Thoughts on the Old Testament
Act III: The Consummation of Marriage
The loving tender intimacy of marriage is presented in poetic language. “My sister, my bride” presents the maiden both as friend or family to be cared for parallel to lover in a sexual context. “Garden” refers to this intimate relationship.
Act II: The Procession
This is the scene of the maiden coming to Jerusalem in Solomon’s carriage. This part of the story has a “Cinderella” flavor. The farm girl is being lavished with wealth and is presented to the residents of Jerusalem. She is a bit overwhelmed with all the pomp and circumstance.
Act I: The Courtship
Solomon owns a vineyard in the land of Ephraim which he placed under the care of family consisting of a mother, two brothers, an older daughter (a Shulamite, who is the heroine), and her younger sister. The Shulamite works in the vineyards and cares for flocks. She is the epitome of Proverbs 31. Although she is beautiful, she had little time for personal care and has become quite tanned by the sun.
Some have proposed this beautiful young woman is none other than Abishag. Abishag was a beautiful young woman who spent her youth working in the fields and vineyards. From our studies of 1 Kings 1, we remember she was chosen to lie beside the elderly King David to keep him warm and to be his nursemaid as he lay dying. The text is clear that her virginity was not taken away by the elderly King David (1 Kings 1:4). Her ministry to him was completely a matter of physical care, not sexual pleasure.
She came from an area called Shunam, which is thought to be in Galilee. It seems as though Solomon, who was part of the household at that time, became deeply attached to her. When his brother Adonijah tried to get his mother’s approval for taking Abishag to be his wife, Solomon was enraged that he was attempting to use Abishag to usurp the throne. He then had Benaiah, his executioner, kill Adonijah (1 Kings 2:21-25).
Abishag was not a lady of the courts, but she was a country girl (much like Esther). She worked in the fields under the hot sun, was not used to expensive clothes, and the extravagances of nobility. She was beautiful in character, charm, and looks.
One day, a handsome young man visits the vineyard and wins the heart of the young maiden. He leaves, but promises to return some day. She dreams of the young man, not knowing he is Solomon.
I would normally take time to discuss each chapter of the book in detail. However, this book does not lend itself to this process. It is a single unit expressing love for the opposite sex. It does have a myriad of metaphors, oriental symbolism, and many interpretation problems. For the purpose of these posts, I will use lecture notes from my class on marriage setting the book in six themes. The notes are adapted and taken from One Plus One (Endemano, Rice, Gibbs & Berry, 1996).
I will attempt to provide a brief explanation of the book and its possible interpretations. Some see it as an allegory because they do not believe that God would include such a sexual oriented story in the Bible. With this perspective, sex seems bad even within the context of marriage where God applauds the act (Hebrews 13.4). The most common allegorical interpretation is that Christ is the bridegroom and the church is the bride which follows New Testament symbolism. This is acceptable except for the question, what did those before Christ do with the book?
Some view it as typology, which is similar to allegorical but with added thought that the story itself is real with a real bridegroom and bride. This view, like the allegorical, holds that the only real meaning is found in finding the spiritual meaning behind everything. The danger of course is found as the reader reads too much into each element of the story.
Others view the story as literal, which takes the book as it is written. There was and actual couple whose story is told in these eight chapters. Like any good story it uses metaphors and symbolism along with euphemisms to relay the story.
Some combine the views giving the story an actual historical setting that prefigures the love Christ will display to His bride, the church.
נ Nun Verses 105-112
God’s Word gives light, or understanding, to those who read and obey it. Jesus stated that He is the Light of the World. He is the fulfillment of God’s Word. He is the ultimate source of understanding (John 8.12-20). What is your fellowship with Him like? The essence of this section is for us to understand that we are living in increasingly dark times. For those who know Him, they will discern that they walk in dark times and they need His light to guide them.
The lamps in the psalmist days were small lights that lit only the next step or two. To often today, we desire God’s Word to be a bonfire or the sun revealing everything so we can get on with our life. The problem with this is self-evident. If God’s Word revealed all at once, we would be over-whelmed and then we would not rely daily on God and our fellowship with Him.
ס Samek Verses 113-120
In order to pursue what God has called us to, we must not merely dislike evil; we must hate it. However, this is still not enough. A case can be made that people who bomb abortion clinics have an hatred for evil. The man of God also must pursue God’s Word. This will keep us from becoming those who bomb abortion clinics. This is because we know that God would not do this. We need to realize that without God’s Word as our guide and His Holy Spirit sustaining us, we will be no different than those who do that activities we are called to hate. When we walk half in this world and half in God’s world, we are unstable and will fall (1 Corinthians 10.12; James 1.5-8; 2 Peter 3.17–18; and Jude 20–25).
An example of instability today is the thought that we can help people by giving them things, which is the entitlement programs found in today’s government. We believe we are doing the right thing (I don’t), but the result is always disastrous. We believe (I don’t) that doing something, even though it doesn’t end well, is better than doing nothing.
