First Kings Chapter 9. Let's meet there together First
Kings Chapter 9. Let's just begin our time by
going straight into the text and then taking our time to mind the
word of God together. First Kings 9 verse one reads as
soon as Solomon had finished building the House of the Lord
and the King's house and all that Solomon desired to build.
The Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared
to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him, I have
heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me.
I have consecrated this house that you have built by putting
my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be
there for all time. And As for you, if you walk
before me as David, your father walked with integrity of heart
and uprightness, doing according to all I have commanded you, and
keeping my statutes and my rules.
Then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I
promised David, your father, saying, you shall not lack a man
on the throne of Israel. But if you turn aside from
following me, you or your children, and do not keep my
commandments and my statues that I've set before you, but go and
serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off from,
cut off Israel from the land that I've given them, and the
house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of
my sight. And Israel will become a proverb
and a byword among all peoples, and this house will become a
heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be
astonished and will hiss. And they will say, Why has the
Lord done thus to this land and to this house?
And they will say, because they abandoned the Lord, their God,
who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold
on other gods, and worship them and serve them.
Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.
This is God's word. Let's pray and ask him for his
help. Father in heaven, with absolute
reverence and adoration, We look to you tonight as a church.
And we ask with great humility as well, that you would come to
our aid and expound these truths to us, the way you intended
these things to be learned and explained.
May it come forth by the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
And we ask, Lord, that you would hover over every heart and make
it the right soil to receive the seed, so that it can germinate
and become the harvest that You desire from us.
We thank you, O Lord, that everything we learned today.
Is on the basis of your grace and mercy, your love, the love
that initiated everything that we are enjoying in this moment.
We ask, Lord, that you would receive the glory that is your
due as we respond to this word in Jesus.
Name Amen First Kings Chapter 8 Solomon spoke to God First Kings
Chapter 9. God speaks to Solomon, and I
want you from the outset to consider verse one and look at
the timing in which this divine manifestation occurred.
We read again as soon as Solomon had finished building the House
of the Lord and the King's house and all that Solomon desire to
build. The Lord appeared to Solomon a
second time. When was the first time when
Solomon became King of First Kings, Chapter 3, and he sought
the Lord for wisdom, and he did so in Gibeon.
The Lord appeared to him at Gibeon.
In what way? Through a dream by the night.
And so here we're saying we're being told that this happened at
Gibeon the same way that it happened at Gibeon back in
Chapter 3. So it's through a dream at
night. But when did it happen?
As soon as Solomon finished building all those major
projects, Then the Lord in his perfect wisdom decided to
manifest himself to the King, to not just explain his delight of
what was just accomplished for his name, but to also provide
warning, to provide warning that Solomon would.
Continue on the path of faithfulness and that He would
finish well. God is concerned not just of
what we have done, what we're even doing in the moment.
God is concerned about all of us finishing well.
He wants us to all finish and faithfulness and devotion to
Him. And the Lord appears to Solomon
to encourage him on that path at a very strategic juncture, one
that you and I also have to consider.
The Lord appears to Solomon brings himself before him at a
time of great accomplishment, at a time when Solomon is advancing
with unprecedented success. The Lord chooses to come at this
time and say, hey Solomon. Don't forget about me.
Hey, Solomon. Remember Me?
Hey Solomon, remember my word. Solomon, remember the conditions
of the blessings that you are enjoying at this time.
It's not very difficult to seek the Lord when things are falling
apart. It's very difficult to seek the
Lord and keep Him before you. When everything is going
extremely well, everything is going very, very well.
For Solomon, humanly speaking, even spiritually speaking, he is
obeying the Lord, at least to this degree, with the temple
honoring His name, fulfilling the promise that was made, the
command that was made to build a house.
That's all done. But Solomon has to understand
something as you move forward. Keep me before you.
You know, David Solomon's father sent something incredible in
Psalm 16, verse eight. He says I have set the Lord
always right. Did he say sometimes before me?
Did he say on Sunday morning before me?
Did he say Sunday morning, Wednesday night prayer, and
Friday night Bible study before me?
I have set the Lord always before me.
Always. What does that mean?
I've put the Lord as priority, as my focus, as my goal, as my
motivation. I filter every event in life
through the Lord because He's before me.
And that's a choice David made. That's a choice you and I have
to make every single day. And the rest of that verse, in
that Psalm chose and declares the reward of doing so.
I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my
right hand. I shall what?
Never be shaken, Never be shaken?
Implying what? That when you choose to put God
first, always, God promises you to never be removed from His
perfect will for your life. You'll never be shaken.
You'll never be intimidated. You'll never have to fear being
outside of his perfect provision, his perfect
protection and the abundant life that he promised those who abide
in the vine. I have set the Lord always
before me. And here's the Lord saying
something with that truth in essence.
Solomon, don't forget about me. Don't forget about my word,
Believer, tonight. What a wonderful exhortation
leading up to the New Year. Don't you lose sight of God and
His word ever, and especially when you're when your heart is
riding on the thrills of achievements and milestones that
you've passed in life. That should only exhilarate and
exalt God more in your heart, not diminish his presence and
who he is in your day-to-day life.
So this is what the Lord is doing.
He's essentially telling Solomon, I am pleased with what
you have done, but you have to understand I want you to
continue and notice what he says here in verse three.
And the Lord said to him. I have heard your prayer and
your plea. Pause and just simmer.
There consider the wonder of that statement.
I have heard your prayer and your plea.
The God of heaven heard the voice of A.
Creature on Earth? That's amazing.
That's astounding. That's fascinating.
And Lord, assure Solomon that he did in fact hear him.
He did in fact hear every word that he said, every request that
he made. And he in fact also says, I'm
going to do something about that request.
