Thou knowest that David my father could not build a house unto the name of Jehovah his God, because of the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet.
Solomon's message to Hiram, a foreign king, opens with family history. His father wanted to build a house for God's name and never did. The reason given is not failure or delay but war — enemies on every side, until God put them under David's feet.
The verse gives war as the obstacle. One writer turns that into a principle about where God settles, and then applies it to the Church.
David could not build this house. Peace had to be made first (v. 3), before the Lord could make His lasting dwelling among His people… God cannot dwell in rest where there is war… It is the same, spiritually, for the Church. When the "good news of peace" is announced, the house of God, the holy temple in the Lord, is built up. This work continues until the full rest of glory.
Alongside the wars, commentators point to the state of the nation. Israel had not yet reached its rest, so God kept to a tent.
In David's time the children of Israel had not come to their rest. The kingdom was still unsettled, and the people stood ready for service, or armed for war. So the Lord refused to enter His settled home while His people were in that state. In all their afflictions He had been afflicted. In their wanderings He had walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. Until He had planted them in their appointed place, He would Himself enter no house of cedar.
Solomon dates the change to the moment God subdued David's enemies. One writer traces that same order — conquest first, then rest — forward to Christ.
David had made huge preparations for this house. But he recalls what the Lord had told him (1 Chronicles 22:8): "You may not build a house for My name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood" (1 Chronicles 28:3). Through his sufferings David could prepare the "rest that remains for the people of God." But he could not bring in that rest while the kingdom still carried the warrior stamp of its leader. So will it be with Christ. At the cross He laid the foundation for eternal rest. But He will not set up that final rest until all His enemies have been put under His feet.
One writer gives another reason beyond the wars. It turns on who Solomon was to God.
This better name of son brought him the honour of building the house of God. That work is to be seen as an honour rather than a service. It was an honour too great for David the servant, but kept for Solomon the son. God said to David, "Solomon your son shall build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his father." (1 Chronicles 28:6.)
David's plan never became a building. Yet God gave His verdict on the wish itself.
Solomon records a striking fact about David, full of meaning. "The Lord said to David my father, 'Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for My name'" (2 Chronicles 6:8-9)… As to carrying it out, David had to be put in his proper place. But what was in his heart was approved… it places all the saints of God on one footing, however much they differ in ability for service. The counsels of the heart are before God.
Told no, David set about gathering what his son would need.
David entered into God's presence, his great desire being to build a house for the Lord. What a motive that was, what a desire! But God said, "No, David, you are not the man. I have another in mind." Did David turn aside? Did he sulk? No. David gathered up all the material with all the energy, love and power he could command, so that his son might build God's house. What a man of God!
The message in this verse is addressed to a foreign king, and that placing is noticed.
In 1 Kings 5 we see the action, not by marriage alliance, but by treaty, with the Gentiles, and how they become the servant of his purposes — indeed, we can say even God's purposes for the earth, as far as Solomon was the servant of them.
- War blocks rest. God would not settle into a house while His people were still armed for battle. He shared their tent until they were planted in their place.
- Rest is won, not wished. The turning point came when God put David's enemies under his feet. Christ laid the foundation of rest at the cross, and He will bring in the final rest once all His enemies are subdued.
- The son gets the honour. The work was an honour too great for David the servant. God kept it for Solomon the son.
- The heart is counted. David never built, yet God said he did well that it was in his heart. That puts all servants on one footing, whatever their ability.
- Prepare for another's hand. Refused the work, David gathered every material his son would need, with all the energy and love he could command.
But now Jehovah my God has given me rest on every side there is neither adversary nor evil event.
Solomon's message to Hiram starts with a reason: the wars are over, and God Himself gave the rest. The timber, the workers and the treaty with Tyre all follow from that one gift — so why did a house for God have to wait for peace?
after
David wanted to build this house, but he could not. One writer explains what was missing.
David could not build this house. Peace had to come first (v. 3), so that the Lord could make His lasting home among His people. While they wandered in the desert, the Lord joined Himself to them by the tabernacle, in their condition as pilgrims and travellers. Then came the wars of Canaan under Joshua and the judges; these did not stop until the reign of David. God cannot dwell in rest where there is war.
Solomon inherited a quiet kingdom he had not fought for. One king put down the enemies; the other ordered the kingdom.
His name means "peaceable." David was the warrior king, the man who subdued all the enemies. When Solomon sent to Hiram he said "there is neither adversary nor misfortune," 1 Kings 5:4. Every hostile force had been subdued. This man of peace, in his glory and supremacy and in divine wisdom, takes the kingdom and orders it in every part according to the will of God.
Israel's first king, Saul, fought the same enemies and left them standing.
As king of Israel he is in conflict with all the natural enemies of Israel, and here he shows his might. He defeats them, but he does not destroy or subdue them: even Amalek is no exception, as we shall see. He is very far from leaving, as his successor does, "neither adversary nor misfortune." He dies in battle, defeated by the Philistines... all the enemies have to be met afresh by the next king.
Solomon claims two things: no enemy outside, no trouble within. But the calm had limits.
Under Solomon this peace was outward, material, so to speak. The Lord had given him rest on every side (v. 4). The blessings that filled his reign had the same material character. All the desirable things of earth were brought to him. He made them serve the glory of the Lord, who had firmly established his throne.
Hiram had loved David and now offers the same friendship to David's son. A writer sees the older loyalty carried over into the new reign.
Of his own free will he had come to offer his services to Solomon's father, and his carpenters had built him a house (2 Sam. 5:11). The same willing spirit led him to send his servants to David's son because he had always loved his father (v. 1). How could he fail to be welcomed by the king of glory when he had always loved the king of grace?
Commentators read this settled kingdom as a preview of Christ's reign. One warns that the peace does not arrive the moment He appears.
So peace, lasting peace for this weary world, will not arrive at the moment of the Lord's appearing... like a magician's wand producing an instant deliverance. But the final victory is certain. In Solomon's reign there was neither adversary nor misfortune (1 Kings 5:4), and so it will be under the rule of Christ.
Solomon's own later years undid the claim he makes in this verse.
As long as he cared for the interests of the LORD, his fame and glory were untarnished. He could say, "the LORD my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune" (1 Kings 5:4). But when the honour of the LORD's name was forgotten, and the brightness of his glory was stained, the LORD stirred up adversaries for him (see 1 Kings 11:14, 23, 26).
The phrase outlives Solomon. One writer uses the same words for how everything ends.
We can afford to see the complete failure and ruin of the creature, in every shape and form. We can do so because we know for sure that God will be God, despite everything. He will have the upper hand in the end, and then all will be, must be right. God shall be all in all, and there shall be neither enemy nor misfortune throughout that vast universe of bliss.
- Given, not gained — the rest on every side came from God; Solomon received a kingdom David had fought to secure.
- Rest before building — God does not settle among His people while war goes on. The temple had to wait for peace.
- Peace with limits — Solomon's calm was outward and material. Every desirable thing of earth flowed to his throne.
- Peace forfeited — Solomon stopped caring for God's honour, and God stirred up the adversaries this verse said he did not have.
- Peace fulfilled — under Christ's rule the words hold for good: no adversary, no misfortune, and God all in all.