February 17, 2025 - 1 Kings 5:4 - The King Upon His Throne

1 Kings 5:4

"But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side so that neither adversary nor evil occurrent."

1 Kings 5:4 is an Old Testament verse that highlights King Solomon’s peaceful reign and his God-given ability to reign over Israel. In this passage, Solomon acknowledges that, unlike his father David, he was not facing wars or external threats, allowing him to focus on constructing the temple for the Lord (1 Kings 5:3). This verse reflects God's blessing of peace and stability, demonstrating how He granted Solomon a period of rest from his enemies, enabling him to carry out the significant task of building the temple in Jerusalem. It emphasizes God's sovereign will and providence, as well as the fulfillment of His promise to raise in Solomon a seed who would ultimately be the lineage of Christ, the Eternal King, to sit on Solomon’s throne—of whom Solomon was a type.

It was God who placed Solomon on the throne of David as a precursor to David's true Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus would later be seated on His throne after completing His earthly mission to earn and establish the righteousness necessary for God to be just and to justify everyone the Father gave Him to save, making them subjects of His eternal kingdom, (Acts 2:30). "Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established" (1 Kings 2:12). Jesus Christ is the King of Kings: "And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

Solomon’s peaceful reign foreshadowed the eternal peace that will never end (1 Kings 4:24–25). As a type of the Lord Jesus, Solomon’s kingdom experienced a time of unprecedented peace. However, this peace eventually came to an end (1 Kings 11:14, 23, 26). In contrast, Christ’s reign will never end. He is the one true Prince of Peace, of whom Solomon was merely a type (Isaiah 9:6–7).

"But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side..."

These could well be the words of the Lord Jesus after He had finished the work the Father gave Him to do when He came in the flesh. His work was so perfectly completed that, when He rose again, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. In the Old Testament, there was no chair in the temple because the high priest's work was never done until Christ came and fulfilled the law and the sacrifices. Yet, once His work was complete, Scripture tells us: "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:8).

"Neither adversary nor evil occurrent."

The word "occurrent" is an archaic English form of the noun, which we now replace with "occurrence." Just as the Lord gave Solomon rest from all his enemies, both foreign and domestic, so the Lord Jesus conquered every enemy of His Church: the world, Satan, and the sin of His people. He then rested from His warfare. His victory was so complete that no adversary remained unconquered. (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). There were no internal enemies in His kingdom and no external foes left to battle. Therefore, there were no evil occurrences—nothing arose to discourage or hinder the fulfillment of His purpose.

What was true of Solomon as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ was fully realized in Christ Himself when He came in the flesh. Referring to Solomon, Jesus declared: "A greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42). In this context, Jesus compares King Solomon to Himself, stating that His wisdom and authority surpass that of the renowned biblical figure. No matter how great the type, nothing replaces the glory of its fulfillment—Christ alone.