Meet me in First Kings chapter one, where we left off, verse
11, First Kings one, verse 11. And as returning there, allow me
to give you a brief recap from the 1st 11 verses of this
chapter. David, we are told, is very old
in age, so old and he is ready to depart from this world.
One of David's sons by the name of Adenija sees this as a great
opportunity to seize the throne for himself.
Though he was not the king chosen to succeed his father,
his pride was so inflated, his ego was so great that he thought
that he can actually thwart the purpose of God, and so he
attempts to overthrow the purpose of God for the people of
Israel, which is a very sad thing for Adenija to do.
Does anybody know what the name Adenija means?
You can probably guess based on his name if you understand basic
Hebrew words. Adonai ya.
Any guess?
No more specific Daniel, you're not allowed to answer.
Did you hear it? The Lord is Jehovah or my Lord
is Jehovah. That is what David named his son
telling me and you that he had great hopes for Adonaija.
Did he not that he would live to serve God, honor God, reflect
the character of God, and instead Adonaija resists God,
challenges the will of God, exalts himself as king.
Which tells me that it doesn't matter what kind of hopes and
dreams, as godly as they are, you have for your children.
David named him Adonaija. But David didn't do his part as
a father to discipline Adonaija. He did not fulfill his role as a
father to chastise him, admonish him, rebuke him, correct him,
and direct him. And so now we see the maturity
of a of a unhinged boy who now is a man who can make adult
decisions. And all his life he has never
been told no. And so what's going to stop him
from saying and from pursuing something that doesn't belong to
him? And things seem to be promising
for Adenija because he was able to recruit people and two
prominent figures. Who are the two prominent
figures that Adenija was able to recruit?
Job is 1. And the other.
Yeah, sorry, the priest. So you have the commander of
David's army, and you have one of the chief priests in David's
camp now switching their allegiance over to Adenija.
There are other key figures who are with him and they are
celebrating his self promoting coronation at a legend, verse 9.
Sacrifice sheep oxen and fat and cattle by the serpent stone
which is beside and Rogle. And he invited all his brothers,
the king, sons, and all the royal officials of Judah.
But he did not invite Nathan the Prophet or Benaiya or the mighty
man or Solomon his brother. This looks pretty promising, and
it often does when you and I choose to resist the will of
God, oppose God, and to live according to our selfish
desires. It would be alive for me to
stand here tonight and tell you that there is no pleasure in
sin. There is pleasure in sin.
But Hebrews 11 is very careful to tell us that that pleasure is
fleeting. It's a season of reward, It's a
season of promise, but it's very short lived and the reward is
not really reward to begin with. Adam and I just plans are going
to crash and burn very quickly. And for the rest of this chapter
we're going to see how his plans are actually going to be
overturned by God's sovereign power and the primary ways
through one of David's most faithful friends, Nathan.
So let's read what happens now In verse 11 the Nathan said to
Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, Have you not heard that Adonija
the son of Haggeth has become king, and David our Lord does
not know it. Now therefore, come, let me give
you advice that you may save your own life and the life of
your son Solomon, going out once to King David, and say to him,
did you not, my Lord the king, swear to your servant saying,
Solomon, your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my
throne. Why then is Adam I Jack words?
Let's pray. Lord, your word is before us.
We are eager to understand your mind and your heart.
Give us the grace. Give us the spirit of wisdom and
revelation that we may know you and be conformed to your image
and walk in greater obedience to your purposes.
For our lives. We sincerely pray this together
as a church family. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen. Nathan.
Nathan realizes that Anaija is doing something quite dangerous,
something that David and the Kingdom of Israel has seen
before. And so Nathan reports about this
with emergency protocol. And right from verse 11, we have
something to learn. Nathan, as a faithful servant of
God, teaches us that as also servants of God, it is our duty
to expose sin. It's our duty to expose sin.
It's our duty to expose the darkness in the world.
It's our duty to expose sin in a brother or sister's life.
It's our duty to continually come to the presence of God and
allow His Word and His people to expose our sin.
But in the case of a community, in the case of let's say in our
context the local church, Nathan provides an example that there
are times where it is our responsibility to make known
things that are probably not known to others who are in
danger of not knowing it. Nathan here sees and understands
that if Adenide continues in the pattern that he is walking in,
there will be a massive disruption in the Kingdom.
And understanding the potential consequences of this, Nathan,
make sure, and he makes it a priority to bring this news to
those who would be at risk if this continues on.
And in like manner. As I just said, there are
moments and there are circumstances and there's the
nature of certain sins that demands us to be vigilant and
willing to be uncomfortable to deal with matters before they
get really ugly. In my brief time in ministry,
I've learned something very quickly that there are problems
in the local church. Usually, if not most of the
time, if not all the time, it's relational problems, right?
And most of those relational problems are very complicated to
untangle. They become very knotted.
And one of the reason why they become so knotted is because
parties involved who are aware of the issue were unwilling to
take the stance and expose certain sins, whether that sin
be slander, whether that sin be the spread of doctrinal error,
whether that sin be strife among parties within the Church.
Often times the reason why things get to a place where
there is damage, sometimes severe damage, that can cause
even trauma and and distress and broken relationships on the long
run, is because again, there are some who are unwilling to get
uncomfortable and to put themselves out there to say this
is wrong. We have to deal with this.
Nathan didn't care because Nathan understood that, one, it
was his duty and two, that there would be, there would be blood
on his hands and other people's hands based on what he
understood. And so the way that you and I
are going to see peace and protection in our family, in our
church family, it's not to be nosy individuals, it's not to
sniff out sin in people's lives. But when there is legitimate
concern within the church that we take the appropriate steps to
cut Satan schemes short. And one of the best ways to do
that is that when he attempts to sow discord among the brethren.
That you and I surfaced that while it is still in seed form,
I was meditating on Nathan's actions here.