Here's a simple truth, but so incredible at the same time.
When you and I speak to God, we can expect for him to hear, you
can expect him to hear, and you can expect him to answer in one
way or another. Doesn't mean that he's going to
answer in the same way that he did with Solomon.
But the same invitation that God gives to this royal king to pray
and to be heard and to have an answer to that prayer is the
same invitation that's extended to you and I as well.
We are. Invited to have that kind of
experience with God, to seek him, to offer these prayers to
them and forgot to answer them in His perfect way.
But look how the Lord answers. What stands out to you.
Apart from I've heard your prayer and your plea, which you
have made before me, I've consecrated this house that you
have built. Wonderful.
Look what he says. By putting my name there
forever, my eyes and my heart will be there for all time.
My eyes and my heart. He could have just said my eyes,
right? But he doesn't just say my eyes,
He says my eyes and my heart. Why do you think that's
significant? I'll give you a hint.
Consider First Kings, Chapter 8. Consider within First Kings,
chapter 8. What Solomon's request to the
Lord was concerning this house? OK.
There's there's more there. When Solomon asked the Lord to
do something for the house or toward the house, what did he
ask specifically? It's in chapter 8.
Another hint, it's in the 20s of the verses.
I'll give you a few more seconds, OK, verse. 29 Look at
the specific request of Solomon makes when he prayed to the
Lord. What?
Did he ask that your eyes may be open night and day toward this
house? This is what?
He asked. Any.
Mention of the heart. Did he say, Lord, your eyes and
your heart toward this house? Did he say that?
Did he ask that? No, He just said, Lord, your
eyes just asking for your attention to be on this place.
I'm asking that you wouldn't forsake us or turn your back on
this place, that your blessing would forever remain.
As you hold this place in your sight, you know what the Lord
does. And answering, Solomon's Prairie
says. I won't just give you my eyes,
I'll give you my heart with it. I won't just give you my eyes.
I'm going to give you my heart. What does that say?
What does that testify about God?
A pattern that you see throughout the Scriptures, that
when you and I ask of the Lord, He goes above and beyond.
When you and I ask the Lord, he answers with surplus that in his
enjoyment he gives an excess man.
This is this has happened more than once with Solomon.
Remember what Solomon asked in First Kings chapter three?
He asked the Lord for what? Crown me with what?
Give me wisdom. What did the Lord say in
response to him in First Kings chapter 3?
You're going to get discernment. You're going to get discretion
between good and evil. But I'm going to give you what
you didn't ask for. Remember that.
I'm going to give you riches. I'm going to give you all these
other things on top of what you asked for.
This is the character of God that not only is he willing to
meet our request, but in his infinite goodness, he's willing
to pour out even more saying why?
Because he's good, He's good, that's why.
Because he delights and providing and flourishing and
showering us with his presence and his goodness and his
blessings. So he tells.
He tells Solomon. Not just my eyes.
I'll give you my heart. Toward this place.
Oh, what did that do to Solomon? Oh, I don't know.
I'm telling you what it would have done for me and say, oh
wow, Lord, you're willing to do that even?
Yes, I'm willing to do that. So how can prayer be something
that you're hesitant to do when the option is constantly there
that the Lord is willing to do more than?
What do you even ask? Bless more than you ask him to
bless. Empower more than he's willing.
More than you're asking him to empower even more.
So he says. I'm going to give you my heart
that tells me something else over the Lord.
He could have just said, I'll give you my eyes and that would
have been great. That would have been consistent
with the faithfulness of God and the goodness of God.
But He's He's not just saying. I'm going to give you my duty of
observing and protecting and shielding and giving what is.
Necessary for this House to remain consecrated.
My heart is going to be attached to my duty.
I'm going to delight in doing this.
God. Has a heart behind what he does.
He's not a cosmic robot and. Prayers aren't.
Coins that you put into the slot.
And if you just do it with the right amount and you do it at
the right time, then he'll dish out what you're asking for.
No, his heart is behind his willingness to partner with us
in advancing purposes for his glory.
I'm just going to give you eyes. I'm going to give you my heart
with it toward this place. I'd love to know that God's
heart is connected behind his works.
His heart is connected behind. There's a there's a heartbeat
behind his promises and his commands toward us and.
Solomon hears this, says, I'm going to give you what you
didn't even ask for, and that's something you and I can expect
for ourselves. But now, with these wonderful
assurances, the Lord is going to tell Solomon that he must also
continue to adhere to things. That if he's going to continue
to enjoy what the Lord has in store for him.
So it's it's wonderful that Solomon had obeyed up to this
point, but the Lord is interested.
In wanting Solomon to keep going, as I said earlier, and so
he gives these commands, he gives us encouragement and he
gives a warning. And the encouragement here has a
promise of reward for obedience. And then there is a warning of
the consequences for disobedience.
So. Here how.
Here's how he begins with the reward for obedience, verse 4.
And As for you, if you walk before me as David your father
walked with. Integrity of heart and
uprightness. Doing according to all that I've
commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules.
Pause, pause, pause if you do. As who David, so the Lord
points. To Solomon's father.
David as a model to emulate in terms of faithfulness, integrity
and longevity of devotion to the Lord.
You and I have studied David's life carefully and long enough
to be very familiar with his personal failures.
Have we not? How can the Lord point to David
as an example of righteousness and practical holiness, knowing
that he had many trip UPS and a major fall that would have
ripple effects for generations? How is the Lord thinking here?
What do we know about God if he again is pointing to David as an
example? Any idea?
Yes, go ahead. He doesn't expect you to be
perfect, but he just. Expects you to go to the very,
very well put sinless perfection is impossible on this side of
heaven for any person, David, you and I, except for the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ, who walked on this earth perfectly.
