Solomon’s
prayer at the dedication of the temple shows that he had a clear
understanding of Israel’s relationship with Yahweh God, something he doubtless
learned from his father. Solomon believed that Yahweh would continue to give
provision and protection for His people. It was also clear from his prayer that
Solomon understood the conditions under which those promises were made. He knew
that Israel had to remain faithful to Yahweh and His commands or the promises
would be nullified. He also realized that the nation would undoubtedly fail to
fully follow God because his prayer is full of “when” clauses: when your people
fail, he said, hear their repentant prayers from this temple. Not if, when.
Obviously, the omniscient God to whom Solomon prayed also
knew the people would be disobedient. Regardless of this, He answered Solomon’s
prayer by consuming his offering with fire from heaven and filling the temple
with His shekinah glory such that even the priests drew back. This is nothing
but a demonstration of God’s abundant grace in spite of His people’s repeated
rebellion. Christians sometimes mistakenly think that the Old Testament God was
a God of law, but the New Testament God is a God of grace. That is not true.
Grace was first displayed when Yahweh did not instantly take Adam’s life when
he rebelled in the Garden. It is only by God’s grace that the people of Israel
ever came into being.
Because all people are prone to failure, God’s plan of
redemption had to be founded on grace. The redeeming Seed promised
in Genesis three could not have come to earth apart from God’s gracious
provision. In the end, God did not just overlook the murderous disobedience of
the Jewish leadership in Jesus’ time; He used it to accomplish His gracious
purpose. This was Peter’s message on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit
made everything clear to him. According
to Peter, Joel’s prophecy of the last days came to pass through the
“determined plan and foreknowledge of God” who used “lawless men” to execute
their Messiah.
The blessing under which Solomon ruled is called the Davidic
covenant. Yahweh promised David that one of his descendants would sit on the
throne of Israel “forever.” When they became disobedient not only to God but to
their Babylonian overseers, the judgment promised through the prophets came to
pass and the last Davidic king was taken captive. When Israel returned to the
land after seventy years in captivity, Zerubbabel,
a descendant of David, was the political leader, but he was never called a
king. He was an appointee of the Persian government that released him.
The kings we read about in the New Testament are also
appointees, the Romans having taken Judea into their empire. There were a few
Jewish kings during the Maccabean period, who took the throne in rebellion
against Roman rule, but they were not descendants of David. By the time of the
Messiah’s coming, the Herodian dynasty had been granted the right to call
themselves kings, but they were puppets of Rome. They were not even fully
Jewish, let alone David’s heirs. This may help us understand how significant it
was to have the people hail Jesus as “Son
of David” when he entered Jerusalem for the final showdown. They were
anxious for a rightful heir to take back the throne.
I think it is interesting that the Roman governor, Pilate, called
Jesus King of the Jews on the sign
he placed upon the cross. He unknowingly announced what the prophets had
foretold centuries earlier: David’s true Descendant would be king. We often say
that Jesus is at once prophet, priest, and king, and so He is. He came as the
Living Word; He ministers in a heavenly temple which no doubt is the pattern
that was shown to David; and He reigns forever as King of kings. Although Jesus
told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world, the
day is coming when the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of Our
Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever.
The old covenant promised a land flowing with milk and honey
– flocks, herds, abundant harvests. That covenant also required continual
bloody sacrifices to atone for the inevitable sins of the people. The new
covenant is built upon better
promises according to the Hebrew writer. The atonement for our sins was
accomplished once for all when Jesus
took His own blood into the true temple in Heaven and offered it to the
Father on our behalf. Jesus’ resurrection from the grave is the testimony that
the offering was accepted. The torn temple veil testifies to the ending of God’s
presence in the temple. That was no real loss, though. The Herodian dynasty had
built a magnificent temple, but Jesus called what it truly was: a den
of thieves.
The threefold nature of Jesus ministry – prophet, priest,
and king – is mirrored spiritually by His body, the Church. His words, which
are spirit and life to us, are prophetically passed on to us so we may share
His message as ambassadors of the kingdom of Heaven. We become a kingdom of priests
under His high-priestly role sharing the good news of redemption through Jesus.
We enter the kingdom through His blood and rule at His side as vice-regents of
that kingdom. We even share in David’s lineage because we become brothers and
sisters of the true Son of David. None of this requires that we wait for the
Jews to build another temple for Jesus to come. He has come, and we are His
temple. We may still have disappointments as David did, but we need to learn
what it means to be living in the light of David’s promises. We rule!
Related Posts: I highly recommend Where
is King Jesus? And also Merry
Priestly Christmas; For more on the kingdom see Thy
Kingdom Come; on trials see Confidence
or Craziness
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