Covenant Promises Realized

The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy. – 1 Kings 4:20 (NET)

These words serve as an implicit and overt reminder of the faithfulness of the God of Israel, here in the midst of the glorious reign of King Solomon, at a time in which Israel was fulfilling their covenant obligations. By making mention of the sand on the seashore, the author fits his narrative into the continuous narrative and redemption plan of the Scriptures and forces us to look to God’s covenant with Abraham. In Genesis, after the encounter with the angel of the Lord in the region of Moriah, in which the Lord intervened in the issue of the sacrifice of Isaac, we read, “I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore” (22:17a).

The fact that they had plenty to eat and drink and be happy ties neatly with the blessings to be found in Deuteronomy, in which God says He will bless “the produce of your soil, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your mixing bowl will be blessed… The Lord will greatly multiply your children, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil in the land which He promised your ancestors He would give you” (28:4b-5,11).

Moving forward in the Kings, we find that “Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt,” and furthermore, that “These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime” (4:21). Again, as we are always mindful of the over-arching narrative, this forces a turning back to Genesis and the Abrahamic covenant, and we find that “the Lord made a covenant with Abraham: ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River” (15:18). Returning to Deuteronomy, in connection with what was said to Abraham and what we read about Solomon, we see that “the Lord your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth,” and that “all the peoples of the earth will see that you belong to the Lord, and they will respect you” (28:1b,10).

Beyond that, in conjunction with the rule of Solomon and the people of God’s experience of covenant blessings, we read that “All the people of Judah and Israel had security; everyone from Dan to Beer Sheba enjoyed the produce of their vines and fig trees throughout Solomon’s lifetime” (1 Kings 4:25). With a continual reminder of God’s faithful fulfillment of His covenant promises, the author picks up the theme from the twentieth verse and says that “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore” (4:29). Quite clearly, the design of this chapter was to actively point Israel towards their God and His faithfulness to His people.

While we look at these passages and the life of Solomon and rightfully look back to God’s covenant promises, our examination would be incomplete if we did not also look forward. This is especially so when we consider the way in which the rule of Solomon, perhaps more than that of David, is more closely tied to Israel’s expectations concerning their Messiah. Moving on to the fifth chapter, we read Solomon saying, “But now the Lord my God has made me secure on all fronts; there is no adversary or dangerous threat” (5:4). We can see this as yet another allusion to the promised blessings of Deuteronomy in regards to the Lord putting down the enemies of His people. He goes on and says, “So I have decided to build a temple to honor the Lord my God” (5:5a).

Here, we take the opportunity to recognize and honor our King and Savior---finding the very work of His hands reflected in the words of Solomon. When death and the grave was conquered through Jesus’ crucifixion and Resurrection, Jesus could quite rightly say, as King and representative of the people of God’s newly inaugurated kingdom on earth, that “now the Lord my God has made Me secure on all fronts; there is no adversary or dangerous threat.” Going on, Jesus could say, along with Solomon, “So I have decided to build a temple to honor the Lord my God.”

The Apostle Paul would pick up on this idea, and in writing about the kingdom of God that would be composed of a people that would come together through a believing union with Christ, he would continue the unbroken story of the Scriptures and speak of this kingdom as being “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20b). Adding to this, he would write, “In Him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in Whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (2:21-22).

As we read this book, we are indeed reminded of a faithful God, powerful and more than capable of fulfilling His promises, and worthy of all trust.