It's impossible. So the Lord here is not pointing
to this clean, Immaculate record that David was without sin.
No, no. He's pointed at David because
there's something about David's heart that David that God longs
for all of his servants to possess.
What is it about David? What is it that made him so
unique? He was persistently repentant,
persistently contrite in heart, persistently returning to the
Lord after his failure. That is what the Lord is after.
Not that we have permission to fail, but what God longs for is
that if we do fail, we would never fail to repent.
If you do fail, not when that you're premeditating to fail.
If you do fail. John speaks about if we sin, if
we do fail, that in our failure we would not fail to turn back
to the Lord. David did that.
David had psalms about that, and that is what moved God's heart
to honor him and even honor him before others.
A man who is broken, penitent, always realizing what sin really
does ultimate to your relationship with the Lord, and
you turning back to him when you fail, seeking to never repeat it
again. Solomon, that's what I'm after.
I saw it in your father. And I want you to walk in those
steps where if you do fail, you would learn how to repent, that
your loyalty to me would be proven in turning back to me.
Even for a moment, your glance turns away from me.
Isn't that refreshing? Isn't that wonderful to know
and? Again, that if that moves you to
say well, gone, OK, I have AI have a little bit of loophole
here that I can take it. You you got to reconsider Jesus
Christ altogether. But if you understand the heart
of God in this, then that moves you to be holy.
And even as you pursue that and seek that, and you fall along
the way, you can be assured that the Lord will still honor you
because, like David, you turned back to him.
And this is what Solomon had to do.
Question. Did Solomon do that?
Interestingly, Solomon sinned, but he sinned in a way that
David never sinned. Sin is still sin.
David never worshipped idols. He lied a lot.
He fell into lust. He committed murder.
But he never did what Solomon did.
And according if you just look at the record of kings, you'll
find that Solomon will die in apostasy and there is no
indication that he died being devoted to the Lord.
It's a very, very sad sight. So the very standard that the
Lord gifts to Solomon, which again is not perfection, though
we should strive to be perfect, as our Father in heaven is
perfect just to be repentant and constantly leaning on the mercy
and grace of Lord of the Lord, even He couldn't do that.
At least in the record of Kings when you throw in Ecclesiastes,
there's debate about how Solomon might have ended his life.
But if you just look at this account doesn't end well for
Solomon. Just.
Just walk like you're father, David walked.
And this is this is the promise if Solomon does this and his
successors. Follow in those steps as well.
They would secure perpetual rule.
In the throne, they would. Remain on the throne in the
land. This is what they had to do, and
this is a wonderful promise associated with it.
But now this positive promise is followed by -1.
Verse 6 But if you turn aside from following me.
You are your children, and do not keep My commandments and My
statutes that I've said before you, but go and serve other Gods
and worship them and for the. Rest of these verses there.
Are three particular repercussions that the Lord
spells out to Solomon. Let's identify them.
The first one here is in verse seven.
Then I will cut off from Israel from the I will cut off Israel
from the land. That's.
Number one, I will cut off Israel from the land.
There will be a deportation. You will be exiled.
You will be removed from the promised land.
I will remove Israel from the land that I have given them.
Secondly, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I
will cast out of my sight. So not just a removal of the
people from the land, but a destruction of the House of God.
This beautiful adorned, this project that years went into.
God says I'm willing to bring it down to rubble if you turn from
me. So exile from the land #1, the
destruction of the temple. And here's the last one.
And Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
In. Other words, the nation and the
people of Israel will become the object of scorn and ridicule.
In the sight of the neighboring nations.
For how low they will be brought because of their sin, it will be
a reason for the other nations to look upon them with disdain.
And to mock them and to say many things about them.
These are heavy consequences, he goes on to say.
And elaborates and this house in verse A will become a heap of.
Ruins, everyone passing by will be astonished and will hiss, and
they will say, Why has the Lord done this, done thus, to this
land and to this house, Solomon, if you obey, you will know
perpetual blessing, success for generations to come, if.
You turn aside a persistent rebellion and apostasy.
Say. Goodbye to the land.
Say goodbye to the temple, and I say goodbye to the holy
reputation you could have maintained if you had just
obeyed what I had said and watched the nations look at you
in a light that you do not want. I I step back from this and I
looked at this and I. Thought if I read this in
isolation, I can come to very, very strong conclusions about
the fate of Israel the. Future of Israel.
But it's a whole different story when you consider the whole
council of God. Here's the question that I
proposed to you in light of these verses, both the positive
promise and the severe consequences.
Is. The Lord namely about the
consequences, speaking about a permanent punishment.
Or is she speaking about a temporal act of discipline
somebody? Peeped out temporal.
Is this a permanent punishment, or is this a temporal act of
discipline? This is where knowing our Bibles
will come in handy especially. When things like in our culture
are taking place temporal. Temporal.
Temporal.
OK, Any idea why Temporal any? Proof.
In Scripture, that this is this is Temporal God.
Is love God? Is love?
Well, we can say God is love about a lot of things, but God
in his love is going to throw people into hell.
His mercy is. Prophecy where he will say when
you go to that land, if you turn back then.
OK, so there are conditions for restoration, so there isn't a
permanent cut off. Even if they do head this way
toward apostasy, which they will do very good.
I'm looking for something to sink my teeth into.
I'm looking for verses. I'm looking for something to
point to, something that I want to see it in my Bible.
Right. These are good.
That was a good one, brother. I'm not disqualifying that.
But give me We want to be informed about this because.
It's important for many reasons. Yes, very, very good.
Romans 11, Sister, you went straight for the jugular.
Well, that's good. Well.
I did ask. We'll get there in a moment.
But Paul is not pulling Romans
11 out of thin air, is he? No, he's not.
Paul knows his Old Testament very well.
