2 CHRONICLES 9 (FROM CAC'S NOTES)
2 CHRONICLES 9 (FROM CAC’S NOTES)
The “great throne of ivory” which Solomon made was of surpassing glory, for “there was not the like made in any kingdom”. I have no doubt it symbolises what the Lord speaks of in Matthew 25: 31 as “his throne of glory”. It is as having passed through death and given His life a ransom for many that He will occupy that throne. That may be hinted at symbolically by the throne being made of ivory, which is material that has passed through death. Genesis 1: 26 shews that God’s thought was that man should have dominion universally. Instead of this, man came under sin and death, and it became necessary that Another should come in to take up the dominion that the first man had lost by sin. So we find the Son of man in Psalm 8 and Hebrews 2, but the latter scripture adds the important fact that the Son of man was made lower than the angels for the suffering of death. But He is a divine Person who was in heaven before He became Man, so that He can speak of ascending up where He was before and this answers to the overlaying with pure gold. We find the Lord speaking of Himself frequently as the Son of man: the disciples were accustomed to this title as belonging to Him: but they had to learn that what He said of Himself as the Son of man could only be true of a divine Person. It was His declaration that He would be seen “sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven”; that was the ground of His condemnation to death (Matthew 26: 64). Stephen saw Him standing at the right hand of God, and John saw Him in Son of man character in [p. 382] Revelation 1, referring no doubt to Daniel 7: 13, 14. This leads us to consider that the throne had six steps, intimating to us that the One who occupies the throne comes to it by successive steps. He is first introduced in the prophetic word of promise, which covers the truth of His Person, His moral perfections and His sufferings and glories. That may be regarded, I think, as the first step on His way up to the throne — how He appears in the word of prophecy.
Then the second step is the incarnation. He took His place in the likeness of men and was found in figure as a man. All that wondrous lowly life of devotion to God and of service to man brought out His moral qualification to be in the place of supremacy.
Then He accomplished redemption — glorifying God in bearing the judgment of sin, and making purification so that the sins of all who believe on Him can be remitted righteously without compromising any attribute of God. The vastness of atonement, propitiation, reconciliation, with all their eternal results in blessing, come in as another step to the universal supremacy of the throne.
Then the fourth step, we might say, is His resurrection, shewing that death has been annulled, the penalty resting on man through sin is borne, and a scene of life opened up by One coming victoriously out of death.
To follow out this thought, the fifth step is His ascension. He has gone to the very brightest spot in the universe, awaiting the moment when He will be brought as the First-begotten into the habitable world.
His present place is not final. He will presently rise up and leave it and will appear in the clouds of heaven. This I take to be the sixth step, after which He will take His seat on the throne of His glory.
God would impress us with the irresistible power by which every step is accompanied. The two lions at each [p. 383] step and at the sides of the throne are symbolical of this. Every step has been, and will be in divine power. Nothing can turn it aside.