When talking about Solomon we must remember that the kingdom that he was to receive from his father David was a continuation of kingdom of God from the time of Eden down to Solomon’s time. It is the purpose of this chapter to briefly discuss this kingdom in order to set the foundation for the kingdom that Solomon was to rule over.
In Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7-17 God creates man in His image and gives man dominion over the earth and the garden contingent upon man’s obedience to the commandment of God. This commandment was to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As long as they obey this commandment they will have dominion over earth and everything in the earth. If they rebel against Jesus they will lose this dominion and receive the results of their rebellion – death.
We all know the story that in Genesis 3 Adam and Eve respond to the temptation of Satan and disobey God’s commandment. Jesus comes to find them and conducts an investigative judgement upon them. Part of the judgment is that the ground is cursed for their sakes, and Jesus informs them that the land would be in rebellion against them for it would bring forth thorns and thistles – a sign of rebellion (Ezekiel 2:1-6) and a fulfillment of Matthew 25:24-28 that an enemy has done this.
Adam and Eve had to leave the garden to protect the access to the Tree of Life. God did not want to perpetuate and sustain sin. But sin had to run its course in the kingdom of this world and to eventually die. None the less Jesus continued to protect the way to the tree of life. He let us know that there is a way but it is narrow and difficult and we need the help of Jesus to get to this way and need His power to walk the narrow way. Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6. Jesus is this way, He is the gate, and He is the goal.
Ellen White reports that after Adam and Eve’s eviction from the garden they still came to the gate of the garden and worshipped Jesus there. Patriarchs and Prophets pages 62, 83-84. So people wanted to get as close to God as possible and learn His way and be restored into this kingdom.
Cain and Abel struggled over this kingdom and over how to interact with God and His special laws regarding the sacrificial service. Cain had rights to the priesthood because he was the eldest son but since he refused to submit to the instructions granted by God he was counseled by Jesus and told how to have Abel respond to him appropriately and submit to his leadership. Since Cain would not bring the sacrifice of a lamb to the altar, but insisted on Jesus accepting his offerings of the fruit of the field, he was again counseled by righteous Abel and Abel was slain as a result of this first religious conflict. Soon after this Cain was marked by Jesus, and the curse of Adam and Eve had now extended to their children and we have the first clear testimony of death. Cain continues his rebellion and goes out to build a city, in contrast the rural lifestyle of the people of God.
Seth soon comes after Abel and in the time of Seth’s son Enos there was enough division in the family of Adam that those who followed after God were identified as followers of God whereas the descendents of Cain were called the sons of men. The kingdom of God followed through the lineage of Adam to Seth, eventually to Enoch and then down to Noah.
Jesus saw that by the time of Noah that things were so bad that He needed to make special arrangements to halt the progress of evil, and protect the righteous. Jesus gave a probationary period in which if man repented that he would maintain them, but if not then a flood would destroy the world as they knew it. Noah found grace in the sight of Jesus and he was to prophesy of this coming flood by his preaching and by his building of the solution to the flood problem. Noah was to preserve the animals, both clean and unclean, and to provide a path for those who wanted to continue to know Jesus. All those who did not want to know Jesus would die in the floodwaters. But Jesus, ever merciful, had provided a way of escape for all that chose it.
When the 120 years was up Jesus offered one more opportunity for the people to be saved. When He brought His animals to the ark all who wanted to could join them in the ark and be saved. I Peter 3:18-21 Only 8 people responded and chose to come onto the ark and accept the merciful provisions of Jesus. Through this group of people Jesus preserved the truths of His kingdom and used these four families to restart His kingdom on earth.
After the flood God again sent His people into the world to preserve the knowledge of Him and His way. But the sin problem continued and through various factors the people rose up in rebellion and built the tower of Babel as their sign of no faith in the covenant promises of God. They did not believe that another flood would not come and they set about to protect themselves with the tower. But Jesus came to do another investigative judgment and pronounced the tower as not of Him and scattered the people through the confusion of the languages.
After the conflict at the Tower of Babel the people were scattered throughout the lands. But the lineage of Noah continued down through Shem to Abram. God established a covenant with Abram, which He used to describe the New Covenant experience between the true believers and Himself. Galatians 3. Abram’s name was changed to Abraham to signify that he had an enduring relationship with God and that God revealed all observers that Abraham’s faith was unshakeable at the offering of his supernaturally born son Isaac. By this work of faith Abraham became the covenant type for all the remaining people of God.
Abraham’s descendents through Isaac and then Jacob, who also had his name changed to Israel, became the nation of Israel. Their covenant experiences are displayed in the stories of the Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges. The establishment of this group of people by God, in the land of Canaan, as a response to the covenant promises of God, is a type of spiritual Israel being established in the Canaan of heaven.
The history of Israel’s experience with Samuel, the last of the judges, the rejection of God as king by His own covenant people, and the establishment of the Jewish kings sets the stage for the story of Solomon – the type of Jesus – the Wisest man who ever lived – the only man on earth who never sinned. I pray that the story of Solomon will establish many truths in your mind and you will find the One whom his kingdom symbolizes.
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