1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:04,080 And Father, we pray together even now, again asking you for 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:06,640 the help of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit that we just sang 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:11,160 about, that this would be indeed a vibrant and life giving time. 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:14,240 We pray that you would remove all weightiness, all 5 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,960 distraction, all cloudiness of thought, any obstruction of our 6 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:20,560 own beliefs that are contrary to the truth. 7 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,400 And Lord, just sweep us into the sweetness of your Word, the 8 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:27,240 wisdom of your Word, the saving power of your Word. 9 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,920 And we ask that the delivery of this Word would not be void of 10 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,560 the power of the Holy Spirit. We pray that it would be 11 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:38,200 absolutely energized, but what you can only do through a human 12 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,960 vessel. And so we just submit to the 13 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,480 leading of the Spirit even now, and let this be a changing, a 14 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:47,680 life changing moment for all of us tonight. 15 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,000 We trust you, Heavenly Father, we believe you and we give you 16 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,920 glory now in Jesus name. Amen. 17 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:01,200 Solomon, although he in chapter three with his God-given wisdom, 18 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:07,480 received national attention and praise for how he solved A 19 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:12,360 seemingly impossible case, is now actually going to in this 20 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:18,800 chapter, show how he is about to delegate and share certain 21 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,520 responsibilities in his Kingdom with other people. 22 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:27,240 This amazing man who is recognized with unparalleled 23 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,600 intelligence, is actually going to show us here that he relied 24 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,720 on other individuals. He relied on other people to 25 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,320 make his system his Kingdom efficient and successful. 26 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,320 And we might look at these verses here and be tempted to 27 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:48,920 ignore them or to fly by them. But the detailed roster here of 28 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:53,360 Solomon's high officials and ministers are inviting us to see 29 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:55,720 the breath of Solomon's wisdom further. 30 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:01,240 In other words, Chapter three was not the only thing that 31 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,800 displayed the early signs of the prudence and insight of this 32 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,160 man. It continues to be exercised in 33 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,880 Chapter 4, and we have to determine that at the outset of 34 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,920 this chapter so that we can see what this really all about. 35 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:19,920 This Is Us looking through the window to examine just how far 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,560 and how wide the mind of Solomon really was. 37 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,440 And it was all been granted by God himself. 38 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,360 And as we see this, we'll realize many things. 39 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:33,160 But there is one overarching lesson. 40 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:35,760 There is one simple observation that we can make just by 41 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,920 scanning through these various names and territories and 42 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,160 different charges that are given to different people under 43 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:45,160 Solomon's leadership. And it is this. 44 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,560 Solomon's leadership was not just limited to solving problems 45 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:54,040 or determining true justice. Solomon's leadership here, as 46 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,160 shown in his administrative abilities, his organizational 47 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:02,840 skills, but even more than that, Solomon's wisdom here, it's it's 48 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:07,200 going to be proven in that he sees the value. 49 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:12,960 He sees the necessity of other people working alongside of him. 50 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,800 Wisdom does not make you arrogantly self reliant. 51 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:27,560 True wisdom from God opens up your eyes and mind to see, to 52 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:32,080 understand, to perceive that we must be relationally strategic 53 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:37,520 and inclusive. A wise person sees the beauty 54 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:41,040 and the necessity of other people of like mindedness 55 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:43,920 walking hand in hand together for the glory of God. 56 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,080 And that's just the overarching lesson because if we just hear 57 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,640 that, then we might think, OK, this is this is a Bible study 58 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:52,160 for leaders. Solomon was a leader. 59 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,760 So this is mainly applied to those who are in every in any 60 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:59,400 kind of capacity of leadership. But we are in Bible study and 61 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,440 have been in Bible study long enough to know that there's 62 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,600 always underlying principles and truths for all of us. 63 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,560 And the way that we're going to discover this is to take our 64 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,080 time. Going through what again might 65 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:13,960 cause other people to say this has no, this has no relation to 66 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:15,600 my life. Oh, you're wrong. 67 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,720 This is Holy Scripture. This is God's words. 68 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:20,920 This is God's voice. And he had you in mind. 69 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:22,520 He had you in mind when he wrote this. 70 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,720 He had the Saints of God in mind, in Christ Jesus when he 71 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,640 penned these words. And so let's read the first few 72 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:33,200 verses together. First Kings Chapter 4, verse. 73 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:39,440 One King Solomon was king over all Israel and these were his 74 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:43,160 high officials. Azariah, the son of Zadok was 75 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:47,920 the priest. Elihoreth and Ahia, the sons of 76 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:52,320 Shisha were secretaries. Yehoshaphat, the son of Ahilod 77 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,040 was recorder. Benaiah, the son of Yehoidah was 78 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,800 in command of the army. Zadok and Abiathar were priest. 79 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,080 Azariah, the son of Nathan was over the officers. 80 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,920 Zebah, the son of Nathan, was priest and King's friend. 81 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:12,760 Ahishar was in charge of the palace and Adoniram, the son of 82 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,160 Abda was in charge of the forced labor. 83 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,400 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel who provided food for 84 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,480 the king and his household. Each man had to make provision 85 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:27,560 for one month in the year. You probably won't find a text 86 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:29,800 like this in one of those daily devotionals. 87 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,320 That's what makes Friday night so special, because we are 88 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:38,480 almost forced to look at these verses with joy to see what is 89 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,280 it that God has to say. Well, we're not going to look at 90 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:44,000 each of these names and what these men did, but we will look 91 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,920 at some of them. Look back here again in verse 2. 92 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,240 Here are the names of some of the high officials and the first 93 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:52,680 one that is mentioned is a man. Azariah, the son of Zadok or 94 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,160 Zadok was the priest. Notice it says the priest, not 95 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,040 just priest. So it is believed that this man, 96 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:03,080 Zadok, or rather the Azariah, the son of Zadok was selected, 97 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,160 identified rather as the High priest. 98 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,080 The High Priest. And it is believed here that the 99 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:16,160 fact that this man is mentioned first is to denote how his 100 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,640 position was of greatest importance, that of all the 101 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:21,640 offices and all the responsibilities. 102 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:26,920 What was of most significance to Solomon was the establishment of 103 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:29,800 the chief spiritual leader in Israel. 104 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:32,920 And if that is the case, if that's what this means, that 105 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,640 Azariah being mentioned first shows the priority of the 106 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:39,920 priesthood, the priority of this office, then it says something 107 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,440 about the wisdom of Solomon. I'm sure it says something about 108 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:45,160 how he was thinking. It says something about how God 109 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,280 led him and directed him as a leader of so many other leaders. 