You remember when David was nearing the end of his life?
The Bible doesn't picture a man, that pictures David in times far
before that, as one of the four men that were handsome and
built, well, The Bible pictures him not as a great physical
specimen, any longer. But the Bible pictures him as a
decrepit old man, that was failing in his frailties and
about 70 years old. The Bible says, And David was
failing so that he was unable to even regulate his own body
temperature. So the Bible says that a fair
Maiden was chosen. A beautiful young lady and she
would stand before him and help him in this regard.
And her name was abishag. The shunammite.
Well, the Bible says though that and really the Bible kind of
pictures that she would be a concubine of the king and yet at
the same time, the scripture says but David He knew her not
and so there wasn't a physical relationship between David King,
David. At the end of his life and
abishag the shunammite, but you remember that the eldest living
son of King? David was a man named adonijah
and he considered himself to be entitled to the throne.
I mean, after all, he was the eldest living son, why should he
not stand? Why should he not sit on the
throne of David when his father is taken out of the way now?
The Bible pictures, this very idea that app that that this man
at an idea adonijah would go with all the Pomp and
Circumstance and all the Pomp and pride among the people, he
would go with great chariots and he would be riding in a chariot
with horses pulling that Chariot.
He would take a page out of the past.
You remember of Absalom when Absalom tried to overthrow the
Throne of King David in times, prior to this That he would take
the example of his brother and he would have 50 men and those
50 men would go on before him to Harold this coming.
So it was loud. It was boisterous, it was
powerful. It was a great spectacle.
Here he comes. The son of the king that would
sit on the throne. But you know this was a man that
had a callous disregard for God and a callous disregard for his
father's wishes as well. But you remember with the help
of Nathan and Bathsheba David was persuaded to act quickly and
install Solomon on the throne as king.
And so adonijah has attempted coup failed.
And so what he does is he flees to the altar, he realizes that
the things that he had done, and the acts that he had committed
were worthy of death, he had committed Didn't reason in the
eyes of the kingdom. And the Bible says he flees to
the altar. You know, when the Bible says
that it's obvious that he knew he was wrong.
He flees to the altar, you know, Wednesday night were talking
about the heart a little bit. We've talked about the heart so
many times and so many sermons over so many years about God,
knowing the intentions of the heart.
This was not just an idea that he thought was after all, I'm
the eldest son. So, I'll be the king and
Misunderstood? What God had instructed and what
God had wanted for Solomon. That was not the case at all.
There was nothing innocent at all, in the heart of this man.
And the fact that he flees to the altar realizing that he's
going to die. No doubt.
He felt the guilt that he had done wrong, but, you know, he
doesn't have a repentant heart. In fact, the Bible says, he
grabs onto the horns of the altar.
Remember what that was? They were those protrusions that
stuck out at the Four Corners of the altar, that looked like,
animal horns. And so, here he is, he's hanging
onto the animal horns. Solomon knows where he is though
and Solomon sends word. He Us, you summon him to come to
me. But adonijah says, no, he says,
I'm not going anywhere until Solomon.
And this is this is a very important point to our narrative
today. He says, I am not going to turn
loose of the horns of this Altar and I am not going to go where
Solomon is and I am not going to stand before the king until
Solomon swears with an oath that I will not be executed for my
crime. You know, Solomon never swears
with an oath, he only promises he says this.
Now, I think this is a wonderful picture of someone getting Mercy
or having Mercy extended to them when they were not worthy, you
know what Solomon said. Solomon said this he said you
will not die and I promise you will as long as you're a loyal
subject to me as the king, as I sit on the throne and another
point and there's no new crime, no fresh crime, nothing. an else
that you do against the throne, you will live and you will not
die. You know, after the collapse of
this attempted, coup adonijah pledged his allegiance to
Solomon, and he bows down before Solomon.
He bows down before his throne and he says he pledges
allegiance to him as the king. But if we can only examine his
heart, we would see that that was only an outward show.
