Sermon - September 20, 2009
King Solomon’s
Mind II: The Passion of Solomon
The richest and wisest man on earth was passionate. King
Solomon was first and foremost passionate about wisdom, and ruling his people
with justice and discernment. God honored his prayer such that King Solomon’s
wisdom garnered wealth and reputation. Wealth afforded King Solomon with horses,
chariots, materials and labor to build, all of which became passions. Rich,
wise, charming, respected, revered, King Solomon had all attributes to indulge
in his amorous passion. He married 700 wives and supported 300 concubines and
all of their children.
The queen of Sheba traveled over 1000 miles just to
visit the legendary King Solomon. She was so impressed, stricken by his
presence, his wisdom and his wealth, she tells him in I Kings 10: 6-7
The
report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is
true, but I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes.
Indeed, not even half was told me: in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded
the report I heard. She is so deeply moved by what she has seen and
experienced, by the king himself, this pagan queen gives glory to Solomon’s
God, Praise be to the Lord who has delighted in you and placed you on the
throne of Israel. She is a woman of keen insight and agile mind,
for she adds, because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he
has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness. The woman came from
a foreign land with foreign worship of foreign gods, but she was rapt by the
glory of the God of King Solomon because of his wealth and wisdom. She brought
him gifts of gold, a ton of spices, and precious gems.
Solomon likewise was smitten with the Queen of Sheba as
well and was not about to be out done by her generosity. Vs. 13 King Solomon
gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given
her out of his royal bounty. She returned to her homeland with riches, a new
found faith in the God of Israel, and according to the traditions of the
Abyssinians, an heir to the empire – a dynasty that her son Menylech established
that would reign with few interruptions until the overthrow of the Emperor Haile
Stassie in 1974. To this day, in Africa there is a tabernacle which purports to
contain the Ark of the Covenant guarded and protected by an order of priests.
The book Song of Songs believed to be written by King
Solomon is a lengthly poem celebrating the delights and the heart aches of
human love. Like the book of Esther, God is not mentioned in it anywhere. And
also, like the book of Esther, God’s covert operations and glory are revealed in
the final outcomes.
Solomon writes of
his passionate love for a young maid. In Song of Songs He even admits that at
that time he had 70 queens and 80 concubines with an undisclosed number of maids
waiting in the wings. Sixty, 700, or 1,000, why did one man need so many wives?
They were arranged marriages for political purposes. The Song of Songs is about
the love of his life, the heart of his heart, the beauty that has captured his
soul. He tells the story of their courtship, their marriage, their first night
together, their first quarrel, and in later years, their mature love.
We find in the Song
of Solomon everything a marriage is wont to be; love, admiration, respect, delight, friendship, and
passion. It is contained in the Scriptures because it also describes God’s love
for his people, passionate, endearing, unending, and likewise, Christ’s love for
his Church.
John the Baptist understood who he was, who Jesus is, and
the role that he was to play in the courtship and romance of God with His
people. When John’s followers saw Jesus’ disciples baptizing they were
disturbed, adamant. “Rabbi,” they said to John, “that man who was with you on
the other side of the Jordan – the one you testified about – well, he is
baptizing , and everyone is going to him.” Kind of makes you think of the
First Baptist Church being in competition with the Second Baptist Church, or the
Lutherans competing against the Presbyterians, or the Wesley Methodists against
the United Methodists.
Look at what John says in reply: You yourselves can
testify that I said, “I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.” The bride
belongs to the bride-groom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and
listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That
joy is mine, and is now complete. John understood himself to be the friend
of the bridegroom Jesus – the best man. People coming to Jesus to be
baptized would be baptized into his death, and after the cross and His
resurrection, would become the Church, the Bride of Christ.
Jesus understood himself to be the Bridegroom of the
Church. His first miracle was at a
wedding. He turned ordinary water into wine – the very best wine, so the
celebration could continue. He taught that the kingdom of God to the joy of a
wedding feast, and in parables referred to Himself as the bridegroom.
The apostle Paul understood the model of a husband’s
love for his spouse to be the sacrificial love of Christ for the Church. Eph.
5:25 Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave
Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water
(baptism) througth the word to present her to himself a radiant church, without
stain or wrinkle or any othe blemish, but holy and blameless. Christ
suffered and died so that we could be cleansed from all sin, and be made perfect
through Him to appear before the Father without blemish. That is passion,
Christ’s passion for His spouse, the Church. Good Friday was about passionate
love, Christ’s love for us that he willingly submitted to the cross. Eph.
5:28, In the same way… What way is Paul talking about? The same way as
Christ, passionate: in the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as
their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Christ loves the
Church his body with respect, tenderness, sacrifice and purity. Husbands, love
your wives and Christ loves you, passionately with respect, tenderness sacrifice
and purity.
But it isn’t just all about the husbands. Paul has a
word for the ladies as well. Eph. 5 Wives submit to your husbands as to the
Lord. That demonstrates respect and reverence. But Paul goes on,
Now the Church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to
their husbands in everything. A wife respecting her husband demonstrates
reverence for Christ. In these passages, the apostle is underscoring
Christ’s passionate love for us, and His desire for us to be passionate about
our spouse.
It was my joy and privilege to officiate a beautiful
wedding celebrated out doors on a perfect September afternoon. The Celtic theme
was highlighted by Irish music played by bagpipes and the groom and groomsmen
attired in kilts. The worship service closed with an ancient hand fasting
ceremony in which the clasped hands of the bride and groom were tied by a three
strand cord symbolizing their individual lives bound together in union with the
life, love and power of Jesus Christ. Marriage is the most intimate of human
relationships between a man and woman inextricably bound in the passionate love
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Church has no other Savior, but Jesus Christ.
No other lover, but Jesus Christ. No other spouse but Jesus Christ who loves us
passionately without reserve. What love do we offer in return in our worship?
In our prayer life? In our daily living? Why are we so meek- voiced in His
presence when we should be weak kneed in His love? The bride-to-be in Solomon’s
Song loved him so much, she nearly fainted. When was the last time, some one
swooned in Church for the love of Christ? He endured torture, beatings,
scourging, the thorns pressed into his scalp and brow, nine inch nails hammered
into his hands and feet, slow agonizing asphyxiation for us, His passion for us.
We barely spend an hour in His comfortable house with Him. We are his church,
His bride, not bystander guests seated in the audience. We stand together with
Christ, who delights in us. Can we not express our delight in Him? Amen.
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