1 Kings 8:12-21
John 2:13-22
We’ve seen King Saul, a coward and ultimately unfaithful
king who stood as a foil for both David and Jesus. We’ve considered King David, a man after
God’s on heart, not because he was perfect, but because he humbly confessed his
sins. And now, on to the first “Son of
David” to be king and inherit his father’s throne – King Solomon.
Solomon, the son of Bathsheba and David, had many hopes
riding on his shoulders. God’s promises
about the Son of David were freshly made, and I’m sure all eyes were on Solomon
as he took the throne of his great father David. Solomon had some big shoes to fill.
Solomon is perhaps best known for his wisdom. God had appeared to him in a dream and
offered him a wish – any desire of his heart.
And Solomon didn’t ask for riches, or fame, or the defeat of his
enemies. Instead he asked for wisdom to
do his job as king, and rule the great people of Israel. God was so pleased with Solomon’s request
that he not only made him the wisest man ever to live (apart from Jesus), but
he also added to him fame and fortune and success. Solomon had it all, basically. All that his father David had and then some.
But perhaps his greatest achievement as a king was building
the temple. Here’s the backstory: God’s “throne”, the Ark of the Covenant, was
kept in the tabernacle since the days of Israel at Mt. Sinai. For some 500 years, the dwelling of God on
earth in this special way – was in a temporary shelter – a tent, really. And while they Israelites wandered it made
good sense, for they could move the Tabernacle, the Ark, and everything else
with them as they traveled.
But now they were settled in the land, and under David
enjoyed a time of peace and permanency.
David established his capitol at Jerusalem and even built himself a
palace there. But then David thought,
and you can understand the thinking, “Hey, I’m living in this nice palace, but
Yahweh is dwelling in a tent! Let’s make
a grand palace for him, a house fit for a king – a temple!”
The Lord heard David’s idea, and didn’t totally dismiss
it. But it would not be as David
planned. “David, you’re a man of war,
with blood on your hands. It’s not for
you to build me a house. But instead, I
will build YOU a house.” And of course,
by that, God didn’t mean a temple, but a dynasty. Thus he promised a descendant of David would
always rule on the throne of his father.
And then, he ordained that David’s son, Solomon, would build the
temple. And there our reading today
picks up. Solomon had completed the job,
and now dedicated the temple.
This temple of Solomon would stand for some 400 years, and
there God made his presence known. But
when the people of Israel turned to false gods, the patience of the true God
eventually ran out. Yahweh withdrew his
presence from the temple, and thus also his protection of the people.
And he allowed the Babylonians to destroy that temple and
take the people into captivity. After
their mourning in exile, God again showed mercy, and the people returned to
rebuild the temple under Ezra. Later, under
King Herod the Great, this second temple was renovated and expanded. But in this second temple the presence of
Yahweh, enshrouded in the mysterious cloud, would not be seen. The sacrifices had resumed, but the glory had
departed.
Until one day a couple from Nazareth brought their infant
child to the temple for a blessing. And
old Simeon took the babe in his arms and sang the Nunc Dimmittis, “my eyes have
seen thy salvation, and the glory of thy people Israel”. In the Babe of Bethlehem, the Glory of God
had returned to the temple.
Boy Jesus would also visit his Father’s house, and grown-up
Jesus also spent much time there, teaching the people, and even cleansing his
temple as we heard in John 2.
What famously got him in trouble, though was his statement,
“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days”. You can see how the Jews were a bit touchy
about the temple being destroyed. But of
course, the temple he spoke of was his body. He would die, be destroyed, but
then be raised to life in just three short days. Jesus, you see, is the true temple, the
dwelling of God with man. Not in a tent
or a stone building, but in the flesh. He’s
not just a geographic dwelling with us, he is Immanuel in the deepest, most
profound way – God with us, uniting his divine nature to our human nature in the
person of Jesus.
Now what do we make of all of this? How does it relate to us?
David’s inclination to build the temple and do something nice
for God wasn’t what God wanted. Instead,
God was going to do something for David, and really, for all people. It’s the same old pattern, isn’t it. We think we have something to offer him, do
for him, give to him… but God is the giver of all good gifts, and he takes the
initiative when it comes to our creation and our salvation. He builds his temple, he builds his church,
he accomplishes the salvation of the world through the Son of David – not
Solomon, but Jesus.
Second, God doesn’t need a fancy building or a grand palace
in which to live, but he comes to us to dwell among us on his own terms –
humbly to meet the humble, lowly to mee the low. Yahweh dwelt in a tent for all those years by
his own choice, perhaps partly to show that he was accessible to all people,
not just kings and the well-to-do. Likewise,
when Jesus appears, it is humbly, laid in a manger, attended by shepherds. He comes and meets us where we are, and that
is, in the flesh. And even today he comes
to us humbly in the sacraments – simple water, humble bread and wine, they are
where he may be found, according to his promise.
Third, God keeps his promises, but not always the way we
think. Yes, David’s son would inherit
his throne. Yes, David’s son would build
the temple. Yes, Davd’s son would be a
wise and great king. But Solomon, for
all his wisdom and glory, did none of these, fulfilled none of these, as well
as the greater Son of David, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ, whose wisdom exceeds all – is the very Word of God
made flesh, the wisdom of God in a person.
Christ, the Son of David reigns forever – though Solomon reigned and his
son after him, but the line of Davidic kings became lost to history. Christ will reign forever and ever, and rules
over not just Jerusalem, but over all things – all authority in heaven and on
earth is given to him, and he will put all enemies under his feet – even death
itself. And he will also give us a share
in his reign in his eternal kingdom.
Thanks be to God!
And yes, the Son of David, Jesus Christ, who was welcomed
with palms on a Sunday and crucified on a Friday, crowned with thorns as the
King of the Jews, enthroned upon his cross… he would build that temple of his
body once more, never to be torn down again. In a glorious resurrection our
True Temple now stands as an eternal dwelling of God with man, he the once and
for all sacrifice for sin, he the one who brings our prayers before the father,
our Great High Priest, our Prophet, our King.
None of these three kings of old was perfect, far from it. Saul a coward, David an adulterer and
murderer, and Solomon – who started out so wise and good, it seems fell from
the faith late in his life. While David
had 500 concubines, Solomon had 1000, and many of them pagans who eventually
led him to fall away from the true God into idol worship. We
read in 1 Kings 11:
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the
daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2
from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel,
“You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for
surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these
in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his
wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away
his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his
God, as was the heart of David his father.
A sad ending, a tragedy, indeed. But our Son of David, Christ the King, is a
faithful bridegroom who is devoted to his one and only, the church. And he will bring her to the Father, not
away. And he will remain faithful
forever, to the church as a whole, and to you, his dear child. His story has a blessed ending, a joyous
conclusion, at the marriage feast of the Lamb in his kingdom which has no end.
And so, let us celebrate with joy the coming of the king –
remembering his birth in Bethlehem, in the City of David. And looking forward in hope to the return of
the king in glory, with all his angels, to bring abut a kingdom that has no
end.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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