1 Kings 9-11:8
Kingdom, Come • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 17:14-17
1 Kings 9-11:8
1 Kings 9-11:8
Last Week We Looked at Chapters 5-8
They Dealt with Solomon Building the Temple
(5 Pictures of the Temple)
Up to this Point, Things have Been Going Incredibly Well for Israel…
Under the Reign of Solomon
Overall, Solomon Seems to Be a Godly, Faithful, Devoted King
We’ve Seen Little Glimpses Here and There…
Of Things that Need to Be Corrected
But for the Most Part, Things are Going Great for Israel
We’ll Still See the Splendor of Israel in Our Text…
But, Unfortunately, that isn’t Going to Last
Solomon and His Paradise Kingdom…
Are About to Come Tumbling Down
And the First 9 Verses of Chapter 9…
Are a Foreshadowing of Why that’ll Be the Case
1 Kings 9:1–9 (NIV)
1 When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.
3 The Lord said to him: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’
6 “But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 9 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’ ”
God’s Message to Solomon Started Off Positive
“I’ve Kept My Promises and I’ve Heard Your Prayers”
“If You Remain Faithful, Blessings will Continue”
“But”
“If You Disobey and Practice Idolatry…”
“This Temple You Just Built will Fall”
“Israel’s Access to God’s Presence will Be Gone”
And, Unfortunately, it Doesn’t Take Long…
Until We Start to See Solomon’s Disobedience
1 Kings 9:15–21 (NIV)
15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
20 There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites). 21 Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day.
Everything is Backwards/Upside Down
Israel was Supposed to Destroy the Canaanites in the Land…
But They Failed to Capture Gezer
But Now Egypt Comes in and Does What Israel Couldn’t
Then Solomon Builds Storage Cities…
For All of His Many Horses and Chariots
This is in Direct Opposition to God’s Command
Not Only Does Solomon Acquire Lots of Horses and Chariots for Himself…
He then Enslaves All the Foreign People Left in the Land…
And Forces Them to Build His Storage Cities
That’s Exactly What Pharoah Did to Israel in Exodus
They Made Them Slaves and Forced Them to Build Storage Cities
Solomon has Reversed the Roles of Israel and Egypt
He’s Become the New Corrupt and Wicked Pharoah
And Israel has Become the New Rich and Powerful Egypt
Chapter 9 Ends with Looking at Some of Solomon’s Other Building Projects
In Chapter 10, We Read About the Queen of Sheba Visiting Solomon
(Map of Where Sheba is Located)
She Doubted the Reports She’d Heard…
About Solomon’s Wisdom and Israel’s Splendor
She Wanted to See it All for Herself
1 Kings 10:4–9 (NET)
4 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, the palace he had built, 5 the food in his banquet hall, his servants and attendants, their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed.6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true! 7 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn’t hear even half the story! Your wisdom and wealth surpass what was reported to me. 8 Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy!9 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions.”
She Gives Glory to God for the Wealth, Splendor, and Wisdom of Solomon
But the Bitter Irony is:
Solomon isn’t Going to Live Up to His Purpose
And We’ll See that to Be True in Chapter 11
The Rest of Chapter 10 Continues to Detail…
The Riches and Splendor of Solomon’s Kingdom
We See Details Like:
Solomon’s Throne was Made of Ivory Overlaid with Gold
All of His Drinking Cups were Made of Gold
Silver wasn’t Even Considered Valuable
It was as Common as Stone in Jerusalem
People From All Over the World Came Bringing Treasures to Him
He was the Greatest King on Earth in Terms of Riches and Wisdom
Then We Reach Chapter 11…
Where Everything Comes Crashing Down
Here’s Where We See More Disobedience From Solomon…
And LOTS of Idolatry
1 Kings 11:1–8 (CSB)
1 King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women 2 from the nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn your heart away to follow their gods.” To these women Solomon was deeply attached in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives who were princesses and three hundred who were concubines, and they turned his heart away.
4 When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. 5 Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, and unlike his father David, he did not remain loyal to the Lord. 7 At that time, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, and for Milcom, the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites, on the hill across from Jerusalem. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and offering sacrifices to their gods.
Not Only Did Solomon Multiply Gold, Silver, Horses, and Chariots for Himself…
He Also Multiplied Wives for Himself
If this Number is Meant to Be Taken Literally…
He had 1000 Wives
Many of Which were Attained By Marriage Alliances
Solomon is Breaking Every Single Command…
That God Set for the Kings of His People
Then, in His Old Age, Solomon Allowed…
His Wives to Turn His Heart/Allegiance Away From God
He Began Worshiping/Serving Many Other Gods
It Doesn’t Take a Bible Scholar to Guess What’s Going to Happen Next
The Glory Days of Israel are Coming to an End
Application
Application
There are Many Lessons We could Learn From Solomon in this Passage
But One Lesson that I Think is Worth Considering is:
Don’t Turn Your Blessings into Gods
When Solomon Asked God for Wisdom…
God Rewarded Him By Not Only Giving Him Wisdom…
But Riches and Glory as Well
God had Blessed Him Immeasurably
And There’s Nothing Wrong with having Wealth and Glory
They were Blessings From God
Where Solomon Went Wrong was:
He Began Loving/Pursuing the Blessings…
More Than the God Who Gave Them
God Gave Him More Than He would Ever Need…
But He Wanted More
And He Began Disobeying God’s Direct Orders…
In Order to Gain More
What God Meant to Be Wonderful Blessings…
Solomon Turned into Gods Themselves
Solomon should have Been Grateful and Content
But, Instead He Gave Glory to Other Gods…
And Continued to Seek More
The Scriptures have a Lot to Say About Contentment…
But One of My Favorite Passages is in Paul’s Letter to Timothy
1 Timothy 6:8–11 (CSB)
8 If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
As Followers of Jesus…
We Ought to Be Content/Thankful with having Our Needs Met
But When We Seek After More and More…
Our Desires Lead Us Right into a Trap of Our Own Destruction
A Life Filled with the Constant Desire for More…
Is a Life of Sorrow and Grief
And Solomon is About to Find that Out
1 Timothy 6:17–19 (CSB)
17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, 19 storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.
This would have Been Wonderful Advice for Solomon
But if We’re Being Honest…
We Need this Advice Just as Much
We shouldn’t Trust in Our Wealth…
Or Become Arrogant in Any Glory We May Receive
Our Trust should Be in Jesus
And the Only Thing We have to Brag About…
Is Jesus
We’ll Never Be Able to Store Up Riches for Ourselves By Seeking Them
We’ll Never Gain Honor/Glory By Seeking it
The Only Way to Store Up Everlasting Treasures for Ourselves…
And Be Given Everlasting Honor/Glory…
Is Through Good Works and Generosity…
A Life of Abundance and Honor has Been Promised to Us…
In the Age to Come
But, in Order to Receive it…
The Focus of Our Praise and Honor…
Must Be on the Giver of Our Blessings…
And Not the Blessings Themselves