Isn't that a picture of people today?
Bowing Before the Throne giving Allegiance on the outward or
showing themselves to give Allegiance unto Christ and his
kingdom sitting on his throne only to have it be only
outwardly and not inwardly with the heart.
We know that's exactly what happened with this young man
because of his actions later and not long, after the death of
Vedat an IG attempted to lay the groundwork for yet another coup
attempt. And here it is.
All of a sudden he's going to put together a subtle plan.
Now before it wasn't the subtle plan, it was look at me, I'm the
man. I'm the guy I'm going to sit on
the throne and like like just like Absalom did regarding King,
David in overthrowing his throne or his attempt to do.
So now this is going to be different.
He's going to be extremely smart here and he's going to figure
out a son. Do plan in order that he might
overtake the throne. Our, he knew that Solomon said,
you're not going to die. You will not be executed as long
as you don't do anything else. But the plan included abishag,
the shunammite the X concubine of the King, David of the
deceased King his own father. The Bible says that he calls, or
he comes to see Bathsheba. And in this subtle plan, this he
goes to see the most powerful woman in the land Bathsheba.
The queen mother. You know, she was suspicious at
first when adonijah came calling but his tactics disarmed, her
and turned her into an ally. I want you to look at these
things. These things are applicable
today. When we do such things like this
self-pity was the very first thing that he used.
Self-pity. You know what he says to
Bathsheba? He says, you know, the kingdom
was mine. After all I come in peace, but
the kingdom was mine, and then he gives a tremendous
exaggeration here. He says, all of Israel was ready
to install me and put me on the throne and recognize me as the
King, which wasn't true, not all of Israel.
But that's the exaggeration. He says, I was to be the man.
I am the eldest son of the king. I think that now is dead of my
father, it should have been me that sitting on the throne,
here's the self-pity park. But then all of a sudden even
though I should have been him. My younger brother Solomon, he
was placed on the throne. You know, he's kind of painting.
A picture of woe is me. Oh, I've been wounded.
I've been affected in that. What we do, sometimes, I'll tell
you when our heart is filled with self-pity.
You can't see outside yourself. You really can't.
If you have self pity, and that's all you're focusing in
on. Is yourself.
What you didn't? Get.
It's all about me. How you were wronged.
You cannot have the Christian spirit.
And the Christian heart that Jesus taught when we need to
look outside of our self and look to someone else can't do
it, can't do it. You know why thinking about me,
if Terry and I have a disagreement, I'm thinking about
me, we're not fixing our problem by the way, because all I'm
thinking about is me. How I was wronged?
Oh, I was wrong. You know, somebody does not
necessarily have to have an evil spirit, it conniving deceptive
Heart Like adonijah had to be guilty of having self-pity.
Let me give you an example. You know, the Bible pictures,
you remember when the seven years of plenty had passed and
now they were into the seven years of famine.
You remember when Jacob goes to his remaining sons, and he tells
his sons, I hear that there is grain in Egypt.
Take your sacks and go there. And see if you can buy some
grain. Lest we all die less, we starve
to death. They went there.
It's Joseph Joseph, recognizes his brothers.
They don't recognize him, they get the grain.
They accuse them of being spies. They says, no we're Shepherds.
We got a father back home, we had a brother, that's Joseph, he
is no more though, we have a younger brother too Benjamin,
he's back at home and then when Joseph says all right, here's
what you're going to do, I'm going to sell you the grain or
else you're going to starve to death.
But I'm going to sell you the Grain and when you go back you
have to bring your youngest brother.
Benjamin to me that I might look on him that I might see him and
to make it that you're doing it in.
Good faith, one of you has to stay behind Stay with me.
And you remember even though Reuben was the eldest, it was
Simeon. That was chosen.
Simeon. Stayed said all that to say
this. You remember when they came and
stood back before? Jacob, they were standing before
Jacob. And this is what he said, all
they treated us bad. They called the spies.
They were harsh to us. we told them about you, we told them
about Benjamin, and he says, if we don't bring Benjamin back,
Simeon has to stay. And Jacob falls apart.
He never feels sorry for anyone else.
He says these words, he never feel.
Sorry that Simeon was left behind that Simeon.
Now is the innocent party but he's left behind.
He says this everything is against me.
I've lost Rachel, I've lost Joseph.
I've now lost Simeon. And I'm not about to lose
Benjamin. Thinking only of the things that
happen to him. When we think that way, it
causes us to not be able to have the ability to see outside of
our self and see that somebody else may have it worse than we
have it. He was filled with self-pity but
he used this as a tool to break down her defenses and gained her
as an ally. Look how he builds on this.
He starts with self-pity after all, I was supposed to be the
man, I was supposed to sit on the throne.
It was supposed to be me all the people.
All of Israel were ready to install me as the king and
recognize me as the king, but after all, the great Injustice
happened to me, I was taken out of the way and my younger
brother. Other now sits on the throne.
Number two, hypocritical piety. He says this.
He says, I was taken out of the way, but I know that the Lord
had chosen Solomon. He didn't care about that.
He just uses that. I know it was the Lord's will
that that was going to happen. you know, when we pray, We pray,
we ask in faith, believing the Bible says, we must we ask in
faith believing okay and we're not tossed to and fro we ask in
faith believing but we do. So, according to his will do, we
say, if it be thy will or if it be your will do we say that just
as words are do, we really mean it?
It was the Lord's will that Solomon would be on the throne
and he says, or he acts like it was, the Lord's will.
So he is accepting of it. But he wasn't at all, and then
he says to her. He says, I need your help.
He says, do not deny me this one little thing.
You know, if he would have come to her and requested what he
wanted to request right off the bat.
Maybe she would have had her defenses up, oh but this is a
cunning crafty deceptive man, who's building his case and
looking for allies. And guess what?
Then flattery kicks in. And he says to her, he says
Solomon, your son will never say no to you.
You have the authority and you have the power to do something
that no one else has. I am coming to you and appealing
to you and I'm appealing to you as the Queen Mother.
Shirley Solomon is not going to say no to you.
Just grant me this one request and then all of a sudden he
says, here's my request. And this is a falsehood to, he
pretended, to be in love. He says, all I ask for all I ask
for is that I would have the hand of abishag.
The shunammite, that's all I want.
After all look, it's all that happened to me.
They took it all away. You can do this.
You can go and speak to Solomon. You can make this happen and
everything's going to be okay. All I want is the hand of
abishag. Well, the Bible says that she
goes and she speaks to Solomon, As she enters into the throne
room, they exchanged courtesies. And you know what's, um, what's
a beautiful picture to me? What seems to be a very
beautiful picture is here is Solomon, he is the king and he
is in the throne room, he is there on his throne, he is the
king and in walks his mother. And the Bible says that he
boughs before her in honor of his mother.
And then he prepares a place of honor.
You know, when the Bible talks about being at the right hand,
it's a place of honor. Jesus.
Right now is on the right hand of the Throne of God, in a place
of honor on his throne, King Solomon for the Queen Mother
prepares a place right next to him on his right hand and she
sits there. And she begins to ask him for
this request. She says this.
She says, I would only ask you, but one little thing, one small
thing. You know, I think that she was
just basically. I think she was deceived.
I don't think that for one minute.
She thought that she was doing anything wrong.
And I really believe when she said the words to Solomon, I
only ask. But one small thing that she
really believed, it was just a small thing.
Not realizing the implications, she was deceived by someone who
had plotted this whole thing out.
She says, grant me but this one small thing and please don't say
no, I'm going to tell you something.
If your mother came to you and says I want to just ask you a
favor. It's just a little thing.
Would you do it? How many of us would say, no.
Now, we might say, we might say, well what is it?
Well, let me know what that is first.
And then make our judgments based on what we're going to do
when we hear what it is. Now, I would imagine that we
would say that to just about anybody else.
But I know, for example, I've walked up to Daryl, he had no
idea what I was going to say. And I said Darryl, would you do
me a favor? Will ya?
What? Sure without hearing what it is.
Because when you're close to somebody, you really care what
it is, you're going to do whatever it is.
If it's going to help that person, you love that person
that's family, they're close to you.
And if they are in need, you're going to ask.
You're going to ask for it and they're going to do it.
She says to Solomon, please don't say no.
And he says, I will grant you this request.
What is it? Little did he know that she was
going to ask something that he could not Grant?
she says, all I ask is at the former concubine of King David
abishag, the shunammite be given to adonijah your brother.
That's all You know, the Bible says that Solomon was Furious.
Not only did he say, no, but he was Furious.
And you know what? He says, he says, and his
response. Why did you only ask for the
hand of abishag? The shunammite, why didn't you
just say, would you go ahead and give the entire Kingdom over to
adonijah? You see here is the point.
The point was, taking possession of a wife or a harem of a
deceased King was equivalent to a claim to the throne.
That's really the heart of a denied you, he didn't care about
her, he won in love. He wanted a leg up.
He wanted to now he had his big boisterous plan.
Now, his subtle plan. If I could just do that, it's a
leg up in the Kingdom. Solomon viewed, this petition of
adonijah as conclusive proof that adonijah was involved in.
Yet another conspiracy. Therefore he would be executed,
you know, being lenient with his elder.
Brother wants Solomon was in no mood to ignore the further
threat that adonijah posed to his Rule.
And so in the presence of all those that were in the throne
room, he swore a solemn oath that adonijah would die that
very day. He dispatched, Benaiah captain
of the palace guard. His half-brother and the order
was immediately carried out. Now notice the following for
those that might be tempted to look on the execution of
adonijah, his half-brother as a ruthless misuse of royal power,
please Ponder the following points.
Number one, Had a denied just first Rebellion, succeeded, both
Solomon. And his mother would have been
killed First Kings chapter 1 and verse 12.
Number two by fleeing to the altar.
Following the collapse of his conspiracy adonijah was
admitting that he deserved the death of a traitor.
Number 3, Solomon already displayed, great Mercy toward
adonijah once and already instead of executing him, he
placed him on probation, he Gave him every opportunity to behave
himself and to be a good subject to the king.
Number four, adonijah had been duly warned that if the
wickedness were found in him that he would be killed.
First Kings chapter 1 and verse 52 number 54 Solomon to ignore
the second offense. Might suggest that the King was
weak and such weakness would be an encouragement to sedition
throughout the land. Therefore he would be executed.
Remember joab General joab. Oh what a character that joab
was he was the commander of all the Army.
He was a man that stood valiantly and fought great
battles. Fought great battles for King
David but yet he had killed those that were innocent when
joab, here's of the execution of adonijah and the expulsion of
abiathar, he was a priest. He knew that he would be next.
Joab had not supposed Absalom are hitting that followed or
supported Absalom and his Rebellion, but he did support
adonijah in his ill-fated conspiracy against Solomon.
He realizes that treason treason was a capital crime and he does
what adonijah had done previously.
He runs to the house of God he goes to the throne He throws
himself to The Altar and he grabs onto the same horns.
Quote-unquote that adonijah grabbed onto hoping he would
find Sanctuary there. His flight to the altar
indicates that he had been involved in the abishag incident
as well. Solomon regarded joab's flight
to the author to the altar as proof of his continuing
treasonous, intentions, he orders Benaiah to go and slay
the old General, but joab won't let go.
And Benaiah was afraid to go and slay him right there at the
altar. He says, Solomon wants to see
you you've been summoned by the king but he won't come and he
won't let go and Benaiah goes back and talks to Solomon and
ask Solomon. He says, what should I do?
He says, you kill him right there.
You slay him, right? Where he stands You know,
Solomon spells out the reasons why he told Benaiah to do this
number one, the altar provided no Sanctuary for murderers.
Therefore the king ordered Benaiah to Slade joab at the
altar. Only by the shedding of blood of
this guilty man. Could the innocent blood of
Abner and a Mesa be washed away from the house of David numbers,
15 and 33 as Chief magistrate of the land Solomon, considered it
his obligation to avenge the death of my Murder victims as if
the execution though of joab needed any further
justification, Solomon adds these words that the victims of
joab Sword were better men than their SAS ins.
You know, though? Many people no doubt suspected
David of of criminal complicity in these murders.
The Deeds were actually done without his knowledge and by
avenging. The death of the innocent, the
stain of blood, meaning the obligation to punish would be
removed from the house of Even forever.
And as a consequence, the descendants of David would
Prosper. On the other hand, the children
of joab would always have to live with the stigma that their
father had been executed as a murderer.
The Bible says that he was executed joab was killed and he
was buried Solomon filled the vacant post of general of the
army and high priest with his friends, Benaiah and zadok.
But finally along this line, You remember who she met?
I was shimei, I was the one that was no doubt, some distant
relative of King Saul and when Absalom was going to overthrow,
or trying to overthrow David, on the throne, and when David is
walking along and David his weeping and David with his head
bowed low and what a sorrowful time it was, this was the man
that was standing there saying, the reason that all these things
are happening to you is because what you've done, Done against
King Saul and you're paying for it.
This is the same man that started throwing rocks at David
as he walked by. You know, nobody forgot those
things. but, you know, even though she may, I had recently
been with Solomon First Kings, chapter 1, and verse 8, his
earlier Outburst against David made Solomon suspicious of him.
Isn't that true? Isn't that true?
That people look to us and people who either have
confidence in us? Or they do not have confidence
in US based upon our behavior in the past.
Man, that's true. You can be forgiven of wrongs
that you have committed. In fact, when the Bible talks
about forgiveness, there is no number.
It's an infinite number. And when my brother sins against
me, I am to forgive him an infinite number of times.
But like I have said before, if Ryan's stealing chickens after
five or six of those guys, I'm a forgive him but I'm building a
better fence. I'm going to keep the chickens
in. You know why?
Oh, I forgive him. I don't trust him Chimay, I
wasn't trusted because his life was not such that he was trust
worthy. I'll tell you something folks
that happens to us. If we are not trustworthy, it's
because we have not lived our life demonstrating the fact that
we are worthy of such Trust. But, you know, there's Mercy
extended that Solomon extends to him, Solomon doesn't say he
doesn't come right out and say, you're going to be executed
right now. He just doesn't trust him and he
knew going back to the first chapter that, this man had at
least verbally. He, at least came out verbally
and said, I'm with you Solomon. I'm with you all the way I'm
recognizing you as king. And all of that.
So he doesn't execute him but he didn't trust him.
He tells him to build a house in Jerusalem and he tells him this,
you may never, ever, ever leave the capital.
He said in the day that you leave in the day that you
depart, you're going to be killed, get this for the crimes
that you had committed against the throne.
You know, that goes all the way back to David the crimes.
He committed against David. So, in other words, these are
crimes that are still there. In the memory bank, these are
crimes that are still there, but you're not going to lose your
life. You're going to be able to live.
I'll leave you alone in that regard.
I'm watching you though build a house in Jerusalem, you can
never ever leave and if you do You would be killed.
Three years go by. maybe Chimay eyes guard has now been let down
Maybe he thought. I don't know if he premeditated
this. I have no idea.
We don't know. The Bible doesn't say But there
were some actions that he was going to do, he was going to
break the oath that he had made with Solomon and, you know, it
was a serious matter, he broke the oath when he broke the oath
to Solomon, he broke the oath to God.
Bible says that two of his slaves to of the servants take
off. They don't want to be in the
house of shimei, I any longer and they take off and they go to
gath and they go to seek Refuge of the king named achish member,
a Kish with King. David Scholars say, this is
probably his grandson in the land of the Philistines when
David sought Refuge with a Koosh, a long time before that
when he was trying to get away from Saul, who was out to To
kill him. This is probably Scholars.
Say this achish was probably that achish has grandson you
know what he does without thinking.
Maybe he did think, we don't know, but she may I decides he
takes off and he wants to go get those slaves back.
That sounds okay in it. I just want to get my guys back.
I just want to get what's rightfully mine but in doing so
he leaves and he breaks the vowel.
He breaks the oath that he had was Solomon and to God and he
basically is saying this, every single thing that you promised
me were the conditions. I am not going to abide by that.
Therefore, I am worthy of death and that's exactly what
happened. You think Solomon forgot.
You think Solomon, Let It Go. You think in the three years
that had gone by that Solomon, just kind of thought it, maybe
not that big of a deal. The Bible says that when he is
summoned to the Palace, she may I stands before Solomon and
Solomon lodged, a three-fold charge against him and here they
are. He had profaned the name of God
by violating a solemn oath taken in the name of God.
Number two, he had violated the terms of his probation, thus
disregarding the commands of the king and number three Chimay.
I had cursed and blasphemed the Lord's anointed and that was
David even In was brought before him.
I'll tell you this. The Bible tells us.
How to live? It came up in a question on
Wednesday night about ananias and Sapphira his wife.
And how they lied. And as the Bible says, you
didn't lie to me and you lied to God, they kept back part of the
price. They were deceptive, deceitful,
liars, and God struck them both did.
Right then and there and the question was, why did God strike
them dead, right then and there, But not today.
Why did he do it? Then and not now.
You know, these are questions for God to answer in God's time
before the word of God, though. Was revealed there were things
like that or miraculous things like that.
But I'll tell you this. You know, what's scary is if I'm
not doing that which is right. Tomorrow, I'm probably going to
wake up and I'm probably going to have a nice day and I'm going
to have all kinds of activities. In the day, I'm either going to
prosper or I am not but it'll be a day like any other day.
And if I'm still not doing that which is right?
The next day might come and then a week and then a month and then
maybe a year, maybe many years. And now my heart no longer
bothers me, my conscience, no longer bothers me by the life
that I live and I'm just going right along.
I'll tell you this if I lose my life.
I've got no chance. When there's breath in me, I can
change. I can do that.
Which is right. What is Solomon say to this,
man? He says, as long as you do,
what's right, you're going to live.
And as long as you don't do anything else in the future
against the throne, you're going to live and as long as you do
what I say, and stay there in Jerusalem, and don't leave the
capital, you're going to live. Folks, the Bible says.
Be not deceived. God is Not mocked for
whatsoever. A man soweth that shall he?
Also reap. There's a Payday someday,
there's a Day of Reckoning, there's a day that I will pay
for the things that I have done in this body in this life either
rewarded or punished in eternity in a devil's.
Hell for eternity based on what I have done.
Three years past solemn. Didn't forget, and this man was
executed for his crimes and so by swiftly eliminating for
potential. Antagonists now adonijah Abaya
Our joab and shimei. I Solomon firmly establishes
himself as king but finally, now in this will be the remaining
part of our sermon. There was a day when Solomon is
going to have a time with God, and God asked Solomon.
He says of all the things that I can grant thee, what is it that
you want from me? And I think that there's a point
here that we need not to just Brush by.
I don't think that in this narrative, I don't think that in
this particular instance, God was saying whatever you want.
You can have, it doesn't say that it just says that God asked
of him, what is it that I can do for you?
God asks us. Solomon those words in a dream.
In other words, God was speaking to him in this dream, literally
And as he begins, you know what Solomon says.
He says, first of all, he thanks God because God is allowing the
son of David to sit on the throne.
To keep the crown in the family. And to sit on the throne.
He goes on to say to God. He says, I am but a little
child. May I ask you something.
If you were just now, exalted, by all the people, all Israel,
and God, and you were God's anointed, and you were the son
of the king, and you are a man with great wisdom.
And you are a man that everybody respected and you now are
sitting on the throne. Would you look to yourself with
humility like that? Solomon says, I am but a little
child, he says, and your people are so great.
Man, that's great. Your people are so great.
How can I rule your people without your help?
I feel inadequate in this regard. you know, the greatest
man are people that have that kind of heart, you know, when
you feel like it's like in sports when a kid or a player
gets to the point where he no longer feels like, he needs to
be coached and he no longer is coachable.
He's gone. As far as he's going to go, I'm
going to say something. Solomon was a great man at this
point in time. He says to God, I'm but a little
child, I need your help. So he asks for this, he says,
please grant me a Discerning heart.
This word Discerning means literally a hearing heart.
Why that I might judge or rule your people better and that in
doing. So I would be able to discern or
determine what was true and what was false, what was right and
what was wrong? You know, why God granted his
request the Bible says, God granted his request because he
didn't ask for riches, he didn't ask for Honor, he didn't ask for
a long life, think about it, of all that solemn.
Could have asked for, he could have asked for Honor among his
among his peers. He could have asked for praise
among the people. He could have asked for great
riches. He could have asked for, in this
what God said, you could have even asked that I would take
away all of your enemies and Grant you victory over every one
of them. But you didn't.
What you asked for was a tool. To better lead and rule the
people of God. That's a powerful thing.
And God says, because of that, I'm going to Grant this to you
and I'm going to give you wisdom that far, surpasses anyone that
has ever lived and anyone that will live in the future.
Save Jesus Christ. The only one, no other man ever
had the wisdom. That Solomon had no other man
but Solomon was able to do what Solomon did and make the
decisions that Solomon made. There's a lot of folks here
today that have gray hair. I don't have any gray hair but
I'm getting older. Some folks lose their hair.
We get wrinkled. We get older. and with each
passing year that goes by Don't you?
Just look back on your life and think, man, if I would have
known, then what I know now. That's wisdom.
Wouldn't it be great to be a young man and have wisdom?
Oh, we know it all when were younger have virtually?
No wisdom. But through life by our own
challenges and by making it through the things that happen
to us by our own challenges, in our life, we learn wisdom.
We also learn wisdom by the experience of others and we gain
wisdom, when we ask it from God and it gives it liberally.
God never gave it any more liberally than he did to Solomon
a long time ago and he says you're going to have wisdom that
far surpasses anyone that's ever lived and anyone that has will
live in the future times But because you didn't ask for these
things, he says I'm going to give you riches to that far
surpassed everyone else. I'm going to give you honor as
well because you've never asked for these things.
But then he says I'm going to give you a long life where years
of life and you know, of all the things that he says, That was
the one thing that was conditional.
He says, I'm going to give you something that's conditional.
I'm going to give you a long life.
You're going to have a long life, only if you continue to
walk in the way of God and do, so all the days of your life
only then will your life be lengthened.
You know, this brings us to a close of these political
matters, his discourse with God, God's Great blessings down upon
him in the very next thing we learn is about two women and a
baby. He puts it into motion, this
wisdom that God said he was going to have.
I just wonder this of all the things we could ask God for, I
mean, really of all things of all the choices and decisions
we've made in our life of all the things that We can look back
on and ask God. Wouldn't it be things like
honor? Maybe a better job.
No, tell him what we asked for. Solomon asked for the greatest
thing. He could have get this now, he
asked for something that would help him to better serve, God's
people. Oh man.
That's it. And because of that he was
blessed far above and beyond anyone that had ever lived.
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