It's been 2000 years since
the glorious light of the cross
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illuminated a world veiled in
darkness and confusion about the
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character of God and still today
the greatest need of mankind is
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a revelation of God's love as
revealed in the life of Christ.
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Amazing Facts presents the
Everlasting Gospel with Pastor
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Doug Batchelor coming to
you each week from Sacramento
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Central Church in Sunny
California. Discover hidden
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treasures in God's word today.
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This is the second part in a
multi-part series we're going
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to be doing on the character
of Solomon in the Bible.
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We introduced him last week
and today we're going to be into
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Part II dealing with Solomon.
More specifically the wisdom of
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Solomon and that's what people
often think about when they hear
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about Solomon is this wise king.
How many of you wouldn't mind
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sharing that you had
your wisdom teeth removed?
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Look at that. That just lowered
the collective IQ in our whole
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audience here, right? Where
do wisdom teeth get the name?
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Well they're the last of your
back molars to come in. Some
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actually never get them.
Most do. They have a tendency to
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crowd your mouth a little
bit and can compress teeth and
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that's why we often have them
removed. I want to go on record.
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I've still got mine and that's
why I'm the senior pastor.
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But somewhere between 17 and
21 you get your wisdom teeth and
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they used to say when
someone did something foolish,
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or said
something foolish, they'd
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say well he hasn't cut his
wisdom teeth yet meaning he
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hasn't lived long enough to have
experience because usually in
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that range you start to get some
experience. You know they say
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your car insurance doesn't go
down until you get to be about
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25 and that's because
they notice that there's a high
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incidence of accidents and
problems, a little recklessness
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but you start to be a little
more cautious, a little more
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mellow. Things stabilize a
little bit. A little more wisdom
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and responsibility at 25
and often the insurance rates go
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down about that time. This is
right about the age of Solomon
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when he begins to reign. Now
as we return to our story you'll
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remember that just before
David died he did something very
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unusual. Often a king would
die and then they would coronate
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the next king. But Solomon sat
down to reign while David was
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still alive. So for a while
there you had the father and the
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son. You had King David alive
and he's still king but then
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you've got the son reigning and
it makes us think of when Jesus
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went to heaven and he was
exalted at the right hand of
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the Father, the two really Kings
I mean if Jesus is the King of
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Kings, then what's the Father?
You know what I'm saying?
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And so you've got a little
picture in the Bible of that
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happening. But David was aged
at this point, his health was
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failing. But they coronated
Solomon as king, the first time
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because Adonijah was trying
to kidnap the kingdom. But they
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did it a second time. It says in
I Kings chapter 2 verse 46 that
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the kingdom was established
in Solomon. The kingdom was
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established. Now a few things
happened for him to establish
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himself as king. I Chronicles
29:22: It says so they ate and
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they drank before the king with
great gladness on that day and
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they made Solomon the son of
David king the second time and
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anointed him before the Lord
to be the leader and Zadok the
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priest anointed twice. You
know Jesus the Son of David was
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anointed twice. He was anointed
at the beginning of his ministry
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and then he was anointed just
before his death, anointed by
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the Holy Spirit during his
baptism. He was anointed by Mary
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and Jesus said for his burial.
