then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
Solomon has finished the temple, and the Lord appears to him a second time. He promises a throne over Israel that lasts forever — but only if Solomon walks before Him as David did.
A second visit, a different message
The first time God spoke to Solomon, He invited the young king to ask for whatever he wanted. This visit has a different purpose.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe Lord's righteous government among His people Israel was now in place. He had given and entrusted that government to Solomon, the son of David. In a sense, Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord, and everything depended on Solomon's faithfulness. So the Lord appeared to him a second time — not to say once more, "Ask what I shall give you," but to assure him that He would keep His promise to David. If Solomon stayed faithful, God would establish his throne. Then He warns against disobedience.
Solomon the picture, Solomon the man
Just before this, God spoke with no conditions at all: He set His name on the house forever. Verse 5 stands on different ground.
H. L. RossierBut at once, as everywhere in this book, the question of responsibility follows. It is the exact opposite of what came before. Where Solomon stands as a type, a picture, everything is sure. Where Solomon stands under responsibility, everything comes into question. God will not establish his throne forever unless he is upright and faithful. He will not establish his descendants either, except on this condition.
What hung on one man's obedience
The condition did not stop with Solomon. The house he had just built, his family line, and the whole nation hung on the same thread.
J. N. DarbyGod's answer makes the house the place where He has set His name forever. His eyes and His heart will be there always. But at the same time He places Solomon's dynasty, the people of Israel, and even the house itself under one condition. Solomon and his children must stay faithful to the Lord. Only then will they enjoy the blessing He has granted… We see here how far the fate of Israel hung upon their king.
Two strands in the promise to David
This promise looks back to what God swore to David. That older pledge runs in two strands.
Edward DennettThe promise to David is twofold: absolute and conditional… So when the Spirit has Christ, the Son of David, in view, the promise is unconditional. It announces God's purpose in grace. But when David's children, his immediate descendants, are in view, their continuing on his throne depends on their responsibility — on keeping God's law and walking according to His commandments.
The line failed; the promise did not
God warned Solomon in plain words. The rest of his story makes those words painful to read.
W. W. FeredayThe later history of Solomon is all the more terrible when we consider these plain words. He should have realised that his departure from God would wreck the whole magnificent order of things around him.
So what happened to the throne when Solomon's own family lost it?
W. W. FeredayGod renewed His pledge that David should never lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel. But He pointedly added that this was no guarantee to the line of Solomon. That line has completely disappeared, but Christ is God's resource. Men crucified the One whom they hailed as "Son of David"; but God raised Him from among the dead. It will be a great day for Israel when suffering teaches them that all their hopes are centred in Him.
Both words kept exactly
In this chapter God seems to say two opposite things about the house.
H. L. RossierIn the space of two verses God says without any condition that His eyes and His heart will be on this house forever — and also that He will cast it out of His sight! Does God contradict Himself? No. The conditional warning came true to the letter, and the unconditional promise will come true to the letter as well. It will happen when the true king after God's heart has built Him a house, a temple on earth far more glorious than Solomon's.
Summary
- Condition. The throne that lasts forever is not a blank cheque. God holds it out to Solomon on one term: walk as David walked.
- Collapse. His dynasty, the nation, even the temple rested on his obedience. His turning away wrecked it all.
- Covenant. God's promise to David runs in two strands. It is conditional for his natural sons, and unconditional where God's own purpose is in view.
- Christ. Solomon's royal line has vanished, but God's answer to the failure is the risen Son of David.
- Certainty. The warning came true word for word. So will the promise, when the true king builds a house greater than Solomon's.