110 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:49,920 And it is this. I was looking at this, and I 111 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:52,480 thought to myself, if this is Solomon, the Holy Spirit, 112 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:56,040 inviting us to exhibit his his wisdom, then it certainly shows 113 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,080 how true wisdom knows how to prioritize spiritual matters. 114 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:06,960 True wisdom will guide you, help you direct you to prioritize the 115 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:11,160 things of the Spirit, the things pertaining to your relationship 116 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,360 with God, the things pertaining to the truth. 117 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:19,880 Listen, a wise man or a wise woman will not neglect his soul, 118 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,760 will not neglect the health of their inner man. 119 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:30,120 A wise man or a wise woman will see again the beauty and the 120 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,720 value and the necessity of a fellowship of Saints and will 121 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:36,720 actually orbit their lives around that community. 122 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,080 A wise man, a wise woman, somebody who truly has this gift 123 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:47,200 from God, will also understand and know and seek and carefully 124 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:50,440 choose who their spiritual authorities will be, who they 125 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:52,240 will receive the word of God from. 126 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,120 And Solomon here is proving that, and it's not just proven 127 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,040 by the identification of the high priest. 128 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:02,760 Look down at verse 5 and notice this man, Zeba, the son of 129 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,880 Nathan, who was priest and King's friend. 130 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:10,560 That's a heartwarming verse, right? 131 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,760 We're told about one of Solomon's closest companions. 132 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,480 He was a friend. He was a friend to Solomon. 133 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:19,880 But I believe this is speaking more than just about somebody 134 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:21,680 who was near and dear to the king. 135 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:24,600 I believe that the King's friend here is actually speaking about 136 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,720 a position. And the position I'm thinking 137 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:30,080 of, and most people agree with, is that this is a chief 138 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,919 counselor to Solomon. This is somebody who Solomon 139 00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:35,159 could confine and somebody he can pour his heart out to, 140 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,919 somebody from the primary ranks who would receive what Solomon 141 00:08:38,919 --> 00:08:41,120 is thinking about in terms of a next project or what he's 142 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,240 dealing with. This was who Zebad was. 143 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,400 And in selecting this individual, notice the other 144 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:50,320 thing that he did, notice who else he was. 145 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:52,200 We're told that he was not just the King's friend, but what else 146 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:54,600 was he? He was a priest. 147 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,200 He was a priest. That's significant as well. 148 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:04,480 It makes me wonder if Solomon having this primary source, this 149 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:08,040 primary voice, speaking into his life, makes me think if Solomon 150 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:13,640 wanted somebody who knew the law, somebody who is very close 151 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:17,600 and near and familiar with the presence of God, somebody who 152 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:20,800 understood something of the sacrificial system in the 153 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:25,000 different acts of worship, makes me think, if Solomon wanted that 154 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:30,000 kind of a close friend in his life, and if that is true, then 155 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:34,360 surely wisdom is at work here because you can't make a more 156 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,960 life shaping decision than who you choose to keep close to you. 157 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:42,840 And so, assuming that this priest was indeed a man of God, 158 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,760 a man who feared God, Solomon made the right choice and having 159 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,000 him close, near and dear. You know what's so amazing when 160 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,520 you compare the list of officials here with the list of 161 00:09:52,520 --> 00:10:00,820 officials of David, his father? Go to Second Samuel Chapter 8 in 162 00:10:00,820 --> 00:10:02,260 your Bibles. Notice the comparison. 163 00:10:02,260 --> 00:10:04,420 Notice there are many similarities, but there is one. 164 00:10:04,420 --> 00:10:08,220 Significant difference in Second Samuel chapter 8 and verse 15. 165 00:10:10,460 --> 00:10:12,300 This is when David reigned over all Israel. 166 00:10:12,300 --> 00:10:18,260 Now notice how the Holy Spirit lists the officials his 167 00:10:18,540 --> 00:10:23,180 administration in comparison to Solomon's verse 15 and Second 168 00:10:23,180 --> 00:10:25,820 Samuel 8. So David reigned over all Israel 169 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,440 and David administered justice and equity to all his people. 170 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:34,640 Joab the son of Zariah was over the army and Josh about the son 171 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:38,320 of Ahilud was recorded in Zadok. The son of Ahitab and I Malik 172 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,880 the son of Abiathar were priest and Soraya was secretary. 173 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:46,440 Up to what we have studied concerning Solomon first kings. 174 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:48,840 For what's the main difference between the list of 175 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:51,760 administrators and ministers and David's time And in his time, 176 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:54,400 who's mentioned first in David's list? 177 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:58,640 Not priest Joab. What was Joab? 178 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,600 He was the commander of the army who was listed first for Solomon 179 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,240 the high priest. Is that accidental? 180 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:10,280 No, It makes total sense. You know why it makes sense? 181 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:13,240 Because what characterized David's reign? 182 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,160 War. What characterized Solomon's 183 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:19,040 reign? Peace. 184 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,200 Peace. And not just peace. 185 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:24,280 The. The mark of Solomon's 186 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:26,920 achievements. The the pinnacle of his 187 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:30,120 accomplishment would be the building of the temple, and so 188 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:34,000 it makes absolute sense for the priest to be mentioned first 189 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,280 because you can't have the temple necessarily, at least 190 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,480 operating the way God designed it without the right high 191 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:42,960 priest. And more than that, you can't 192 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:50,960 have peace without prioritizing this. 193 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,400 In other words, if Solomon was going to achieve true peace, 194 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:59,640 then he needed to prioritize the spiritual office above all of 195 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:01,000 the things. Is it any different for you? 196 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,760 And I think about it. Here's the lesson. 197 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:05,640 Here's the application. Is it any different for you and 198 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,080 I? You want peace, right? 199 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:11,600 You want inner peace. You want relational peace. 200 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:13,720 We all want peace. Even the world that hates our 201 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:17,920 God wants peace. And if you and I want to achieve 202 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:22,160 that inner tranquility and that rest, get your priorities 203 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:27,360 straight. Get your priorities straight. 204 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:31,600 In life, my friend, what do you pursue the most? 205 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,400 What's at the top of the list of your ambitions? 206 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,000 Where are your affections set? Where are you disciplined? 207 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,400 Is your spirituality first? Is your walk with Christ 208 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:49,080 primary? Does everything else submit to 209 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:50,400 that? Is everything else flowing from 210 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,640 that place? If not, no wonder that you're 211 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:56,160 not at rest. No wonder you're a chronic 212 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,520 spender. No wonder you try to numb 213 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:03,920 yourself with substances and thrills and physical intimacy. 214 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:06,240 Why? I can tell you straight up. 215 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:10,040 Because somewhere along the line you have misplaced God. 216 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:13,200 You have put him in a different rank. 217 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:15,200 You've put him in a different position. 218 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:20,120 Apart from #1, things always go wrong when God fails to be #1. 219 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,360 And when He's not the bullseye of our life, He's not the very 220 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,680 center of the very thing that everything else orbits around. 221 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:32,280 No, don't be surprised. Don't be surprised with inner 222 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:34,640 turmoil and even turmoil outside of yourself. 