Go Forth....

8 April 2012

Dear Phyllis,

Some really big things happened this past week and I scarcely know what to write. The biggest news is that Jesus has come back to life and is doing an amazing work right here in Thailand today. Today is Resurrection Sunday. It is unthinkable to preach on any other subject than the resurrection. Friday night Pastor Kichikun had a special Good Friday evening service. During the fellowship, I mentioned a verse that has long been a favorite of mine. Kichikun liked it so much, he asked me to preach that message this morning. I wasn't scheduled to preach, and I said that message would be totally out of place on Resurrection morning. He prevailed, so I reluctantly agreed to bring that word.

The message is Song of Sol. 3:11 – “Go forth...and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith His mother crowned Him in the day of His espousal, and in the day of gladness of His heart.” Jesus was called the son of David, and Solomon is clearly a type of Christ. There is no question but what Jesus is the central character in the Song of Solomon, and that marvelous book is the story of the relationship of Jesus with His Bride, the church – Christians. When that book says “behold Solomon” it means “look at Jesus”.

I have never heard anyone preach on it, but there very clearly is a gender in the Bible. The male gender refers to God and the things of heaven. The female gender refers to the things of earth. When the scripture here says “Behold Solomon...with the crown wherewith His mother crowned Him”, it means Jesus' crowning here on this earth.

Adonijah is a type of the devil. We read in 1 Kn. 1:5 “Adonijah...exalted himself and said. 'I will be king'.” This is almost exactly the same thing Lucifer said – “I will ascend... I will exalt my throne...” (Isa. 14:13). Adonijah emulated the spirit of the devil when he tried to pull a coup to overthrow the government. He got Joab and Abiathar to work with him and anoint him as king. In this, he wisely got the backing of the military with Joab, and the backing of religion with Abiathar the priest. With this, he had the best shot at pulling off a successful coup.

Four years ago Prime Minster Taksin was out of Thailand. One morning Bangkok woke up to find tanks sitting in front of all the major government buildings. They sent Taksin an e-mail saying that he need not bother to come home again. Thailand had one of its several military coups. Adonijah pulled that stunt, and they were having a celebration party.

The prophet Nathan got wind of it, and spoke to Solomon's mother, Bathsheba. He told her, “If Adonijah gets by with this, we are all dead meat”. She and Nathan spoke to David who was old in bed. David gave instruction for Nathan to take another priest, Zodak, and Benaiah, one of David's mighty men, and to anoint Solomon quietly in Gihon. The counter measure worked and the whole city of Jerusalem was celebrating. When the news of the celebration got to Adonijah's party, suddenly all the guest remembered that they had an important engagement elsewhere.

Sometime later, after Solomon had cleaned out all the opposition, and was firmly established as king over Israel, they decided to have another coronation ceremony to properly crown him king. So they made Solomon king the second time (1Ch. 29:22).

This is a marvelous picture of Christ who will be crowned King twice. The first time was in a quiet ceremony, at a contested time, by His mother (His crowning here on earth). The second time will be by His Father when all opposition is underfoot.

But what a coronation ceremony He had here! I have spoken to you several times about the Inverted Kingdom. I have seen that the laws of the Kingdom of God are opposite to the natural laws of this world. Down is up, give is get, die is live, surrender is win, etc. There is nothing that demonstrates this principle more than the life of Christ. From His birth on, everything in His life was dead backwards from what you would expect. He was the King of the universe. Here was the Creator God manifest in the flesh. There isn't a palace or hospital on this planet high enough to be worth of having Him born there. Where was He born? In a barn!

One third of the four gospels are devoted to the last week of the life of Christ. That last week was easily the most important period of His life. It began with the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. If you had asked any well taught Bible scholar in Christ's day, “What is the sign of the coming of Israel's king?”; they should be able to reply, Zech. 9:9 – “Rejoice ...behold thy King cometh into thee; He is just having salvation: lowly, and riding upon a colt, the foal of an ass”. All four gospels cover the Triumphal Entry and Matthew and John say that this was the fulfillment of that prophecy. What we have here is the coronation of the King of Israel, which was an event that lasted one week. It began with His triumphal entry and culminated in His enthronement as king.

In time of royal coronations there is a national celebration that goes on for days. I remember when Queen Elizabeth was crowned queen of England in 1953, and when Akahito was crowned Emperor of Japan 23 years ago. These were huge events. Last year we saw the marriage of Prince William in England. The pageantry of that was a TV spectacular. For a royal coronation, kings, prime minsters, and presidents come from around the world. In former days, just the trip would take weeks, and so the coronation festival would last for several days. Christ's coronation was a one week event. But what a beginning!

