Are We There Yet? (1 Kings 9-10)

It’s the age-old clamour in the back of the car, whether we’ve been going for half an hour, or three hours.  It’s the weary exhale as we limp towards the end of term.  And it’s the question the original readers would have been asking themselves at this point in 1 Kings.  Are we there yet?

It’s all looking good. Not just good in fact - it’s all looking a lot like Eden 2.0.  God’s rightful king is wisely ruling on the throne.  The temple has been finished.   With a thunderous climax, God’s glory has filled the temple, symbolising him dwelling with his people again.  The king is blessing the people.  Peace and security are theirs in abundance.  And he’s mediating for them before the Lord Almighty.  To top it all, the lips of one of the grandest queens on earth exclaim, ‘How happy your people must be!’ in response.  Are we there yet? It sure does look like it.

And yet.

All the way through 1 Kings so far, we’ve glimpsed rumblings of discord.  We’ve seen patterns of sin and temptation weave their way through the glories of the kingdom.  And in the chapters before us now, the storm clouds are gathering a pace. 

But not without warning.  In his mercy, the Lord appears to Solomon a second time.  He implores him to walk in the way of faithfulness, in accordance with his statutes.  But with that, comes the stern warning - the reversal of fortunes, if Solomon chooses the way of folly.   The storm clouds are here, but they don’t have to stay.  There is grace in the warning.  There is always grace as the Lord speaks.

We don’t need to read on much further to know that the storm clouds intensified in the coming years.  The hopeful ‘are we there yet?’ will not find its resolution here just yet.  But we do know the One in whom the answer is a resounding Yes.  We know the One who always chose the way of faithfulness, even when it led him to become a ‘byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples’.  And as we consider Him, the one forsaken and cut off for us, we stand in awe.  King Solomon took the Queen of Sheba’s breath away.  How much more so for us, as we gaze upon Christ. 

Are we there yet? Wonderfully yes, in Christ, we are!