Just anointed both by that
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fragrant ointment and anointed
by her tears. A baptism in
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sorrow you might say. Solomon
was anointed a second time just
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before the death of David. So
it's interesting that there were
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those two anointings there. And
then you read in I Chronicles 29
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You know when you read the story
of Solomon you've got to hop
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around between Kings and
Chronicles and even a few other
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verses to piece together
the history. I Chronicles 29:23:
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Then Solomon sat upon the throne
of the Lord as king. The throne
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of who? It says he sat on the
throne of the Lord. When a king
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over God's people reigns, who
owns the throne? The throne of
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the Lord. When you are given
a position of responsibility in
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God's service, who owns the
position? It's a big, big step
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in the right direction if
you can remember that everything
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that you have comes from
God; any gift of ministry, any
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service that you have, any
responsibility in God's service,
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it belongs to God. It's not your
position. Our position here as
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pastors, they are God's
positions. And by the way, you
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treat it a lot more carefully
when you realize that. If you're
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a parent and you've got children
they're his children. All things
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belong to God. So here they
identified it as the throne of
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the Lord as King instead
of as David his father. And he
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prospered and all Israel
obeyed him. Now that didn't come
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without a little struggle at the
beginning. Shortly after David
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died, and we read about the
last words of David last week,
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Adonijah his brother who had
tried to take the kingdom while
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David was still alive, he must
have had a back-room meeting
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once again with Abiathar and
Joab, and they said David's dead
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now. Solomon's young. You
know if we're careful, we can
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probably orchestrate things
where we can have a coup and
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and take over. Tell you what I'm
going to do. I need to have some
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kind of recognized authority
from David because David has
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died now. You know David
never really slept with his wife
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Abishag and she's really pretty.
I'll ask Bathsheba if she'll go
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to Solomon, he won't tell
his mother no, and see if I can
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marry Abishag. And if I've
got King David's former wife, it
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gives me more credibility. That
will set the stage and then we
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will have a coup. Joab you
can take care of Benaiah and
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Abiathar you can get rid of
Zadok the priest and we'll be
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the new leadership of the
kingdom. Solomon's too young.
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He doesn't know what he's doing.
So they tested his strength.
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And Adonijah went to Bathsheba
and he said... she was a little
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worried about him because
she almost had her son killed
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because of Adonijah. He said, I
need to ask you a favor. I know
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that Solomon has been chosen
to be king but could you do me a
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favor and just go to the king
and see if it would be okay if
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I could have Abishag as
wife. Now at this point Solomon
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doesn't even have a wife
yet. And so Solomon already was
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pretty bright in his own right.
Bathsheba went to him and he
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said why do you ask for Abishag
for Adonijah. Why don't you ask
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for the kingdom, he said to his
mother, because I see what he's
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really up to. And right then
he had a little house cleaning.
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You know it's often true when
someone comes into power you
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need to establish who is loyal
and you need to get rid of those
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who are not loyal because
you'll never get rooted in your
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position. So Adonijah was slain
by Benaiah the general. Joab
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fled to the temple, you remember
and Solomon said you better slay
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him there. Joab, that general
who had followed David from
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beginning to end. He had also
killed a couple of innocent men
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along the way. He was slain and
Abiathar the priest... Solomon
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remember that a curse came on
King Saul because he killed the
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priests of the Lord. He said,
I'm not going to kill you but
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you're going to be banished.
You've got to go to your country
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home and you'd better live out
your days there. So he got rid
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of that little trilogy of one
of the sons of David and another
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false religious leader and a
false military leader. You know
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those are the three elements
of strong government. You've got
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the political, you've got
the military, you've got the
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spiritual. Have you ever played
chess? You've got all those
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pieces don't you? And so when
he then had loyalty in that area
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and the people saw that he was
willing to kill his own brother
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and the old general in order to
have loyalty to David's choice,
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everybody sat up and paid
attention and said Solomon is
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king. I'm continuing in I
Chronicles 29, you notice, all
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Israel obeyed him. All the
leaders and the mighty men, also
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all of the kings sons. All the
other sons of David. He had a
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lot of other sons besides
Adonijah. They all said, you
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might be our brother but you're
our king. By the way, Jesus is
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our brother isn't he? But don't
forget, he's your friend, but
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don't forget, he's your King.
And that relationship is one
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that we don't want to make
subservient to the others and be
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disrespectful. Well then you
read on. Go with me to I Kings.