223 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,280 But here we see Solomon, whose Kingdom would be recognized for 224 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,200 this amazing peace. And what do we see here? 225 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:45,440 The first person mentioned is the priest, symbolizing the 226 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,600 spirituality of his own life and ultimately the life of the 227 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:54,920 nation. Well, let's keep going here. 228 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:58,480 Let's come down to verse four for the sake of time, Banaya 229 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:00,880 the. Son of Yehoiada was in command 230 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:02,400 of the army. He replaced Joab. 231 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,800 Zarak and Abiathar were priests all these. 232 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:11,720 Names are familiar, but what name there is concerning what 233 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,840 name there stands out? What name shouldn't be there? 234 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:22,520 Good Abiathar, you're right. And why is that the case? 235 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,120 We'll go to 1st Kings chapter 227, in case you forgot first 236 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:31,240 Kings 227. Just a couple chapters back and 237 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:35,360 you'll get your answer to why this seems to be out of place. 238 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:40,800 First Kings 227. So Solomon expelled Abiathar 239 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:45,040 from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the 240 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,120 Lord that he had spoken, constraining the House of Eli 241 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:50,920 and Shiloh. Abiathar, according to First 242 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:53,080 Kings, 227, is no longer a priest. 243 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:55,600 And then we come to the list of officials and we're told that he 244 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:58,040 was one of the priests. What happened here? 245 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:01,600 You know, some believe that Abiathar was forgiven and 246 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:03,520 restored. I don't hold to that view. 247 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,560 I I believe the best explanation is this is that although 248 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:12,720 Abiathar was removed and could not operate as a priest and was 249 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:16,920 relocated to Anathar, right, He was, he was, he was expelled and 250 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,440 he was under house arrest and he was no longer affiliated with 251 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:25,320 the temple or the priesthood in a hereditary way, he was still 252 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:29,680 able to keep that title. It was almost inseparable from 253 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:31,280 his identity. Because of his lineage. 254 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:35,840 He was a priest though he could not operate as a priest. 255 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:38,600 And so that's all that this is really saying. 256 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,960 He did not to get reinstalled. He wasn't inaugurated again. 257 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:45,600 He wasn't allowed back in. No, because God gave a prophetic 258 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:49,880 word to to Eli that his line would no longer ever be able to 259 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:53,680 recover and to be restored with such a responsibility. 260 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:58,160 I thought about this man and and I thought to myself, OK, he kept 261 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:02,040 his title. What does status mean? 262 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:06,600 What does position mean? What does any platform provide? 263 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:09,920 If ultimately you don't have God's favor upon your life? 264 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,400 You know there are people who are extremely content and think 265 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,400 they will find true satisfaction if they can just achieve 266 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:20,720 something like that. They can just have certain 267 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,800 letters by their name, they can have a certain title, they can 268 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,960 win the respect and the acknowledgement from other 269 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:30,320 people. And there are very few who are 270 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:33,280 willing to be content to be anywhere God would have them be, 271 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:35,240 as long as they have God's blessing upon them. 272 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:43,640 To live For the smile of God, to to live in His light and His 273 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:47,600 beauty in terms of His favor over us, should be the thing 274 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,040 that keeps us whole and satisfied. 275 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:53,080 Nothing else will. This is a sad man who had a 276 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:55,040 title but didn't have God's approval. 277 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:58,160 I'm afraid that there are many people, even in the context of 278 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:02,200 the church, that have the same title, does not automatically 279 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:07,599 assume and mean favor. I don't even challenge that 280 00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:12,880 further results. Results don't necessarily prove 281 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:16,560 anything either. Sometimes God will use a broken 282 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:20,359 vessel, even a disobedient vessel, for the sake of being 283 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,640 merciful to the people under that person, when in fact they 284 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:25,560 themselves are not in right with God. 285 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,200 You don't believe me? Moses struck the rock when he 286 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,240 was told to speak to him. What happened to that rock? 287 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:36,640 Did a trickle come out? No waves of water came out, even 288 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:37,720 though he disobeyed God. Why? 289 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,920 Because God loved the people. God loved the people and he 290 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:44,040 wanted to bless the people and he dealt with Moses later on. 291 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:52,560 And so we see here that this man unfortunately was not a true 292 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:56,720 priest in terms of its function, though he remained a priest with 293 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:58,880 a title. And we read on and look at this 294 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:00,920 in verse 5. Azariah the son of Nathan was 295 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,160 over the officers. Zava, the son of Nathan was 296 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,480 priest and King's friend. What are these two guys have in 297 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,440 common? In verse 5, they're the sons of 298 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:14,520 Nathan. Now, David had another son named 299 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:16,560 Nathan, so that would be Solomon's brother. 300 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:18,800 Some believe that this is Solomon's brother Nathan. 301 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,000 Others believe he's the Nathan that we're familiar with. 302 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:25,120 Nathan who? Nathan the Prophet. 303 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,280 And if it is Nathan the prophet, then what a heartwarming verse 304 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:33,920 to see that this man of God had his children also walking in 305 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:38,880 service to the glory of God by serving the purpose of God 306 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:43,040 through King Solomon. I like to think that if this is 307 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:47,360 really Nathan the prophet and his boys, that there's something 308 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:51,520 about Nathan's life that surely influenced the life of his sons. 309 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:56,680 Perhaps this is this is not dogmatic, but just thinking 310 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,960 about if these are the boys of Nathan the prophet, then did 311 00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:04,480 Nathan have any influence in their desire to be part of God's 312 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:08,520 work through Solomon? Could it be that these young men 313 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:10,880 didn't just see a messenger of God outside of the home, but saw 314 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:12,560 a messenger of God within the home? 315 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,840 I'd like to think so. May God help us influence and 316 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,440 inspire our children to love and serve him. 317 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:24,680 So you see these two men who are the sons of Nathan and then you 318 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:28,640 come down here and you read something interesting I hate. 319 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:30,840 Sharon. Verse six was in charge of the 320 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,480 palace and Aderayam, the son of AB that was in charge of the 321 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,040 forced labor. We will see him later on, but 322 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:38,680 notice here that Azariah, the son of Nathan, was over the 323 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,720 officers. So he had a supervising role 324 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:46,240 over certain certain officers. And these officers are what we 325 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:51,200 hear and see in verse 7. Solomon had twelve officers over 326 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:55,200 all Israel who provided food for the king in his household. 327 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:58,680 Each man had to make provision for one month in the year. 328 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,800 So you had these 12 individuals who were in charge of certain 329 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,480 districts. And these districts were there 330 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:09,600 to there was some form of taxation where they had to 331 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:14,840 gather resources and and funds in order to secure the material 332 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,040 needs of the king and his immediate household. 