And there were so many examples that came to mind.
And one example that came to mind.
Just a brief observation that I would like to bring to your
attention, but it it shows how significant that step can make,
what kind of what kind of reward and blessing and security it can
provide if we are people who honor the culture that Jesus
called us to have as a church. And what did he say, Matthew 18?
That if a brother sins, you rebuke him, you approach him,
and it becomes a community effort to ensure that sin does
not have breath to breathe in our midst.
That's the culture Jesus wants us to have.
One of humble, sincere, broken, loving, confrontation when
necessary, exposure of sin when necessary.
Did you know the Apostle Paul had his sister?
Anybody know that? Anybody know the impossible?
Had a sister? Can I show it to you in the
scriptures? Go to Acts 23.
I love quoting Acts 2311 whenever teaching about the
Providence and sovereign will of God for our lives in Acts 2311.
This is where Jesus appears to Paul when he was in prison in
Jerusalem and was promised. You must also testify about me.
Where? Where was Paul supposed to
testify at that point? Rome.
You're going to Rome, Paul, I assure.
You're going to Rome. And immediately after we're told
that, we're told that this band of Jews who conspired and came
up with a plot to kill Paul. And there was more than 40 who
even faceted until it was accomplished.
And so they had this whole plot to try to get Paul to, to enter
into a certain region, for them to create an ambush and to take
his life. And then we're told of an
interesting character, somebody who flashes into the scriptures
and then disappears just as quickly.
It's in verse 16 now. The son of Paul's sister, Paul
had his sister, and Paul had a nephew.
Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush.
So he went and entered the barracks and told Paul, let's
look at this from a heavenly perspective.
This is an encouragement to you and I, Paul's nephew, unnamed,
never to be seen again. Oh, there's so much to say about
Paul's nephew, even in this one verse.
But from a heavenly perspective, we see that Paul's nephew chose
us. God's eyes and ears are
everywhere, and if you, like Paul, are serving the Lord, you
have nothing to worry about. Even when the enemy is brewing
up a scheme against you, God's already ahead of it.
He already knows about it, he already sees it, he already
considers it, and he already knows what he's going to do
about it. You have nothing to fear every
waking and sleeping moment of your life.
Because what I see here is that in Providence, nobody knows how
Paul's nephew heard about this. Nobody knows how he was.
It's just Providence. He was at the right place at the
right time. He received the news and he
brought it to Paul. Paul was able to pass that to
the Roman soldiers and they were able to evade a disaster.
God's eyes and ears are everywhere for his glory.
For your good. But let's look at this from a
human standpoint. Paul's nephew here, and
understanding what he has seen in this moment felt the urgency
to make this problem known and it saved Paul's life.
It saved Paul's life. When we are willing to get
uncomfortable, to expose and to correct, to bring things to even
spiritual authority for the sake of the preservation of the
unity, the love and the holiness of God's people, we could be
saving so much. I'm telling you you, you don't
know how many people I've talked to that are aware of certain
things. People committing spiritual
suicide. People committing spiritual
collateral damage and for fear of I don't know what they're
unwilling to step forward and say in the name of Christ, in
the name of His Holiness and the name of unity.
I have to say something, whether it be stripe, slander, doctrinal
error, anything and everything in between.
But Nathan here makes that decision, and and it's really
the hinge to what we're about to discover.
And his wisdom is proven further by this.
He comes to Bathsheba, not amazing Nathan, a prophet of
God. Knowing what this woman's past
was. He's the one who exposed the sin
between Bathsheba and David. And here's a man who's still
willing to relate to her, to work with her, to care for her.
Nathan was more than just a courageous, fearless man of God
who exposed sin. He was a man who was also
willing to relate to those who have repented of their sin, no
matter how grotesque their sin was.
What a man of God he he brings in Bathsheet and he says listen,
your life is in danger, Your son Solomon's life is in danger.
You need to listen to me. You need to go into your
husband's chamber. You need to ask him what
happened to the plan that you told me about that God had given
you. Where is this going?
And while you're explaining that I'm going to walk in at the
right time and I'm going to confirm, I'm going to confirm
your words. Now.
Why? Why this scheme?
Why this whole plan? Any ideas why?
Why didn't Nathan just barge into the chamber and
thunderously announced to David? Hey, listen, you're in trouble.
You're negligent here. We got to get things into order.
Why didn't he just do that? Any idea why?
Why work with Bathsheba? This is very good.
We're going to get to that in a moment.
There's something about David. There's a weakness in David that
required this kind of approach. So let's talk about the two
things. I think the first thing is
David's ignorance. So what are we told here in
verse 12, verse 11? Rather David at the end of it.
Our Lord does not know it. He's unaware, he's ignorant and
so this requires a specific kind of approach, right?
We have to come and make this known to him.
But more than just his ignorance, there is a weakness.
What's David's weakness when it comes to his children?
We learned about it last week, verse six of chapter one.
What is it? His father had never at any time
displeased him being out of Niger by asking why have you
done thus? And so David had already proven
that he has a history of not willing to confront and
discipline his children. More than that, he always seemed
to believe the best about his children.
He always had that kind of hope and desire, and even if they did
wrong, even in in the face of obvious evil and disobedience,
he was reluctant to deal with them.
Nathan is David Trent. Nathan has seen this throughout
the decades, and so he understands that in order for
this to be something that David considers, we have to present it
with urgency. And so, Bathsheba, you go in and
then I'm going to come in and confirm it, and together we're
going to bring this to David's attention for him to not be so
quick to deny it or downplay it, right.
Vividly speaking also in Duran, we were told that through two
witnesses, I think is established right?
So Nathan comes with this plan. Bathsheba is willing to listen.
So Bathsheba does, and let's read it.
Here Bathsheba went and verse 15 to the king and his chamber.
