Les D. Crause

What the Solomon Apostle Looks like

Do you know what it is like to be a kid brother, or a kid sister as the case may be? To have a sibling who is older than you, better than you, better looking than you or more popular than you? Have you ever had an older brother or sister that dominated you or looked down on you in any way? Have you ever been the black sheep of your family where it seems like you are the one child that kind of doesn't fit in with the rest? You are different. You don't want to be different, but you are.

If you can identify with any of these then you are well on your way to easily identifying with Solomon, because that was the situation that Solomon grew up in. Solomon was not top of the pile in David's family. He was a 'Johnny-come-lately' who arrived further down the line after David had had all of his main sons. In fact, Solomon was born to a woman whom David acquired as a wife through sin. Solomon's mother was Bathsheba whom David went and committed adultery with while his men were out at war, and sinned before the Lord. God had to rebuke him because of this.

And so Solomon did not exactly grow up with this wonderful heritage and reputation. But he had something that the others didn't have. Solomon had the favor of the Lord. Solomon had had a prophetic word from God. He alone had received a word from the prophet that said, "You are favored of God. The Lord loves you. You are special."

Now I know of somebody way back by the name of Joseph who had this problem as well, where he was favored and his brothers didn't like it. When God has placed His hand upon you and called you to a special ministry the chances are that you are not going to fit in with the rest, and the rest are probably not going to like it very much and are likely to look down on you, especially if they happen to find out that God gave a special prophetic word just for you - dumb little kid brother! Are you beginning to identify with some of this? Perhaps somewhere there have been the early beginnings of a preparation for the ministry of a Solomon apostle.

Early Apostolic Preparation

The first problem that Solomon faced came from his family. And so as we look at the ministry of the Solomon apostle I want to begin by looking at his preparation. The preparation begins way back in childhood. Of course that applies to all of us doesn't it? And so if we look at the life of a Solomon apostle the chances are there have been difficulties starting from childhood, and in order to rise up into that position the chances are you have been pushed down, you have been ignored, you have been rejected and neglected. You have faced a lot of difficulties along the way.

The first obstacle that Solomon faces in rising up to become king is that his elder brother rises up ahead of him. We read it in 1 Kings 1:5. It says:

(5) Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.

(6) And his father had not upset him at any time in saying, Why have you done this? He was also very good looking, and [his mother] bore him after Absalom.

(7) And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they, standing behind Adonijah, supported [him].

Solomon's older brother was a good looking guy. He was confident. He was tall, dark and handsome as the cliché goes. He was born after Absalom, and kind of followed in his footsteps, just like Absalom tried to win the people over with his good looks. Adonijah was in the same category. He was a good looking guy, and the king had never cramped his style.

David had never stood in his way and said, "Now Adonijah, you're being arrogant and proud, boy. Sort yourself out!"

David did not correct his children, but we are not talking about David here. It was one of the biggest mistakes that David made. He did not correct his children, and so poor Solomon, although he knew that God favored him and although he knew that God had called him to be king and to take over from David, the first problem he faced is that his elder brother stood up ahead of him and took the throne. His brother rose up and took what should have been his, and he couldn't do anything about it. He didn't have the looks. He didn't have the confidence. He didn't have the age or the support that Adonijah had.

If God has called you to be a Solomon Apostle you will face those who will try to usurp what God has called you to and who will try to rise up ahead of you. They will put you down and try to make you look like a little nobody, a little kid brother. The tendency will be there to feel insecure and rejected and neglected and say, "Oh well, maybe God didn't really call me after all. I don't have what it takes. I don't have all these good qualities that my brother has."

Solomon didn't try to defend himself, but God vindicated him and lifted him up. If you are a Solomon and you have been facing the preparation through the years, I want to encourage you right now that you do not need to defend yourself. You do not need to vindicate yourself, but God will vindicate you. He will lift you up, and He will put you in the place that He has called you to be. You don't have to use the arm of the flesh to do it. You don't have to rise up and try to get the recognition for yourself. God recognizes you! Just let it go. He will lift you up in His time.