He knows he knows the theological realities concerning
the subject extremely well. Can I show you a verses?
There's many verses to go to, but can I show you a collection
of verses in? One place that ties so
beautifully with this warning because.
We see these very warnings come to fruition at one point,
especially in Israel's history. Tell me which one it is.
What happens? At what point did they be?
Were they removed from the land? The temple was destroyed and the
neighboring nations mocked them. Babylonian exile.
There were two exiles the northern tribes were exiled
through and by whom the Syrians came in, but the major one, the
major one that touched the core of the nation.
Because. Of Jerusalem and the Temple was
the Babylonian Exile, and the Babylonian Exile was warned
about as a final set of warning and eventually manifested in the
days of Jeremiah and Jeremiah's day.
People heard and were being prepared, though they'd some
many of them didn't believe it would happen.
But. Some heard what Jeremiah to say
that they were going. To be removed from the land.
That what what God warned here actually manifested and came to
pass. And you know what happened.
There was a popular opinion that was swirling around concerning
the identity and the fate of Israel as a result of God's
punishment in the way that he spells out in First Kings nine.
Can I show it to you? Turn with me to Jeremiah chapter
33 and let's read here together in verse 23, Jeremiah 3323, May
God Equip us and Allow Us and empower.
Us. To.
Recall these verses and remember them when they need to be
remembered. Jeremiah 3323 This is so
powerful. We read the word of the Lord
came to Jeremiah. Have you not observed that these
people are saying the Lord has rejected the two clans that He
chose? Thus they have despised my
people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight.
So what's happening? People are beginning to say,
because this is what's going to happen to Israel, because of
their apostasy, because of their rebellion, because of their sin,
God has cast off Israel, not in a temporal sense, but in a
permanent sense, that they would be no longer regarded as God's
people and that they would even no longer be recognized as a
nation. Does this sound familiar?
It doesn't. It does sound familiar.
And so here's what the masses believed, evidently based on
Israel's spiritual condition here and what God's going to do
with them. Then God's done with them.
It's over. And the Lord says something very
powerful, He says. They have despised my people so
that they are no longer a nation in their sight.
By refusing to acknowledge them as a people, not just the
people, people who have a covenant with God, they're being
despised. And then he goes on to say.
Thus says the Lord. I'm going to respond to this
opinion. Thus says the Lord, If I have
not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed
order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of
Jacob and David, my servant, and will not choose one of his
offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. You know what he's saying here.
It's very simple. My covenant with Israel is as
fixed as my covenant with the order of nature.
My covenant with Israel is as fixed as my covenant is with the
order of day and night, with the order of nature.
Then he goes on to say. For I will restore their
fortunes. And will have mercy on them.
I will do it. You know what's so significant
about this? This is being declared in the
context of severe punishment coming to Israel.
This is not in the context of them walking faithfully before
God. This is in the context of them
ready to receive the most brutal punishment they can receive as a
people who have been given a land, have been given a House of
worship, have been given a reputation and responsibility
toward the nations. And so this is what God says.
And for some reason when you when you say something like
that, Christians tend to translate it as then we have to
approve everything that the people of Israel do, whether
that be sinful or idolatry, idolatry or idolatrous.
No God is saying this. Ready to punish them.
God is saying this while they are going to be chastised the
idea of covenant with Israel. Does.
Not excuse, sinful behavior, apostasy or idolatry.
It's that's not the case at all. People view View this.
This, this conversation with a very simplistic frame of mind
and argumentation. You look at revelation and we're
talking about the city in which in Chapter 11, the two witnesses
will declare the word of the Lord with great signs and power.
And the Holy Spirit writes that the place in which they'll do
it, which is Jerusalem, which is the holy City, is called Sodom
in Egypt, spiritually speaking. So God can condemn behavior, God
can convict. God can even exercise His
judgment. But.
To say that sin. Namely, Israel's.
Sin can reach a point where it completely deletes all.
The declaration that God has made concerning their fathers is
a grave mistake is a serious mistake.
It's a misguided opinion and a skewed theological idea.
Because even the Lord doesn't believe it.
So that how? How do we understand that?
How do we understand these consequences that seem to
indicate being cast off, being rejected, not continuing to
enjoy the promises that God has declared to David and declared
to Abraham? I think this one verse helps a
lot. In Hosea chapter 3, verse four,
we see here that another prophet describes what this punishment
looks like in terms of timing, in terms of how far it goes.
Here's just one example in Hosea chapter 3, verse four, for the
children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or
Prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or
household gods. So Hosea is declaring that it's
possible for there to be long periods of time where the people
of Israel will not know, King will not know our righteous
governance, will not know a place of worship, will not know
a sacrificial system. Along.
With other things, it's possible for there to be a stretch of
time where this is not a reality for the people of Israel.
And. That's what's happened in
Israel's history. That's what's happened to Israel
post Bible times, where there was a stretch of time and there
is a time now where this is a reality.
And it was true then. For many, many years, many
centuries, they didn't know these things.
And that's what God is warning about.
I am willing to put a pause on these blessings.
Your your lack of repentance, your sin, your idolatry is able
to interrupt what I'm willing to give you without end and without
stop. Does this make sense tonight?
So it's possible for the children of Israel to go many,
many days without knowing even the things that are secured by
covenant. And I can hear it.
I can hear it. I can hear it on YouTube.
I can read it. I can see it.
I'm not a prophet nor a son of a prophet.
These are Old Testament verses. These are pre Christ.
Pre cross, pre gospel, pre resurrection, pre inception, pre
inception of the church. Surely when the Messiah comes to
his people and they reject them, that would be the final straw.
That would be the line crossed, the line of no return.
That would be where the people of Israel with all the things
that were connected to them will evaporate and have evaporated.