Now the king was very old, and Abhishek the Shunamite was
attending to the king. Bathsheba bowed and paid homage
to the king. And the king said, Why do you?
What do you desire? She said to my Lord, You swore
to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, Solomon, your son
shall rain after me, and he shall sit on my throne, And I'll
behold that. And I just came, although you,
my Lord king, did not do not know it.
He has sacrificed oxen, fat and cattle and sheep in abundance,
and has invited all the sons of the king.
Have you asked the priests? And Job the commander of the
army? But Solomon, you're serving.
He is not invited. And now, my Lord the king, the
eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who shall sit on the
throne of my Lord the king after him.
Otherwise it will come to pass. When my Lord the king sleeps
with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted
offenders. Bathsheba listens.
And again, Nathan here, by what he's saying to Bathsheba, is
providing us yet more principles of what we should do, what we
should do with somebody who is ignorant and through their
ignorance or causing problems. And if they are weak, if they
are frail, if they do lack courage, if they do lack
boldness and stepping out in obedience and dealing with
things, what are the I'm reading something okay.
What are the three things you that stand out to me?
Maybe more or less, but I see that when Nathan instructs
Bathsheba, he first tells her to go respectfully.
And she does. These are wonderful lessons
about how to confront respectfully Bathsheba, verse
16, bowed and paying homage to the king.
So she comes with the sense of honor.
She comes with the sense of respect.
But more than respect, she comes carefully and at least with his
advice, he he brings the Bathsheba a format.
And the format was bring it in the forms of questions.
Remember we had her Q&A. Somebody asked how do I?
How do I confront with somebody in regarding to their sense?
Ask questions, even even with evidence.
Give them a chance to come clean.
Give them a chance to be honest. Give them a chance to prove
their integrity and their repentance.
Ask questions. And sometimes when people are in
error, we assume that they do things intentionally.
And when you come with questions, you might learn that
they were doing it really just out of ignorance and foolishness
and a lack of understanding, so respectfully, carefully, but
also urgently, urgently. The most unloving thing that you
and I can do when somebody is clearly in error is to prolong
and to delay. Our willingness to confront them
because of whatever selfish reason that puts that delay can
even cause more harm. Has anybody here ever eaten at a
restaurant and you were devouring your lunch?
So much so that there was something in your teeth and you
went through that whole day fellowship, been going out for
ice cream after the fact, All that's come into your car, put
down the mirror and realize that there's something in there?
Why didn't anybody tell me? Right.
Why didn't anybody tell me about the smudge on my face?
Isn't it a nice thing when somebody says, hey brother, you
got something here. Hey, brother, sister, you got
something here. You've done it, haven't you?
You've seen it and you've just like, I'm not going to deal with
that. Just let them figure it out
themselves. There's something about us that
we we really, most people are not confrontational and
unfortunately that transfers over spiritually.
If if I see correction in that way, as as much as that's a
simple example, that's a gift. If you come up to me, say
something, brother to see your brother.
This is this like this. Can you fix it?
I say thank you for that. I didn't want to continue in
that way. I appreciate it.
I look silly. I look wrong.
I look like I didn't take care of myself.
I look like I don't care about my hygiene.
I appreciate that. Thank you.
Well, take correction the same way.
It's a gift. It's a gift.
Thank you for that. I didn't see.
I didn't know. My attitude was.
I didn't know. I didn't know I was.
That's how I came off when I say certain things.
Thank you for that. Don't get all uptight.
And if they love you, if they're in Christ, and bless them for
that, respectfully, carefully, urgently.
Bathsheba tries to obey. She tries to do it the way that
she was instructed to do it. And so she comes to her husband,
and she tells him with warning in verse 20.
Now, my Lord the king, the eyes of all Israel on you to tell
them who shall sit on the throne of my Lord the king after him.
Otherwise it will come to pass. When my Lord the king sleeps
with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted
offenders. Like, listen, if you don't take
this seriously, people will die. I will die.
Your son Solomon will die. Do you understand the
repercussions? Do you see how serious your
delay is? When God wants to spring us into
action, when we are in that place of whether that be
weakness or hesitation or ignorance, He will often often
use how we use Nathan, a messenger of the word.
That's his primary means through sessions like this, where God's
worth is being brought forth. And pray that the preachers of
this place and preachers across this land are men who are filled
with the Holy Spirit. So they don't just give nice
lessons, but they speak with power and insight and
sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, so they can actually speak into
people's lives through the word of God.
That's how the Lord speaks to us, to stir us, right?
But that's not the only way the Lord can uproot us from a a
place of concern to a place of His desired will and purpose.
God has many means, and He is so acquainted with you and I that
He knows how to bring us where He needs to bring us.
One of my favorite examples of that truth, which I praise God
for, is the early church in the book of Acts.
God gave clear directions of their evangelistic outreach of
the regions they were to cover, and that's found in Acts 18.
You're very familiar with that, right?
What are we told in Acts 18? Where were they supposed to
start with the gospel? Jerusalem.
And then where? Judea.
Very good. And then where very good.
And then the ends of the earth. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria.
The ends of the earth? That's what the Lord said for
the first seven chapters. Where were they?
Jerusalem. They made no progress to the
outside regions. They stayed in Jerusalem, for
whatever reason, there was some form of stagnation.
What did the Lord do to get them to Judea and Samaria?
So we love Acts 18. Go to Acts 81 and you'll see how
God brought them from where they were staying to where they
needed to be. And just look at the ways of
God. Look at the means of God.
Look at the Providence of God, and that it caused your heart to
rejoice. He didn't send another Angel.
He didn't make his voice from Acts 18 be heard again in the
churches. He does this in Acts 81.
In Acts 81, we're told, and Saul approved of his execution.
And there arose on that day a great not just persecution, a
great persecution against the church in Jerusalem.
And they were all scattered throughout the regions of where
Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
How many? How am I going to get this
church, my church, to get to Judea and Samaria?