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We're going to spend some time
here. I Kings chapter 3 verse 1:
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Now Solomon made a treaty with
Pharaoh of Egypt and he married
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Pharaoh's daughter. Now this is
one of the first things Solomon
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does that begins to raise a flag
He gets a wife from Egypt. But
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there's even a spiritual lesson
in this. Now I don't think that
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Solomon went down to the Pharaoh
and said you know you've got a
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really pretty daughter. Can I
marry her? What happened is they
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corresponded. They said
what kind of treaty can we have
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between our kingdoms that it
will be better for our people,
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it will better for trade and the
economy and it was very common
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back then to affect the treaty
that the king would give either
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the daughter of the priest,
that's what happened with
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Joseph, the daughter of
the priest was given, or the
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the daughter of the king if
he had one. And the king had, I
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guess, a beautiful, qualified
daughter. But one reason they
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did this was because Solomon
knew that he was married to
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Pharaoh's daughter,
Solomon's children are Pharaoh's
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grandchildren. It's really
hard to attack and kill your own
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grandchildren. And so it just
preserves a little bit of family
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at piece in the kingdom through
those similarities. Now there's
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something else here that's
a spiritual... And by the way,
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Probably the Pharaoh offered
his daughter. I don't think that
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Solomon came up with the idea.
And Solomon saw it would be a
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good strategic thing to
do. Showing signs of political
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wisdom already. So he brings
his wife out of Egypt into the
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promised land. Does that sound
familiar. Did Abraham have a
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wife that came out of
Egypt? What was her name? Hagar.
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Did Joseph have a wife that came
from Egypt? Yeah. And what about
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God? Did God bring a wife out of
Egypt? Where was Israel really
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born as a nation? Where did they
multiply into national status?
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When they went down to
Egypt then they were exceeding
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fruitful and they multiplied
greatly. And God brought his
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bride and his church out
of Egypt to the Promised Land.
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So here you've got Solomon the
son of David bringing his wife
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out of Egypt into the Promised
Land. You got that? A lot of
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similarities I've been sharing
between Solomon and Christ
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that I wanted you to consider.
Did Jesus come out of Egypt into
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the Promised Land when he was
young. The Bible says, I have
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called my Son out of Egypt.
Now you go on here in I Kings
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chapter 3, you read in verse
2: It says, Meanwhile the people
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sacrificed at the high places.
Now I've got to talk about this.
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When Solomon first came into
power they didn't have a temple
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yet. We'll probably in our
next study focus more on Solomon
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building the temple. It's a
fascinating study. When they
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came into the land of Israel
the countryside was littered
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with shrines in hills and groves
where they worshiped their pagan
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deities. And some of these were
beautiful gardens. They were on
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top of the hill, they had
big flat marble platforms where
00:13:17.20\00:13:20.49
they would offer to their
pagan Gods, sometimes even human
00:13:20.53\00:13:23.79
sacrifice, and they were
surrounded with groves and
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evergreen trees. God had told
them to destroy these places of
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worship because he did not
want their worship confused or
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polluted by pagan worship. You
know we do that in our culture
00:13:34.88\00:13:38.39
sometimes. It's real easy. There
are all kinds of false things
00:13:38.42\00:13:42.65
that are done in a pagan culture
of worship. You've got to be
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careful not to comingle the
worship of the true God with
00:13:46.91\00:13:50.99
cultural, traditional pagan
worship. And I won't use any
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specifics of that right now but
I think you'll be able to figure
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out how to apply that. And so
it says Solomon loved the Lord
00:13:58.53\00:14:02.72
walking in the commandments of
David his father, except... now
00:14:02.75\00:14:05.79
don't forget that. Matter of
fact, I've got it highlighted in
00:14:05.82\00:14:08.83
my Bible. Solomon loved the
Lord. When he started out he
00:14:08.86\00:14:14.37
loved the Lord except that he
sacrificed and burnt incense at
00:14:14.41\00:14:18.33
the high places. See he loved
the Lord but they had no temple
00:14:18.36\00:14:21.90
yet. The tabernacle was still
parked on one of the high places
00:14:21.93\00:14:26.21
in Gibeon where they'd moved
it during the time of King David
00:14:26.25\00:14:30.50
and this is that old tattered
tabernacle that had been
00:14:30.53\00:14:33.85
through the wilderness wandering
40 years and now through the
00:14:33.89\00:14:36.61
time of judges and the time
of Saul and the time of David.
