Today's reading: 1 Kings 10; 1 Thessalonians 3-4
I know I wrote about this the other day as well, but reading about the incredible wealth of Israel in 1 Kings 10 just leaves my jaw on the floor thinking about what things would have looked like if Israel had stayed faithful to Yahweh.
It's easy for me to read over this, gawk at how ridiculously rich Solomon was, and then move on, but I think that is missing an important point: This is just the start of what God promised to/intended for Israel. Just think about that for a minute. God had promised, well before they got to the promised land, that He would provide abundantly for them in the land, that there would be no poor in the land, that they would have peace on all sides, that other nations would bring tribute to Israel, etc. 1 Kings 10 is describing exactly this situation. We see Israel at peace, we see other monarchs bringing tribute and great gifts to Solomon, we see incredible building projects, and we see all the wealth, not simply benefiting Solomon, but impacting all the people until silver is as common as stone!
Ultimately, Solomon is going to turn away from full faithfulness to Yahweh and kick off a downward trajectory that his descendants, as well as the rulers of the soon-to-be northern kingdom, will follow, turning further and further from following God. God had made these promises to Israel at the same time as He had declared the curses Israel would face if they lapsed into unfaithfulness. So as they, as a nation, turn from God, this incredible peace and prosperity will quickly evaporate and live on as nothing more than the "glory days" of Israel under Solomon.
But if this was what things looked like this early on, can you imagine what Israel would have been like if Solomon and his descendants had led the country faithfully after Yahweh? I honestly can't... I have a hard time picturing what life in Jerusalem must have been like in these days based on what 1 Kings says about it, but how much more so if this trajectory had continued for even just a few more generations! As Israel continues to rise, under the power and protection of Yahweh, on the international stage, as nations continue to bring tribute to the king, as the land continues to produce abundantly, as the fleets of ships continue to return with rich harvests of gold and other exotic goods, what would that have been like???
It's no coincidence that this is also the picture we get in Revelation 21 of the new Jerusalem with Jesus sitting on the throne. Under the reign of its true righteous king, nations will flock to Jerusalem bringing tribute, there will be no more death or sickness, and the city itself will be more splendorous, made entirely of gold and precious stones, than anything Solomon could have hoped to build.
It is absolutely mind blowing to me that what we read here in 1 Kings 10 is only a taste of the amazing things God desired to give His people, if only they had stayed faithful to Him but it is even more mind blowing to realize that, one day soon, we, in Christ, will taste the fullness of the goodness He desires for His people in a glorious eternity with Him!
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