333 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:21,480 And think about it, you had one man that was in charge of one 334 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:25,880 month out of the year. And what we see here is that 335 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,440 this man Azariah, the son of Nathan, was in charge. 336 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:32,920 So he was supervising these individuals as they took care of 337 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,520 these specific territories and they drew from them in order to 338 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,080 take care of Solomon and his family and those who are closest 339 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,800 to Solomon. Now look at verse eight. 340 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:46,200 I'm not going to attempt to read these names because there are so 341 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:50,200 many of them from verse 8 down to verse verse 19, but just look 342 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,200 at the names. Take the time to just examine 343 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:56,760 all of these names. And there are, as you saw, 344 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,480 twelve of them, and some of them are related to Solomon by 345 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:02,720 marriage. So they married some of his 346 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,560 daughters. So Solomon is at an older point 347 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,720 of his life here. But you know, I'm looking at 348 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:09,840 these names and I'm thinking to myself, and maybe you're 349 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:13,800 thinking to yourself, why does the Holy Spirit take up space in 350 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:19,680 Holy Scripture for this complicated Hebrew names, tongue 351 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,240 twisters, some of the things that they did, some relation to 352 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:28,200 Solomon. And we have pages ink used up 353 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:32,720 for us to know these names. I love asking those questions. 354 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,840 I love coming to these texts and asking and investigating the 355 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,800 mind of God behind us. And here's what I came from and 356 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:40,440 came with. And maybe you are thinking the 357 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,720 same that the Holy Spirit does this in order to emphasize 358 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,480 players on a team that often do not receive recognition as they 359 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:52,920 should the Holy Spirit. And taking the time to surface 360 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,600 these names and to inscribe them in Holy Scripture helps us see 361 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:00,960 that there are other contributors to the grand scheme 362 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,280 of things that make things work. And in this context, it is the 363 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:07,960 Kingdom of Israel, which was really the Kingdom of God on 364 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,800 earth to an extent. And they were valuable. 365 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:14,400 They were assets. They were very important. 366 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,640 And so for leaders reading this, even just looking at these 367 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:17,920 names, you know what you can come away with. 368 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:23,160 If you're a leader of any group, you can't do it on your own. 369 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:27,320 You can't, no matter how gifted you are, just like Solomon, you 370 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:31,360 can't try to put your hand into everything and make it happen. 371 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:34,720 You need other people. God designed you no matter how 372 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:36,480 many gifts of the Spirit you think you have. 373 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:42,760 God designed you to be dependent upon some and for those who are 374 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:44,640 not leaders. You can look at a text like this 375 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:46,960 and also be encouraged to realize that your efforts and 376 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:50,160 your involvement and whatever part you have to play in this 377 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:54,520 machine is not without importance. 378 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,160 It's not something that can be easily replaced. 379 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,960 It is absolutely essential. And so you have these guys and 380 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,840 they're in charge of the scheduling and the gathering of 381 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:10,120 material needs, food and supplies for the animals. 382 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:12,640 And the Holy Spirit wants us to know their names. 383 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:15,840 I love that. That's wonderful. 384 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,360 It makes me think of a chapter in the book of Romans, that 385 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:22,680 masterpiece of an epistle, where after giving this incredible 386 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,480 essay about justification by faith and you have election and 387 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:30,440 the sovereignty of God and you have life in the Spirit and all 388 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:34,040 these different deep thoughts about God and our relationship 389 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:40,720 with him Near the end, near the end of that dissertation, you 390 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:46,320 have almost an entire chapter given two names, just different 391 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:50,000 people listed from the Roman church, actually turned down 392 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,360 Romans 16. And notice the heart of God, the 393 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:59,320 beauty of God, the loveliness of God in something like this in 394 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,040 Romans 16. And just just like you probably 395 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,160 did with first kings chapter 4, just look back at all the 396 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:10,240 different people that Paul greets personally that he wants 397 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:14,680 to sure receive a personal greeting from himself. 398 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:20,600 You know what the impression you and I to receive in that you and 399 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:24,160 I to understand that the Church of Jesus Christ is made-up of 400 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:29,840 ordinary people who have been brought together through the 401 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,440 shared conviction and submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. 402 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:36,240 That's what the Church is made-up of. 403 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:41,360 And Paul here understands that. You know what a common phrase is 404 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:43,880 in Romans 16, in the Lord or in Christ. 405 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:47,160 He says that over and over again in the Lord, in the Lord, in 406 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,840 Christ, in Christ, in Christ. This is what binds people 407 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:52,880 together. This is what brings men and 408 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:58,480 women, slaves and bureaucrats and these sophisticated 409 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:00,640 individuals. This is what ultimately brings 410 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:03,720 them into one family, being in Christ, being in the Lord. 411 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:08,200 And Paul here, as he's writing this, he's not speaking to 412 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,800 famous individuals. He's not speaking to people who 413 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,200 are impressive from a worldly perspective. 414 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:15,720 But he is speaking to people because this is what Paul says a 415 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:18,760 lot of times in that same section that they worked hard 416 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,680 for the Lord. So these are not just Christians 417 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:25,920 who are positionally enjoying the status of being children of 418 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:27,880 God. They were also active as 419 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:31,160 Christians. And Paul recognize that working 420 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:33,160 hard in the Lord, serving the Lord. 421 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:35,320 And he says that over and over again. 422 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,400 And Paul wants to ensure that he sees them. 423 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:41,920 God, the Holy Spirit, through this amazing man, this 424 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:46,320 magnificent apostle, wants to let him know, I recognize the 425 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:49,160 value that you have in the church. 426 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,040 You know how he does it? He remembers their names. 427 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:58,240 And it takes time in this thesis of Romans to say, please say hi 428 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:00,560 to so and so. Please say hi to so and so. 429 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:02,680 Please say hi to the mother of Rufus. 430 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,280 Please say hi to Julia. Please say this guy's a 431 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:11,320 brilliant theologian. He has a colossal intellect. 432 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:15,280 He is so rich in the Spirit. And you know what? 433 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:20,680 It didn't make him isolated, It didn't make him a separatist. 434 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:25,680 It didn't cause him to just be among the elite of the church. 435 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,640 Paul was a deep theologian, but he was also deeply involved in 436 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:36,760 the lives of ordinary people. He he he wanted to sit with him. 437 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:39,480 He want to talk with him. He wanted to have relationships 438 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,080 with them. You know, the more spiritual 439 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:43,480 you'll be, the more real you'll be. 440 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,320 Really, you want to know how somebody's real. 441 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:53,400 Your natural, your natural you should be approachable if you're 442 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:56,240 spiritual. You know, people, people try to 443 00:26:56,240 --> 00:27:01,040 achieve this persona, this this aura that causes people to to 444 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:03,960 not even want to look at them because they're so holy. 445 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,960 What's that? That's that's not the heart of 446 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,440 Paul. Paul was so down to earth. 