In today’s text, we are going to see another shift. David has died, and now his son, Solomon, is the king of Israel. Not to jump too far ahead, but Solomon is going to be the last king of a united Israel. What typically happened in the transition of power was that the son would eliminate anyone who had opposed his father. He wanted to establish his place on the throne. This is what we see happening in 1 Kings 2. However, Solomon took a dual approach to establishing his rule. He was just, but he also showed mercy as we will see in our text. 1 Kings 2:36-37 says, “Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, ‘Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere. For it shall be on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.'”
Solomon was both just and merciful. It is in his dual approach, that Solomon portrays the King of kings, Jesus Christ. God’s approach to ruling His creation is a balance of justice and mercy, especially as it relates to you and I. Because He is holy, He would be within His kingly authority to punish us for our rebellion. However, God is often gracious and merciful toward us in that He gives us an opportunity to confess and repent of our sin. Not only this, but He sent Jesus to die in our place. Jesus’ death was not only to pay the sin debt that we owed, but Jesus’ death was also the necessary price to satisfy God’s wrath against our sin. This is why Jesus is referred to in the New Testament as both our Advocate and a Mediator. He pleads our case to His Father on the basis of His death in our place. So, this is the connection to Jesus. But what does this story have to do with you and I?
It is a reminder that we need to learn to show mercy to others as well. The basis of us showing mercy to others is that God has shown mercy to us. Let us be reminded of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt. 5:7). Jesus said, those who show mercy shall obtain mercy. In the book of James, we see the opposite side of this coin. James says that those who don’t show mercy, will themselves not receive mercy (see James 2:13). Therefore, we need to remember when we are dealing with people, that we want to imitate Jesus. If we choose not to show any mercy, then we have no right to expect God to be merciful to us. So, here is a closing question; if the amount of mercy you showed others last week, was the amount of mercy shown to you by God last week, how much mercy would you receive? May we be merciful to those we are with, so that Jesus is glorified and that we may enjoy the bountiful blessing of God’s mercy in our lives.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin