The Story of Solomon- Round 2

Introduction to Hope

This message was originally written as a part of a sermon series on how Satan temps us

It was titled, “the drift”

The idea behind this was that we don’t stray away from our faith overnight, or we don’t step into broken marriages, alcohol addictions, or toxic Christians overnight

On the flip side, strong faith isn’t forged overnight, just as a physically healthy body isn’t made in a short time, just as churches aren’t healthy unless consistent decisions are made

Most things in life are a drift- we don’t see drastic change quickly, it takes consistent choices- good or bad

When we do see people walk away from faith, it is not a quick choice, it’s a drift

When we see peoples morals sinking, it is a drift, not a quick thing

and when we see a toxic church, it is a drift into toxic habits, never a fast transition

So what is the best way to avoid drifting?

-well, if we slowly drift into bad habits, then the best way to avoid drifting is to be intentional about your daily decisions

But, how hard can it be to realize we aren’t maintaining good discipline? I think we often don’t even realize we are drifting until we are far from where we meant to be

As we approach Christmas, we begin advent

Traditionally, the first thing to talk about with advent is hope

How many of us have felt like hope has drindled in 2020?

-If not us, how many of us know other people who feel like their hope has dwindled?

When people are without hope, they tend to drift into cycles that they usually wouldn’t

In times of great difficulty, such as 2020, where there has been so many hardships, where to we find hope?

Prayer of Solomon

To answer the question, I want to turn to the story of the wisest King of Isreal (Kind of)

This week, I wanted to start the advent conversation in the old testement

The reason for this (as we will discuss) is because the Isrealites had been searching for a special person for hundreds of years, and King Solomon was a candidate for this person that humanity was waiting on

Solomon was the 3rd king of Isreal and was king David’s son

Solomon wrote the biblical books, song of songs, proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.

We find his story in 1 Kings 1-11

Why is it that Solomon is considered so wise, and how was he able to write the wisdom literature and be labeled as Isreal’s wisest king?

After the death of David, Solomon was made King and the first thing he did as King was something that no other king has done- he prayed for something selfless

1 kings 3:3-143 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

In order to understand the extreme significance of this prayer, we need to go back to page 3 of the Bible

Genesis 3 Tov and Rah

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, including Man and Woman. Man and women were created to rule over all of creation with God, and they were given authority to eat from all of the trees of the land, except for 1. The tree of the knowledge of Tov and Rah (Good and bad) was the one tree they could not eat from. God told them eating from it would lead to death.

God went on walks with the humans through the Garden of Eden, and his desire for them was for them to be dependent on him in discerning Tov and Rah (good and bad). God said that wisdom is the ability to discern Tov and Rah. God knew that wisdom is not inherently good, and if humans were left to discern Tov and Rah on their own, that it would lead to chaos, so they were forbidden from eating of the tree of knowledge of Tov and Rah.

Man and Women had a choice in front of them- to allow God to discern Tov and Rah for them, or to take for themselves in their own wisdom. They were deceived by a cunning serpent who tricked them into making the wrong choice. They chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of Tov and Rah, and they had the ability to discern for themselves. They had gained “wisdom,” but at what cost? For their faithlessness, God spared their lives, but cast them out into the world, allowing them to use their new discerning choice of Good and Bad.

Humanity had walked away from God’s design for them, but there was a promise that came from the ashes of the broken partnership. The promise was that when one would come forward and choose God’s wisdom for their lives, Eden would be restored for humanity. Israel witnesses generations for hundreds of years fail to choose God, until a king’s prayer on a mountain.

Going back to this prayer in 1 Kings 3, we read of Solomon choosing to do what Adam and Eve could not- Solomon steps away from the tree, and chooses to let God lead him

-He admits he is unable to properly concern Tov and Rah and is asking for God to do it for him- the original design

9 Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

Listen to God’s response to this request:

10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

God blesses him with all the things he DIDN’T ask for because his heart was chasing after God.

We have been put back in Eden! God is restoring Isreal to the position it was supposed to be originally, everything is great!

-It seems as if the savior prophesied in Genesis 3 has arrived!

Note- This is NOT saying that if we align ourselves with God he will bless us with riches and wealth.

-That is a prosperity Gospel, which is a dangerous path to walk down

God is a God that chooses to bless his servants, and HE will choose how that is rightly done

Now that we have read the beginning of Solomons story, let me give you the ending--

1 Kings 11:9-119 And the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.

The story ends with Solomon being throw off the throne, and his line will not be put to reign

What are we missing? We go from a man who restored humanity back to the original status with God, to a man de-throned

Account of Solomon’s journey

I am going to fast-trace the story of Solomon

-When I first read this story, I would get tripped up on certain spots in the story, and I would dismiss them, thinking I was missing something in context

-As we go through this, if something doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts!

-It is ok to be bothered by scripture- let it bother you, and work through it

There will be a slide in the background that highlights a passage from Deuteronomy 17 on how Kings of Isreal should/shouldn’t act

-King shall be an Israelite

-Don’t acquire many horses (no huge military)

-Especially from Egypt

-Don’t marry many women

-Don’t acquire excessive wealth

-Focus on God

As we through this story, keep these laws in mind- they will help bring the circumstances into context

Note- this is not a comprehensive story, just highlights

As we through this story, keep these laws in mind- they will help bring the circumstances into context

Note- this is not a comprehensive story, just highlights

1 Kings 3- Solomon wakes up from his dream where he spoke with God and was granted wisdom

It says that he had peace on all sides of him, and that 1Kings 4:25 25 And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.