Apostle has Humble Disposition

The Solomon Apostle is not an aggressive guy at all. He is not at all vindictive. That is what makes him so special. He doesn't have to exalt himself and push himself. He is a king that will reign, not with worldly fleshly power, but with the wisdom of God. And as a Solomon apostle you do not need to look for natural qualities. You do not have to say, "Well for me to be an apostle we have this picture of what an apostle should look like. He is this great big austere man that everybody respects and bows to. He is a man with great education and knowledge and capability and good looks, and he has the world at his feet."

You look at yourself and you say, "I don't shape up! How can I ever rise up and be this apostle that God has called me to be?"

You have all the qualities you need. Don't see those as disadvantages. See those as advantages, because it is those qualities of weakness that have given you the possibility of rising up and being a Solomon. God doesn't call the mighty, the wise and the noble to be His leaders. He calls the weak and the gentle and the meek. Just you keep that meek attitude and God will raise you up and vindicate you in His time.

David's Mistakes

David sure made some mistakes didn't he? He did not correct his sons, and not only that but he did not protect Solomon from this eventuality. While David was lying there in bed, an old man and not knowing what was going on in his kingdom, his eldest son had risen up and usurped him.

David accomplished much. He was a man after God's own heart, but he had a lot of weaknesses and he should have allowed for this fact. He should have made it known right at the beginning that Solomon was to take his place, and if David had not been informed about this Solomon may have been killed by his brother and not made it to the throne.

Against the Apostle: Adonijah and the System

Solomon was taken advantage of by David's associates. Who were they? Two of them that Adonijah managed to find who would stand with him. The first one was Joab, the leader and general of David's armies. He had great power and command of the armies. The other one was Abiathar the priest. He had control of the religious side. The one was a naturalistic control, the other a spiritual or religious control.

Adonijah had the System on his side. He had those of repute who stood out and were recognized. After all that is what he was doing wasn't he? He was looking for recognition for himself. He had all of those on his side. You will see people rising up ahead of you, and you will see them being recognized by the System and by those who appear to be somebody out there, by those who appear to be big names out there. They will not recognize little Solomon, but they will recognize the great big wonderful naturally gifted Adonijah.

You will face it and you will stand there and say, "God how can I possibly rise up and be an apostle and lead the Universal Church of God when nobody out there recognizes me? They don't know who I am. They have just cast me aside. They know that you've called me but they don't want me. They want the good-looking guy. They want the guy who has the name. They want the one whose got the look, who has the natural ability. Can't you see they've all chosen him? They have all run after him and they're going to displace me and destroy me." Have you ever felt that way? Hello Solomon apostle! You are showing all the signs.

Abiathar was one of the two priests that David had who carried the Ark originally, and he was the younger of the two. The other priest was Zadok who actually was Abiathar's uncle. So who did his brother choose? He chose the young up and coming modern priest and he chose Joab who always wanted to be the big deal, who always thrived on being on top and destroyed all his opposition before and got rid of them so that he could be the top dog.

Solomon Apostle has Faithful Followers

However, there were some people who remained faithful. The one guy who did not follow his brother was Zadok the priest. The other one was Nathan the prophet, and the third one was one of David's high up mighty men, a man by the name of Benaiah. He was a great leader of a large group of people. They stood with David and Solomon and refused to follow Adonijah.

Who was Nathan the prophet? He was the one who came to David and said, "I've got a word for you from the Lord. God loves Solomon, and he is favored of God." It was as a result of Nathan's prophecy that David knew that God had called Solomon to be king in his place. Nathan stuck to the word that God gave him. He knew it was stupid to follow Adonijah because he would be fighting against God. He was a true man of God who had heard from Him, and God will always have His true prophets and His true followers out there who know the truth and who will recognize the call of God that is upon you and who will not be swayed by the status quo and by the System.

Zadok was a man of wisdom. He was a man who had lived a little bit and seen this whole thing and he wasn't running after some young upstart who was trying to make a name for himself. He had learned a little bit more than that. He had lived with David through this whole thing and he identified far more with David. These three men stood with Solomon and immediately came to give David the truth and to make sure that Solomon rose up. Don't look at the Joabs and the Abiathars. They will come to naught in God's time.

You say, "Well why didn't God stop it in the first place?"

It is because it is part of your preparation Solomon apostle. It is part of the preparation and it is one of the first tests that you will face. Will you stand up and defend yourself, or will you bow in humility and say, "Father it's in your hands. I leave it to you to vindicate me. I leave it to you to lift me up, not to man.".

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