“Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.”
“And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.”
Solomon is the wisest man alive because his wisdom comes from the Lord. In order to execute justice, we must seek the Lord as Solomon says in Psalm 72. Solomon speaks of his current reign as king as well as the future reign of the coming King, Jesus Christ:
Psalm 72:1-4 – “Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king’s Son. He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with justice. The mountains will bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor.”
Solomon desires a heart that seeks justice and care for the oppressed. This is the heart of the Lord. When Jesus arrives on the scene, He will stand in the synagogue in his hometown Nazareth and read from the book of the prophet Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19).
After reading the Word of God, Jesus will be rejected by the people in His hometown. Eventually Jesus will be betrayed and killed by His own people but this is all part of the Lord’s plan for salvation for the world; because Jesus is going to defeat death by rising from the grave three days later. Then after forty days on earth, Jesus will ascend to His Father in heaven where He is currently sitting at the right hand of the Lord. However, we know from the book of Revelation, that one day Jesus is going to return as the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16); and every knee will bow down to Jesus and every tongue will confess to God (Romans 14:11). David’s son Solomon is currently experiencing a peaceful and successful reign as king but an even greater reign is coming through the future Son of David, Jesus Christ:
Psalm 72:8-14 – “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, and His enemies will lick the dust… Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him. For He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him who has no helper. He will spare the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy. He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; and precious shall be their blood in His sight.”
We are all needy; that is, we are all in need of a Savior. Our blood is so precious in the sight of Jesus that He is going to shed His own blood on our behalf so that we may have the abundant life; a life filled with fellowship with the Lord, all the way until He takes us home where we will praise Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords for eternity.
Psalm 72:17-20 – “His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.”
Tomorrow we start day one of eight days reading Proverbs. Solomon is going to share with us how to live wisely, so keep reading!
(1 Kings 4:1-34, Psalm 72, Psalm 127)
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Chronological Bible in Layman's Terms 