It has been the theme of a thousand songs – that love is the greatest of all themes. This has been the story of thousands of poets – and prose-writers as well. And it is clearly a Biblical theme – but here we have to watch out for definitions – and directions. David condemned the wicked in Psalm 52 saying, “Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness.” And Solomon reminds us , “Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.” The Apostle John exhorts, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Despite some prohibitions, love is still the greatest of all commandments: “And Jesus answered him, The first of all commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” – Mark 12:29-31.
In Romans 13:10 we read that love is the fulfilment of the law: “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law…. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”
And from the standpoint of sinners like us – love is the greatest thing in God. Theologically that may not be exactly true, but in a practical personal sense, love is the greatest of all the attributes of God. If it were not for His love, the justice of the Lord would mow us all down like grass. If it were not for the love of God, the holiness of the Lord would forever keep us separated from Him. If it were not for the love of God, the power of God would destroy us. God’s love is the key behind the grace and the justification which is the basis of our salvation. It empowers our hope, and as such, it is always an appropriate study.
Assuming we want to study the love of God, where should we begin? The best beginning is always at the real beginning. It is the nature of God to love, because God is love. Love is one of the characteristics or attributes of Jehovah. Since He is love, He does love. “We love Him, (only) because He first loved us.” There is special love within the Trinity, and there is another love that He has for His elect family. God’s love was displayed on Calvary, producing salvation for sin. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The Lord is called “the God of all comfort” – because of His love. He displays His love in providing for the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of His people – His saints.
And this takes us back to our opening scripture. First, Huram, or Hiram, the King of Tyre spoke or God’s love for Israel. And then the Queen of Sheba mentioned the same thing. And they both said that the expression of God’s love was in the coronation of Solomon as King. This may have been an attempt at flattery, but it was in truth – the truth. Either this Huram as a young man, or Huram his father, had become a friend of Solomon’s father, David. They had worked together in the building and beautification of the City of David. Huram began to respect the God of David and David’s worship of Jehovah. Now Solomon was king, and Israel was prospering under his leadership, because of the blessing of God. Twenty years into his reign the fame of Solomon was becoming so great that monarchs from around the region were coming to meet him and to see his great capital city. The Queen of Sheba was one of many such kings and queens. After her prolonged visit, she had nothing but praise for Solomon and His God. Now remember that both Huram and this Queen originally came from heathen backgrounds. They may or may not have become proselytes – I hope that they did. But the thing to notice is that as people with unbiased eyes, they saw the blessing of God’s love. I might add that later in II Chronicles 9, where we have described some of the glorious specifics of Israel’s prosperity in Solomon’s reign, it is said that “Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.” And because I believe the Bible, I see no reason to doubt it.
May God grant us, in whatever state we stand, to be a blessing to others, as Solomon was in his special way. May it be said of us, “Because God loved Calvary Baptist Church, He placed us in it.” In ourselves this isn’t at all likely, but “with God all things are possible.”
This might make for a decent message, but I don’t want to make this particular application this morning. Rather, I want us to think about the Lord Jesus Christ instead. A few minutes ago we read from Matthew 12. Verse 42 says, “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” Even though Solomon is a picture – a type – of Christ, the Lord Jesus is infinitely greater. And He will not only someday sit upon his father’s throne in Jerusalem and rule the world, Christ is the king of the Kingdom of God at this very moment. The world is filled with rebels – people who wish that His rule would end. But among them there is a remnant who recognize and rejoice in His regal deity. “Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice. Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee…”
Just as the text says of Solomon, it was the love of God which made Jesus the king.
Think of the task of being the sovereign king – His function in the world. David may or may not have been the greatest king of Israel. When David was an old man he spoke a psalm which was recorded in II Samuel 23 – “Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.” When Solomon succeeded his father, I’m sure that he had been reasonably well taught. But he failed to apply all of David’s instructions as the years progressed. Neither his education, nor his position, nor his counselors could keep him from a wide variety of sins. In Psalm 2:10 it was probably David who said that kings are supposed to judge for God and in wisdom. Solomon didn’t always do that.
It can be a problem to live under a human king or president as he goes about working on his own agenda. But good rulers are “not a terror to work” or good workers – Romans 13:3. They are “ministers of God to us for good” – Romans 13:4. And to no one is this more applicable than the Lord Jesus. “His commands are not grievous;” they are perfect.
We need to remember that Christ did not need us as subjects. By grace we are permitted to live under his reign. It is for us – our guidance, our comfort and our honor to live under His flag. To be a citizen of His Kingdom means our peace and our safety. Because the commandments of the Lord are appropriate to our needs.
The love of God in making Christ our King is obvious when we note the personal characteristics of the Lord. Our God selected a Ruler who cannot be improved. He is all wise (omnisophia), and therefore knows exactly what treatment and what judgment is needed. He is all powerful (omnipotent), so that He can protect us from any aggressor. “In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He is all gracious (omnicharis) so there gifts upon gifts given for our utmost benefit. He is all loving (omniagapao) to such a degree that nothing can separate us from his love. And He is all holy (omnihaguios), lifting sinners like us to His level rather than sinking Himself towards us. In all these things Solomon might have been a finger pointing to Christ, while still a personal a failure.
The key to this kingdom over us is in relationships. Spiritually we are not under the tyranny of a stranger in Washington, oblivious to our personal needs. No, as children of God, Christ is our brother, and therefore it is not bondage to follow Him. Jesus is our Redeemer; it should be our joy to consider ourselves His purchased possession. And as far as our church is concerned Jesus is the perfect husband so that there should be no hesitation to be submissive to Him. It is our delight to obey such a love gift as Christ Jesus.