00:14:36.65\00:14:41.64
It's starting to look like a
very old place of worship and
00:14:41.68\00:14:46.54
so... By the way, the ark was
not in the tabernacle at that
00:14:46.57\00:14:51.42
time. David had pitched a tent
for the ark in Jerusalem. So the
00:14:51.46\00:14:55.69
tabernacle had the altar of
incense and that's why he was so
00:14:55.72\00:14:59.66
anxious that they build a temple
in Jerusalem to be the home of
00:14:59.70\00:15:04.34
the ark. Solomon loved the Lord
except he sacrificed and burnt
00:15:04.38\00:15:08.83
incense on the high places.
Now you read in Deuteronomy 12
00:15:08.86\00:15:13.54
verse 2: You shall utterly
destroy all the places where the
00:15:13.57\00:15:17.72
nations which you dispossess
serve their Gods on the high
00:15:17.75\00:15:21.51
mountains and on the hills. So
you see that's why it's saying
00:15:21.54\00:15:25.17
except he still was on the
high places. Moses had said they
00:15:25.21\00:15:29.62
should not do that... Under
every green tree but you will
00:15:29.65\00:15:33.99
seek the place... where were the
children of Israel supposed to
00:15:34.03\00:15:37.34
sacrifice? Moses said, you will
seek the place where the Lord
00:15:37.38\00:15:40.98
your God chooses out of all
your tribes to put his name as a
00:15:41.02\00:15:44.44
dwelling place and there you
shall go. Well God had chosen
00:15:44.47\00:15:47.69
Jerusalem. That's why David had
made a provision to build the
00:15:47.72\00:15:51.27
temple, but it wasn't built yet
so Solomon went to Gibeon and
00:15:51.30\00:15:54.82
he was praying and worshipping
God there. Now go with me to
00:15:54.85\00:15:59.43
I Kings. We're going to read
quite a bit here. Verse 4: He
00:15:59.47\00:16:03.10
went to Gibeon to sacrifice
there for that was the great
00:16:03.14\00:16:06.70
high place. And Solomon offered
a thousand burnt offerings on
00:16:06.74\00:16:11.42
the altar. It's the altar of the
Lord. Except at the old location
00:16:11.45\00:16:16.10
where some pagan deity had
been honored. A thousand burnt
00:16:16.13\00:16:22.03
offerings. Was that required?
Why a thousand? Is that wasteful
00:16:22.07\00:16:29.33
That's sort of like Mary pouring
her lavish gift on Jesus and
00:16:29.36\00:16:35.05
Judas criticized her; that's too
much, it's wasteful. Now Jesus
00:16:35.09\00:16:40.50
said, No any sacrifice you
give to God is not too much. God
00:16:40.54\00:16:45.09
honored him. He loved the Lord.
That's why he did it. Why do we
00:16:45.13\00:16:49.65
give, why do we sacrifice?
Because we love the Lord.
00:16:49.68\00:16:52.37
And after he makes his sacrifice
he returns. He's there at
00:16:52.41\00:16:58.45
Gibeon and it says he's sleeping
and the Lord appeared to Solomon
00:16:58.49\00:17:02.68
in a dream by night. Now this
is not a normal dream. This is
00:17:02.71\00:17:05.94
one of those dreams that is a
vision from God. It's the three
00:17:05.98\00:17:10.40
dimensional dream. Maybe you've
never had one. And God said, Ask
00:17:10.44\00:17:14.83
what I shall give you. Now
that's a pretty tall order.
00:17:14.86\00:17:20.11
What do you ask for if God
said what do you want? What do
00:17:20.14\00:17:25.32
you really want? What would you
ask for? Well people, you know,
00:17:25.36\00:17:31.13
if you ask someone that question
they usually automatically like
00:17:31.17\00:17:36.91
a compass needle they go to
whatever the most pressing need
00:17:36.94\00:17:39.73
is. If you've got a terrible
back ache and someone says
00:17:39.76\00:17:42.82
what do you want, you say
pain reliever, a healed back.
