1 KINGS 10 (FROM CAC'S NOTES)
1 KINGS 10 (FROM CAC’S NOTES)
I believe it is right to say that every type of Christ in Scripture is unique; that is it expresses some feature that no other type sets forth in exactly the same way. There are no duplicates. Having this in mind would lead us to pay particular attention to each type so as to be able to distinguish it from all others and to discern the divine wisdom in so presenting that wondrous Person. Solomon is a very full and glorious type of the beloved Son brought to the highest exaltation in order to build the house and to complete its service. All that Scripture speaks of as to the house and its service connects with Christ as Solomon. But Christ is also the wisdom of God to solve all enigmas and to set up an order of things in which nothing can be improved upon because what is in divine wisdom cannot possibly be improved upon; it excels. It is evident that in contemplating such a Person and such an order of things we pass outside all that belongs to the fallen creature and come to what is wholly of God. It is very difficult for us to leave the area of human imperfection and come to what is purely of God unless we get from divine teaching an impression of Christ as the wisdom of God. Indeed it is impossible to get our enigmas solved in any other way. The enigmas all arise out of the knowledge of good and evil which is in every human heart, but in every subject of the work of God there is some conviction that there is a Man who can solve all enigmas. Everyone is welcome to come and prove Him. Every one who comes contributes to Him; every enigma has some corresponding treasure.
[p. 106] The Lord has told us that the queen of the south “came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon”, Matthew 12: 42. Solomon’s fame was in connection with the throne of Jehovah. We read that he “sat on the throne of Jehovah”, 1 Chronicles 29: 23. The queen represents those of the Gentiles who are divinely taught to come to Christ as the glorified One and to find in Him the wisdom of God. She came to prove him with enigmas manifesting her intelligence; how similar to what we have in the gospels and Acts, “Are ye also still without intelligence?” (Matthew 15: 16), “Jesus, seeing that he had answered intelligently” (Mark 12: 34) and “The proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man”, Acts 13: 7. Christ is the wisdom of God in application to all the complex difficulties that have arisen through the coming in of sin. If there was not a divine answer in Christ to all that has arisen He would not be the Christ of God. The queen came as ministering to Solomon, bringing her best to him. She also spoke to him of all that was in her heart and he explained all to her. She came as having great wealth, like the magi in Matthew 2, and to be an offerer. None come rightly to Christ save as recognising that He is worthy to receive all honours. “They gave themselves first to the Lord”, 2 Corinthians 8: 5.
The queen does not represent a sinner coming to Christ as the Saviour but typifies a divinely taught person drawn to Him by the Father as having an impression of how He surpasses all others and how He is the wisdom of God. At Corinth “Paul was pressed in respect of the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ”, Acts 18: 5. He preached Christ as God’s power and God’s wisdom. The queen was a prophetic indication that God would secure a Gentile company to appreciate Christ, “whom we announce, admonishing every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, to the end that we may present every man perfect in Christ”, Colossians 1: 28. The glad tidings have been proclaimed in the whole creation under heaven (Colossians 1: 23).
We see here, in type, what Gentiles come to when they come to Christ glorified: they come to the truth of the assembly. Solomon’s wisdom is the wisdom of Christ as Head of the body, the assembly, and as over the house as Son. She is holding fast the Head. The all-various wisdom of God is made known through the assembly (Ephesians 3: 10).
It would be interesting to know some of the things that were in the queen’s heart of which she spoke to Solomon. I think we may be sure that her questions were in relation to God and His ways with men and with His people. Solomon was, in a typical sense, the climax of these ways, just as Christ glorified is the actual climax of them. It is a wonderful thing to hear of the fame of a glorified Christ and to be assured that He can answer all questions. A true report of His affairs and of His wisdom has reached us. It has given us some sense of His greatness and worthiness to receive all that we can bring. We feel assured that the queen brought according to her estimate of Solomon’s greatness. She is not an empty-handed sinner, but one with a wealthy estimate of the person she was coming to. She was thinking of what he was. The gospel is intended to give us a sense of the greatness of Christ (2 Corinthians 4) and that the most distant can come to Him with a deep appreciation of who He is and how God is expressed in Him. The enigmas and questions only serve to bring out the wealth of wisdom in Christ; He will tell us all things. He “told me all things I had ever done”, John 4: 29. He is the One into whose hand the Father has put everything and yet I find He has leisure to listen to all that I have in my heart. The extent of what I do not know is the God-given occasion for me to learn what is in Him. Enigmas and [p. 108] questions bring out His greatness as the Head. It is a matter of interest to Him that I have something in my heart that He alone can explain.
I think the things that the queen saw were connected with the house that he had built. She had such a view of it as we have in the earlier chapters. It depicts the assembly viewed as in relation to Christ glorified. Matthew 16 is not the house of God but Christ’s assembly which cannot be prevailed against. The house of God is where He dwells in rest; it is not viewed as in conflict; Christ’s assembly is subject to hostile attack but it is invulnerable. We get a view of a structure which is on earth at this moment and which has no human handiwork in it; it is all the work of Christ glorified. If we are in company with the queen of Sheba we shall get a view of that structure and we shall want to walk with our brethren in the truth of it.
She saw the food of his table. The food supply is a very distinguishing mark of a wisely ordered house. The Lord has amply provided for this in the faithful and prudent bondmen to give the measure of corn in season. In what Christ owns as His house there will always be food. His thought is to supply the needed food locally as well as by universal gifts. It would include all the ministry in connection with headship, the house, the assembly, the body, the wife and the bride; all is important as food for His saints whose satisfaction and strength depend on it.
The “deportment of his servants” could be translated ‘dwelling’ or ‘habitation’. It refers to where they serve rather than how. The order of service is the ministry. The cupbearers are those that minister to His joy. Finally, “His ascent by which he went up to the house of Jehovah” suggests that the assembly may first be known as Solomon’s house and then He leads up to the house of Jehovah.