Metaphysical meaning of Solomon (mbd)
Solomon, sol'-o-mon (Heb.)--whole; entire; complete; integral; peace; concord; integrity; rectitude; soundness; peaceful; pacific.
A son of David by Bathsheba, and king of Israel after David (II Sam. 12:24; I Kings 1:30; 2:12).
Meta. The state of mind that is established in consciousness when the soul is unified with wisdom and love (whole, complete, concord, peaceful).
That Solomon stands for more than a great Hebrew king and a wise man is quite evident to those who have searched deeply in religious and mythological history.
As students who look especially for information about the individual man, we discern in Solomon a development of the presiding genius at the heart center. In Scripture, brain and nerve centers--or, more strictly speaking, thought centers--are designated as cities, and the presiding or ruling intelligence that controls or directs the work of any center, as a personality. Jerusalem (city of peace) stands for the heart center, and Solomon (peaceful man) stands for the presiding intelligence.
When the ruling intelligence is in harmony with the fundamental character of the center, rapid construction of the spiritual body goes on. We are told that David could not build the great Temple because he was a "man of war." When violent and resistant emotions hold sway in the mind, the turmoil is such as to prevent any permanent construction of the new body on the higher planes of consciousness. So we see the importance of cultivating peace instead of war, nonresistance instead of resistance, harmony and love instead of discord and hate.
Solomon was also a great judge. When asked by the Lord what He should give him, Solomon chose wisdom above riches and honor. Then all the other things were added. Solomon was given a rare intuition, and he used it freely in arriving at his judgments. He did not rest his investigations on visible facts, but sought out the inner motives. In the case of the two women who claimed the same infant, he commanded an attendant to bring a sword and cut the child in two and give a half to each woman. Of course the real mother begged him not to do this, and he knew at once that she was the mother.
The symbolic object of Solomon's assembling the head men of Israel (I Kings 8:1-11) is to construct, under the guiding light of divine wisdom, an imperishable body. All constructive processes must be under the guidance of divine wisdom. The "elders," the "heads of the tribes," and the "princes" represent the directive powers to which the various aggregations of thoughts in the subconsciousness look for instruction.
For an interpretation of the inner meaning of the feast of the seventh month (I Kings 8:2) see ETHANIM.
The Ark of the Covenant is the sum total of man's conscious understanding of Truth, combined with faith affirmations and loyalty within and without to the principles of Truth. This covenant was written on tablets of stone, showing that the spiritual law is expressed not only in mind but in body also.
The tent of meeting symbolizes the spiritual-body idea, which has not yet taken permanent form and substance in consciousness. The holy vessels are the true thoughts that lie back of the body organs.
The sacrificing of sheep and oxen means that we must transmute to higher planes of consciousness our animal propensities and the body substance through which they express.
The cherubim represent divine protection, and the spreading wings symbolize the thought of freedom.
The meaning of the cloud that so filled the house of Jehovah that the priests could not stand to minister is that in a realization of the true spiritual principles of life there is no necessity for ritualism or outside worship. The living Christ is all, in all, and through all.
Another interpretation of I Kings 8:1-11, the dedication of the Temple by Solomon, is given as follows:
A "tent" or tabernacle represents a transitory or perishable body built by man before he has brought forth his inherent spiritual faculties sufficiently to enable him to demonstrate eternal life. The "house of Jehovah" is the abiding, spiritualized body of man, the temple of God. This temple is the result of man's bringing forth all his spiritual powers; when man abides in it he can say with Jesus Christ, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."
"The city of David" (Zion) is the subjective consciousness of the individual.
The "ark of Jehovah" represents the inner results of the thoughts that have been harmonized with Principle. The "ark of Jehovah," or of the covenant, was brought up out of the city of David (subconsciousness) because in building the abiding, spiritual body temple it is necessary that all of the accumulated good of the inner consciousness be brought into expression.
The center in consciousness from which this accumulated good radiates and expresses is the heart center, Jerusalem, the city of peace and harmony. The ruling factors in this center are peace and wisdom, represented by King Solomon.
The "holy vessels" in consciousness are the thoughts that lie back of and form the various organs of the body.
The "cherubim," in consciousness, represent the attributes and the majesty of God. They stand for the unfettered truths of Being that must always be present in the holy of holies within us.
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Preceding Entry: sole of your foot
Following Entry: son