447 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:13,600 Paul was somebody who worked with his hands. 448 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:16,600 Paul was somebody who gave, and he helped others out. 449 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,080 Paul remembered names. Paul. 450 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:20,520 Paul was real. If you're going to be spiritual, 451 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:26,880 you're going to be real. That's true spirituality and 452 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,760 this mind. This man had a mind unlike any 453 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:33,000 other in so many ways. But he was somebody who had a 454 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:37,080 heart that was just as big. You know, he could have just 455 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,080 written to the elders of the church in Rome, to the elders, 456 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,760 and he doesn't do that. He speaks to the people. 457 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:44,720 You know why? Because he believed that the 458 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,640 church is comprised of people, not just leaders. 459 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:51,200 You know, the church functions beyond just the preaching and 460 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,320 teaching of a few selectmen. You are the church. 461 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:56,480 You you sitting there, right there. 462 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:06,520 You are an irreplaceable instrument, tool part that is 463 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:08,960 connected to other parts. That makes this thing move 464 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,840 forward, makes this thing grow. And Paul absolutely understood 465 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:14,640 that that was his theology of the church. 466 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:17,680 It wasn't just for a few spiritual men to come and to and 467 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:20,160 to give some kind of presentation and make other 468 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:22,440 minions in the church feel insignificant. 469 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:24,480 I'll never learn like that. I'll never know that, oh, that's 470 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,200 wonderful. And just go on to their own 471 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:28,520 world. Know it's this collective body 472 00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:33,960 interconnected. They can't operate apart from 473 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:39,880 one another, men and women. Go read Romans 16 on your own 474 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,400 and notice how much. How many women are mentioned, 475 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:48,360 how many ladies are mentioned, Even these women who according 476 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:52,320 to the Saint Paul Paul, who said that the role of an elder is 477 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,120 exclusive to men. He also saw what woman 478 00:28:55,120 --> 00:29:00,440 contribute to the church, their gifts and their zeal and their 479 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:04,880 participation. He was moved by it and he 480 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:06,480 recognized it. Not just men and women. 481 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:10,120 There's young and old, right? And and so there's a mother in 482 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:12,880 there that he wants to greet who who he says was a mother to me 483 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,400 as well. So there's somebody who who 484 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:19,480 shared that kind of motherly, like affection and and took care 485 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,960 of Paul at some point in his life where he says she's like a 486 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:23,480 mom to me. This is real. 487 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:27,920 Not just that you had households like actual units that share the 488 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,800 same blood that were part of the Roman church, that blessed the 489 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:33,920 wider family of faith. Don't we have that in this 490 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:36,200 church? We have families here, parents 491 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:39,840 and children that bless this church, their own homes, that 492 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:42,840 come to this collective home, this household of God and 493 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:44,760 contribute so much. This is the church. 494 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,240 It's amazing. It's supernatural. 495 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:53,280 And Paul saw it and he wrote about it and he's demonstrating 496 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,200 his absolute appreciation to these separate individuals. 497 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:00,360 And that's what we see here to some extent before I even turn 498 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:05,640 back to Romans First Kings 4. Paul. 499 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,320 And speaking to these ordinary common folk, if you can use that 500 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:11,120 language, he's not just greeting them. 501 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,280 Do you realize that he wrote Romans chapter 1 to 15 to them 502 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:19,040 Is Romans a deep book. It's a dense book. 503 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:23,280 It's one of those books are you just have to keep the cap of 504 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:24,920 your highlighter off because you're just going to highlight 505 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:30,160 almost every verse anyway. It's so rich, so comprehensive. 506 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,080 It's so elaborate. It's it's it's deep. 507 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:37,360 And who did he write it to? Theologians. 508 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:40,880 No, He wrote it to what you see in Romans 16. 509 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,880 You know what that tells you? And I, because there are many 510 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:48,040 pastors who are under the persuasion that the philosophy 511 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:51,240 of their ministries to remain and stay surface level in their 512 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:53,840 teaching and preaching, lest you lose your people. 513 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:57,320 That's not what Paul believed. Paul goes through Romans one, 514 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:02,880 the the wrath of God. Romans 2 Romans 3, The depravity 515 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:05,160 of man. Romans 4, Justification by 516 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:08,400 faith. Romans 5-6. 517 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:10,920 Romans 7, The flesh. The Spirit. 518 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:13,640 Romans 8, Life in the spirit. Romans 9/10/11 election in 519 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:16,440 Israel. He's speaking to the to common 520 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:18,440 people. Why? 521 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:23,240 Because we're meant to go deep. We're invited to go further and 522 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,320 explore the mind of God. All that he has to say to us. 523 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:30,760 So don't convince yourself. My brother, my sister, I'm not a 524 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:32,160 pastor. I'm not a theologian. 525 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,280 I didn't go to this seminary. Well, the book of Romans wasn't 526 00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:40,600 for seminarians. It's for you and I, for all of 527 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:44,280 us. So let's come back now to First 528 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:46,840 Kings chapter 4. Again. 529 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:48,520 I told you I was going to read all these names. 530 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:52,920 That's a good thing for your hearing experience. 531 00:31:54,320 --> 00:32:00,080 But let's come here to verse 20. We go from the cabinet of 532 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,400 Solomon's government to the condition of the country. 533 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:09,840 So here's how the nation is responding to the governance of 534 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:14,440 Solomon and these other leaders with him verse 20, Judah and 535 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:18,720 Israel, where as many as the sand by the sea they ate and 536 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:23,320 drank and were happy. There's joy. 537 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,440 There is a fulfillment of an Abrahamic promise, and that 538 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:28,920 promise continues. In verse 21. 539 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:32,120 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to 540 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:35,400 the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. 541 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:38,840 They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his 542 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,960 life. Why is verse 21 an important 543 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,200 thing for the Spirit of God to bring to our attention? 544 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:58,550 Holy Spirit wants to let us know the borders of Israel, not 545 00:32:58,630 --> 00:33:03,110 spiritual Israel, not metaphorical Israel, physical 546 00:33:03,630 --> 00:33:05,790 Israel and. Its land. 547 00:33:06,670 --> 00:33:09,950 Why is it important for us to see this here in verse 21? 548 00:33:12,110 --> 00:33:17,230 Good And, and more than just that, that it's a fulfillment of 549 00:33:17,230 --> 00:33:21,110 a promise, a promise that God made to Abram. 550 00:33:21,950 --> 00:33:23,750 And what promise did God give to Abram? 551 00:33:24,350 --> 00:33:28,600 It's in Genesis 1518 and you're going to see similar ingredients 552 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,240 in the verse that you and I just read to what was said hundreds 553 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:37,120 of years ago before this time. So go to Genesis 1518 and notice 554 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:40,200 this with me. On that day the Lord made a 555 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:42,600 covenant with Abraham saying to your offspring. 