A graphic portrayal of this is found in 1 Kings 18 where Elijah is battling the priests of Baal (see verse 21 for a description of an unstable man).
See our sermon on John 6.16-21 on scrapping dross (DRW, 1998).
ע Ayin Verses 121-128
Only those who choose to obey God’s Word are His servants. They are the only ones who should expect God’s protection from calamitous people. This does not mean they will not suffer but that God’s hand is on them even in their trials. The psalmist prays for God to stand for his well-being. Jesus becomes this guarantee for us according to Hebrews 7.22.
פ Pe Verses 129-136
For what do we weep? Is it that God’s Word goes disobeyed? The only way for this to be our way of life is for us to live in God’s presence, before His face. These tears are for those who are missing the life that each of us were created for in God’s presence.
צ Tsadde Verses 137-144
Again, the only way for us to truly know God’s Word is for us to obey and act on His Word. Compare this section with Romans 7.12.
ק Qoph Verses 145-152
The Hebrew word for cry begins with a qoph. Thus, this section is centered around the word cry. What are your habits of studying God’s Word. Is it in the morning before your day begins? Is it during the night when sleeplessness is your lot. Every opportunity should be taken to understand, know, and love God’s Word. Our prayer life is enhanced by our study life (Acts 6.4 and John 15.7).
ר Resh Verses 153-160
Would man seek God’s truth if God did not call him to seek it? According to this section, no. God’s Word is Truth (John 17.17-19) and no man can know the truth without it being revealed to him by the author of that truth. The word “quicken” or “preserve” means to bring to life. God is just in doing this too. We would rail against Him for forcing us to do that which we had no desire to do. So, He gives us the desire that we desire but will not grant it to those who do not desire it.
ש Shin Verses 161-168
The bane of man should not keep us from praising God who is by far greater. Each time we open God’s Word we should exult in the treasures we find and praise Him for each of them.
ת Tau Verses 169-176
This closing section of Psalm 119 presents us with the only sacrifice we can truly offer God and that is a repentant heart bent on seeking Him.
ל Lamed Verses 89-96
These verses establish the immutability of God’s Word (c.f., Isaiah 40.8; Matthew 24.35; and 1 Peter 1.25). Nature shows this truth as well. The seeming permanence of heaven mirrors God’s eternal faithfulness, love, and compassion for His creation. Just as the universe works according to His laws (91), so we must work according to His Word. We see, in society, today, what happens when we follow our own moral code instead of God’s. See our discussion on Psalm 72. The psalmist is reminding us of the eternal perfection of God’s established Word and how we fall short of it each time we stray from it.
מ Mem Verses 97-104
The psalmist presents how useful knowing God’s Word is for everyday life. When we obey God’s Word, His wisdom runs through us and our understanding of what life is truly about goes beyond our years, our teachers, and our enemies. We are truly wise. Read my testimony on this subject.
This lifestyle requires discipline and time. However, the results are astounding. How are you doing in knowing and loving God’s Word? You can easily answer this by how well you obey what it says.
The question for the United States and believers today is “Can we see God’s work in our life as a fulfillment of what Messiah would do?”
Discussion abounds as to the author of this psalm. Some attribute it to Solomon for it contains proverb-like verses (Spence-Jones, volume II, p 64-65, 2004). Others attribute it to David as a prayer for Solomon stating that Psalm 71 was a prayer of David for David in his old age and Psalm 72 is a prayer of David for Solomon in his early years (Henry, 1996). I will agree with Matthew Henry in that this is a prayer of David for Solomon, using verse 20 as a summation of Psalm 71 and Psalm 72 not as an end to the second book of the psalms. This psalm is considered an indirect messianic psalm in that it points to what a righteous king will accomplish.
Verse 1 sounds like David is praying for Solomon, But, NKJV makes it appear messianic (i.e., verse 7 states “His” not “his”). If David is praying for Solomon, he is indeed praying for his kingdom with messianic overtones for this is the prayer of all regents in Israel.
Verse 2 presents righteousness and justice being the guiding factor not equality of people as the United States does today. Verse 3 presents peace coming through righteousness, which includes justice. This would imply that righteousness produces a prosperous country, not equality. Righteousness and justice, including capital punishment and responsibility for behavior with appropriate consequences, produce hope and a future.
Verses 4, 12, and 14 demand that justice cares for the widow, the poor, and the oppressed resulting in a reverential fear for God (see verses 5, 11, and 13). This is not to be done by the state though, as is currently being pursued by the United States. It is to be pursued by the people of God. If the state occupies what the people are to do, the people will cease to do it, which is exemplified in this generation of people in the United States.
Verse 6 states when we pursue life the way God intended us to and seek to accomplish His work, righteousness will flourish (compare with verse 7). What evidence is there of this in the year 2012?
Verse 8 describes the physical boundaries of the nation of Israel as promised to Abraham (see 1 Kings 4.24).
The question for the United States and believers today is “Can we see God’s work in our life as a fulfillment of what Messiah would do?”
