Solomon

No Secrets

I’m very glad that God doesn’t keep secrets from us about what he intends to do in our lives. The gift of prophecy is his way of letting us know what he knows about the future that is of concern to us. More than 20 years ago, I had a dream, I believe a prophetic dream, about my future. Although I didn’t understand everything the dream was communicating to me, I knew it was intended to be a guide that I could follow to assure me that God’s will was being carried out.

It is clear that Solomon was familiar with the books of Moses because most of the content of his prayer of dedication of the temple can be found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In particular, Solomon focused on prophecies that were given to Moses about Israel after they had settled in the Promised Land. The key issue in Solomon’s intercessory prayer was Israel’s repentance. He prayed to the LORD God of Israel:

If they sin against thee,  (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; and so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive…Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people that have sinned against thee. (I Kings 8:46-50)

It was no secret that the Israelites would go into captivity, therefore, Solomon prayed as if it had already happened and asked the LORD in advance to forgive them.

God’s Presence

Although God is invisible, he is not without substance. When the ark was brought into the temple, it says in 1 Kings 8:10-11, “And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.”

The word translated cloud, “‘anan is used especially of the ‘cloud mass’ that evidenced the special presence of God” (6051). Solomon intended the temple he built to be an actual home for God because he said, “I have surely built thee a house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever” (1 Kings 8:13).

Surrender

One of the ways salvation is sometimes described is described is surrendering your life to Christ. The act of surrendering is often associated with criminals that have been caught by the police or an army that is taken prisoner by its enemy. There is usually some element of capture involved and the loss of freedom. When I became a Christian, I didn’t really surrender my life to Christ. I surrendered a part of my life, the part that was messed up and needed fixing, but most of my life was still under my control. Over the course of about 30 years, I slowly and gradually surrendered the rest until I was completely surrendered to Christ.

Most of the vessels in Solomon’s temple were made of brass (2 Chronicles 4:18), but some were made of gold. A list of articles made of pure gold can be found in 2 Chronicles 4:20-22 and it also indicates that “the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold.” The word translated perfect, miklah means completion (4357). Miklah is derived from the word kalah which means to end or be finished (3615). Kalah may refer to the end of a process or action, so the perfect gold may have been gold that was processed to remove impurities. The word translated pure, cagar means to shut up or imprison and figuratively it can mean to surrender. The likely source of this gold was an underground mine. Therefore, the reference to its purity is not about its quality, but its location.

Thinking about myself as a resource to God, I have no value unless I am where he wants to be when he wants to use me. Part of the process of my surrender was getting into a location where I would be available for service in a particular church/ministry. In some ways, my gifts and talents are now like a gold deposit ready to be mined when they are needed.

 

Baptism

After becoming a Christian, I was baptized a few weeks later. I know something happened to me on the inside through the experience, although I can’t say exactly what. I felt different, as if I had been changed on the inside instantaneously. I’ve never wanted to do it again, but I have wished I could get that feeling back.

Cleansing and purification were a major focus of the Old Testament sacrificial system. Among the furnishings of Solomon’s temple was a “molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about” (2 Chronicles 4:2). The molten sea was a large metal tub approximately 15 feet wide and 8 feet high filled with water “for the priests to wash in” (2 Chronicles 4:6).

The immense size of the molten sea indicates two things. First, the priests were cleansed by immersing themselves in the water. The height of the molten sea made it impossible to stand without being completely covered with water. Second, the cleansing was not meant for the priests’ bodies because a single bath of water, approximately 22 liters of water, would have been sufficient. The molten sea contained 3000 baths of water (2 Chronicles 4:5), enough to fill a large room.

The purpose of baptism by immersion is identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, but I believe it is also a type of spiritual bath. In and of itself, being dunked in the water doesn’t do anything for us, but I think a cleansing does take place for those that believe in baptism’s transformative affect. When I was baptized, I believe I was made clean on the inside. All the internal effects of sin were eliminated as I was spiritually buried with Christ and resurrected to new life.

