The Royal House in Psalm 127

Whose house is Solomon referring to? As the king of Israel, the primary referent is his own dynasty.

Songs of Ascent is the title given to fifteen of the Psalms (120-134) whose theme is drawing near to God on His holy hill for a tryst between heaven and earth.

The fifteen Songs of Ascent constitute two “matrix” cycles. The first works through the pattern of dominion (see Psalm 121 – A Song of Steps), and the second works through the elements of the Tabernacle (see The Final Ascent – Psalm 134). In general terms, the two cycles speak of two ascensions: the “going up” of Israel to conquer the Promised Land, and the subsequent rise of the Davidic dynasty.

Psalm 127 is the Genesis step of the second cycle, laying its foundation with the establishment of the Temple of Solomon as a permanent Eden. Under inspiration, this sanctuary was constructed with two great bronze pillars at its entrance. These were named Jachin and Boaz, and, just like the trees at the center of the Garden of Eden, they represented the offices of priest and king.

But the imagery of the psalm quickly moves from the house of God to the houses of men, the common and the elite, and it culminates at the city gates. The message is that all power and prosperity spring from the Garden and flow from there into the Land and the World.

A Song of Ascents, of Solomon

1. Genesis / Ark of the Testimony: Whose house is Solomon referring to? As the king of Israel, the primary referent is his own dynasty. But as the builder of God’s house, this Ark of the Testimony step also refers to the Temple. Relating to both of these houses, the Genesis allusion is multiform, a panoply against idolatry. The statement contrasts the God-initiated temple of creation, the re-establishment of the house of mankind in Noah, and the foundation of a holy people in the house of childless Abram with the doomed house of Lamech and the tower and city of Nimrod. The word translated “vain” carries the idea of the serpent’s guile that promises a glorious future but instead leads to ruin. Solomon understood that everything rises or falls with our worship. Tragically, like Adam, he allowed his deceived wives to lead his heart astray.
2. Exodus / Veil: Next comes the darkness that covered Egypt as a result of Pharaoh’s moral blindness. In Genesis 15, the promise of offspring occurred as night fell, reminding us of the deep sleep of the man before his bride was made. Solomon expresses the fact that only God can see in the dark. He learned the hard way that only consistent obedience and consultation with the Lord afforded true protection from his enemies (1 Chronicles 22:9; 1 Kings 5:4; 11:9-10, 14, 23, 26).
3. Leviticus / Altar & Table: The land its fruits are represented brilliantly here with allusions to Adamic toil and food on the table. As is common, the Ascension step of the pattern brings a promise of the ultimate and greater rest to be garnered in the Glorification step. The grain and fruit plants on Day 3 were the foundation of the bread and wine of priest-kingdom that Adam and Eve were intended to enjoy in fellowship with the Lord as wise judges between good and evil. Even a powerful king must rest in the good character of God and trust that his Master will provide. The devices used by man to procure nature’s abundance without God’s blessing will always fail.
4. Numbers / Lampstand: This brief “kingdom” statement is another strong cord of many strands. It is the Pentecost step, and “Behold!” alludes to the light of the “lampstand” of God’s commandments (Proverbs 6:23), which were given at the first Pentecost. In Numbers, the idolatry of the Israelites was expressed in adultery with pagan women. Before the Great Flood, Lamech, the world’s first king, established polygamy as the means by which a man might establish a dominant household without waiting upon God to “open the womb.” Solomon ultimately became a far worse polygamist than anyone who preceded him in the Bible, notably breaking all three of God’s laws for Israel’s kings (Deuteronomy 17:16-17). But, as with all appetites, the desire for a legacy is nevertheless God-given, to be fulfilled in God’s way and in God’s time.
5. Deuteronomy / Incense: The dynastic background of the Kingdom step explains the military imagery here. Royal sons, especially loyal ones, were quite literally a long-term defence of the throne. It was so even in the case of Abram’s household and his choice of faithful Eliezer for adoption as his heir. As the Deuteronomy step, this speaks of the “next generation” being prepared to inherit the promises.
6. Joshua / Priest & Laver: The man in the Day 6 step should have been Adam, but his disobedience brought a curse instead of a blessing. His life was spared, and the lives of his wife and offspring, only by an atoning sacrifice made by the Lord. The Conquest step includes both Joshua and Jesus—sons of earth and heaven—as the captains of the Lord’s armies.
7. Judges / Shekinah: In the final step, Booths brings in the ruler’s geopolitical concerns. The marital and martial metaphors are mixed in the cup of the priestly king. In Revelation, the Lord celebrates His marriage to the firstfruits church in heaven while scavenging birds feast upon His adversaries on earth. In the days of Israel’s judges and kings, the Lord “bowed the heavens” down to earth so that the court of God and the courts of men became one, just as they did at Mount Sinai. When the ruler judged righteously, his voice was that of God. That is why Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom. This is also the case in spiritual terms, where the Lord comes to assess and minister to the saints in the sanctuary (Matthew 18:15-20; Revelation 1:10). In our day, the gates of the Church are the gates of the New Jerusalem, the place where the sons of God are to judge between good and evil, and to discipline men and women accordingly (Revelation 22:14-15). Like Adam, we are being trained to judge angels on God’s behalf (1 Corinthians 6:3). But as His human temples, the flaming sword of the cherubim and the glory in the house are now combined in us—in the burning hearts that fuel our tongues of fire.