So we got to find some evidence. Post cross post gospel, post
crucifixion, post church. Is there anywhere we can find
where we get? Clarification about God's
dealing with the nation of Israel, Well, our sister already
referenced it. Let's look at just verse one of
Romans 11. Here's the New Testament version
of Jeremiah 3323 to 26, along with other verses in the Old
Testament. Here's what Paul says in Romans
11 verse one. What does he say?
I ask, Then has. God rejected.
Has God rejected his people? By no means.
And here's his first order of proof.
Fry myself in an Israelite. In other words, hey, look at me
for I myself in Israelite, a descendant of Abraham.
OK, you can spiritualize. You can spiritualize Israelite.
You can probably spiritualize, spiritualize.
Descendant of Abraham. But he goes even further.
He goes I I'm a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
Like I'm trying to hone in as closely as possible to my
fleshly identity here. I'm an Israelite, I'm a
descendant of Abraham, and I'll tell you which tribe I'm from.
Paul is not speaking about a spiritual Israel here, he's
speaking about flesh and blood Israel.
He's speaking about being an actual physical descendant of
this ethnic people group. And by God's grace, at some
point we will talk about Romans 11.
But let's just Fast forward through all of that and go to
what I believe is the clearest New Testament statement about
this, what some people would deem A controversial theological
discussion and topic. Verse 28.
What? Is Paul saying the same breath
of Romans 11 verse one speaking about the Jewish people, the
people of Israel? As regards the gospel.
They are enemies of God, for your sake, in other words.
In the rejection of the Messiah and the rejection of this gospel
that saves this eternal gospel that has been prophesied about
from the beginning of time, they are enemies.
You know what Paul saying there? They are in rebellion.
They are in a bad position. They are standing as enemies
before God in terms of the truth that they are rejecting, and
they are in need of the gospel. They need to repent.
They. Need to bow their knee to the
Lord Jesus Christ. They need to be washed by the
blood of the Lamb of God. They need the gospel.
They need to see. The truth and give themselves to
this truth. Paul is not dismissing that
idea. He's not.
He's not in defense of the people still having a connection
to God's purposes of plan, saying that they are exempt from
the gospel. You know, there are some people
who would say that and believe that that because of the history
and the covenants and the promises and the prophets, they
are not as urgent to be reached for with the gospel.
That's not Paul's attitude. Absolutely not.
He goes, yes, as regards the gospel, they are enemies for of
God for your sake, but he doesn't finish it there.
Let me tell you something so fascinating.
I received a. Link to documentary many weeks
ago, especially when things started to get crazy in the
Middle East and this document is to our documentary was about.
The. Very opposite of what Paul
teached, that Israel is no longer relevant.
Israel has, has, has nothing to do with the new covenant, has
nothing to do with God's future, has nothing to do with
eschatology. It's just there's no need to
look at Israel whatsoever and consider them as a distinct,
separate group that God has a special purpose and plan for.
You know what? I was?
I clicked play and I thought to myself, I wonder if they're
going to go to Romans 11. I wonder if they're going to go
to Romans 11. They went to different places.
And finally they quoted Romans 11, Romans 11, and can we go put
that verse back up there, Romans 11/28?
I said no way. How are they going to explain
this? And here's what happened.
This is what happened as regards the gospel.
They are enemies of God for your sake.
They stop and they say see their enemies of the gospel.
That's what they did in the documentary.
They didn't. Finish the rest of the verse.
You can make the Bible say anything.
If you can cut verses in half, you can say whatever you want.
You can come up with any school of thought.
Any you can dismantle the deity of Christ by doing that to the
Bible. Finish it.
But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of
their forefathers. In terms of election, God made a
promise to the forefathers of this people group, and because
of his love for them, he's going to keep those promises.
He's. Going to keep those promises.
This is not as much about the people of Israel as much as it
is about the God of this people. The God of Israel.
But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of
their forefathers. I made certain promises to this
people group. And I'm going to see it through
because my faithfulness is on the line.
My. Reputation is on the line.
The word that I said I am the Lord who do not change.
I don't change. Malachi 36, You heard it last
Sunday. Therefore you will not be
consumed, even in my discipline, against you.
And So what does that mean? Well, if you know, and if you
see the Bible for what is in terms of even the events of the
last days, there needs to be a land with a city called
Jerusalem in it. There needs to be, because Jesus
is going to plant. His feet on the mount of what?
Not Mount Everest? The Mount of Olives.
And there's going to be a time when the people that Paul
describes are going to see the one whom they have pierced and
mourn after him. There's going to be a.
Dramatic event that's going to take place in the last days,
that's going to 'cause this people group as a nation to
declare Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Messiah.
You remove that from your eschatology and and you're going
to have a very different looking eschatology.
And so Romans 11 is key. In fact, Romans 11 is not just
Romans 11. Connect Romans 11 to 910 and 11.
Those are all there to make this main point.
What has God done and what will God do with this people called
Israel in light of the rejection of the Messiah.
And he ends it on this point. He's close to finishing where he
says, look, they are enemies in terms of the gospel.
And so people wonder, well, as a Christian, how should my
attitude be toward this people group, the Jews, the nation, The
same as Paul's. I argue, what was Paul's heart?
Oh, that they would be saved. All the great sacrifices and the
great lengths I'm willing to go to for them, my brethren, to
hear the truth and be saved. You evangelize them.
You pray for them just like anybody else who needs the
gospel that is your mandated mine is the Church of Jesus
Christ. And so this is not speaking
about permanent punishment, but a temporal act of discipline.
God spells that out, and Jeremiah 33 many other
scriptures. Hosea. 3-4 tells us by way of
inference about how that would play out.