Ah, persecution. Not a prophet, not a messenger.
Persecution. You want God to lead your life
in mine, huh? Very strange, the way he leads
us. Very strange the way he brings
us from one place to the next. So God wants you to get
somewhere. And what does he do?
It's not a promotion. You get fired.
What's this all about? And how many scenarios can we
give where it seems to be a negative?
It seems to be a resistance. It seems to be a challenge.
When in fact it's the doorway. It's the doorway.
And so God knows how to get your attention, especially if you
didn't hear Him after the 1st 10 sermons after the 15 Bible
studies to move you. Isn't it a wonderful thing to be
in the will of God? Isn't it a wonderful thing to be
a child of God? He patiently knows how to lead
us sometimes, even if it's there's some bruises that need
to come with it ultimately so that we can be conformed to His
will. All things work together for the
good of those who are called according to His purpose.
All things. And so here's David.
He has his world shook, so to speak, and he has to deal with
this. And So what happens, Verse 22,
while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the
prophet came in right according to plan.
And they told the king here is Nathan the prophet.
And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king
with his face to the ground. Let me pause and just say this.
Earlier we praised Nathan for being a person, a prophet,
willing to care for and love someone like Bathsheba of all
people. David, right?
But I also see something praiseworthy of David here is
David still near the end of his life, clinging to Nathan as a
friend, having his life open to a friend like Nathan still.
Do you know why that's significant?
If you remember when we were introduced to Nathan, we studied
how every mention of Nathan in connection to David, every
mention of David and Nathan together, Nathan is giving David
some kind of direction. Second Samuel Chapter 7, when
when David wanted to build a temple.
Second Samuel chapter 12 when David was in sin and Nathan
rebukes him. And now we see him here in First
Kings near the end of his life. He's telling him what to do.
That's a real friend. That's someone that you should
have in your life. I hope you have a person in your
life that is loving enough to speak into your life, even if it
cuts you at 1st. That draws you closer to the
will of God, not away from the will of God.
I hope you have someone like that, that whenever you hang out
with them, you want to be godlier.
Whenever you hang out with them, Do you have anybody like that?
Whenever you talk to me, like, man, I want to read my Bible
now. I have friends like that.
It's like I don't know my Bible. I didn't see it that I got to go
back and read or or somebody's just that person makes me want
to pray. A person wants me to be, makes
me want to be more holy, more committed, more zealous.
Ask God for that kind of a friend.
And when you have that kind of, and if you do have that kind of
a friend, if you do have that kind of a church, don't take it
for granted. Thank God for that.
Praise God for that. David made a willful choice.
He had the authority to kill him if he wanted to.
He was the king. Prophets have been slain before
for standing up against disobedient kings.
But this king says you're my friend.
In fact, one of David's children was named Nathan.
I wonder if he named them after his friend.
And there's evidence here that perhaps David did praise God for
Nathan in some way. Because look here.
So Nathan says. Now let's read it.
There's a lot of verses, by the way, he says here, verse 24.
Nathan said, My Lord the king, have you said I don't?
I just shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne free
has gone down this day. And I sacrifice oxen fattened
cattle and sheep and abundance, and has invited all the King's
sons the commanders of the army, and have you after the priest.
And behold they're eating and drinking before him.
And saying, Long live king out of Nyjah.
But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Bennaya the son
of Jehodia and your servant, solemn he is not invited.
Has this thing being brought about my Lord by my Lord the
king and you have not told your servants who should sit on the
throne of my Lord the king after him?
You see the attitude. Hey, David, King did you did
something change And we're not not.
He didn't point his finger. The way is confronting so much
wisdom. Look what David does.
Then King David answered call Bathsheba to me.
So she came into the King's presence and stood before the
King. And the king swore saying, As
the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity,
as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying,
Solomon, your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my
throne in my place. Even so will I do this day.
Notice the explosive praise before the promise that Solomon
will succeed him. Look at this beautiful
declaration as the Lord lives who has redeemed my soul out of
every adversity. David has gone through a lot of
adversity, has he? Not a lot, whether that be
foreign armies or internal betrayals and strife, his
fatherinlaw, his son, other people from different tribes.
This man went through a series of adversities, and yet at this
time he pauses. He lifts his heart to heaven,
and he said the Lord. The Lord redeemed my soul out of
all of them. Why is he saying this?
Why is he saying this here? It seems out of place.
It just seems kind of random. It's noble.
It's it's, it's beautiful. But why is he saying this?
Here's why I believe he's saying this.
I believe he is saying this because he's not just reflecting
on what the Lord has done. He's realizing in this moment
that the Lord is doing what he has always done by delivering me
yet from another adversity. Do you see what I'm saying?
David is praising God for the deliverances that he has known
because in this very moment he is being delivered.
Because through Nathan the Prophet, something is made aware
to him out of Nyjah's wicked plan to try to overthrow his
throne. And he goes, oh God, you have
delivered me from all these adversities even now to this
last moment of my life. What?
What's the lesson? God is faithful.
I hope you and I will live for
the glory of God long enough for the rest of your life, for you
and I to be able to say the same thing David says here.
He has redeemed my soul out of every adverse.
Just because God is God in your life, just because he's your
shepherd, doesn't mean you're not going to go through
adversities. You're going to go through them,
but he will bring you out of them.
That's the difference. But a lot of people's theology
is I'm never going to be touched.
I'm never going to be visited. I'm never going to know harm.
I'm never going to go to the heat of the fire.
I'm never going to know the rising waters.
I'm just going to just just float through this life.
That's not what the Lord says out of How are you going to know
God's faith in this until you have a problem?
How are you going to know God's miracle power unless you stand
before Red Sea? How?
Be careful what you're asking for, Lord, show me your wisdom.
Lord, show me your power. Lord, show me your mic.