A major sin of Solomon is found in verse six. He uses forced labor, not only from conquered countries but from Israel. We will discuss this at length when we cover 1 Kings 5.13-14 (see our study).
The Word in Life Study Bible (1997) created the following chart
| Name | Position | Responsibilities |
| Azariah the son of Zadok | High priest | Oversaw worship and religious rituals, representing the people to God. |
| Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha | Scribes | Similar to secretaries of state or chancellors (1 Kings 4.22–23; 11.3). |
| Adoniram the son of Abda | Manager of the labor force | Oversaw Solomon’s numerous construction projects (1 Kings 5.13; 7.1–8; 9.15–19). |
| Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud | Recorder | Maintained written historical records of the king’s business and decisions. |
| Benaiah the son of Jehoiada (see 1 Kings 2.29) | Military commander | Oversaw the nation’s defenses, including its storage and chariot cities; led the army in military engagements; handled royal police matters (for example, 1 Kings 2.28–35). |
| Zadok and Abiathar | Priests | Oversaw religious matters and served as custodians of the Law. |
| Azariah the son of Nathan | General | Carried out the military orders of Solomon and Benaiah. |
| Zabud the son of Nathan | Personal confidant | Consulted with the king on personal matters. |
| Ahishar | Manager of Solomon’s household | Oversaw the palace complex and the needs of Solomon’s extensive court (1 Kings 4.22–23; 11.3). |
| Adoniram the son of Abda | Manager of the labor force | Oversaw Solomon’s numerous construction projects (1 Kings 5.13; 7.1–8; 9.15–19). |
In both of these, Solomon realized that he was unable to do all things, so he created a leadership team that would support him. The twelve division of governors are displayed in the map of the growth of Israel under Solomon and his reapportioning of Israel.
The four names that appear here are listed as descendants of Judah in 1 Chronicles 2.6, and two of the men, Ethan and Heman, appear in the superscriptions of Psalm 88 and Psalm 89.
2 Chronicles 1 (Cf. 1 Kings 3.1-15)
The major difference between the two passages is the detail of why Solomon sacrificed at Gibeon. It was because the Tabernacle was there.
These two verses are found later in 1 Kings, it is there I will comment on them.
These verses display the wisdom of Solomon. What should catch your attention is that the lowest of the low had access to Solomon. How do you display the insight God through His indwelling Spirit and His Word give to you?
Verses 1-4
Although this chapter is normally presented as Solomon’s wisdom, yet it begins with the beginning of Solomon’s troubles. Verse one tells us that Solomon married an Egyptian woman for the sake of a political alliance. Although this confirms his ranking as a world-leader, it still violated two commands given by God. The first was not to marry people who worshiped other gods and the second was not to make political alliances with other nations but to trust in God. Verses 2-3 are no better. The nation is worshiping God on the forbidden places, which are the high places, and Solomon is joining them. Although the following passages deal with the people of Canaan and not Egypt, the principles still apply. So, read Exodus 34.12-16, Deuteronomy 7.1-6, and 17.16-17 to gain insight into what Solomon was doing. Some state that Solomon broke no law of God because his wife was not Canaanite and there was no other place to worship God so the people were creative in their places (Spence-Jones, 2004). With this reasoning almost anything can receive justification. What we do notice from these three verses is Solomon’s love for God is not balanced with his knowledge of God at this point. He worshiped and did what he thought was best, not what Scriptures instructed. He needed to take every thought and deed captive (2 Corinthians 10.4-6). Verse three even indicates the writer of 1 Kings knew this was wrong. After mentioning Solomon’s love for God, he places an “except” before the next clause. We notice in 1 Kings 11.1-13 the result of doing such things. Although the ark and the tabernacle were in Jerusalem, a place of true worship was established in Gibeon, the nation along with Solomon worship where and how they pleased. God only spoke to Solomon when he went before the Lord in the correct manner.
Verses 5-15
Solomon was not as young as verse seven appears to make him. Rabbis have him at twelve or fourteen. However, we find that his son Rehoboam takes the throne when he is forty-one after Solomon had reigned for forty years (1 Kings 11.42 and 14.21). Rehoboam would have been a year old when Solomon began his reign, either as co-regent with David or as regent by himself. Either way, Solomon would be twenty or so at this point. His statement implies humility and lack of experience more than age.
Solomon’s request for God is wisdom in dealing with national matters. God was pleased with this request and granted him the request along with riches and long-life (as long as he obeyed God). The parameter of the answer is interesting. Solomon would be the wisest person to ever live but would only be the wealthiest of his time. Solomon then returns to Jerusalem to worship God.
Today we have opportunity to boldly approach God (Hebrews 4.14-16) knowing we have our requests answered when they are in alignment with His Word and will (1 John 5.13-15). We also have Christ, who is the essence of wisdom and knowledge, indwelling us (Colossians 2.3). So, what are we doing with this great privilege?
Verses 16-28
These verses display the wisdom of Solomon. What should catch your attention is that the lowest of the low had access to Solomon. How do you display the insight God through His indwelling Spirit and His Word give to you?