God’s love not only made Christ our King; but it turned us from rebels into joyful subjects.
The saints of God in the 21st century are very similar to the saints of God in the 10th century before Christ. Why did God put Israel under His protective wing? Why didn’t He choose some other nation like the Egyptians or the Syrians? During much of their history, Israel was inferior to her neighbors in many different ways. She was certainly not more righteous than any other nation. It was unprovoked love by which Jehovah chose that insignificant little nation, wallowing in her idolatry. Elsewhere God described Israel as an abandoned new-born baby tossed into a field and left to die. But the Lord said, “Israel, I choose you and invite you into my home.” And that is what He has said in regard to multitudes of individuals today. “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak th
ings of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” – I Corinthians 1:26-30.
We also see God’s love in His subduing of us. Have you ever thought about Noah trying to get all of those animals into the ark? Some people have trouble trying to imagine all of the millions of animals, but that wasn’t a problem. Noah didn’t have to lead five hundred varieties of dogs into the ark, just one pair of dogs. All the varieties came later on. Some worry about the amount of food necessary, but hibernating animals don’t require much food. Some people laugh about the manure, and the stench, and the work that Noah and his family would have had throughout those months. But again, it could have been that most of the animals became dormant until spring. Those things weren’t problems at all. If Noah had any initial concern was getting each of those warring species to enter the ark in peace. That is precisely the problem that people have as well. And I’m not so much talking only about our getting along with others, I’m thinking about our general hatred and fear of God Himself. But just as God subdued the hearts of the tigers and the bears, He has conquered so many of the hearts of our neighbors and ourselves. He has brought Philippinos, Indians, Frenchmen, Germans, Japanese and a few Canadians all into His protective ark. Isn’t it amazing?
We see God’s love in the gifts He has given to us. Solomon made silver and gold as plentiful as paving stones in Jerusalem. In a land where it was hard to grow a scrub oak or a sycamore tree, Solomon filled his capital with cedar and sandalwood. Solomon beautified Jerusalem with gardens of exotic fruits, flowers and vegetables. He imported animals as foreign as peacocks and apes. Despite living at nearly the top of his country, he engineered and built aqueducts which filled the pools and fountains of Jerusalem with cool, clear water.
But what Solomon did for that little city, doesn’t compare to what the Lord Jesus has either done, or promised to do, for us. He has paved a golden road to the throne of God’s grace. He has gone to prepare us mansions in His Father’s house for us, and every Sunday School child knows how the streets out front have been paved. He is the Water of life and the Sun of righteousness. He is the Bread of life and Rose of Sharon.
As the visiting Queen said, “It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom: Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.” It was an honor to be a citizen under the reign of Solomon. But that honour under Solomon is not to be compared to what you and I can possess under the Saviour. “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” – I Peter 2:9-10. “He hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father” – Revelation 1:6. “The half cannot be fancied on this side the golden shore…..”
But all of the general blessings of the Kingdom of Christ mean nothing. I make this last point this morning cautiously, and I ask that you hear it in the same way.
In one sense, it is our love to God which makes this kingdom blessed to us.
For years, the prodigal son feasted upon his father’s bounty, but he had no appreciation for it. While his love was misspent on himself, his father’s blessings were despised. But when he came to his senses, recognizing his father’s grace and love… When he considered reciprocating that love, his whole life was revolutionized.
During the 1960’s and 70’s, the United States was in a great deal of turmoil. There were race riots, protests against the Viet Nam war, anti-government demonstrations and so on. One man who was in the thick of it was Eldridge Cleaver. Cleaver was born in 1935 in a little town in Arkansas. His family moved to Phoenix and then to Los Angeles, where he started getting into trouble. In 1957 he was convicted of attempted murder and sent to San Quentin prison. Prison didn’t reform him, but rather hardened him, and it gave him the opportunity to write some terrorist-type books. In 1966 he was released, whereupon he helped to found the Black Panthers, a militant, leftist, anti-establishment. rebel organization. Eventually, he was wounded in a shootout with police and fled, traveling to Algeria, Cuba and France.
Now here is where the story gets interesting. In 1975, Cleaver voluntarily returned to the United States. And he came back thoroughly rejecting his own the Black Panther organization. In fact, he professed to having become a Christian – a born-again, child of God. He forsook communism and became a Republican. Instead of trying to destroy the United States he professed a desire to be a blessing this country. He died in 1998.
Now, I cannot testify to the man’s conversion to Christ. And I sincerely doubt that we could have allowed him to preach here in this pulpit, But I have to acquiesce to his testimony of Christ. I am hoping that one day I will see that man in Heaven. What I am trying to illustrate is that for more than half his life Eldridge Cleaver hated this country, despite the love that this country gave to him. That man did everything in his power to destroy the United States. But when he began to see what it was to live under communism and despotism, his opinions changed.
I’m sure that there were plenty of people who didn’t appreciate all that Solomon did in Israel. There are people who will not be satisfied unless they are kings themselves. But in their day those citizens of Israel were the most blessed in the entire world.
Matthew 12:42 says, “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: For she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; And, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” This world needs the kingship and Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. This world needs grace of Almighty God. And specifically, so do you and I. Do you still need to humble your stubborn knees before the cross of Christ? Do you need to repent of your rebellion and acknowledge what Hiram and the Queen saw? We need the government of the Saviour – Jesus Christ. Do you still need the forgiveness and salvation of the Saviour? Will you, this morning acknowledge your sin before God and submit to the Lord’s love? Will you repent and put your faith in Christ Jesus and His sacrifice on Calvary?