But now ADONAI my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor calamity.
1Ki 5:4 (5:18)
Solomon – who’s name means peaceable – speaks to Hiram, a friend of his father from Lebanon. They talk about supplies for the temple Solomon was going to build. Solomon reminds Hiram that David wanted to build the temple, but could not because he was a man of war. He had too much blood on his hands. But not so Solomon.
God had given him rest. No adversary nor crisis.
Remember that Solomon is the son of David. There is another son of David that is called prince of peace – Jesus. Solomon reigns as king in the promised land, at rest, in peace, with no enemy. Jesus reigns in the New Testament promised land, that is in Christ. In Christ there is rest. And if we apply this picture of the son of David reigning further – in Christ there is no adversary nor crisis.
Want to know what word is used for adversary in the Hebrew? Satan.
According to Strong’s it can either mean a personal or national adversary – it is used like this in this verse – or God’s arch-enemy.
What if I tell you that in Christ there is no enemy, there is no Satan?
But we experience Satan or at least his works daily, you say. So do I.
We are very fast to play the experience card in different ways:
- We do not experience healing or wonders or the flow of the Holy Spirit gifts any more, thus we change theology and our believe system and announce that they have ceased.
- We cannot prove the existence of God, the gifts of the Spirit, God talking today, but we experience it. Therefore it must be true.
- We experience the work and impact of Satan, thus he must exist. Not only exist, but be present and powerful.
Experience is a two edged sword. The way to work with it? Get to know the truth – from the bible – and see wether your experience aligns with it. Otherwise change your experience by believing, speaking, and walking out the truth you now know.
Your soul is saved daily – if you work on it. You are to change the way you think. Bring your experience into line with the truth.
OK now, what is the truth?
Satan was dismantled, rendered with no authority when Jesus died for us. Jesus tells us that he now has all authority in heaven and on earth – how much is there left for Satan? And, by the way, why should Jesus give back authority to Satan at any time?
But we do. Wherever we believe that Satan still is in authority, he is. We give him authority that we actually have – it is our inheritance in Christ. But giving the enemy authority is equal to giving him land. Letting go of our possession. Thus the land given away is not under the kingship of Jesus any longer. Therefore it is not in the promised land, the Christ. It just so happened that we gave away a piece of the Kingdom of God to the enemy. We are absolutely allowed to do so – you are a king, nonetheless.
But did you have to do so? By no means. There the enemy was, standing at the gate, underpowered, with no authority. All he had to work with were your memories. He reminded you of your weakness and his strength – both long gone.
Remember, you are strong through him that lives within you. And he is weak, for he lost everything at the cross.
The enemy had to leave heaven. In the old covenant he was still allowed there – see Job for example. Jesus saw him fall – past tense. But you are seated in heaven. You are part of the body of Christ. You are a king in the Kingdom of God. Frankly, my dear – he ain’t here, but you are.
Why do we experience him and his impact then? Because we work and live in an unsaved world. There were enemies outside of Israel at the time of Solomon, but nobody dared to attack.
Things grew bad when Solomon was convinced that he had to secure this peace himself. As it was custom at the time, he became family with the kings around him to keep them from attacking. That way, he let their offspring and their God’s into the kingdom, which influenced himself instead of the other way around.
We have the same problem at times. We believe that we have to secure peace and rest in Christ ourselves, while it truly is a gift from God. We see this in our verse as well as in Hebrews. God will lead us into rest. It is his gift. In Christ.
Whenever we find rest in Christ, we influence the world and expand the Kingdom, take land and push back the enemy.
Another reason we experience the enemy: we don’t believe that he is not here. And not believing the truth is being outside of Christ – in this aspect. Why fight the fight on enemy’s ground. Believe it: there is neither adversary not calamity. And then work on aligning your experiences with this truth. Through faith.
What do you think about this?