All right, well, here's the situation that requires it.
But David could say confidently, he could say to something you
and I could say at the end of it, he's saying something that
you can believe now and you can, you can lock it in your heart.
He will deliver me out of every adversity.
He will. Do you want to know the New
Testament equivalent to David's declaration here?
It was through the lips of the Apostle Paul and Second Timothy
418 Look what Second Timothy 418 is.
This is a powerful prompt. This is a powerful thing for you
and I to be able to say over and over again, especially as you're
living for the glory of God. And Second Timothy 418 Look what
he says. The Lord will rescue me from
every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly
Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and
ever. Amen.
Indeed, he will.
From every evil deed, no matter how creative, no matter how
overwhelming, no matter how surrounding every evil deed, I
will be delivered from nothing, will be able to sabotage the
will of God for my life. No affliction, no assault, no
ailment, nothing. Every evil deed will be recycled
for the glory of God. And David is praising God for
that. And he he responds with urgency.
Nathan approaches him with urgency, and he responds with
urgency, and he says, this day, I'm not waiting.
God has made this known to me. I'm going to act on this right
now. And so they do.
And as they are now planning, David gives this list of
specific instructions to Bathsheba and to Nathan.
And we see here in verse 34 what happened.
Specifically, let's read verse 32.
King David said call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the Prophet,
and Bennaya the son of Jehodia. So they came before the king.
And the king said to them, take with you the servants of your
Lord, and have Solomon, my son, ride on my own mule and bring
him down to Guyon or Guillon. And let Zadok the priest and
Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel.
Then blow the trumpet and say, Long live King Solomon, you
shall then come up after me, and he shall come and sit on my
throne, for he shall be the ruler over Israel and over
Judah. So here are these instructions.
But something stands out to me in verse 34.
Look at verse 34. I wonder.
I'm asking you this now I'm. I'm wondering if something
stands out to you. Look at it and if you can notice
it has to do with these three individuals that are named verse
34. What positions do each
represent? What do you have there?
Prophet, Priest. And who?
King. Those are the three major
leadership offices in the old covenant that God instituted to
serve the nation of Israel. The prophet spoke on behalf of
God. The priest was the mediator
between God and man and the king govern God's people, and here we
see them working together to accomplish the will of God.
And this is a good place to be reminded that Jesus made an
astounding claim about himself that he was the greatest.
He's the greatest prophet, the greatest priest, the greatest
king. If you're at the conference, you
remembered where Jesus said that.
Who remembers where Jesus said that?
That's what the Thursday night session does.
You're still getting acquainted and settled in.
Where did Jesus say I'm the greatest priest, I'm the
greatest prophet, I'm the greatest king.
Somebody said Matthew. Where in Matthew?
See. Review is good, isn't it?
It's good. Very good.
Grace Matthew, chapter 12. I want to show you where Jesus
said he's the greatest priest, He's the greatest prophet.
He's the greatest king. Matthew, chapter 12.
Let's look at verse 6. All in the same chapter.
Matthew, chapter 12, verse six. What does he say?
I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.
He's declaring his superior priesthood, and with that, him
being the superior and all sufficient sacrifice.
He's not just a priest, he's a sacrifice as well.
Hebrews declares that over and over something greater than the
Temple is here. Whatever the temple represents
the priesthood and the sacrifices there.
And I'm greater than that. Matthew 1241 What is he saying?
Matthew 1241 The men in Nineveh will rise up at the judgment
with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the
preaching of Jonah and behold, something greater than Jonah is
here. Not only in the sense that the
miracle of Jonah being in the belly of the fish pointed to the
resurrection, but the office of Prophet as well.
I am the greatest prophet. Matthew 1242 Can you guess what
the next one is? You should know you got a tshirt
with a verse on it. The Queen of the South will rise
up of the judgment with this generation and condemn it.
For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon. And behold, something greater
than Solomon is here. Something greater than the
temple, Something greater than Jonah, Something greater than
Solomon, Priest, prophet, King. The concept of those things
being mixed together in one person was totally foreign.
It was actually illegal in the old covenant.
There was one king who thought that he can presume to be the
king or the priest at the same time.
Who was that king Salt attempted to sacrifice?
And there was another one. He became a leopard because of
it. King Guziya, when he attempted
to give incense in the temple and God struck him with leprosy.
You could not overlap those offices.
And yet Jesus, by claiming he's the greatest prophet, greatest
priest, greatest king, you know what he's saying?
I'm all of those things in one person.
I'm not just one of those things.
I'm all of those things, he declared it.
Did the New Testament authors believe that about Jesus?
Did the apostles believe that? Can I show you one place?
Just this is just really, really exciting.
I want to show you one place, just one example of how the New
Testament authors, the authors of the Epistles, believe that
about Jesus. Hebrews chapter one.
Let's look at the 1st 3 verses. I love the book of Hebrews.
You know why? It is saturated with Old
Testament references, Old Testament imagery, Old Testament
shadows pointing to the substance in Jesus Christ.
But look at Hebrews one. We're very familiar with this.
I wonder if you've seen this before.
Verse one long ago at many times, and I want to see if you
noticed this. And in many ways God spoke to
our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days He's
spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the air of all things.
Through him also he created the world.
He is the radiance of the glory of God in the exact imprint of
his nature. And He upholds the universe by
the word of His power. After making purification for
sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Did you see it? Where's the reference to
Prophet? Look at verse one.
God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.
Verse 2. But in these last days he has
spoken to us. By his Son.
Now he speaks.
This is the true messenger. This is the one who would bring
forth not just the word. He is the word.
Where do we see priests? Did you catch it?
Good. Look at verse three.
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of
his nature. And he upholds the universe by
the word of his power after making purification for sins.
Priest, where's king? Right after he sat down at the
right hand of the majesty on high.
So verse one, you have Jesus speaking forth the word of God.