00:17:42.85\00:17:45.84
If you've got a child that's
in jail and someone says what do
00:17:45.88\00:17:50.52
you want, I want my child to
be free. Wherever the itch is,
00:17:50.55\00:17:54.85
that's where you scratch. Where
was the itch for Solomon right
00:17:54.89\00:17:59.16
then? He was this young
man, had several older brothers,
00:17:59.19\00:18:03.62
you've got to follow David
as king. Talk about being a hard
00:18:03.66\00:18:09.96
act to follow. I mean, can you
imagine how Elisha felt when he
00:18:10.00\00:18:16.27
was going to follow Elijah.
I mean here you've got this
00:18:16.30\00:18:19.92
prophet who talks to God, he
prays and fire comes down, he
00:18:19.95\00:18:23.64
prays and it pours rain after
a famine. Birds feed him from
00:18:23.67\00:18:27.90
heaven and you're supposed to
step into his shoes. So what did
00:18:27.94\00:18:32.02
Elisha ask for? He said I want
a double portion of your spirit.
00:18:32.05\00:18:36.74
How else can I step into your
shoes. So God says what do you
00:18:36.78\00:18:43.19
want? What did he want? He
wanted the Holy Spirit. Wisdom
00:18:43.22\00:18:48.53
is one of the gifts of the
Spirit. Now listen here. And
00:18:48.56\00:18:53.80
Solomon said, notice this, take
a pencil or pen if you mark in
00:18:53.84\00:18:59.82
your Bible and circle how often
it says you. And Solomon said,
00:18:59.85\00:19:04.49
here's his answer when God
says what do you want. You have
00:19:04.53\00:19:09.14
shown great mercy to your
servant, David, my father.
00:19:09.17\00:19:13.04
Because he walked before you
in truth and righteousness and
00:19:13.08\00:19:16.65
uprightness of heart, with you,
you, he's speaking to the Lord,
00:19:16.68\00:19:20.22
have continued this great
kindness for him. You have given
00:19:20.25\00:19:23.25
him a son to sit on his throne
as it is this day. He doesn't
00:19:23.28\00:19:27.21
even mention his name, he just
says a son. Now, O Lord my God,
00:19:27.24\00:19:30.82
you have made your servant...
how does he refer to himself?
00:19:30.86\00:19:36.91
Servant... King instead of
my father David, but I am just a
00:19:36.94\00:19:42.63
little child. I do not know how
to go out or come in. You know,
00:19:42.67\00:19:47.42
one of the first things in
obtaining real wisdom is knowing
00:19:47.46\00:19:51.72
what you don't know. You
can't teach somebody that knows
00:19:51.76\00:19:55.95
everything. And one reason God
could bestow so much wisdom on
00:19:55.99\00:20:00.49
Solomon is because you
can't fill a full vessel. He was
00:20:00.52\00:20:05.33
humble. He realized he was just
a little child. He realized he
00:20:05.37\00:20:08.96
was inadequate. He realized
without God he could do nothing.
00:20:09.00\00:20:14.42
We believe he was probably under
30, somewhere around 25 is a
00:20:14.45\00:20:20.34
guess. I am just a little child.
I do not know how to go out or
00:20:20.37\00:20:25.70
come in. When William McKinley
was inaugurated as President
00:20:25.74\00:20:31.00
part of his presidential address
was he cited this statement from
00:20:31.04\00:20:34.75
Solomon. He said, Oh Lord give
me wisdom for I am just a child
00:20:34.79\00:20:38.17
and I don't know how to go out
and come in. It takes humility
00:20:38.21\00:20:42.84
to admit that... Over this your
people. And your servant is in
00:20:42.88\00:20:46.93
the midst of your people who you
have chosen, a great people, too
00:20:46.97\00:20:50.58
numerous to be counted. Had God
fulfilled his promise to Abraham
00:20:50.62\00:20:54.84
that the people would be like
the sand of the sea? Therefore
00:20:54.88\00:20:59.07
give your servant
an understanding heart
00:20:59.10\00:21:02.72
to judge your people that I
might discern between good and
00:21:02.76\00:21:07.67
evil for who is able to judge
this great people of yours. Who
00:21:07.70\00:21:12.58
is worthy of this? He said,
I can't do it, so give me an
00:21:12.61\00:21:17.25
understanding heart. Now
in I Kings here, chapter 3, he
00:21:17.28\00:21:21.42
never really said wisdom.