For most coronations they have gold plated horse drawn carriages. The most minimal gesture is a red carpet. But when Israel's King made His entry He had to borrow a donkeys colt. His saddle was a dirty jacket, and the red carpet was jackets and palm leaves. For such pageants, they always have trumpets and royal singers announcing his arrival. Who were the heralds for Israel's king? Children! That was the most bazaar thing you could imagine.

Neither time nor space will permit me to go into details of all the events that happened during that coronation week, but may I simply suggest two state dinners that were held. One was at the house of a leper where Jesus was anointed by a woman (Mk. 1:1-8). All the dignitaries at that dinner (the disciples) thought the anointing was disgusting, and said “What a waste!”. The other state dinner was the last supper where the King wrapped Himself with a towel, and washed the guest feet because no one else would do it (Jn. 13:1-5).

The coronation ceremony itself was the event of history. He was arrested and mistreated all night in a mock trial. Early the next morning He was delivered to Pilate to be sentenced for execution. Pilate knew He was innocent, and tried to release Him; but the Jewish priest said, “If you let this Man go you are no friend of Caesars. He calls Himself King.” (Jn. 19:12). That did it.

Pilate turned Him over to a band of sadistic soldiers. These were the high dignitaries to crown the King. They took Him in a common hall, striped Him of His garment, and placed a royal scarlet robe on Him. This was the royal robe of the King. Then they crowned Him. His royal crown was thorns! This has a connection to Gen. 3:18. There were no thorns in the Garden of Eden. Thorns were the result of Adams sin. It is highly significant that Jesus was crowned with the fruit of the curse on Adam.

Then they placed a reed in His hand for His royal scepter. All kings have scepters. It is the symbol of their kingly power. There are many pictures of the king of Thailand in various settings. But in his kingly setting he never stands there with his hands in his pockets. He always has his hand on his sword or scepter. The reed is a mocking symbol of the weakness of his kingship. There is a vast difference between a hickory or oak stick and a reed. A good wooden stick had some ring to it, but a reed is worthless. That was the scepter placed in the hands of Israel's King when he was crowned. Then they spit on Him, and mocked Him.

The final act was to place Him on His Throne. What a Throne! His Throne was a Cross. Over that Throne was a sign, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. This was the crowning by His mother; Jesus' coronation on this earth.

But Song of Sol. 3:11 says it was the day of His espousal. It was. This is the day Jesus bought His wife. In this, Adam is a type of Christ. To get a wife for Adam, God put him to sleep, and then took a bone out of his side. In like manner, Jesus died. When the soldier thrust the spear into the side of Jesus, Blood and water gushed out (Jn. 19:34). It was by His Blood that we have been purchased, and water, in the Bible, is a type of spirit (Jn. 7:38,39). It was because Jesus paid the debt by His Blood, now He could send His Spirit. This was the birth of the Church. The church is a phenomenon that was never previously on this planet. In the OT the nation of Israel were the people God. There were others also saved, that we will see in heaven But the Body of Christ is different. It is unique. It is that gathering of all believers world wide, that have been purchased by His Blood, and in which the very Spirit of Christ lives in their heart. This is literally the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22,23).

The last thing that S of S 3:11 says of Christ is that “this was the day of gladness of His heart”. That is a very difficult thing to say about the crucification. But the answer to that is found in Heb. 12:2 where we read; “Looking unto Jesus...who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross...”. Jesus certainly didn't enjoy being crowned with thorns, the scourging, the spitting, and being nailed to the Cross; but He knew why He was there, and what He was accomplishing. He knew that the work He was doing was to gain His Bride.

This was the day He was crowned by His mother. But like Solomon, who was a type of Christ, He also knew that there was another day coming when He would be crowned the second time. The first time was hidden from the view of humanity when the kingdom was contested. But someday all opposition will be put away. Jesus alone will be properly seated on the highest Throne in Heaven. In one sense He already is there. In Revelation 4 and 5, John tells us that the first thing he saw in heaven was a Throne and One who sat on that Throne. The Lamb had yet to open the Seven Seals. But the day will come when the last seal will be opened and all opposition will be put to silence. We know that the day will come when every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Lord to the glory of God (Ph. 2:11). Jesus will be King.

That was a strange message to bring on the anniversary of our Lord's resurrection. Thank God that Jesus came and accomplished the destruction of the devil by His Cross. The devil's coup failed. Who would ever believe that this was God's way for the triumph of Christ. But in His kingdom everything is inverted.

Praise God – He is risen!!! Amen.

bill