In the old all these prophets came, and now the prophet of
prophets has come. In the old all these purified
sins have come, but he has for one time at all time, for all
time made purification for sins. And not only that, he has been
exalted and he has sended into majestic glory, sitting today as
a ruler and the sovereign overall the universe.
Isn't that exciting? I hope so.
Priest, Prophet, King, Prophet, Priest, king, king.
Now do you believe that even though each?
One of these offices occupied their own lane.
Do you believe that? There was an anticipation for
the Messiah to occupy all three. Let me ask you this way was.
There any anticipation where? Is there any prophetic
indication that when this Messiah comes, he will in fact
be these things all in one because we kind of limit the
Messiah? Son of David as the king, sure.
But is there any other clear indication, prophetic utterance
that he would be more than that? That he would be the unification
of these offices to prove something?
That he is the greatest leader? He is the only deliver.
He's the one that eclipses every other attempt of delivering the
people of God, yes. Very good.
One of the most favorite psalms. Utilize in the New Testament by
the Holy Spirit. What's that Psalm Psalm 110.
Psalm 110 What are we told? Well, let's look at verse one.
You have your Bible as a Bible study, right?
Good. I love the screen, but
sometimes. It makes me nervous, the Lord
says to my Lord. Sit at my right hand until I
make your enemies. Your foot still sit at my right
hand. That's royalty sit where I sit
so to. Sit in this place of authority.
But then you read on. What is it saying?
Verse 2. The Lord sends forth from Zion
your mighty scepter rule in the midst of your enemies.
That's still kingly language. Verse three, your people will
offer themselves freely on the day of your power and holy
garments from the womb of the morning.
The dew of your youth will be yours.
Now look what? Here it says.
The Lord has sworn he's still speaking about the Lord.
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.
You are priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
I wonder what David's reaction? Was to that when the Holy Spirit
inspired that in him. Here is one of my.
Sons is not just going to be my descendant, he's also going to
be my Lord, and the Lord is going to exalt him to the place
of heavenly glory and authority. Wow, one of my sons is going to
be exalted to such a status. And then, as the Holy Spirit is
revealing, this time he's also learning.
But he's also going to be a priest.
Uziah was stricken for attempting to be both king and
priest, but my son is going to be exalted as king and also
occupied the office of priest, not after the order of Levi but.
After the order of Melchizedek, wow, can I show you one of my
favorite prophecies concerning Jesus, the Messiah being King
and priest at the same time? Zachariah Chapter 6 Go to
Zachariah chapter 6 quickly I. Want you to see this because I
want you to be absolutely amazed of how these ancient scriptures
point to the Jesus you love and adore today.
Jesus didn't just. Surprise, Israel.
Jesus was anticipated, predicted, prophesied about, and
it was the ignorance of the Jewish leadership that caused
them to reject them in such a way, with all their sin and envy
and all that stuff. But look at Zechariah 6.
Let's look at verse 11 and Zechariah 6.
Let's go to verse 12. Actually, here's a prophecy.
Look at this. And say to him Thus says the
Lord of hosts, behold the man whose name is the branch capital
B. Do you know what would make a
fascinating study? Studying all the places in the
Old Testament where Jesus is referred to as the branch.
Amazing references. Amazing promises and
prerogatives that are tied into that title.
The branch. Have you heard Jesus?
The Branch. The branch.
For he shall branch out from his place, and he shall he shall
build the temple of the Lord. Some would say that's the
spiritual. That's the Church of Jesus
Christ. Yes, he is building a temple,
but there's also physical temple to come.
Look at the next verse Now this is where he.
Gets exciting. It is he who shall build the
temple of the Lord, and shall bear royal honor and shall sit
and rule on his throne. Now look at this and there most
translation says he King James, New King James.
And a SVESV says there, but it says, And there shall be a
priest on his throne, and he shall be a.
Priest on his throne, Huh. Priest on the throne?
Unheard of, unheard of, but. This branch, this Messiah, he
will build a temple, and from that temple will be his
headquarters. And that headquarters will not
only be the temple, it will be where he exercises his sovereign
rule as king priests on his throne and the council.
Of peace shall be between them both.
So yeah, the prophets. Understood that there is a
Messiah to come. That will occupy something that
has never been known and was not permitted to be known.
Prophet, priest, king, one person, Jesus Christ of
Nazareth. That's who it is and what's
gonna happen is. To this, most of the chapter,
Jonathan is going to spell out in detail what just occurred in
the city concerning Solomon becoming king and taking over
his father's place. I would read the rest of this,
but I'm going to. Pause and ask this question.
Have we seen this character, Jonathan, the son of Abby
Athler, before? If so, where?
OK, good. So we've.
Seen him back in Second Samuel. We've seen him back in Second
Samuel, Chapter 15, and if you want to turn there, you can.
I want you to see who this Jonathan is because it's going
to be very important understanding what he's doing
here. And second Samuel 15.
We're told here in verse 27, the king also said to Xanax the
priest, Are you not a seer? Go back to the city in peace
with your two sons, Ahimaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of
Abiath. I remember this is this is David
now in exile. Absalom kicked him out and here
he is trying to figure out what to do.
And one of the plans is that. The son of Zadok and the son of
Abiatra remain near the premises of Absalom and his throne so
that they can have Intel about what Absalom is going to do
next. Jonathan, the son of Abiatra.
Was a spy for David during Absalom's revolt.
He put his life on the line. He risked his life.
He was loyal to David. And now we see him again, right?
We see him next in Second Samuel 17, when he almost gets caught
after the news about abstinence plan to attack came to him.
And then there's silence. And then we see him again in
First Kings chapter one. So is Jonathan a good guy or a
bad guy with that knowledge, with that background?
He's a good guy, we can honestly say.
He's a faithful servant to the cause of Yahweh.