But in Chronicles, you read in
00:21:21.46\00:21:25.53
II Chronicles 1 verse 10, it's
a parallel passage, he says now
00:21:25.57\00:21:30.55
give me wisdom and knowledge
that I might go out and come in
00:21:30.58\00:21:35.21
before this people for who can
judge this great people of yours
00:21:35.24\00:21:39.92
He had humility in his heart.
Why could God answer his prayer?
00:21:39.95\00:21:43.66
Because he was humble. How many
of you would like more wisdom?
00:21:43.69\00:21:47.37
We're going to talk about that
today. What's one of the first
00:21:47.41\00:21:51.57
criteria to having the wisdom
of God? It comes from Solomon.
00:21:51.60\00:21:55.84
Listen to what he says in
Proverbs 15:33: The fear of the
00:21:55.88\00:21:59.75
Lord is the instruction of
wisdom, here you go, and before
00:21:59.78\00:22:03.58
honor is humility. If you want
to be honored with the wisdom of
00:22:03.62\00:22:09.34
God, first you've got to
know how much you don't know.
00:22:09.37\00:22:11.91
And you know, the older I get
the more I know I don't know.
00:22:11.95\00:22:18.06
Now that works a couple of ways.
Part of the reason is the older
00:22:18.10\00:22:21.37
I get the less I can remember.
But also the more you learn,
00:22:21.40\00:22:26.26
your understanding of how
big the universe is and how vast
00:22:26.29\00:22:30.12
knowledge is becomes more
profound. You know when your
00:22:30.16\00:22:33.92
kid especially as you start
going through the teenage years,
00:22:33.96\00:22:36.65
it's just inevitable that
you start becoming a little more
00:22:36.68\00:22:39.60
self-confident, you start
getting a handle on things and
00:22:39.63\00:22:42.73
you can get overconfident and
have a pretty high estimate of
00:22:42.76\00:22:46.92
how much you know. My dad used
to quote Mark Twain who would
00:22:46.95\00:22:51.08
say, the older I got the
more amazed I was at how many
00:22:51.11\00:22:55.25
institutions of higher learning
my mother had attended, meaning
00:22:55.29\00:22:59.90
he developed more and more
respect for his mother as he got
00:22:59.94\00:23:04.48
older, some of the simple wisdom
When you're young sometimes you
00:23:04.52\00:23:08.37
don't have that. The first thing
you need to have before you're
00:23:08.40\00:23:12.03
blessed with the gift of wisdom
is to realize what you don't
00:23:12.06\00:23:16.36
know. So he asked for wisdom.
What is wisdom. I've got a
00:23:16.39\00:23:20.62
definition we can put up here on
the screen. Wisdom is, first of
00:23:20.66\00:23:26.42
all, understanding right
or lasting or true. Insight.
00:23:26.45\00:23:34.12
2. Common sense; good judgment.
For instance Henry David Thoreau
00:23:34.16\00:23:39.81
said it is a characteristic
of wisdom not to do desperate
00:23:39.84\00:23:44.01
things. To think and to be
patient. 3. The sum of scholarly
00:23:44.04\00:23:48.59
learning through the ages. The
wisdom of the ages, for instance
00:23:48.63\00:23:53.98
or b. Wise teaching of the sages
4. A wise outlook, a plan, a
00:23:54.02\00:23:59.34
course of action. God is
offering us wisdom. Now you can
00:23:59.37\00:24:02.90
have knowledge and not have
wisdom. You notice the Bible
00:24:02.94\00:24:06.40
says in Daniel chapter 12 that
in the last days knowledge will
00:24:06.44\00:24:10.46
increase. Does it say wisdom
will increase? No, they are
00:24:10.49\00:24:13.40
different, aren't they? You
can have people that know how to
00:24:13.43\00:24:16.33
build a nuclear weapon and
they've got a lot of knowledge.
