A greater than Solomon is here
Christ’s superiority to Solomon
The superiority of Christ to Solomon may be traced in the following particulars.
1. In His origin. Solomon was indeed of honourable descent, being of the princely tribe of Judah, and of the family of David, who was one of the most illustrious monarchs that ever filled the throne of Israel. No one could claim a higher pedigree than Solomon, or receive a crown from the hands of a more honourable ancestor. Yet Jesus was David’s greater Son, and to Him the pre-eminence belonged. With respect to His human nature, He was a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch growing out of his roots. With respect to His Divine nature, He is the eternal, co-existent, and coequal Son of God, in a way mysterious and unknown.
2. In personal qualifications Christ obtains the pre-eminence, especially in that for which Solomon was so highly celebrated. Solomon with all his wisdom was weak and fallible, and liable to the greatest folly; but the Lord Jesus is wisdom itself, wisdom in the very abstract. He was liable to no mistake, to no error, either in judgment or in practice. He was the pattern of all excellence, and of all perfection. Even His enemies were astonished at His doctrine, and testified that never man spake like this Man. In two things especially He excelled all other teachers; He had the most perfect comprehension of His subject, and the power of making it effectually understood, not merely by outward instruction, but by internal illumination.
3. Christ exceeded Solomon in the purity of His life and the general excellence of His character.
4. Solomon sustained the two-fold office of prophet and king, and in both these Christ has the pre-eminence.
5. Christ exceeded Solomon in the mighty works which He performed as well as in His general character and dignity.
6. In the present glory which these illustrious personages possess, there can be no doubt which of them obtains the pre-eminence. Though Solomon was a partaker of Divine grace, and is now an inheritor of the invisible glory, it can bespeak no want of charity to suppose that his inconstancy and backslidings in religion have in some degree tarnished the lustre of his celestial diadem; but be it ever so bright and splendid, it falls infinitely short of that which is placed on the Redeemer’s head, as the reward of His obedience unto death.
(1) Let us contemplate the character of our Lord and Saviour with astonishment and delight, for a greater than Solomon is here. Let us consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, withdrawing our thoughts from every other object, and fixing them intensely upon Him.
(2) As no object is so amiable and attractive, let us view the Saviour till our hearts are inflamed with love.
(3) Let us view the Saviour by faith, saying with the prophet, “I will look unto the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation.”
(4) View His condescension with astonishment and love, that one so much greater than Solomon should have humbled Himself unto death, even the death of the cross, that He might raise us to dignity and honour. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
A greater than Solomon
Our first thought is that no mere man would have said this concerning himself unless he had been altogether eaten up with vanity; for Solomon was among the Jews the very ideal of greatness and wisdom. The second thought that comes to one’s mind is this: Notice the self-consciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He knows who He is, and what He is, and He is not lowly in spirit because He is ignorant of His own greatness. He was meek and lowly in heart--“Servus servorum,” as the Latins were wont to call Him, “Servant of servants,” but all the while He knew that He was Rex regum, or King of kings.
I. BETWEEN CHRIST AND SOLOMON THERE ARE SOME POINTS OF LIKENESS.
1. And, first, in wisdom. He intermeddled with all knowledge, and was a master in all sciences. He was a naturalist; an engineer and architect; a politician, &c. He was everything, in fact. God gave Him wisdom and largeness of heart, says the Scripture, like the sand of the sea: “and Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; and his fame was in all nations round about.” Yes; but our Saviour knows infinitely more than Solomon. I want you to-night to come to Him just as the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon, only for weightier reasons. You do not want to learn anything concerning architecture or navigation, agriculture or anatomy. You want to know only how you shall be built up a spiritual house, and how you shall cross those dangerous seas which lie between this land and the celestial city. Well, you may come to Jesus, and He will teach you all that you need to know, for all wisdom is in Christ.
2. Observe, next, that our Lord Jesus Christ is greater than Solomon in wealth. This was one of the things for which Solomon was noted. He had great treasures: he “made gold to be as stones, and as for silver it was little accounted of,” so rich did he become. But, oh, when you consider all the wealth of Solomon, what poor stuff it is compared with the riches that are treasured up in Christ Jesus.
3. There was one point about Solomon in which every Israelite rejoiced, namely, that he was the prince of peace. His name signifies peace. His father, David, was a great warrior, but Solomon had not to carry on war. Those were halcyon days for Israel when Solomon reigned. Ah, but in that matter a greater than Solomon is here; for Solomon could not give his subjects peace of mind, he could not bestow upon them rest of heart, he could not ease them of their burden of guilt, or draw the arrow of conviction from their breast and heal its smart.
4. A fourth thing for which Solomon was noted was his great works. Solomon built the temple, which was one of the seven wonders of the world in its time. A very marvellous building it must have been. In addition to this he erected for himself palaces, constructed fortfications, and made aqueducts and great pools to bring streams from the mountains to the various towns. He also founded Palmyra and Baalbec--those cities of the desert--to facilitate his commerce with India, Arabia, and other remote regions. He was a marvellous man. And yet a greater than Solomon is here, for Christ has brought the living water from the throne of God right down to thirsty men, being Himself the eternal aqueduct through which the heavenly current streams. Christ has built fortresses and munitions of defence, behind which His children stand secure against the wrath of hell; and He has founded and is daily finishing a wondrous temple, His Church, of which His people are the living stones, and which God Himself shall inhabit.
5. Solomon was great as to dominion. He managed to bring various kings into subjection to him, and he was the greatest monarch that ever swayed the sceptre of Judah. It has all gone now. Poor, feeble Rehoboam dropped from his foolish hands the reins his father held. The kingdom was rent in pieces, the tributary princes found their liberty, and the palmy days of Israel were over. On the contrary, our Lord Jesus Christ at this moment has dominion over all things. God has set Him over all the works of His hands.
II. BETWEEN CHRIST AND SOLOMON THERE IS MUCH MORE CONTRAST THAN COMPARISON--much more difference than likeness.
1. In His nature the Lord Jesus is greater than Solomon.
2. In His character.
3. In His influence.
4. In His power to bless. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A privileged nation judged by the heathen
Mr. Johnstone observes that “When Japan was recently revolutionised, the inhabitants adopted Occidental customs, and many of them--chiefly their style of dress, social manners, and form of government--were taken from England. It was thought by those in authority in Japan that it would be well to look into the English religion, and see if it were better, and tended to the moral advancement of those professing it. A deputation was sent for that purpose, and beginning at London, set itself to study the Christian religion.
I know not where they went to, nor from what standpoint they viewed it; but their report was unfavourable. They said that never in Japan had they seen such sin, such open licentiousness, drunkenness, selfishness, unkindness, and lack of sympathy as they had witnessed among the professed Christians of England, and they would advise that they adhere to their own religion, which was as good, if not better, than the Christian. Such was their report, after witnessing the life of the people of nominally Christian England.