.
David, even though he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), wasn’t allowed to build a Temple for God because he had blood on his hands (1 Chronicles 28:3). So he charged Solomon with the task. He was given the responsibility of carrying on his father’s work, fulfilling his father’s dream.
Solomon’s name means “peace” and his government was characterized by political stability. This allowed him to focus on building projects, including the Temple and his own palace. “He built to his heart’s content in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout the entire realm” (2 Chronicles 8:6). These massive projects gained him international attention. The Bible records a state visit from the Queen of Sheba. She had heard rumors of his kingdom and had to see for herself. What she saw left her breathless and amazed (2 Chronicles 9:4).
Gold, bronze, ivory, exotic wood. A massive golden throne for the king. So much opulence and wealth that “silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day!” (2 Chronicles 9:20) The Queen took this all in – the ornate splendour – and commented on Israel’s greatest treasure.
“Your wisdom is far greater than what I was told. How happy these people must be!” (2 Chronicles 9:6-7)
Wisdom is the gift Solomon asked for when God promised to give him anything he wanted (2 Chronicles 1:10). In his request, we hear echoes of his father, David’s instructions: “My father told me… Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you. Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do!… If you prize wisdom, she will exalt you. Embrace her and she will honor you. She will place a lovely wreath on your head; she will present you with a beautiful crown” (Proverb 4:4, 6-9).
Wisdom’s crown will always outshine and outlast any kingly crown. It’s the crown of a heavenly kingdom, honor bestowed by God Himself. Israel wasn’t Solomon’s to exploit for his own personal profit. Instead he was steward and caretaker of God’s Kingdom for the benefit of God’s people and to bring God glory.
The Queen of Sheba recognized it, saying, “Because God loves Israel so much and desires this kingdom to last forever, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness” (2 Chronicles 9:8). Not because God loved Solomon so much, although surely He did, but because He loved Israel so much. Because He wanted good things for His chosen people.
So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king in all the earth. 2 Chronicles 9:22
Solomon was not a perfect king and his was not a perfect kingdom. He certainly wasn’t the son of David who would reign forever (2 Samuel 7:13). But there is a perfect King and an eternal Kingdom in which all is as it should be. And Solomon foreshadows his distant descendant, that Greatest of grandsons, the Prince of Peace, whose “ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. [Who] will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David” (Isaiah 9:7). When we see this Kingdom, this King, for ourselves, it will take our breath away.
The Queen of Sheba remarked, “How happy your people must be!” The highest praise for a king is the happiness of the people under his dominion. If Solomon’s subjects were considered happy, imagine the joy we will have when Christ is seated on the throne.
“Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy.” Isaiah 65:17-18
Be glad. Rejoice forever. A place of happiness and a source of joy. This is the Kingdom under the uncontested dominion of Christ.
It’s glorious.
(If you’d like to read King David’s prayer for Solomon, and the King of Kings, check out Psalm 72.)