00:24:16.36\00:24:19.86
It's called technology. But then
they blow up their fellow man
00:24:19.89\00:24:24.54
with this knowledge. That's
not wise. So wisdom is different
00:24:24.57\00:24:28.33
from knowledge. You've can have
someone who's a technical genius
00:24:28.36\00:24:32.57
you can have a person who's a
computer nerd and they spend all
00:24:32.61\00:24:35.79
their time and you know they
can understand everything about
00:24:35.83\00:24:39.61
a computer, but they don't
have wisdom to like get a job.
00:24:39.65\00:24:44.15
You know there's a difference.
I hope I didn't insult anybody
00:24:44.19\00:24:48.66
in saying that. There's an
ability that you want to have
00:24:48.69\00:24:54.17
to do practical things with
knowledge. That's what wisdom
00:24:54.21\00:24:58.14
is. So Solomon asked for this.
There's something else I want
00:24:58.18\00:25:03.07
you to notice. Verse 10: The
speech that Solomon made pleased
00:25:03.11\00:25:08.91
the Lord that Solomon had asked
this thing. So God was very
00:25:08.95\00:25:14.68
happy that he'd asked this. Now
when I read the story of Solomon
00:25:14.72\00:25:17.96
I told you to underline
the words you. Hezekiah, King
00:25:17.99\00:25:21.44
Hezekiah, was he a good king
or bad king? Good king. But you
00:25:21.48\00:25:25.28
remember when ambassadors came
from Babylon to find out about
00:25:25.31\00:25:29.08
the miracle when the sun
went backwards and they came to
00:25:29.11\00:25:31.97
Hezekiah to find out about God
and Hezekiah entertained them,
00:25:32.01\00:25:36.23
What did Hezekiah say. Isaiah
said what did they see in your
00:25:36.27\00:25:43.08
house? I'm in Isaiah chapter 39
verse 4: Hezekiah answered and
00:25:43.11\00:25:48.11
said they've seen all that is in
my house. There is nothing among
00:25:48.14\00:25:52.82
my treasures I've not shown them
It says he showed them all that
00:25:52.85\00:25:57.50
was in his treasure, his armory,
his spices, his house, his
00:25:57.53\00:26:03.27
dominion. Now look at the
difference. Solomon when he
00:26:03.30\00:26:06.95
comes into the kingdom he says
Lord you, you, you, you, you,
00:26:06.99\00:26:11.39
you, you. It's your kingdom.
Solomon after being on the
00:26:11.42\00:26:14.60
throne for a while started
thinking, me, me, me, me, me, me
00:26:14.63\00:26:18.86
it's my kingdom, or Hezekiah
rather. King Saul started out
00:26:18.90\00:26:23.06
it's the Lord's kingdom. At the
end he said it's mine. Babylon,
00:26:23.10\00:26:28.66
when did King Nebuchadnezzar
lose the kingdom? Is not this
00:26:28.69\00:26:31.66
great Babylon that I have built
for my majesty, my glory, my
00:26:31.70\00:26:35.09
kingdom, my, my, my, me, me, me.
God could do great things with
00:26:35.13\00:26:38.49
Solomon because he had an
attitude of humility. He was
00:26:38.52\00:26:41.84
humble. Now this ought to also
bring you and me courage. What
00:26:41.88\00:26:47.35
kind of family did Solomon grow
up in? Talk about dysfunction.
00:26:47.39\00:26:52.83
Can you imagine living in
a house where you've got nine
00:26:52.86\00:26:58.93
other step mothers at the same
time. A bunch of other brothers
00:26:58.97\00:27:03.38
and at least a couple of sisters
We know of one named Tamar.
00:27:03.42\00:27:07.80
And they're all vying for
gifts and the father's time and
00:27:07.83\00:27:12.01
David's off busy fighting wars.
