Recently I have been reading my Swedish bible through from Genesis to Revelation mainly to keep my understanding of Swedish refined but also to gain some other revelation of scripture that I have missed when reading in English. It is so easy to assume certain things when we feel we know things to a particular level.
King David was the warrior King, in fact besides Joshua, he did more to establish Israel's territory than any other King. It was through King David's exploits that King Solomon reigned so powerfully. Of cause it should be noted that as a result of the wisdom that God had given King Solomon there was no king before or after him that was able to rule so wisely and increase the wealth and prosperity of the nation as he did.
Each had their defining roles in bringing about the will of God in regards to the nation of Israel, it can also be said that every king after them and even many others contributed to out working God's will whether their actions were positive or negative. Even the likes of King Nebuchadnezzar was said to be a servant of God because God had used him to bring the people of Israel into captivity and hence provide an opportunity for the people to see the result of their wicked ways.
Back to King David & Solomon! As said King David was a man of war, it was through bloodshed that he established the nation. However, King Solomon was a man of peace and it was this that defined his kingship. 1 & 2 Chronicles will testify to this as well as 1 & 2 Kings!
Similarly, when we look at the reign and rule of King Jesus we can see both the aspects of King David and King Solomon at work. There is no doubt that Revelation 19 gives and speaks of Jesus being this warrior king as does Isaiah 11 and many other scriptures when we look. In fact one of His titles in scripture is the Lord God of Hosts referring to the heavenly hosts that wage war.
In a similar way Jesus is also seen as the Prince of Peace, the one who comforts and mourns with us and who came as salvation for the world as we read throughout scripture. Returning again to King David and Solomon, we see in 1 & 2 Chronicles that king David was not permitted to build the temple because he had spilt blood in taking the land. Instead it would be King Solomon that would build the temple being a man of peace.
Today it is King Jesus, He who was slain but also rose again from conquering death, who now builds the church as He indicated to Peter in Matthew 16 when He said "upon this rock I will build my church". Just as the Man of Peace (King Jesus) today builds the church, it was the man of peace King Solomon who built the shadow of the church in the Old Testament. Hence the pattern of "first the physical and then the spiritual" can be seen in this picture of King Solomon and our Lord Jesus.
It is interesting to note, that it is King Jesus that builds His Church and will continue to do so in the future, not man nor will it be any man that will destroy it either.
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