556 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:46,560 I give this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the 557 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:50,200 river Euphrates, from the river of Egypt to the great river of 558 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:52,080 Euphrates. What do we read in verse 21 of 559 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:54,920 First Kings 4? We're told here that Solomon 560 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:58,160 ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the 561 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:00,440 Philistines to the border of Egypt. 562 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,680 This is a partial fulfillment of that promise that God gave to 563 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,160 Abram. Your offspring are going to 564 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:11,080 possess a land, and that land is going to have certain parameters 565 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:14,080 and borders, and I'm going to assure that at some point 566 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:18,159 they're going to know that land and enjoy that land because I 567 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:22,360 gave it to them. Are you nervous? 568 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:26,840 Yeah, there's a lot of tension today, right? 569 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:29,120 There's a lot of debate today. There's a lot of dispute, not 570 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,639 just among Christians and their theological persuasions 571 00:34:32,639 --> 00:34:36,639 concerning Israel, but even in our world today. 572 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:42,520 Who does this land belong to? Is it the Palestinians land? 573 00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:45,639 Is it the nation of Israel's land, 1948? 574 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:47,679 Who's the oppressor? Who's the oppressed? 575 00:34:48,159 --> 00:34:49,960 This is what this is what's dominating our media. 576 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:51,560 This is what Dom is dominating social media. 577 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:53,960 Maybe you're getting caught up in the frenzy. 578 00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:57,560 It's inescapable almost. And we can make the rest of the 579 00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:59,640 Bible study about this. But here's what I'm comforted 580 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:01,320 by. The Bible has answers, even with 581 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:03,880 this modern issue, because it's not a modern issue. 582 00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:08,400 It's an ancient issue. And I would say this, that you 583 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:12,760 don't even have to get into much of the history necessarily. 584 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:16,560 I'm more satisfied to look at the future. 585 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:24,360 And the reason that is, is because there is an undeniable, 586 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:30,800 concrete, unless you're not a Christian, answer to this whole 587 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:37,840 thing, Israel, Palestine, Jerusalem. 588 00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:44,080 Who does it belong to? Can I tell you where Jerusalem 589 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:47,000 is headed? Can I tell you who will own 590 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:48,880 Jerusalem? Christ. 591 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:53,520 That's who's going to own it. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is 592 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:57,280 going to occupy Jerusalem. Oh, you don't believe me? 593 00:35:57,280 --> 00:35:59,040 You think that's my opinion? Well, let me show you what the 594 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:04,640 prophets say. If you believe the Bible in 595 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:08,600 Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 16 and 17, where is this all headed 596 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:10,880 to? Where is this ending? 597 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:15,000 I'll tell you where it's ending. Because the prophets told us by 598 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:21,080 the Spirit in Jeremiah 316 to 17, here's a prophecy of a time 599 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:25,080 that has not yet been known, a time to come, an era that is yet 600 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:27,960 to be experienced. In Jeremiah 316 Here's what the 601 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:30,520 word of the Lord says. And when you have multiplied him 602 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:33,680 in fruitful in the land in those days, declares the Lord, they 603 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:36,480 shall no more say the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 604 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:39,640 There's a time coming for the Jewish people, according to 605 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:43,040 Jeremiah, that they're not. They're not going to seek after 606 00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:45,960 the Ark of the Lord, I guess, at some place, and we see it 607 00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:47,160 already. It's displaced. 608 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:49,960 Nobody knows its whereabouts. But there's a time coming where 609 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:52,440 it won't even be a thought. It won't be a desire, It won't 610 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:56,120 be something sought after. Well, when will that happen? 611 00:36:57,080 --> 00:37:00,560 Says here it shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed. 612 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:03,440 It shall not be made again. It's going to be completely 613 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:06,240 irrelevant at one point. You know, there's some 614 00:37:06,240 --> 00:37:08,480 archaeologist now and some documentaries online where 615 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:11,240 people claim they found the Ark and it was placed here. 616 00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:14,520 And this is there's time coming where there's going to be no 617 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:16,720 more documentaries, no more questions about it. 618 00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:19,000 It's just going to be completely out of mind. 619 00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:21,840 Why? Because of verse 17. 620 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:28,040 At that time, Jerusalem, Jerusalem shall be called what? 621 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:34,400 The throne of the Lord, the throne of the Lord and all 622 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:38,680 nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord. 623 00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:40,480 Where? In New Jersey? 624 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:46,800 In Sydney and Shanghai and Moscow? 625 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:49,840 No. In Jerusalem. 626 00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,720 And they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil 627 00:37:56,720 --> 00:37:57,840 heart. Do you know why they're not 628 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,560 going to want to even discuss about the Ark of the Covenant? 629 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:04,320 Because the thing that the Ark of the Covenant pointed to is 630 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:08,200 now in their midst. The ark of the covenant was a 631 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:10,280 symbol of God's presence. We're told here that Jerusalem 632 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:12,960 will become the throne of the Lord, meaning the Lord himself. 633 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:18,520 Yahweh will be on a physical throne in that holy city and 634 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:19,600 they'll say we don't want the ark. 635 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:24,320 We have what the ark spoke of here, the unfiltered, unhindered 636 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:28,200 presence of God in the person of Jesus Christ. 637 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:38,480 I know it's a charge political issue today, but here's what the 638 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:39,920 Bible says. It's going to be solved when 639 00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:42,320 Christ claims it. And guess what? 640 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:44,680 Nobody's going to take it from him. 641 00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:48,960 Nobody will be able to take it from no organization or 642 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:52,120 terrorist group. No protest from college 643 00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:55,680 students. It's not going to work. 644 00:38:56,320 --> 00:39:00,000 He will rule and reign for 1000 years and the nations will come 645 00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:04,880 and honor him. You guys OK? 646 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:08,600 Right. Good this is Bible, my friend. 647 00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:12,120 This is not my opinion. And so we read here that the 648 00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:16,720 borders of Israel. This is arguably the largest 649 00:39:16,720 --> 00:39:20,680 train that was experienced and enjoyed by the nation of Israel. 650 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:24,920 Verse 22. Solomon's provision for one day 651 00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:28,640 was 30 cores of fine flour and 60 cores of meal. 10 fat oxen 652 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:32,640 and 20 pasture fed cattle, 100 sheep besides deer, gazelles, 653 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:36,160 robots and fat and fowl. Wow, what a menu. 654 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:40,080 For he had dominion over all the region West of the Euphrates, 655 00:39:40,080 --> 00:39:45,480 from Tifsha to Gaza, over all the kings West of the Euphrates. 656 00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,680 And he had peace on all sides around him. 657 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:53,120 And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to 658 00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:57,840 Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all 659 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:01,120 the days of Solomon. So here's a summary of the reign 660 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:02,560 of Solomon. They had peace. 661 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:07,800 They knew peace all around them. And there's a proverbial saying 662 00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:12,040 that we heard at the conference that every man sat under his own 663 00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:15,400 fig tree. And that's just a beautiful way 664 00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:18,760 of explaining that there was a sense of safety in the hearts of 665 00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:21,080 the nation of Israel. That they can live out in the 666 00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:24,640 open and enjoy their own personal garden and live in 667 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:27,920 their own shade with No Fear of being attacked or siege to come 668 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:31,600 about them. They knew a security that was 669 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:34,280 ushered in by this king who had a promise from God. 670 00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:37,600 And this proverbial saying that every man will sit under his fig 671 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:43,720 tree became a proverbial portrait of the Messiah and his 672 00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:45,680 rule and reign. That when the Messiah comes, our 673 00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:49,320 Messiah being Jesus Christ, each man will also know this reality. 