The Obedience of the King

When construction begins on the Temple in 1 Kings 6 the Lord interrupts the work's description to speak to Solomon about what he's undertaking. Here's what the Lord says:

1 Kings 6:11–13 (ESV) Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, 12 “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. 13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.”

A few things should catch us in this passage:

First, God interrupts what Solomon is DOING to make sure Solomon understands that what's in his heart is far more important than what his hands perform. This is what God wants from all of us. The greatest commandment is not the do things for the Lord but the Love the Lord our God will all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. In the end, the Lord wants us to love Him.

Think of all the ways Solomon could have built this Temple. Solomon could have built this elaborate temple without a heart devoted to the Lord. He could have built it for recognition or notability in the eyes of other kings and nations. He could have built this temple to be impressive in the eyes of the nation, that people would see his "good works" and think, "Wow, Solomon is really spiritual." The Lord wanted to know before this work was done that Solomon's heartfelt love for the Lord was the most important thing he could ever have or do.

It's a warning to us. We can get so caught up in the work of the Lord that we ignore the Lord of the work. We also can often fall into a self-image version of spirituality - that is, doing spiritual things to look religious or good or pious in the eyes of others. The Lord warned against this kind of spirituality with regularity:
Matthew 6:1 (ESV) “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 23:5 (ESV) They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,

John 5:44 (ESV) How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

There's a false Christianity that lurks in every Church. This is precisely why some of the strongest and most pious "looking" Christians will often give up the faith after years of seeming commitment. They weren't committed to the Lord, they were committed to the "look" the Lord could give them in the eyes of others. This is also why Christian faith is at its most pure when it's practice is most rejected by the culture. For then, our faith is not about what it can gain us from men but what faith should actually be - what we already have in the Lord. 

The Lord speaks to Solomon about what he's doing so that what he's doing is not about how he's LOOKING in the eyes of others. 

Second, the Lord calls on Solomon to keep God's commandments, to walk in them for the sake of the "children of Israel." NOTICE the promise. If Solomon will obey fully, the Lord will not forsake His people. Did you see it? The blessing of the Lord upon the Nation was dependent upon the King as federal head in covenant with the Lord. 

The sad news is, Solomon will fail miserably. He will love many foreign women who will take his heart away from the Lord. He will import horses from Egypt and trust in chariots rather than the Lord. All that Solomon does goes completely against the Lord's word in Deuteronomy 17 regarding the King of Israel. 

So what are we left with? We are left needing a BETTER Solomon. One who will fully trust and obey God's Word FOR US. That ONE has come as the Son of Solomon, Jesus Christ - the true King of Israel who "became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:8). 

Here's the best part. His obedience is our security in the faith that God will never leave us. We will fail, but the Lord has succeeded. Does this mean we get to sin on purpose? No! It means we get to rest in the finished work, knowing our best efforts are not bringing us closer to God and our worst failures are not cutting us off from God. We have security in the Covenant of Christ's blood. Perhaps you've failed the Lord recently. You can come to Him in the grace of Jesus NOW and let Him wash it away. That's the glory of the New Covenant. It is better and richer and greater in grace and mercy.