God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore (4:29).

-3000 proverbs spoken (proverbs)

-1005 songs written (song of songs)

-Wiser than all in distant lands of the east (Job)

King Hiram of Tyre admires Solomon’s wisdom, dedicates himself to God, and becomes a financial sponsor for the temple Solomon prepares to build

Solomon drafted 30,000 slaves laborers from Isreal to do the work of building God’s temple

-He sends them out in shifts and puts commanders in charge of them to keep them working

Just a note- Biblical prophesy spoke of the one who would restore humanity back to Eden, would also build God’s temple

-Who is building the temple? The foreign King and the Slaves

He builds God’s temple and builds himself a HUGE palace

He finishes both buildings, and he blesses the temple and prays a huge prayer to God for the future of the nation

-he offered immense offerings to God- 22000 oxen, 120,000 sheep

-He holds a banquet for the whole nation, that lasted 7 days

WE HAVE MADE IT!! EDEN!!!!

Sadly, the story continues

God appears to Solomon again and says faithfulness will be rewarded, but betrayal will be punished

This is where we need to pay attention closely- 20 years into his king-ship

Solomon enslaves all of the non-Israelites in the land (the people God did not allow the Israelites to destroy in war) and begins to build the wall of Jerusalem, and these huge cites to store all his Gold, horses, and chariots (pay attention to the laws on the screen)

-stores cities, great monuments that show a king's glory, slaves from a foreign people, doesn’t this kind of sound like the Pharaoh in Exodus, the one God destroyed?

He makes the Israelite people into a great military nation, full of horses, chariots, and commanders

Solomon built a large fleet (the only Israelite king to do this), but not for war, but so that he could bring Gold in from foreign lands!

The queen of Sheba hears of Solomon’s fame and comes to test him- uh oh

-What is our inclination when a rich powerful man comes in contact with a beautiful, wealthy, influential woman?

Solomon answers all of her questions, and she is astonished! She praises God, brings Gold and spices to Solomon, and a partnership formed!

-This is incredibly exciting imagery, because we now have Adam and Eve figures living in a new Eden paradise! All is well!

We aren’t done- pay close attention to the screen

10:14- the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of Gold

-Ok- if nothing has bothered you about him yet, this HAS to

-with this gold, he makes 200 hugely impractical shields to show his excessive wealth

He made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with Gold, and draped it with lion skins- a spectacle none had ever seen in history

There was such wealth in the land, that silver lost its value due to over-abundance

Solomon gathered a massive fleet of horses and chariots (might as well be military tanks)- 1400 chariots, 12,000 horseman

10:28 Solomon got most of his horses from Egypt!

Do you see how we can read this story without the context of the law and not see the folly! We would see this as good prosperity, but this is an absolute betrayal when we look through the lens of the King’s laws from God.

Chapter 11 is the kicker, if you aren’t convinced of my point, get ready

11:1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women.

11:2 You shall not enter into marriage with them, for surely they will turn away your heart to other Gods, says the Lord.

Ready? Solomon has 700 wives and 300 concubines

Here is the question, do you think it is possible to have 1000 sexual partners, and still be focused on God?

Verse 4 says in his old age, his wives turned his eyes towards other gods, and he built altars from them

As we read earlier, God took away the Eden that was given to Solomon, and if you read the rest of 1/2 Kings, you read story after story, of Israelite and Judean kings making the same mistake, of chasing other God’s

Solomon was NOT the one that God spoke of when he said one will restore humanity back to Eden

Hope in a time like this

What do we do with that story? we take a few things from it:

-First- this is not a prosperity message- faith will not promise wealth, this tells much more than that

-second, This is not a lesson on how power and wealth are a bad thing, because God chose to give it in abundance to Solomon

-Third, we learn that the “drift” can happen to anyone and that it can be really hard to spot in the moment.

-We would most likely read the story of Solomon as a story of his prosperity as a good thing, without knowing the context of what was “good (Tov)” in the eyes of God.

Drifting away from God comes when we choose to use our own version of Tov and Rah instead of God’s

-and we learn from Solomon that the choice for God is not a 1-time decision- it is in the EVERY DAY

Like I said, we do not walk away from God in a day, just as God’s temple was not built in a day, just as 700 wives doesn’t happen in a day

-we drift, loosening our morals, which eventually leads to us making a decision that tries to define us

-we often don’t even realize it is happening

Don’t forget how the snake convinced humanity to sin first- he made Adam and Eve choose their own version of good and bad

We know that drifting is hard to detect but Solomon taught us how to avoid it

Solomon made the right choice by choosing God, but eventually chose himself

If we read the rest of the Old testement. we read of countless people failing, just like Solomon did

The people were yearning for someone they could cling to, that could bridge the gap between humanity and God that was created by sin

This is when we look forward to Jesus

We also know the Solomon WASNT the chosen one to restore humanity, Jesus was

Jesus chose to follow God’s will, even to death, and he died on a cross, was resurrected, and declared VICTORY over sin

This is where we are called to find our hope

I have heard pieces of your churches story, and it sounds like it can be really difficult to find things to put hope in

As 2020 comes to a close, and anxiety remains for the future, and as you try to continue life as a Christian, and as a church, remember that hope is not found in a politician, or a president, or a pastor, or a social mandate, or a lack of a social mandate, hope is found in Jesus alone

We will be exploring that story now in the coming weeks