Over
the years I have often said that most of the Bible needs no interpretation, it basically
means what it says. I’m not sure when I heard this quote, but it is one that
has stuck in my mind. “When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense,
seek no other sense.” In other words, the Scripture has only one interpretation
but no doubt, it can have many applications. Especially in the Old Testament,
we have the principle of “double fulfillment”, meaning that a particular prophetic
passage would have an immediate fulfillment, but also have a future fulfilment
in the ministry, work, and Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
This
is what we find in Psalm 72. Literally this Psalm is about King Solomon and his
rule and reign over Israel for 40 years. It was either written by his father David
who prayed this prayer for him and his future reign just before he died, or it
was written by Solomon himself as he remembered his father’s last words. But
the fulfilment of many of the verses in this Psalm can only be found in the future
reign of Jesus over Israel and all the earth during His Millennium reign (Revelation
19-20).
That
being said, in verses 1-7, Solomon would be a “righteous” king. We know he
started out well in this way but for sure he didn’t end well. In the later
years of his rule his heart would turn from Jehovah to the false gods of his many
wives, and his kingdom fell apart shortly after his death. But the complete
fulfilment of these verses is found in the only true Righteous King, Jesus Christ!
In
verses 8-11, we learn that Solomon would have dominion over a large part of the
earth in his time. Remember God had promised
Abraham that he would give his descendants all the land from the River of Egypt
in the south to the Euphrates in the north (Gen. 15:18), and He reaffirmed this
promise through Moses (Ex. 23:31). Both David and Solomon ruled over great
kingdoms (1 Kings 4:21, 24; 1 Chron. 9:26), but neither of them ruled
"from the river [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth" (v. 8). This
privilege is reserved for Jesus Christ (Psalm 2:8; Zech. 9:9-10; Mic. 4:1-5;
Luke 1:33).
David
gained the kingdom through conquest and left it to his son who strengthened it
by means of treaties. His marriages to the daughters of neighboring kings were
guarantees that these nations would cooperate with Solomon's foreign policy.
Even Sheba and the nomadic tribes in Arabia would pay tribute to Solomon, and
so would Seba in Upper Egypt; and kings as far away as Tarshish in Spain would
submit to him. (See 1 Kings 4:21, 34; 10:14-15, 24-25; 2 Chron. 9:23-24.)
But
there is only one King of kings, and that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Isa.
2:1-4; Dan. 7:13-14; Rev. 17:14; 19:16). There can be no peace on earth until
the Prince of Peace is reigning, and the nations have submitted to Him.
In
verses 12-14, we are told that Solomon would have a compassionate reign. The
king of Israel was looked upon as God's shepherd who lovingly cared for God's
flock (Psalm 78:70-72; 100:3; Ezek. 34). Any citizen had access to the king to
get help in solving legal problems, and the king was to make certain that the
local judges were being fair and honest in their decisions. Solomon didn't
reach this ideal even though he had a vast bureaucracy, but unfortunately his
officers didn't always aid the people (Eccl. 4:1).
The
picture here is surely that of our Savior who had such great compassion for the
needy and met their needs (Matthew 9:36). Not only does He hold their blood
(life) precious to Him (v. 14; 116:15), but He shed His own precious blood for
the salvation of the world (1 Peter 1:19). Jesus Christ is the near "kinsman
redeemer" illustrated by Boaz in the book of Ruth. Jesus was the only Holy
and Righteous One, Who had the ability and was willing to completely pay the ransom
price for the redemption of our souls!
Thank
God we are “precious in His sight”.
God bless!