674 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:53,160 They will know some kind of a peace and safety in the streets, 675 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:55,440 and that will only come when the Prince of peace comes. 676 00:40:55,560 --> 00:40:58,200 That's Micah 4/4, if you're taking notes, Micah 4/4, 677 00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:02,520 Zechariah 310, where you see this description repeated as 678 00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:07,440 prophecy, repeated as prophecy. And again, may I remind you that 679 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:10,680 at the conference, perhaps that is the significance of Nathaniel 680 00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:14,680 sitting underneath a fig tree, that he himself in that moment, 681 00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:17,680 though they were occupied by Rome and there was so much 682 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:19,920 spiritual leadership and corruption. 683 00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:21,800 He's sitting underneath that fig tree. 684 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:25,880 Maybe, maybe, maybe was meditating on when the Messiah 685 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:29,800 would come and clean up all that mess and when Jesus Christ says 686 00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:32,760 I saw you underneath that fig tree and Nathaniel's response 687 00:41:32,760 --> 00:41:37,400 was you are the King of Israel, I believe Nathaniel in that 688 00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:39,920 moment wasn't just impressed how Jesus knew about his physical 689 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:42,280 location, but what was occupying his heart. 690 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:49,040 He couldn't wait for that messianic age to to be a reality 691 00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:53,360 in his own day. But listen to sit under your fig 692 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:57,480 tree and to have your own personal garden, as impressive 693 00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:01,280 as that is, is limited. It's limited. 694 00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:03,160 Why? Because it speaks of economic 695 00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:05,600 flourishing. It speaks of political 696 00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:08,720 tranquility. But it's not a complete peace. 697 00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:16,040 Solomon couldn't offer the peace of heart when it comes to how 698 00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:19,120 you relate to God. Necessarily, Solomon could not 699 00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:23,280 offer a peace with the account of your sins. 700 00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:26,440 Solomon couldn't go there. He can only go so far. 701 00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:28,800 And so This is why Jesus is greater than Solomon. 702 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:31,200 You remember that if you're at the conference, that he is the 703 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:34,040 giver of a better peace. And if this is a summation of 704 00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:36,960 Solomon's peace, right, that they knew safety from Dan to 705 00:42:37,240 --> 00:42:39,920 even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig 706 00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:42,000 tree. What's the summation of the 707 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:43,760 peace that King Jesus offers anybody? 708 00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:48,080 Remember, if you were at the conference, what is that 709 00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:50,960 reference that tells us about the extent of the peace that 710 00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:57,120 Jesus Christ gives? It's a verse that you and I 711 00:42:57,120 --> 00:43:01,160 should memorize in these days. It's in the last few verses of 712 00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:05,800 2nd Thessalonians 316. Here's the peace that Jesus 713 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:08,400 gives. Here's the repose. 714 00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:12,240 Here are the green pastures for your soul that He leads you and 715 00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:17,480 I on and to lay upon 2nd Thessalonians 316. 716 00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:21,520 This is a beautiful scripture. Now may the Lord of peace. 717 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:22,640 He's not just the giver of peace. 718 00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:26,560 He is the Lord of peace. May the Lord of peace himself 719 00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:31,120 give you peace when when you have the right party in office, 720 00:43:31,920 --> 00:43:36,200 when your bank account is full, when your body's intact and 721 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:38,080 disease free. No. 722 00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:42,280 May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times, in 723 00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:47,880 every way uninterrupted peace, every second of every season. 724 00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:51,600 You can know this peace. The Lord be with you all. 725 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:55,840 That's the peace that the greater than Solomon offers, A 726 00:43:55,840 --> 00:44:02,720 peace that secures emotional, spiritual, mental, serenity 727 00:44:02,840 --> 00:44:09,600 every second of every season. And I want to tell you that this 728 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:14,560 kind of quality of peace is totally unattainable if you 729 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:17,400 don't have the Lord of peace. You need the Lord of peace. 730 00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:24,550 You need to be rightly related with the Lord if you want this 731 00:44:24,550 --> 00:44:26,350 peace to be deposited in your heart. 732 00:44:26,710 --> 00:44:28,270 If you don't have the Lord of peace, you will never know. 733 00:44:28,270 --> 00:44:30,070 This peace, Neither will this world. 734 00:44:30,070 --> 00:44:34,590 Neither will the Middle East. It's only the Lord of peace and. 735 00:44:37,310 --> 00:44:41,310 That's what you and I can walk in now. 736 00:44:41,310 --> 00:44:43,630 We come here, back as we finish up this chapter. 737 00:44:47,150 --> 00:44:51,350 What do we see here? A crack in Solomon's faith. 738 00:44:51,750 --> 00:44:59,520 The foundation of his faith. We read here that he lived in 739 00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:05,560 peace, surely, but in verse 28 barley also, and straw for the 740 00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:08,240 horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it 741 00:45:08,240 --> 00:45:11,640 was required. Each according to his duty. 742 00:45:11,640 --> 00:45:15,520 Earlier read that he had 40,000 stalls of horses and 12,000 743 00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:20,520 horsemen, good or bad. For Solomon to acquire all these 744 00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:24,640 horses, Is that just another symptom of his success or 745 00:45:24,640 --> 00:45:28,160 symptom of something else? Could a king have all these 746 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:31,320 horses? Was it right for a king to 747 00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:36,480 possess this kind of artillery? How do you know? 748 00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:46,920 Yes, OK, it was supposed to be a time of peace, sure, but what if 749 00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:48,840 he just really liked horses? Is that the idea? 750 00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:51,640 No. It was supposed to be a time of 751 00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:52,560 peace. So there seems to be a 752 00:45:52,560 --> 00:45:54,360 contradiction here in Solomon's planning. 753 00:45:54,360 --> 00:46:00,840 But in the law, whether you're Solomon or not, to acquire many 754 00:46:00,840 --> 00:46:04,360 horses was illegal. Do you know the reference to 755 00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:07,440 this? In Deuteronomy 1716, we're told 756 00:46:07,440 --> 00:46:11,800 explicitly that for all kings, all succeeding kings, all future 757 00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:16,680 kings of Israel, you could not acquire for yourself many horses 758 00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:19,920 only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the 759 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:22,120 people to return to Egypt. Here's the bad thing with 760 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:23,920 Solomon here is that he does both. 761 00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:29,920 He established his relationship with Egypt, and he acquires 762 00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:31,600 horses in order to acquire many horses. 763 00:46:31,600 --> 00:46:34,880 Since the Lord has said to you you shall never return that way 764 00:46:34,880 --> 00:46:37,680 again, you shall never return that way again. 765 00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:41,960 Why was God against Chariots? Why was God against a king 766 00:46:41,960 --> 00:46:48,120 acquiring all this? Because you'd be tempted to rely 767 00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:52,320 on that and not on him. What does the psalmist say in 768 00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:54,240 Psalmist and Psalm 20 verse seven? 769 00:46:55,840 --> 00:46:57,880 You know it, yes? What is it? 770 00:47:00,400 --> 00:47:03,000 Some entrust, trust and horrors and others in Chariots. 771 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:07,400 But where is our trust in the name of the Lord our God? 772 00:47:09,560 --> 00:47:12,840 So the Lord's the Lord said, you can't do this because I want you 773 00:47:12,840 --> 00:47:14,280 to rely on me. I mean, didn't they learn the 774 00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:15,520 lesson? What did God do with a bunch of 775 00:47:15,520 --> 00:47:16,680 Chariots when they cross the Red Sea? 776 00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:20,240 He buried them. He actually messed with the 777 00:47:20,240 --> 00:47:22,200 spokes and the wheels and they jammed. 