Solomon – and his Glory
In Matthew 6:28, 29 Jesus speaks of how splendidly our Heavenly Father clothes the lilies of the field. He tells us that their beauty rivals even Solomon’s glory. We see that despite Solomon’s failings, memories of his glorious reign were one of his abiding legacies. Let us ask two questions about the life of Solomon.
First, are his failings consistent with his prayer for wisdom recorded in 2 Chronicles 1:11?
Second, should we expect Solomon to be among those receiving the “good report” and promise of Hebrews 11:39-40? That is, is Solomon an Ancient Worthy?
PROMISE OF WISDOM
We recall the promise to the young king in 2 Chronicles 1:7-12. “In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask, ‘what I shall give thee?’ ” Because of his humility and good sense in his prayer “God said to Solomon, Because this was in thy heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of them that hate thee, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee; neither shall there any after thee have the like.”
SOLOMON’S GLORY
What is the testimony to Solomon’s Glory? In 1 Kings 6:1 we read, “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv (or Zif), which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Jehovah.”
The historian Josephus tells us that the foundations of the temple were laid very deep, and the materials were strong stones, such as would resist the force of time. They were to be strong enough to sustain with ease the vast superstructure and precious ornaments of great weight. The entire building was of white stone. Its height was sixty cubits, its length was the same, and its breadth twenty cubits. The roof and the walls were of cedar and over all this cedar were affixed plates of gold that had relief work upon them, so that the whole temple dazzled the eyes of those who entered. The whole structure of the temple was made with great skill of polished stones, and those laid together harmoniously and smoothly. As we read in 1 Kings 6:7, “The house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.”
In this noiseless assembly of the stones there is clearly prefigured the shaping experiences of each precious member of the Church. “Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5).
No doubt partly for this reason, in Reprint 1901 Pastor Russell wrote, “It required the two reigns of David and Solomon to represent the great work of the Lord’s Anointed. David’s reign represented the work of the church in the flesh, while Solomon’s reign represented the work of the church glorified and at rest from all her enemies.”
The Glory of Solomon
1 Kings 6:37, 38 explicitly tells us the temple was started in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign in the month of Zif (the second month, corresponding to April or May) and was finished “throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.” Hence the temple was completed in year number 11 of the reign of Solomon. 1 Kings 8:2 tells us the month of the temple’s dedication was the seventh month, corresponding to September or October: “And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.”
Though there is a difference of view in the scholarly community about how to interpret 1 Kings 9:10, the meaning seems clear enough. The scriptures explicitly affirm that the Temple took seven years, and that the house of Solomon took 13. The sum is twenty. Perhaps out of reverence, Solomon would not start his own house before completing the LORD’s house.
How thrilled the expectant multitude must have been on the day of the temple’s dedication, pride, both religious and patriotic, washing through the crowd as waves on the sea. Israel’s hopes now stood in golden splendor before their eyes. We read in 1 Kings 8:5, “And king Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be counted nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim … [then in verse 10] And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Jehovah, so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah … I have surely built thee a house of habitation, a place for thee to dwell in for ever. And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the assembly of Israel; and all the assembly of Israel stood. And he said, “Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it.”
The LORD was so pleased with Solomon that he appeared unto him again. We read in 1 Kings 9:2, “Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And Jehovah said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there forever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. [And now comes the significant and “big” two-letter word “if”] And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances; then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever.’ ”
We leave off our reading here, passing over the well-known account of 1 Kings 10 that testifies further to a glory in Solomon’s day unrivaled by any of his successors:
- The visit of the Queen of Sheba,
- Solomon’s trade alliance with Hiram King of Tyre, that made the treasures of Egypt, the Indian Ocean, and Africa flow through Israel, bringing it great wealth,1
- Solomon’s other construction projects that reflected the wealth of the kingdom,
- Solomon’s preparations for the defense of the kingdom.
TURNING OF THE HEART
Solomon would take 700 wives and 300 concubines, an interesting example of the 7:3 ratio that we find elsewhere in scripture.2 “Now king Solomon loved many foreign women … of the nations concerning which Jehovah said unto the children of Israel, ‘Ye shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.’ Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart” (1 Kings 11:1).
We have no scriptural evidence that establishes all the significant chronology of Solomon’s life. If Solomon survived the threat to his life from the rebellion of Absalom when he was about ten years old he then may have ascended to the throne at about age of twenty, started construction of the temple at 24, and saw its dedication seven years later at age 31. If from about age 35 and for nearly 20 years he took one new wife or concubine, this comes out to an average of one every week, for the sum of “seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines.”
He abandoned himself to indulgence, mirth, pleasure and excess. He then had a change of heart at about age 55. At that age his life-style choices had prematurely aged him, the vanity of his course came clearly into focus, and it weighed upon his soul. Solomon expired at age 60 not reaching to the measure of 70 years as had his father David.
As with Saul and David, the eternal God was grieved during this period when Solomon’s heart was turned away. Reading verse 9, “And Jehovah was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from Jehovah, the God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice.”
Saul’s response to Jehovah’s anger was the most tragic of the kings. David, the man after God’s own heart, turned to prayer, contrition, and the poetry of the Psalms. But Solomon was forged from a different metal than his father. So now, nearly 20 years after that glorious day of dedication for the temple, we meet a wizened and prematurely elderly preacher sitting in the shade of the porch that bears Solomon’s name.
“Vanity of vanities,” saith the Preacher, “All is Vanity!”
