King Salomon also on the line to Christ Jesus
And what about this man and king, Salomon and his relation to his God, YHWH. If we read 1 king, we can see that Salomon in his late years left God and worshipped many, many other gods which his multiple wives brought with them. However, if we read the 2 Chronicles, we can see the opposite, that Salomon worshipped and praised God all the time to the end of his life. So, who is right the prophet writing the first Kings or the prophet writing the second Chronicles?
Everything good comes from God
Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. In the fifth book Moses wrote about when Israel is going to elect a king and how this king needed to behave. In Deuteronomy 17:18 it says that the king needed to write down all these five books for himself and read them all the days of his life. Why did God say that? It was Gods wisdom, not human wisdom, to help the king in his struggle against himself, to keep his heart humble, understanding that everything good comes from God.
The war
In Deuteronomy 17:16 where God told the kings to read all the days of their life, God states what the king should not do. He should not have many horses, not many wives and not great amounts of silver and gold. King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines and the amount of silver he had made silver as common as stones. He surpassed all the kings on earth in wealth and wisdom. However, this wisdom did not imply the wisdom of God concerning the protection of his own heart in the war against himself. Solomon had 4000 stalls and 12000 horsemen.
By marrying someone
Why did Solomon acquire all this? The answer is that he wanted to live in peace with all the neighboring countries to enjoy his luxury life, being respected almost worshipped. Solomon desired to feel good, to feel happiness, being satisfied in every way possible. And Solomon’s smartness made him have multiple wives. It was a common practice when Solomon ruled to sign or give formal consent to any agreement and making it officially valid by marrying someone of the kingdom Solomon negotiated with, most probably from the king’s family often one of his daughters. In this way the kings had common interests and better knew each other.
What is in your heart
Solomon’s wisdom made him have many wives, however God’s wisdom said no. God said no because He did not want Solomon to lose the war against himself. King David, Solomon’s father made some serious mistakes, however he never left God in his heart, God filled the heart of David, and God does not look to outwards appearances, you cannot fool God by splendour, gold and diamonds, God sees what’s behind your words and actions, God sees through you, what’s in your heart. Salomon did everything right according to his worldly wisdom, however his many wives made him abandon God his safety and Glory. Salomon ended up worshiping wood and stone, Changing his living and powerful God for dead items. So, the prophet writing the 1 Kings gave us the whole story, the correct picture of the relationship between God and king Solomon.
Returning to their Israel
And what about the prophet writing the 2 chronicles, was he a false prophet, no he was not. He probably lived in Babylon area among the Israelites in foreign countries in captivity, their parents been taken as slaves and transported to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. This prophet wrote for Israelites borne abroad, they had not seen their homeland and now was the time to return and start repairing the wall surrounding Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. The prophet tried to encourage the people and give them hope for the future returning to their Israel they had been told of from their parents. He wrote a positive story for his people, his country, and his God.
Questions
- What is true wisdom?
- How do you find the truth?
- What did Jesus say about the truth?
- Why did God abandon king Solomon?
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