Pillars

Some people believe there are guardian angels that watch over people. I believe I have two angels, one that stands on my right side and one that stands on my left at all times. I believe these two angels were assigned to me at a specific time to deal with the spiritual issues of doubt and fear. The one that was given me to fight against doubt I named Tom to remind me of doubting Thomas who didn’t believe the Lord had risen until he saw him with his own eyes. The one that was given me to fight against fear I named George to remind me that I am gorgeous in the eyes of God because I am his beloved bride.

Chapter 7 of 1 Kings contains a detailed description of two pillars that stood outside the main entrance of Solomon’s temple. It says in 1 Kings 7:21, “he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.” The significance of these pillars is unknown, but they may have embodied some symbolism. The fact that they were named indicates there was a ceremonial purpose for their existence. As worshippers approached the temple, the pillars may have appeared to be guarding the entrance. All who entered the temple had to pass through them. The word translated pillars, ammud is derived from the word amad which means to stand. “It is what a soldier does while on watch” (5975).

The unseen spiritual realm is for the most part a mystery to believers. Angels engage in spiritual warfare on our behalf and often they defeat our enemies without us being aware of it (2 Kings 6:16-17). I believe the angels that stand beside me serve several functions, one of which is to protect me and they are responsible for my safety as types of spiritual bodyguards or bouncers. When I wake up afraid in the middle of the night, I imagine them standing one on each side of my bed, clad in brass armour with their swords drawn to defend me. I immediately calm down knowing that I am in good hands.

Impossible

I would like to think I can do anything I set my mind to, but there are some things that are impossible for me. Sometimes I think I can do things that I actually can’t and other times I think I can’t do things that I can. The problem is I don’t know my own limitations.

When Solomon was preparing to build the temple, he knew the task was too much for him. He said in 2 Chronicles 2:5-6, “And the house which I build is great: for great is out God above all gods. But who is able to build him a house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him a house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?”

Solomon described the house he was going to build for God as “wonderful great” (2 Chronicles 2:9). The word translated wonderful, pala’ means “to be marvelous, be extraordinary, be beyond one’s power to do. Pala’ is used primarily with God as its subject, expressing actions that are beyond the bounds of human power or expectation…Although something may appear impossible to man, it still is within God’s power” (6381).

Five years ago, I made a commitment to not have sex ever again unless I am married. For some people, this might not be a big deal, but for me, it seemed impossible. At the time, I felt like I would die if I didn’t have sex, so giving it up was a sacrifice. Over the years, my desire for sex has gotten stronger. There have been times when I thought not having sex was killing me. The only way I have been able to get through it has been the power of God helping me to do what I set out to do.

Transformation

Thirty five years after I accepted Christ, I retired and became a full-time grandma. Although it may not be obvious, there is a definite connection between these two events. Becoming a Christian was a turning point in my life. It marked the beginning of my journey toward a relationship with God. Emotionally, I consider it to be the lowest point in my life because I was suicidal and had no hope for the future. When I retired and became a full-time grandma, it was a dream come true. Emotionally, it was the highest point in my life because of the excitement I had about the future and the happiness I felt about reaching the end of a successful career. At that point, I was no longer depending on myself, but trusting that God would take care of me for the rest of my life.

Solomon’s temple was a magnificent structure that took seven years to build (1 Kings 6:38). It’s construction occurred at the height of Israel’s triumph over their enemies (1 Kings 5:4). It says in 1 Kings 6:1, “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 of Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.” The timing is very specific and the reference to the children of Israel coming out of Egypt makes it seem as if the passing of time is relevant to the transformation of the Israelites from slaves into victorious warriors.

Something I think every Christian has to learn is how to depend on God, but beyond that is fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. When I became a Christian, I had a strong desire to have a family. The best years of my life were during the time when I was a stay at home mom. Although it was not in my nature to be married and settle down, I had three children and God began to transform me into a different kind of person. I believe becoming a full-time grandma marked the end of that transformation. I am no longer the same person I was before I became a Christian.

