It does baffle me (at times) why God would pick some weak people to do the job. You could think of the Book of Judges as to how God mightily used Barak and Gideon, both cowards, Samson, an immature guy, and Jephthah, an illegitimate son by a whore, David the youngest son, and Solomon who was grown in the palace. David went all the way from shepherd boy to becoming a mighty king. David became a man of war who slain many of Israel’s enemies. The people sang that David had slain 10,000 and Saul only by thousands. David was a man fortified by trials, hit by fire, and was called a man after God’s own heart in spite of imperfections like his womanizing. We read Solomon was to build the temple. Now, Solomon was used by God to supervise the first Jewish Temple’s construction (1 Kings 6-9, 2 Chronicles 1-7).
1 Kings 3 tells us of Solomon’s dilemma at Gibeon. Solomon probably never expected ty be king. David wasn’t too keen on it either. Yet, God willed it Solomon would be king. Solomon was not a man who was hardened on the battlefield. Some suggest that he probably spent more time shepherding sheep than fighting foes/ Solomon likely didn’t experience David’s acumen to deliver the sheep from the bear and the wolf. Solomon probably had bodyguards who helped him get rid of the predators. What truly amazed me was how God chose Solomon to build the temple instead. Solomon was no man of battle. Solomon was a man of peace who unfortunately wed so many pagan wives in the name of politics.
Reading the two accounts is no walk in the park. The building of the first Jewish Temple was no walk in the park either. The dedication of the temple was a very heavy ceremony. Can you imagine offering 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep without blemish? Solomon also sinfully built the Egyptian princess her own house perhaps for political reasons. Yet, God answered by fire to accept the offerings given by Solomon and his men. The Ark of the Covenant was brought into the Jewish Temple as well. The glory of God filled the house proving that it was God, not Solomon, who was to be glorified. Solomon had even given his prayer of dedication which he acknowledges there’s no man that sins not.
The wisdom of Solomon wasn’t even his, to begin with. 1 Kings 3 tells us that Solomon barely knew how to rule the country properly. Solomon asked for wisdom and he was given wisdom. Solomon’s prayer of dedication truly covered what had to be a great period of a revival though tainted by Solomon’s compromise when he married an Egyptian princess. 2What happens is that Solomon acknowledges God in all and all.
2 Chronicles 7 even gives us God appearing to Solomon. Perhaps, the most familiar verse is 2 Chronicles 7:14. Some say it’s frequently taken out of its context and may not fit in today’s dispensation. However, we realize that even God’s people, the elect, aren’t prone to backsliding and sin. I’m prone to think that the true Israel (today) is that of every believer whether Jew or Gentile. God’s not done yet with Israel either. Yet, not every biological Jew will be of Israel. Romans 9:6 says not all Jews belong to Israel. An Edomite or Ishmaelite can belong to Israel by God’s grace. Every Gentile believer today is on the same footing as every Jewish believer today. Christians can be prone to sinful behavior and the church can lapse. That’s why there are six out of seven churches in Revelation are told to repent. The seventh church is the rejected apostate church of Laodicea.
It’s no wonder that centuries later, Nehemiah mentions that Solomon was beloved of his God. Later, Solomon met the Queen of Sheba from Arabia in 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9. The very report of his wisdom reached a heathen queen. A heathen queen, a descendant of Ishmael and probably also of Esau was amazed. The Queen of Sheba even ended up blessing the name of Yahweh, even to acknowledge that it was He who made Solomon the king of Israel, and how fortunate was Israel to have a king like Solomon.
Do we feel weak that God can’t use us? Joseph was a talebearer yet God used him. Judah fell into serious sins yet it was through him the Messiah came. Moses was slow in speech yet God used him. Aaron was easily given in to peer pressure yet God used him. Gideon was afraid of everything yet God used him to beat the Midianites. Solomon was not hardened in battle yet God used him too. Solomon was a weak man loved and used by a mighty God. What a mighty God He is to be able to use the weakest to do His difficult tasks.
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