And Romans 11 and our New Testament declares what these
prophets knew that even in the rebellion of the people of
Israel are walking in, that will never irreversibly nullify these
promises because God is going to save this nation.
Let's come back to First Kings 9.
How will Solomon respond to the word of the Lord?
Unfortunately this next section that will be read.
Here is an early indication that he did not take complete heed to
the warnings that were given to him.
Let's read from verse 10. At the end of 20 years in which
Solomon had built the two houses, the House of the Lord
and the King's house, and Hiram, King of Tyre had supplied
Solomon with cedar and Cypress, timber and gold as.
Much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram 20 cities in the
land of Galilee. But when Hiram came from Tyre to
see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please
him. Therefore, he said, what kind of
cities are these that you have given me, my brother?
So they are called the land of Kabul to this day, Hiram.
Had. Sent to the king. 120 talents of
gold. Here's the first questionable
decision. A flag, if you will, following
this clear warning from the Lord.
This seems to be a very clear business transaction, right?
Hiram provides certain things to Solomon, and Solomon as a
collateral gives back what the set of cities from the land of
Galilee. Why is this?
A flag. This is the land of Israel.
No king, no person, no matter how influential, no matter what
neighboring nations have done, have the right to give away
God's land. This was issued by divine
decree. This was solely for the people
of Israel, and if you want, a reference to.
Solidify what my brother said because what he said is
absolutely true. It's in Leviticus chapter 25
verse 23. It says here the land shall not
be sold, for the land is mine. So God says this is my land.
I'm giving it to you but it belongs to me.
It belongs to me. So.
No Israelite have had any right, especially toward outsiders.
To. Give away portions of God's
promises, the prize that he consecrated for these people.
They didn't have the liberty to do this.
And. Solomon for some reason felt
like he could do this. I mean, there was even a
celebration and event. Called.
The Year of Jubilee. You've heard of this, right?
And then the Year of Jubilee. What would happen is, in very
simple terms, everything that was passed on or given over
through business transactions must return to the original
owners, lest they be deprived of their inheritance, lest they are
cut off separate from that which belonged to them by God's
original declaration. And so they couldn't just do
this. Solomon does this, and I don't
know what's going on through Solomon's mind.
Maybe he thinks they're just 20 cities.
It's not a big deal. But these 20 cities sat on this
property that God had consecrated.
And. Solomon for some reason felt
like he can do this that he even allowed.
Something to happen as you read in verse 16.
Look at verse 16. This is astounding.
We read Pharaoh. King of Egypt had.
Gone up and what does he do and. Captured Gazzer and burned it
with fire. Gazzer is in Israel, by the way.
And had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had
given it as a dowry to his daughter Solomon's wife.
So at some point the King of Egypt goes into the promised
land. Takes over a city, kills the
remaining Canaanites and takes that city and gives it to an
unbelieving idol worshipping woman.
Solomon's wife. Remember he married her back in
chapter 3. So now even that is given over
to someone who has no right to put their hands on.
What is Solomon thinking? He clearly has a low view of
what God esteems and longs to protect and shield.
And so we see here right away that there is a flag in
Solomon's devotion to the completeness of God's decree and
word. And we look at this and we think
to ourselves, where is this going to go?
Well, it's going to lead to many other things in a moment.
But notice that Solomon was not the only one who had a low view
of the land of promise. What was Hiram's reaction when
he saw these 20 cities? What's this?
Are you serious? We don't know why he said this.
We don't know what it was about these cities that made him feel
this way. But regardless.
That's God's land and and Hiram showed disrespect, disdain and
he lacked the insight of the preciousness of what God had
given his people. You know what?
You learn from that. Don't expect nor be surprised if
the world and the unbelieving don't see the preciousness of
the inheritance that you have in Christ.
Don't be surprised this. Is what Hiram is reflecting as a
gentile, someone separated from the people of God.
He lacks, he lacks the necessary adoration and approval and
acknowledgement that this is a blessing from God and you and I,
as we look out into this world and as this world observes us.
Don't. Expect them to understand the
joy of prayer. Don't expect him to get why you
take your Friday night out of your brief weekend to come here
willingly and actually enjoy this.
The blessing of fellowship. The joy.
The peace of holiness, positionally and practically.
Peter talks about how the world in First Peter 4/4 is surprised
when you do not join them in their filth, in their
debauchery. So they're surprised when you
don't join them on Friday night sinning against God.
And I'm sure they are equally surprised that you're willing to
do this instead of pleasing the flesh and advancing your own
purposes and your own plans and your own priorities.
So Hiram, here is a wonderful illustration of those who are
outside of our relationship with Christ and.
They don't esteem and value what you and I esteem and value.
It's frustrating, yes, but your heart has been made new.
Your heart sees. Your heart has been regenerated.
And so this man here says, I don't even want this.
And you read in the Chronicles account that Solomon takes aback
and he builds it for Israelites to live in again.
But. That's just the first flag.
Let's read the second flag. From verse 15 down.
To verse 19 we read of these different projects that Solomon
undergoes, but notice here in verse 20 all the.
People who were left of the Amorites.
The Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites
who are not of the people of Israel.
Their descendants who were left after them in the land whom the
people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction.
These Solomon drafted to be slaves.
And. So they are, to this day flag.
Number one is that Solomon gave pieces of the land away.
Flag #2 is what Solomon. Kept people in the land that he
should not have kept. When Israel was in Joshua's
generation entering into the Promised Land, they were called
to lay siege and to bring total deliverance from the inhabitants
of the land who have heaped up. Mountainous sins throughout
centuries that deserve to be punished, and God used Israel as
a divine instrument of judgment for that to take place.
But you read Joshua. We've studied Joshua in great
length, and we saw that in many instances as these people
established their tribes. They.
