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A King Like No Other

Writer's picture: Therese AnnTherese Ann
Behold, I have done according to your word. Behold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, and after you none will arise like you. 1 Kings 3:12

If you have studied the Bible for even a short time, you have most likely heard of King Solomon. He is probably the most famous king the world has ever known. His kingdom is the undisputed greatest that has been known to exist. The most famous thing about him was his wisdom.


Solomon’s wisdom was so great that it is still renowned to this day, and as you can see from the intro verse that it was God who bestowed this precious gift upon him.


However, notice something in particular that God says to Solomon when promising this great gift of wisdom. God says that there is going to be no other king like him. Is God saying that there will never be a greater king than Solomon? If that is true, then where does Jesus fit in with that? Isn’t Jesus the King of Kings? (see Revelation 19:16)


Isaiah says this about Jesus's kingdom:


Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this. Isaiah 9:7

Has God contradicted Himself? Of course not. God is never, ever saying that Solomon will be the greatest king ever. He is just telling Solomon (and us) that Solomon is going to be unique.


Solomon is actually an enigma. The Bible tells us that he loved God, but there were problems. Solomon’s love toward God was divided. It was not a wholehearted love. Here’s God’s description of Solomon’s love:


Solomon loved Yahweh, walking in the statutes of David his father, except… 1 Kings 3:3a

I purposely didn’t finish the verse to add emphasis. The rest of the verse goes on to explain how Solomon didn’t follow after God wholeheartedly. Even though God knew this, He still gave Solomon great wisdom and riches. That is what makes Solomon so puzzling. Why would God still give Solomon all of this even with a divided heart?


The answer lies with God’s nature. He is always working to draw us nearer and nearer to Him. We all know that we can start out a relationship half-heartedly, but then as we get to know the person, we can come to a place where we love them much more intimately and intensely. The same is true for the opposite. We can start out loving someone, then that love can grow very cold indeed. The beautiful thing about God is that He is willing to take our divided love, but always desires it to increase to wholehearted love. Unfortunately in Solomon's case, the opposite happened. Solomon grew cold.


Yahweh was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from Yahweh… 1 Kings 11:9a

There is another reason, however, to consider why God would give Solomon the greatest wisdom, fame, and riches off all time. I truly believe that God did this to prepare Israel and the world for the kingdom of Jesus Christ.


Let's think about this. Many times we have the tendency to believe that the greatest utopian society would be one with the perfect economy where no one is poor, opportunity abounds, and our leaders are wise and discerning. That was exactly the situation in Solomon’s day. Yet, there were still problems.. and those problems became glaringly obvious after Solomon died. The people come to speak to his son, Rehoboam, who was now king. This is what they say to him about his father Solomon:


“Your father made our yoke difficult. Now therefore make the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you.” 1 Kings 12:4

Are these people indicating that life wasn’t perfect under the wisest king of all time who made his nation the most successful in the world? Yes they are. Of course it would be that way. Why? Because any human ruler is going to be imperfect.


No matter how rich, how good of intentions, or how wise, any human ruler is going to fail. That’s why I believe there would be no other king like Solomon. God is using him to teach us that riches, wisdom, and good standing in life absolutely cannot save us, nor will these things ever satisfy us.


There will always, always be something wrong. That is why we can never look to the things of this world as the goal. We will always be disappointed. It is only in Jesus Christ and His kingdom that we will find satisfaction, and there will never, ever be anything wrong.


You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more. Psalm 16:11

This statement is absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, true. Jesus Christ is the one and only goal. He and His kingdom should be our first desire. That is why the first and greatest commandment is this:


You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:5

The commandment is for our benefit. Our hearts are never to be divided in our love for Him. God knows that nothing else can ever satisfy us. He is the source of love, life, and light. He is the perfection of all that is good and pure.


The Kingdom of God, through Jesus Christ is actually the antithesis of Solomon’s. Even with all its splendor and glory, Solomon’s was riddled with imperfection and hardship and strife, whereas Christ’s kingdom will have none of that.


This is why, when Jesus teaches us to pray, the first thing He tells us to ask for is for His kingdom to come. Again, it is for our benefit.


"This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come…’”Matthew 6:9-10a (NIV)

Solomon is a lesson to us to help us understand this. His story puts to rest the idea that we can find perfection and satisfaction in this fallen world. This is impossible no matter how hard we try.


No, instead, we are here to draw into a deeper and more intimate relationship with our Creator. While we are here we are to be preparing ourselves for our life with God as a bride prepares herself for her new life with her husband.


We can do this by believing with all our hearts that His way is the only true way and there is no other. And the only means of knowing His way is by studying His word, the Bible.

And if you want an easy way to do this, you can always tune into the Bible Explained Podcast daily as a supplement to your own personal study. Just sayin’… 😉


Question:

What things tend to pull your heart away from God?


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