This term “the Preacher,” when rendered in Greek, gives the book its name “Ecclesiastes.” In the original Hebrew it is called Koheleth (Strong 6953). The Preacher asserts that “a good name is better than adornment of anointing oil” (Ecclesiastes 7:1), and yet does not tell us his name.
He engages in discussion those worshippers seeking the deeper things of God. The Preacher claims both kingship (Ecclesiastes 1:1) and to have been greater than any other king in public works, servants, and wealth (Ecclesiastes 2:4-10).
An older and wiser King Solomon
Who is this nameless figure blazing a new path – fraught with its own shortcomings as in all human endeavor? It seems most reasonable to concur with tradition that this preacher is none other than Solomon who now says – “I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, [and] whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher … one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found” (Ecclesiastes 7:26-28).
If the Preacher is indeed Solomon we now see a change of heart from his time dissipated with 700 wives and 300 concubines. It should not be a surprise that a new consort each week did not provide the basis for a deep and meaningful relationship of trust.
In the end, all that Solomon had accumulated of wealth and security was lost – Egypt overran Israel five years after his death (1 Kings 14:25).3 With the Lord’s approval, the 12 tribes were irrevocably torn apart by the unwise leadership of his son Rehoboam, which we read about in 1 Kings 12.
This book of Ecclesiastes foresees and warns of these dangers. It is not to be read superficially, for the language is woven throughout with riddles, subtle thought, and traps for the careless. What the Preacher does is lay a foundation far more important than that of a stone temple. In this book he inaugurates the pattern of thought and critical thinking upon which the rabbinical tradition is built. Rabbinical style stresses not just rote memorization and the copying of “classic” examples, but an active engaged questioning.
Ultimately, this work in his final years as the “Preacher” were to have a far more reaching effect on Israel and serve them far better than the short term political and military success of a single ruler of “splendor.” The lessons from the “Preacher’s” mode of thinking were to create for his people far more wealth than one king of strong personality could ever hope to bring.
Adam Cohen in the Soncino Press commentary on this work writes 4: “[The preacher] is a daring teacher, restless and courageous in his search for the abiding meaning of life. He looks out on life with wide open eyes, hating hypocrisy and sham, despising injustice and wrong.
“He knows the sadness of things, but the mood of dejection never freezes over him. Thus he can speak of the joy and beauty of life and set it against the haunting echo of the world’s vanity.”
Cohen then goes to his core argument – “The juxtaposition of piety and skepticism, irreconcilable as they may appear, seems to belong to the whole paradox of the Jewish mind … Every reader of this book with a knowledge of the Hebrew must admit that the literary style … differs widely from that of the rest of the Bible … the contents are unique in the Hebrew scriptures. [For] the argumentation which is its principle feature is far removed from the declarations of the prophet, the songs and prayers of the Psalmists, or the annals of the historians. Boldness of reasoning and humility of disposition are the two characteristics of [the Preacher, Koheleth] which contend for mastery within the arena of mind and heart. For [a] long [time] the issue remains in doubt. Often faith appears defeated under the blows of hard facts; in the end it triumphs.”
Now, for one of those subtle tests to see whether the student is paying close attention, we read in Ecclesiastes 8:15: “Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that shall abide with him in his labor [all] the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.”
Does Solomon really want us to take away this lesson that we also should commend mirth? It can be seen that this is not the case. Rather, in this confession he is sharing a life experience as a warning to us. This overstatement is to stop us and have us ask, “Does he really mean for us to do that?”
It is possible to see Solomon as a lonely man. His proverbs were loved, but this book of Ecclesiastes was 500 years ahead of its time. It is the superlative start of the rabbinical tradition that our Lord himself used in training his apostles. We see Jesus cajoling them in the rabbinical style to get them thinking deeply. Let us take one example from John 6:5: “Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude cometh unto him, saith unto Philip, Whence are we to buy bread, that these may eat?”
Do we see that what we have here is a rabbinical style question? But just in case we missed that this is that type of instruction, we find this word “prove” coming in the next verse telling us that this is a rabbinical examination: “And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred shillings’ worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little” (John 6:6-7).
Then one of Jesus’ inner circle answered back in rabbinical style; that is, with a question. “One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, who hath five barley loaves, and two fishes: but what are these among so many?” (John 6:8-9). Now we know the rest of the story and the multitude’s response in verse 14: When therefore the people saw the sign which he did, they said, “This is of a truth the prophet that cometh into the world.”
So in answer to our first question – Are Solomon’s failings consistent with his prayer for wisdom recorded in 2 Chronicles 1:11? In his life we can see a journey:
- The sunny days of one who has it all
- Tasting the “Exceeding sinfulness of sin”
- Losing God’s blessing
- Learning from bitter experience
- Going back to God, but now much wiser.
In answer, “Yes.”
Second, should we expect Solomon to be among those receiving the “good report” and promise of Hebrews 11:39-40? That is, “Is Solomon an Ancient Worthy?” This writer thinks the Preacher would have us answer in the rabbinical style – “So what do you think?” Though not mentioned in Hebrews 11, it would not be surprising to find him in that blessed company, sharing his life experience with mankind in the kingdom.
– Richard Doctor
(1) Possibly these expeditions came to Western America for the silver, hence the need for three-year missions. Western America alone, from Chile to Alaska, has 60% of the world’s silver deposits.
(2) For further discussion on 7:3 numerology please see “Our Lord’s Resurrection Appearances,” Beauties of the Truth (7:3) August 1996.
(3) “Solomon’s Splendor Affirmed,” Beauties of the Truth (15:4) November 2004.
(4) Cohen, A., The Five Megilloth, The Soncino Books of the Bible; Soncino Press, London (1983), pages 103-108.