778 00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:24,440 Why are you going to put your trust in that? 779 00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:26,880 Why are you going to put so much energy and time and investment 780 00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:28,280 and breeding? And look, they even have to feed 781 00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:31,280 the horses and cause slaves and servants to go out and to 782 00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:33,320 acquire, to make sure, make sure that they were strong and 783 00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:35,000 healthy. You could avoided all of that if 784 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:36,720 you just simply listen to my word. 785 00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:40,560 Just trust in me. Just trust in me. 786 00:47:41,800 --> 00:47:44,760 And so, already here, just like in Chapter 3, we're seeing 787 00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:48,120 problems in Solomon's faith. So in the midst of all of this 788 00:47:48,440 --> 00:47:53,840 promising and flourishing, you see issues, you see issues with 789 00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:57,280 his relationship with the Lord. He is not careful with the word 790 00:47:57,280 --> 00:47:59,080 of God. And let me repeat myself from 791 00:47:59,080 --> 00:48:00,440 something I said a couple weeks ago. 792 00:48:00,640 --> 00:48:03,920 If you are not careful with the word of God today, you'll not be 793 00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:06,200 prepared for the temptations that await you tomorrow. 794 00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:11,040 He's already flimsy. He's not standing on solid 795 00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:13,240 ground. He's not taking every aspect of 796 00:48:13,240 --> 00:48:16,040 his life and screening it through the word of God and the 797 00:48:16,040 --> 00:48:18,560 wisdom of God. He's slipping here and there. 798 00:48:18,760 --> 00:48:21,800 You and I can't afford to do that because what starts out as 799 00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:26,520 a crack can ultimately crumble, and we're going to see it. 800 00:48:26,520 --> 00:48:30,920 We already know that. Well, it doesn't even end there, 801 00:48:30,920 --> 00:48:34,040 does it? We get a summary of his wisdom 802 00:48:34,040 --> 00:48:36,200 in verse 29 down as we close here. 803 00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:41,480 God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure and 804 00:48:41,480 --> 00:48:45,920 breath of mind, like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon's 805 00:48:45,920 --> 00:48:49,200 wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the East and 806 00:48:49,200 --> 00:48:53,000 all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all of 807 00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:58,560 their men, wiser than Ethan the Ezra height and hemen and Calcol 808 00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:02,880 and Darda, the sons of Mahul. And his fame was in all the 809 00:49:02,880 --> 00:49:08,480 surrounding nations. He also spoke 3000 Proverbs and 810 00:49:08,480 --> 00:49:11,960 his songs were 1005. How many songs do we have of 811 00:49:11,960 --> 00:49:17,680 Solomon in our Bibles songs? Unless you're trying to say that 812 00:49:17,680 --> 00:49:21,880 the songs are also Psalms. If it's purely a song, we have 813 00:49:21,880 --> 00:49:29,520 won the Song of Solomon out of 1000 and five 3000 Proverbs. 814 00:49:29,800 --> 00:49:32,400 Incredible. He spoke of Trees, from the 815 00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:36,200 Cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the 816 00:49:36,200 --> 00:49:38,520 wall. He spoke also of beasts and of 817 00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:40,400 birds and of reptiles, and a fish. 818 00:49:41,040 --> 00:49:44,240 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon 819 00:49:44,520 --> 00:49:47,400 and from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his 820 00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:50,360 wisdom. And so this is really like a 821 00:49:50,360 --> 00:49:52,640 resume, right? This is just showing how 822 00:49:52,640 --> 00:49:55,520 excelling this man was. But notice here, this is what 823 00:49:55,520 --> 00:49:57,920 intrigued me, the name of certain men in verse 31. 824 00:49:57,920 --> 00:49:59,480 He was wiser than all of the men. 825 00:49:59,480 --> 00:50:01,960 So there's these other men who had a reputation of of being 826 00:50:01,960 --> 00:50:04,480 wise as well. Four of them, one of them being 827 00:50:04,480 --> 00:50:07,360 Ethan, another man being he man, Kalkul and Darda. 828 00:50:08,040 --> 00:50:10,680 So clearly at this time there were contemporaries in Solomon's 829 00:50:10,680 --> 00:50:13,680 day who had a reputation of being extremely intelligent. 830 00:50:14,520 --> 00:50:17,360 And we're told here is that even the most famous that had a 831 00:50:17,360 --> 00:50:20,960 reputation that were sought after, they could not compare. 832 00:50:21,600 --> 00:50:25,440 They stood in the shadows of this towering mind of Solomon's. 833 00:50:27,760 --> 00:50:30,760 Do we ever see Ethan and Heman or any of these men mentioned 834 00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:36,720 elsewhere in Scripture? That's right. 835 00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:39,840 They're both found in the Book of Psalms. 836 00:50:41,240 --> 00:50:46,400 Actually, Ethan wrote one Psalm and Heman wrote another, and 837 00:50:46,400 --> 00:50:50,480 they're coupled together. Does anybody know where the 838 00:50:50,480 --> 00:50:57,960 Psalms are found? Which Psalms, Psalm 88 and Psalm 839 00:50:57,960 --> 00:51:00,480 89. Go there with me for a second. 840 00:51:11,340 --> 00:51:14,260 So not only were these wise men, these men were worshippers, 841 00:51:14,860 --> 00:51:20,020 these men were psalmist, these men were prayer men. 842 00:51:20,660 --> 00:51:24,620 And we don't have time to go through this, but look at Psalm 843 00:51:24,620 --> 00:51:26,700 89. I mean, think about it this way. 844 00:51:26,700 --> 00:51:31,980 And maybe I mean this is just my my individual kind of meditation 845 00:51:31,980 --> 00:51:33,340 on what we just read in First Kings. 846 00:51:33,340 --> 00:51:37,900 For you have Solomon being compared to these other amazing 847 00:51:37,900 --> 00:51:42,840 men who are contemporaries, and he outshined them all. 848 00:51:42,880 --> 00:51:46,080 He outshined them all. Makes you wonder what you would 849 00:51:46,080 --> 00:51:49,800 feel if for the longest time you were a reputable individual, 850 00:51:49,800 --> 00:51:52,520 sought after individual, and then some guy comes out of 851 00:51:52,520 --> 00:51:57,560 nowhere and he just takes over. You know how some people would 852 00:51:57,560 --> 00:52:00,960 be intimidated by that, By that. Some people be insecure by that. 853 00:52:00,960 --> 00:52:05,160 But then I come to Psalm 88, Psalm 89, and I'm comforted to 854 00:52:05,160 --> 00:52:08,160 know that these men were worshippers nonetheless. 855 00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:10,280 And we know that the contemporaries. 856 00:52:10,280 --> 00:52:13,720 Because in Psalm 89, Ethan is actually writing about the 857 00:52:13,720 --> 00:52:16,600 covenant that God made with David and his sons forever. 858 00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:21,440 And he was rejoicing in that. Solomon wasn't a competitor. 859 00:52:21,440 --> 00:52:23,480 Solomon wasn't somebody who challenged his ego. 860 00:52:23,480 --> 00:52:29,040 Solomon was just another display of God's mercy that gave Ethan 861 00:52:29,040 --> 00:52:33,040 another reason to glorify God. I hope we can see each other 862 00:52:33,040 --> 00:52:36,040 that way. I hope you and I, when we see a 863 00:52:36,040 --> 00:52:39,480 gifted individual, an individual that's been given much 864 00:52:39,480 --> 00:52:43,720 opportunity to glorify God, you can look at that person and that 865 00:52:43,720 --> 00:52:47,200 give you another reason to rejoice in the Lord, to praise 866 00:52:47,200 --> 00:52:48,560 the Lord. Look at the some of the 867 00:52:48,560 --> 00:52:49,960 language. Look here, verse one of Psalm 868 00:52:49,960 --> 00:52:52,080 89. I will sing of the steadfast 869 00:52:52,080 --> 00:52:54,360 love of the Lord forever with my mouth. 870 00:52:54,360 --> 00:52:56,960 I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 871 00:53:01,240 --> 00:53:03,280 And he rehearses over the covenant that God made with 872 00:53:03,280 --> 00:53:05,760 David. And look at this verse 11. 873 00:53:06,160 --> 00:53:08,680 The heavens are yours. The earth also is yours. 874 00:53:08,680 --> 00:53:11,440 The world and all that is in it. You have founded them. 875 00:53:11,800 --> 00:53:14,320 He just can't get over that. Everything. 876 00:53:14,320 --> 00:53:17,480 Even the covenant that David was experiencing, that Solomon was 877 00:53:17,480 --> 00:53:18,760 experiencing, that came from God. 878 00:53:18,760 --> 00:53:22,520 It all comes from God. This is how he can view people. 879 00:53:22,520 --> 00:53:23,960 This is how he can view circumstances. 880 00:53:23,960 --> 00:53:26,040 This is how he can view shifts in his own life. 881 00:53:27,240 --> 00:53:29,960 I mean, in a sense he was among the first place, and now he's 882 00:53:29,960 --> 00:53:34,120 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and he's totally unmoved by that. 883 00:53:36,520 --> 00:53:40,080 You know, a believer comes in and they play beautifully on 884 00:53:40,080 --> 00:53:41,680 music, probably more beautifully than you do. 885 00:53:42,960 --> 00:53:45,200 You rejoice in that somebody comes in and they they preach 886 00:53:45,200 --> 00:53:50,800 better than you do. You rejoice in that somebody 887 00:53:50,800 --> 00:53:54,880 comes in and they they have the ability to give wise counsel 888 00:53:54,880 --> 00:53:56,600 better than you. Do you rejoice in that? 889 00:53:58,320 --> 00:54:01,520 Or do we shrink and we harbor jealousy? 890 00:54:03,400 --> 00:54:07,600 I was that person one time. That's not godly, that's not 891 00:54:07,600 --> 00:54:12,920 wisdom, that's not spirituality. And I was just looking over this 892 00:54:12,920 --> 00:54:14,080 quickly. I mean, I was looking, it's a 893 00:54:14,080 --> 00:54:17,600 long Psalm. But one verse touched me and I 894 00:54:17,600 --> 00:54:19,520 think it's a good verse. It's not even related to this 895 00:54:19,520 --> 00:54:22,800 thought, but just a thought for us in the time that we're living 896 00:54:22,800 --> 00:54:25,080 in. Look at verse 46. 897 00:54:25,080 --> 00:54:27,280 How long, O Lord, will you hide yourself forever? 898 00:54:27,760 --> 00:54:30,080 How long will your wrath burn like fire? 899 00:54:31,320 --> 00:54:32,520 This is the verse that touched me. 900 00:54:33,560 --> 00:54:40,520 Remember how short my time is, For what vanity you have created 901 00:54:40,520 --> 00:54:44,800 all the children of man. What man can live and never see 902 00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:47,640 death? Who can deliver his soul from 903 00:54:47,640 --> 00:54:51,200 the power of Sheol? And I found myself all my way 904 00:54:51,200 --> 00:54:55,200 here meditating on this Bible study, looking at Ethan's words 905 00:54:55,560 --> 00:54:57,920 and seeing and praying the same thing in my heart. 906 00:54:58,640 --> 00:55:01,240 Lord, remember how short my time is. 907 00:55:02,560 --> 00:55:06,440 Remember how short my time is. Your time is short. 908 00:55:06,720 --> 00:55:08,000 True. Isn't it true? 909 00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:10,240 And the time of what we're seeing here, the times that 910 00:55:10,240 --> 00:55:14,080 we're in, is indicating that time is indeed very short. 911 00:55:15,440 --> 00:55:17,960 And so I want us to just if we can close in prayer and ask the 912 00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:21,200 Lord to make the most of our time while we still have it. 913 00:55:22,320 --> 00:55:24,200 Father, we thank you for this Bible study. 914 00:55:28,720 --> 00:55:32,040 We thank you that you can speak to us through the high 915 00:55:32,040 --> 00:55:39,400 officials, the administration, the Cabinet of King Solomon, and 916 00:55:39,400 --> 00:55:44,600 touch our hearts. We ask Father, like what this 917 00:55:44,600 --> 00:55:49,320 man said by the Spirit, please consider how short our time is, 918 00:55:49,960 --> 00:55:53,000 and we ask that you would help us use it for your name's sake. 919 00:55:55,840 --> 00:55:58,680 May every second be fragrance of worship to you. 920 00:55:59,720 --> 00:56:02,200 May we know your peace every second as well. 921 00:56:03,120 --> 00:56:06,520 May that peace be a fragrance unto others in these last days, 922 00:56:07,200 --> 00:56:16,400 that they would realize that the miracle of freedom of turmoil 923 00:56:16,400 --> 00:56:18,560 and pain can only come from the Prince of peace. 924 00:56:19,160 --> 00:56:20,720 In Jesus name. Amen.