Now we see him here. And he does something that he
did back in Second Samuel 17, where he gives report.
But there's something strange going on because he's giving
report to who out of Naija? What happened to Jonathan?
Do we have any right to question his loyalty now?
Any clues? Based on what I read there that
would give you the right to question Jonathan's fidelity?
Very good observation. Abby Yathar, remember, was at
this party. He, with Jo AB joined and
changed their allegiance over to AD and Naija.
Yes, but was it just his father? Any clue on what we read here?
Any insight that might cause us to question Jonathan, Yes,
that's a very. Good point.
Did you hear that? Notice what AD and I just said.
Jonathan as and I just said, come in for you are a worthy man
and bring good news. Now generally that would be a
good commendation. That would be something
honorable, but not from a guy like this ad.
And Nigel was very strategic on who to invite and who not to
bring in and who to bring in right to his little get
together. He didn't invite Nathan, he
didn't invite Benai. He didn't invite Zadok because
he understood their strong. Stance that he understood that
they would not compromise. So what does it say about
Jonathan, the son of Abbie Athar?
For Adam and I just say, oh, he's a good guy.
Come on in. Question mark.
Right Flag. So is he a traitor?
Could be. But then you read what he says
and then you're even more confused.
So now he explains, right. So he brings good news.
And Jonathan's like, not really. Verse 43.
Jonathan, answered. Adam and I just no for our Lord
King. David has made Solomon a king,
and the king he has sent with him Zach the priest, Nathan the
prophet, Benign, the son of Johadada Joyada and the
Carothites and the Pelothites. And they had him ride on the
King's mule. And Zach the priest and Nathan
the prophet have anointed him king, a guy on.
And they have gone up from there rejoicing so that the city is in
an uproar. This is a noise that you have
heard. And he goes out to explain in
great detail what happened. Any clue in what Jonathan said?
That might actually indicate the opposite of what we might think,
that he is in fact still loyal to David, King David, and not
just King. David, what does he say?
Jonathan verse 43 answered Anaija.
No, for our Lord King David so at Anaija.
At least from what we see here, still believe that David was the
rightful king, that David still had authority that it wasn't.
King Adan Ija, It's still King. So there's some sense of honor
of the process here, honor of who's still truly in the
position of authority. So is he with David?
Is he against David? Is he with Adan Ija?
Is he against Adan Ija? Do you know what I believe about
it? He's a confused fellow.
He's conflicted. He's torn.
As our brother brought up, his father is with Adan Ija.
You don't see. Benai you don't see.
Zadok, you don't see Nathan coming to this camp and giving
them a heads up of what's taking place, do you?
Why is Jonathan here at the same time?
There's something in him that still recognizes David for who
he is, for our Lord, King David. So there's some kind of internal
struggle. Here's the lesson from this Your
testimony shouldn't be confusing.
Shouldn't be confusing to people.
People shouldn't wonder that you are a follower of Christ and
also how are you that and also a lover of the world.
It should be clear. Cut it.
We should be like Nathan and these other fellows where even
the world even at the Nyjah and those guys who are rebels could
say those guys are for real. Those guys are truly pledged to
the anointed one. People shouldn't wonder where.
We stand on these things and let's talk about your heart.
There shouldn't be in your heart and in mine, this division,
this, this one foot in one. Foot out.
He is king. But I also see this and I want
to be part of that as well. You can't do that.
He's not going to let you do that.
He won't. He wants.
Everything, every single part of you to belong to him.
And so Jonathan here is a very sad.
Picture of somebody who can't figure out where he stands.
It may not be so of us, but you know what stands out to me here?
If you look back here in verse 39, Zanuk anoints him and all
these. Things take place, but look at
the description of the celebration when Solomon is made
king. And all the people went up after
him, playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy, so
that the earth was split by their noise.
Think about it was so loud. It was so resounding with shouts
and cries and laughter, perhaps, that the earth shook.
I mean, they heard it. They weren't too far, but they
heard it. Compare that kind of atmosphere
with how Nathan describes the celebration for King Adenija.
Go to verse 25. Look at this.
It's very similar but. You'll see a difference.
For he has gone down this day, and has sacrificed ox, and
fattened cattle and sheep, and abundance, and has invited all
the King's sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiath of the
priest. And behold, they are eating and
drinking before. I'm saying, Long live King
Adanaija. What's the difference?
Both had people, both had. Specific protocols and.
But there's something that stands out.
Not the eating and drinking, not the.
Music even. No, not even that necessarily.
Look at verse 40 again. Rejoicing with great joy.
There is tangible, observable,
genuine true joy when Nathan describes this.
We see here that they're eating and drinking before.
I'm saying Long live King Atanaija, but here we see that
there's something. Deeper going on, I wonder if
this is a lesson about how true joy is found in being an
obedience to the will of God. You want to live according to
your selfish. Pleasures you want to build your
own little Kingdom. You can do that.
You can try to think that you can conjure.
Up a better plan for your life than if you just submit to the
will of God. But you will never know true
joy. Never.
That's why you should never envy the wicked.
Ever. Ever envy the wicked?
And Psalms tells us repeatedly, do not envy the wicked.
Why would we told that? Because there's something,
especially in this day of age where everything is plastered
before you, you can't ignore it. And we wonder why there's a rate
of anxiety, hiking and depression and self esteem
issues. Because all you're seeing is
fake images of people in their lives and what do you think is
being posted godly? Things appraise God.
There are people who are doing that, but most of it is all look
what my life is without God. And there's a temptation, right?
Their life looks so easy. Their life looks so fun.
Their life looks so easy and wonderful and joyful and
memories and experiences. Oh, and here you are on a Friday
night. Week after week at a Bible
study. Amen.
Indeed. And so here's the thing that I
want to make. I want to make known to you even
in a world where people want to present themselves in a certain
way. All the little events, all the
little gatherings, even manmade ministries, if they are not
submitted to the will of God, you have one thing guaranteed
they will not know true joy. It's only when you align
yourself to. God's will, His purposes.