Rest

Five years ago, when my dad died, I reached a point in my life where I felt it was time for me to settle down. The decade before that had been a restless one. I had moved eight times between three different states, changed jobs as many times, and battled all the demons of my past until I became free from the guilt and shame of a lifetime of mistakes. My dad had a strong influence on me when I was growing up and he was the person most responsible for my way of thinking about things. His death was fairly sudden and unexpected, so it took awhile for me to realize that my dad was really gone, but when I did, I was relieved. It was as if the dark cloud that had been hanging over my life finally disappeared and I was able to hope for the first time that my life could be different.

Prior to Solomon beginning construction on the Temple of God, a certain condition had to exist in the land of Israel. It says in 1 Kings 5:4, “But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.” The word translated adversary, sâtân (saw – tawn´) means an opponent. In some cases it stands for Satan, “the arch-enemy of good” (7854), but in this case, satan is referring to the people surrounding Israel that fought against them to try and keep the Israelites from dwelling in the Promised Land. An evil occurrent could be a random act of violence or attack that drew the Israelites into battle. This happened continually during king David’s reign. What Solomon was probably saying was that the Israelites had no more need to fight. They were safe and secure in the land of Israel.

I believe a part of being in the will of God has to do with where we live. In order for certain things to happen, I think we have to be in the place where God has planned for them to happen. When I moved into my current residence, I felt it was the place where God wanted me to be. Knowing that I was where God wanted me to be made me feel safe and secure. I was able to settle down because I had found my place in the world and felt I belonged there.

Consent

On the night I was raped, when I was 14, I was spending the night at my friend Bernadette’s house. After I arrived, I found out Bernadette’s mom had gone out for the night and her boyfriend Tom was taking care of her eight children. Tom was a drug dealer and that night one of his sellers came over for a visit. The two of them went into the bedroom and shut the door so they could try out Tom’s new product in private. I was invited to join them and in spite of my reservations, I did.

The book of Proverbs contains advice from Solomon, the wisest man that has ever lived. In his warnings against violence, Solomon said, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not” (Proverbs 1:10). The Hebrew word translated as entice, pâthâh (paw – thaw´) in a sinister way, means to delude or deceive. Pathah is also translated as persuade, allure, and flatter (6601). The Hebrew verb that is translated as consent has to do with a person’s will. Abah “basically represents the inclination which leads towards action, rather than the volition which immediately precedes it” (14). To consent to something means that you are willing to do it, you are not being forced.

The invitation I received to join Tom’s private party was enticing. Because I had never smoked marijuana, I thought Tom was right when he encouraged me to at least try it. There couldn’t be any harm in taking one little puff. I didn’t know that Tom had something completely different in mind when he invited me into his bedroom. After I took one puff, I blacked out and didn’t regain consciousness until I was on the bed, half naked, with Tom on top of me, forcing me to have sexual intercourse with him.

Insecurity

A characteristic that attracted Rick to me, was my confidence. My job as a workshop facilitator reinforced his image of me as someone that commanded respect. What Rick didn’t know was that on the inside I was very insecure and I felt unworthy of his love. In spite of his constant affection, Rick was unable to convince me that his love was genuine and that I was the most important person in his life. Three weeks before our wedding, we had a huge argument and Rick abandoned me, leaving me at a time when I needed him most.

King Solomon described his love’s appearance many times in the Song of Solomon. It is clear Solomon perceived her to be a strong woman because he said of her, “Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armory, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men” (Solomon 4:4). Solomon also used the word undefiled to describe his love, a term that means perfect and stresses moral integrity (8535). In spite of the respect Solomon showed his love, she did not feel secure in their relationship. On one occasion, Solomon abandoned his love because she had locked him out of their bedroom (Solomon 5:3-6).

Sexual intimacy between a man and woman is based on trust. It cannot be established or maintained if there is a feeling of insecurity in the relationship. The fight Rick and I had shortly before our wedding was due to my insecurity. I didn’t believe that he really loved me. In spite of his many demonstrations of love, I thought it was impossible for Rick to love me because I had been defiled when I was raped. What I needed to know was that Rick would never leave me or forsake me, but instead, he did.