King Solomon is David's second son with Batsheva. After David, he is one of the kings who impacted and enriched Israel like no other.
Solomon is the author of Shir hashirim, the Song of the Songs, one of the most beautiful ode to love contained in the Bible. Solomon distinguished himself by the wisdom Hashem gave him in his judgments.
Because he requested wisdom and knowledge instead of wealth, possessions or honor, not only did the Lord grant him the wisdom he ad asked for, but He added wealth, possessions and honor to it."
"Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust if the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?", Solomon requested.
And the Lord, who scans each man's heart, granted him much more than his demand:
"Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honors, nor for the death of your enemies , and since you have not asked for a long life but for the wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given to you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have."
The Song of the songs, love song and mystical allegory
Shir hashirim is one of the most beautiful odes to love. Yet there are several degrees of understanding of the text that will take you into the mystical depths of a love that truly surpasses our understanding.
Jewish mystics have interpreted as an allegory for Hashem's everlasting love towards Israel.
"Ani ledodi vedodi li" (I belong to my beloved and my beloved is mine) also represents the delight of welcoming our Lord as a honor guest on the eve of Shabbat.
Christians have intrepreted as a symbolic of Yeshua's love for the the assembly of believers as a whole.
From a very personal point of view, the Song of the Song also speaks of the love Yeshua has for me and for all the hearts that are his. Experiencing Yeshua's love as I am living it daily is a real romance for the soul.
No matter how you intepret it, the Song of the Songs is powerful , beautiful and very refreshing to the soul.
Building the Temple in Jerusalem-powerful manifestations of Hashem
Solomon was a man of God, a man of prayer. Not only did Hashem listen to his prayers, but He also gave Solomon and the people of Israel some powerful signs of His presence.
A careful reading of the reports from 2 Chronicles 6 and 2 Chronicles 7 truly unveils the greatness of our Lord's majesty. Therefore we should all come before Him with your souls clothed with modesty.
Solomon is conscious of the greatness of Hashem. The words contained in his prayer are humble:
"For will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, are not able to contain you, much less this house that I have built."
Let us take a few minutes to meditate on the greatness of our Lord.
By reading the story that is contained in the Second Book of Chronicles, chapter 6 and 7, we do witness a powerful theophany. Therefore the non-Jew must understand that the people of Israel who experienced these theophanies in a very powerful way do fear the Eternal in a very respectful way.
If the Tetragrammaton is occulted and replaced by Hashem, it is indeed a huge mark of deference towards the Creator (I made some enemies by stating that I agreed with orthodox Jews about not pronouncing the four letters of the revealed Name. Nevertheless, my point of view is that anybody should approach our Lord with an immense deference. He is the Maker of Heaven and earth and His glory is immense.
Can you picture witnessing this fire, as stated in 2 Chronicles 7?
"And when Solomon finished praying, fire came down from the heavens and consumed the burnt offering and sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. An the priests were not able to enter into the house of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. And all the sons of Israel saw the fire came down and the glory of the Lord came on the temple and they bowed their faces low to the ground on the pavement, and they worshipped, confessing,
"The Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever."
Solomon's prayer was powerful and Hashem manifested His immense glory. No matter how close your relationship to Yeshua, remember that He is Lord. Think of paying Him the respect that is due.
Solomon's sins
Despite his great accomplishments and his deep relationship with Hashem, Solomon had a great weakness for foreign women.
By committing sins of flesh and going after foreign divinities that his concubines worshipped, Solomon angered the God of Israel. But for the sake of King David's memory, Hashem would still preserve his kingdom until his death.
The kingdom of Israel would then experience division.
I came across websites where people were asking if Solomon was saved and if the prophets of the Tanakh were all saved, because they had sinned.
I'd qualify these interrogations of stupid and please let me address them.
You pretend to be believers. Now ask yourselves if you do have a real relationship with our Lord.
When you are praying, do you feel His presence and do you receive any supernatural manifestation from Him? Well Solomon did, Hashem appeared before him several times and you have the nerve to ask if Solomon was saved? Solomon was chosen, his writings are part of the Bible and over the Centuries he will be cited as a wonderful example of wisdom.
Therefore, before judging King Solomon examine the very depths of your hearts to see if you are even saved.
Solomon made his lot of mistakes, but He did have a real relationship with our Lord. Anybody who seeks His Face earnestly will experience His presence in a very concrete way. However, there are a few points to consider.
Being saved doesn't prevent somebody from sinning. Therefore, we should always examine our actions daily and have the humbleness to do our Teshuva when needed.
Let us also ask Him to give us His wisdom to handle any life situation we may face.
Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
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