And like Zadok and these other men, give yourself over to every
detailed instruction that God has revealed to you, and conform
your life to that will, you know, rejoicing.
A deep seated happiness that can never be taken from you where
you can say Amen. I want to be here on a Friday
night because I know my God. I want to know him.
I want to live for him and it is my delight to be in his
presence. With God's people, That's
Supernatural. Why are you here?
Like this is Supernatural. You're here on a Friday night
talking about First Kings Chapter One, and you're actually
happy about it. That's the Holy Spirit.
That's the miracle of regeneration.
That's God in you. And isn't it a genuine joy?
Isn't it true rejoicing? Absolutely.
Let's end it here. Adenija's little party came
crashing down, and soul will the purposes and plots of the.
Wicked verse 49 Then all the guests of Adenija trembled and
rose, and each went his own way. And Aden?
I just feared Solomon. So he arose and went and took
hold of the horns of the altar. Then it was told Solomon,
Behold, Aden, I just fears King Solomon, for behold he has laid
hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear
to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the
sword. Why is he holding on to the
horns of the brazen altar? It's very good.
Not many people know that reference because in Exodus 21
we are told there by inference that there was permission to
come. To the altar of sacrifice and
hold onto the horns. On the corner right, there's
these little pieces that stuck out like horns, and people would
run there as a place of safety. If they have done any wrong, and
that was permitted to some extent, unless they've committed
a a capital crime that required them to be punished by death.
And so it was a practice for people who knew they were in the
wrong to flee to the altar and to cling.
Why the altar? Because it represents God's
mercy. This is where God accepts
sacrifice to cover your sin, to overlook your your error and
your faults. And so in in the same way they
would run not with a sacrifice, but with their guilty hands and
say, I'm clinging to the mercy of God, surely you will not slay
me Where God receives sinners. In some sense, the altar
symbolizes the mercy of Jesus Christ.
I wonder if that's where the term.
Altar call comes from come to the altar.
Maybe that is it. I don't know.
And so they they clung to this. And this is exactly what Adenija
is doing. He's fearful of King Solomon and
look what Solomon does. And Solomon said, if he will
show himself a worthy man, not one of his hair shall fall to
the earth. But if wickedness is found in
him, he shall die. So King Solomon sent and they.
Brought him down from the altar, and he came and paid homage to
King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, go to
your house. He paid homage to King Solomon.
What goes up? And pride will come down.
Here's a man who was willing to stand up against the will of
God, against Solomon. And now at the end of the
chapter, he's bowing down before Solomon.
And what is Solomon doing here? Does he show mercy or not?
Incredible mercy. Incredible mercy.
Not only does it say I'm going to let you live, he lets him
keep his house, his estate. Go to your house, just don't
cause trouble and I'll let you live.
And here at the end of chapter one.
We see Solomon now finally coordinated as king, but we also
see where He establishes his Kingdom, how we establish it.
He builds it upon mercy. He builds it upon.
He builds it upon forgiveness. This says something about
Solomon. This is how he starts.
And I was reading this today. You know what came to mind?
How Solomon ended? Does anybody know?
I wonder, does anybody know the last recorded thing that Solomon
does before we told that he sleeps with his father's?
The last recorded thing he begins his reign.
By choosing not to kill Atanija, Let me show you how he chooses
to end his reign. Go to Chapter 11.
Please meet me there and verse 40.
This is where Solomon was going to be disciplined for his
apostasy. And the prophet Ahad Jau now
comes to a man named Jerabom and was told that he would receive
the Kingdom at least in part. Somehow Solomon hears about this
and verse 40. This is the last thing Solomon
chooses to do before we're told that he sleeps with his
father's. Solomon sought therefore, to
kill. Jeraboam But Jeraboam arose and
fled into Egypt to Shishak, king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until
the death of Solomon. That's how he ends.
He begins by choosing not to kill a man.
He ends by trying to kill a man justly or unjustly.
Unjustly, it's not how you start.
It's how you and I finish. This is a different person, and
it's very possible for us to start so well, so zealous, so
pure, so humble. And if we're not on guard, if
we're not careful, we can end up looking completely different
than how we did begun. May it not be so of us.
Stay close to the Lord. Listen, finish this race well.
Finish well. Keep going.
Don't give up. Don't give in.
Don't surrender to the flesh. It will be worth it in the end,
for the sake of God's glory. Would we finish well?
And may people not see a different horrendous,
questionable testimony at the last of it.
But may they see someone who is brighter, holier, lovelier than
when they started? By God's grace, he can do it in
us. Let's pray
how rich is the? Banquet of your word, O Lord,
how full of truth it is. And, Lord, with a lengthy
chapter like this, we have indeed felt that we have sat
before an. Abundance of revelation.
Thank you that. In the same chapter, you can
teach us theology and you can teach us practical godliness.
Lord, there is nothing like this word.
There's nothing like your word now.
Lord more than becoming acquires of insights and connections in
your word made this producing us worship worship more than a A.
Song because our emotions are stirred, but worship?
That translates into a life of sacrifice laid on the altar, a
living sacrifice. We pray, Lord, that in this.
Place we would indeed hear your voice, and hear it in a way that
causes us to. Bow before you to live, for you
to deny the flesh, carry our cross, renounce the world, and
shine brighter for your glory. Lord, as we close this time
together as a family, would you receive these last few moments
of singing sacrifice, of praise, and may be pleasing to your
ears? Lord, we bless you again for
first kings chapter one. We thank you for speaking to our
hearts. Comfort us, convict us,
challenge us, encourage us. Whatever we need to be brought
into greater conformity. So be it.
We ask this of your Holy Spirit tonight in Jesus name.
Amen. Amen.
Saints.