They did not remove all of the Canaanites.
And in some cases, in their human wisdom, they took these
Canaanites and they made them slaves.
Instead of driving out of the land as God commanded.
Solomon is following in the footsteps of the failure of
Joshua's generation. And you know what's so crazy?
I mean, what did we just hear about the king of Egypt and what
he did with certain Canaanites and Gazer?
What did he do with them? Did he make them slaves?
No, he he destroyed them. A picture of us destroying sin,
that's what the pictures we're not called the holy war and take
up arms. We do not wrestle against flesh
and blood, nor our weapons carnal, But we see here that
even the king of Egypt, indirectly and unintentionally,
is doing what was originally commanded.
And what does Solomon do? I can make use of these guys.
We have a lot of things that we still need to do, a lot of
projects, a lot of things that I want to accomplish, and why not
take them and make them slaves? Just another compromise
attitude, More compromise. And clearly, Solomon, as a king,
did not understand the repercussions, the potential
dangers that awaited maybe not in his lifetime, but in a time
to come, like Joshua's generation failed to see and
understand in their time let. Me give you an example, This is
a scripture that came to mind. This is the beauty of being able
to have a reservoir of the word of God in systematic study in.
Joshua 1122 and one of the attempts to eradicate these
people we read in Joshua 11/22. There was none of the Anakim
left in the land of the people of Israel, and I noticed this
only in Gaza. I know that's a that's a tough
word these days, but it's in the Bible only in Gaza, in Gath and
in Ashdod that some remain. So when they destroyed these
Anakim, right, we're told they're very specific that there
were certain of these Anakim that were left in these
respective cities. And they.
Left it alone. They didn't think it's just only
a few. It's only some.
What? Stands out to you about this
verse. There's one particular city that
should ring a bell, especially after our study in First and
Second Samuel. Very good, Gath.
You know why that's important? Who's from Gath?
Goliath's from Gath. So you didn't deal with Gath
then? And what you end up having to
deal with a giant many years later, a bigger problem down the
road that you could have dealt with early on.
Not that there weren't giants then, there were giants then.
But the picture is so clear that if you don't deal with these
things early on, they will come back to haunt you.
And I've. Said this back in Joshua, I
remember it so clearly that if you don't deal with things in
your single life, your marriage isn't going to heal those
problems as you get married. Your wife isn't going to heal
them. Children is that your promotion
is not going to do it you whatever you do.
Only. Christ can deliver you, and
Christ wants us to have this urgency of dealing with these
things now because they can take root and they can build walls
that become much more difficult to overcome.
Solomon didn't see it as a he didn't.
He didn't recognize that this can potentially go wrong down
the road. So that is his second
compromise. Not only did he give pieces of
the land away, he kept people in the land that he shouldn't have
kept. Let's look at the third one.
This one's a little bit more subtle, but it's there
nonetheless. In verse 22.
But of the people of Israel, Solomon made no slaves.
There were soldiers. There were his officials, his
commanders, his captains. His chariot commanders and his
horsemen. There's.
Compromise. There.
This sounds like a noble thing. This sounds like a respectable
thing. This sounds like something to
praise Solomon for you. He didn't make slaves of the
people of God. He gave him high-ranking
positions and. He didn't degrade them and but.
Where's the issue here? Anybody see it?
Very good observation. Chariots and horsemen.
Why is that a problem? That's one thing.
When you go to Deuteronomy 1716, you know this very well.
We're kings. Not just Solomon, but kings as a
rule. For all the rulers in the
monarchs were not to have many. What horses don't acquire many
horses? Not.
No, horses don't acquire many to the point where you put your
trust and strength in the arm of the flesh.
Did Solomon have many horses? How do we know that?
All you have to do is go to chapter 10 and 1st Kings and
look at verse. 26. Here's.
The exact number and. Solomon gathered together
Chariots and horsemen. He had 1400 Chariots and 12,000
horsemen whom he. Stationed Look at this in the
chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
That's a lot. Those are a lot of horses.
That's in direct violation of what?
Of what God had said in Deuteronomy 17.
So. You see that when he had these
leaders of horsemen and horses, he was violating the law of God.
And so already, if we honor the sequence of First Kings Chapter
9, we see that there are even more cracks to this man's faith.
There are now more footholds in his devotion to the Lord.
This is not going to end well for Solomon.
And we're being told that if we know what our Bibles, well, what
you do, you say this is? You should be reading saying
Solomon, you got to change quickly.
Things are going to come crashing.
There is a mighty fall waiting to happen, and all you have to
do is wait two chapters for that mighty fall to come.
Chapter 11. So here's here's a summary of
this chapter as we read the last few verses, Verse 24.
But. Pharaoh's daughter went up from
the City of David to her own house that Saltman held built
for her. Then he built the Milo.
We we read this and we looked at this many weeks ago.
Now look at this. This is interesting.
Verse 25. Three times a year Solomon used
to OfferUp burnt offerings and peace offerings on the author
that he built to the Lord, making offerings with it before
the Lord. So he finished the house.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Solomon's not assuming the role of a priest.
Solomon is participating in these feasts and he even by way
of example goes to these 3 Pilgrim feasts that was
commanded in Exodus. That you were to be present at
the House of God. This is a praiseworthy Dean.
This is an excellent thing. But.
Again, you take that in isolation, you say, OK, Solomon
seems to be doing well, but what's the backdrop?
It's interwoven with compromise. And.
This is an illustration of how us in compromise, we can become
very strategic when we are intentionally doing things that
we know we're not supposed to be doing.
And partial obedience has a incredible way of quieting.
Sprinkled conviction in our lives or or compromise in our
lives. Partial.
Obedience has a wonderful way of quieting, sprinkled compromise
in our lives. So what does this really mean?
