His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter whom he had taken in marriage.
This verse ends the account of Solomon's palace with two more buildings. One is the king's own home, with an inner court like the hall of judgment. The other is a house for Pharaoh's daughter, built on the same plan. Commentators see pictures of Christ's reign in both, though they judge the king's Egyptian marriage very differently.
The King's Own Dwelling
The first house named here is where Solomon lived, not where he ruled.
H. L. RossierThe first is called Solomon's "own house," "his house where he dwelt," his own residence. Scripture says little about it. The "house of the forest of Lebanon" had a "porch for the throne." In its place the king's house had "another court" inside the entrance porch, built in the same way. Solomon did not judge in this house. He lived there. Scripture presents it in a mysterious way; it is a house of intimacy.
One writer reads each building as a picture of something different.
J. N. DarbyTo my mind it is the house of Solomon that pictures the church, as such, joined to Christ. The temple pictures the Father's house on high, where we are brought to live. "We are His house." The house of the forest of Lebanon pictures His glory among the nations. The porch of judgment marks this glorious reign.
A Court Like the Hall of Judgment
One writer traces government from this court through to the church today.
Leslie M. GrantVerse 8 mentions in passing that the house Solomon built for himself to live in had a court inside the hall, like the one in the house of the forest of Lebanon. The house of the forest of Lebanon stresses government, and that points to the thousand-year kingdom of the Lord Jesus. Government is also needed in the house of God, the Church, today. So 1 Peter 4:17 tells us, "It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God."
The Marriage Behind the Second House
Writers do not agree on whether Solomon's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter was a fault. One calls it wrong, yet sees God turning it to good — and sees a warning in the order Solomon built:
William KellyOne cannot say that righteousness was kept here. Yet how wonderful that God should make a thing that was wrong in itself a picture of what is perfectly good in Him. As we know, the Lord has shown His grace in no way so much as in His dealings with the nations outside Israel. Scripture says, "He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD." I do not think that order is without its teaching. He was thinking of his own house first. No wonder he was not so particular about Pharaoh's daughter. We are never right when the Lord's house is not before our own.
Another answers that the charge misses the point of the picture:
Henri L. RossierMany have thought that Solomon's marriage to the daughter of the king of Egypt broke the law and was an act of unfaithfulness. Forgetting what the Word pictures can lead to such mistakes. Would we say that Joseph was unfaithful when he married Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, a priest in Egypt? Or that Moses was unfaithful when he married Zipporah, the daughter of the priest of Midian?
Who the Foreign Wife Pictures
Scripture spends the fewest words of all on her house, and the bond it pictures is glorious but not the closest.
H. L. RossierThe third house belongs to the foreign wife, the daughter of Pharaoh. Scripture says little more about it than about the house where the king lived. We know only that it was built on the plan of the porch of the house of Lebanon. We have already said that Solomon's union with Pharaoh's daughter did not picture the Lord's bond with the Church. It pictured the bond of the Messiah with the nations that once oppressed God's people. This union is glorious beyond doubt, but it does not give the same closeness.
One Glory Across Every Building
Outward splendour is what ties all these buildings together.
J. N. DarbyEverything showed the glory, the riches, and the power of the great king. In this outward glory, Pharaoh's daughter had a house like the king's. This outward glory — of the walls, of the courts of the LORD, of the king's house, and of all the rest — shows how these things are joined together in Christ on the day His glory is displayed.
Summary
- Dwelling. Solomon's own house was not where he judged but where he lived — a house of intimacy, described in very few words.
- Judgment. Its inner court matched the hall of judgment, and government still belongs to the house of God now: judgment begins there first.
- Failure. Commentators differ on the Egyptian marriage. One calls it wrong and notes that Solomon built his own house before the Lord's; another says the charge forgets the picture being drawn.
- Grace. Either way, the foreign wife's house stands for the nations once hostile to God's people, now brought near to the King.
- Display. Every house shared the King's own glory — a picture of the day when Christ's glory is displayed and all these things are joined in Him.