What does this really mean in light of what God asked of him
in verse four of the same chapter, First Kings, Chapter 9?
What did the Lord ask of him? And As for you?
If you walk before me as David, your father walked with
integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to
all, all, all, all. That I have commanded you.
Not some, not almost, not 95 all.
I'm asking for all. And and Solomon, if you fail to
meet me with that request, be like your father David, repent
and turn to me. I'm willing to embrace you and
restore you and walk hand in hand again.
But Solomon found a place where he thought he can do some and
and others he can operate in his own wisdom and this is going to
cost him greatly. Verse 25, here's how we're
ending. We read that where he goes three
times a year and then interestingly ends with this
thought. King Solomon, verse 26 built a
fleet of ships at Easy on Geber, which is near Eloth, on the
shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom and Hiram, sent with the
fleet his servant seaman. We're.
Familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon.
And they went to Ofra and brought from their gold 420
talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.
So the last thought that. We're supposed to have, with the
backdrop of compromise, partial obedience, God speaking and
visiting to Solomon with these instructions is that he was at
this time advancing economically, politically.
He. Was growing as an entrepreneur.
He was expanding his his administrative abilities and now
he is he is now executing trade by the sea and he's able to
enlarge his international relationships and and import and
export. You know, you read that.
You think, wow, he's able to bring this vast amount of gold
and and humanly speaking, you think this is impressive,
naturally. Speaking in the carnal, you
would say this is wow, this is something, this is something
remarkable. But here's what we're seeing.
Here's this man growing in wealth, growing in popularity,
growing in power. And yet at the same time, his
heart is hardening and he's weakening in devotion, weakening
in his worship, weakening in his commitment to the things of God.
So in one sense, he's going this way, But in the most important
sense, he's declining. And it's possible for people to
do that. You know, it's so amazing.
The Lord appeared to Solomon twice.
If the Lord appeared to you and I once in our lifetime, what
would that do? What would that do for you and
I? If He appeared in a way that was
undeniable, it wasn't because you had pizza late at night.
It was a real visitation from God.
What would you do? How would that mark you?
Would that not be a? Life changing event.
Solomon didn't get it once. He got it twice, you know, read
later on and when he is going to fall in the way, he falls.
The Holy Spirit is going to make the comment of how the Lord
appeared to him twice. And still with those
appearances, he was willing to turn his back.
You know, sometimes you look at people and you see the
trajectory of their lives and you think to themselves,
yourself. You you look at this one portion
of their lives, you go, they seem to be so devoted, they seem
to have a genuine experience with the Lord.
But how did they end up here? And you know what some people
say, well, that must not been real.
That's not the case. That's not the case the.
Appearances of the Lord to Solomon at this juncture, at
this point, were very real. They weren't imagination, They
weren't hallucination. They were genuine.
It's. Possible to have a genuine
encounter with crap. It's possible to have a taste of
the miraculous. It's possible for the Lord to
come in in a very special way, and down the road you make money
your God. It's possible it is.
Possible. It's possible to at some point
have great priority toward the Kingdom of God, and eventually
other things take priority. In the Kingdom of God is not
even a secondary thought, it's an afterthought.
It's possible for us to understand through Solomon's
life for someone to do even great things for God yesterday,
but turn away from him tomorrow this.
Is the tragedy of Solomon's life.
And I think it's a providential illustration that has been
brought before us as we prepare to enter into a new year with
new hopes, new desires, new dreams, new longings, new
vision. Let me circle it back to how
this whole thing started. Don't fail to bring God.
Before you always, always His word above all things.
No matter what goes for you, no matter what goes against you.
I have set the Lord always before me.
May that be true of 2024 and the years beyond until we see Him
face to face. Let's pray,
Father, with great delight. We have tasted the morsels of
these truths and we feel nourished.
We feel equipped. We feel stirred and we feel
challenged. Lord, your mind is brilliant.
Your word is irrefutable. It's so clear.
And, Lord, you've invited us to investigate and discover your
heart, your mind, the consistency in the harmony of
your word from beginning to end. Thank you for confirming things
to us. Thank you for bringing new
things to our attention, Lord. We just ask that no matter what,
we would be people who know the truth and love the truth and
submit to the truth. Lord, even if the Truth Tonight
has challenged us here or would challenge viewers online.
May one thing be said of what was shared, it was found in
God's Word, and it was by God's grace honestly and faithfully
explained. Lord, would you keep us faithful
to your word? No matter what shifting opinions
come or go, may we stand firm on the rock of your truth.
And Lord, we just pray that Solomon's example would not be
taken lightly. We would see him as a divine, as
a divine inclusion of your Word, to be careful that we can fall
in the same traps. And at the same time may we see
the encouragement that you, O Lord, with David and even with
Solomon, you're willing to work with imperfect people, and
you're willing to take us back and walk with us, and and wash
us and strengthen us and even use us on top of that, even
after we have fallen into into any kind of failure.
Lord, as we seal up this time together, we pray that you would
receive worship not just in our singing and closing, but in our
obedience to say, Lord, help me, help me apply this to my life.
Show me in the areas of my life where I am not in alignment with
what I just heard, and may I be in alignment with what You
desire for me. Lord, we give you praise and our
we thank you. We thank you with all of our
hearts that you are truth, and we rejoice that we are in the
truth. We rejoice that we've been
rescued from deception. We rejoice that what we have in
our hands can keep us free from any lies that would make us miss
out on the promises of your inheritance that we have in
Christ Jesus. We rejoice now together as a
family and saying thank you for your word.
In the name of the word who became flesh, Jesus Christ.
Amen. Amen.
What a mighty God we serve.
Well, let's stand and worship the Lord on this wonderful
evening.