You can't get your father's
00:27:12.04\00:27:15.94
attention. And the mothers.
I mean look at the struggle
00:27:15.98\00:27:19.81
between... Hannah and Paninah,
that's two wives. Look at all
00:27:19.85\00:27:23.68
struggles between Rachel
and Leah and Zilpah and Bilhah.
00:27:23.71\00:27:28.68
Four wives. You read about that.
It's like a soap opera going on.
00:27:28.72\00:27:32.04
Can you imagine being in
the house of Solomon growing up?
00:27:32.07\00:27:34.79
And all of this talk that was
going on about the way David and
00:27:34.83\00:27:40.46
Bathsheba got together among the
other wives. And probably the
00:27:40.50\00:27:46.10
verbal abuse and the teasing.
Now you think that having a
00:27:46.13\00:27:51.74
house of privilege makes you
a well rounded person. Benjamin
00:27:51.78\00:27:56.56
Franklin said more people are
destroyed by plenty than want.
00:27:56.59\00:28:00.94
You know, we often hear about
people who come to greatness
00:28:00.97\00:28:05.15
from poverty and those are
always inspiring stories, but
00:28:05.18\00:28:09.12
I'll tell you it's just as
inspiring when someone survives
00:28:09.16\00:28:13.54
prosperity and becomes great.
We don't think about it. Jesus
00:28:13.57\00:28:17.92
said poor people can get
into the kingdom, it's almost
00:28:17.95\00:28:20.43
impossible for a rich man
to get into the kingdom of God.
00:28:20.47\00:28:24.23
Now I tell you this, especially
those of you who are parents
00:28:24.27\00:28:28.61
take heart. If Solomon could
grow up with all of that bizarre
00:28:28.65\00:28:33.11
baggage in his family, that
stuff going on every day, and
00:28:33.14\00:28:37.06
he could say I want to build
up the house of God, I want to
00:28:37.09\00:28:41.40
serve God first, I want to seek
first God and he could have his
00:28:41.43\00:28:45.09
head screwed on straight, there
is hope for everybody isn't
00:28:45.13\00:28:49.03
there? Yeah, I mean, he had some
brothers that went... There was
00:28:49.06\00:28:53.15
was incest in the family. Amnon
raped his half-sister Tamar and
00:28:53.18\00:28:56.79
then Absalom killed his brother.
There was murder in the family.
00:28:56.82\00:29:00.40
He grew up with all that
swirling and just a cesspool
00:29:00.43\00:29:04.14
of nonsense going on in the
household there. And David was
00:29:04.18\00:29:08.19
sort of aloof to everything
that was happening because he's
00:29:08.22\00:29:12.26
so involved in conquering and
the politics and the judging.
00:29:12.29\00:29:17.09
And yet in spite of that...
You know I think one key is
00:29:17.12\00:29:22.45
remember he had Nathan the
prophet as his tutor. How is it
00:29:22.48\00:29:27.68
that Josiah could grow up when
Athaliah was on the throne and
00:29:27.71\00:29:32.96
be such a faithful king or Joash
rather. As long as Jehoiada the
00:29:33.00\00:29:38.22
priest was alive and gave
him spiritual guidance, he was
00:29:38.25\00:29:41.95
faithful to God. Do you
have good spiritual counselors?
00:29:41.99\00:29:45.90
Do you have spiritual friends?
Y'all need that. That kept
00:29:45.93\00:29:49.38
Solomon on the right track and
that had a lot to do with his
00:29:49.41\00:29:53.52
priorities and his wisdom, not
only what he got from his father
00:29:53.55\00:29:57.39
So he prays for wisdom and God
is pleased. Does God hear his
00:29:57.43\00:30:01.68
prayer? He does and he becomes
the wisest man who ever lived.
00:30:01.71\00:30:05.93
I was getting an amazing
fact ready for one of the radio
00:30:05.96\00:30:10.33
programs and I ran into this.
I thought it was pretty amazing.
00:30:10.37\00:30:13.29
The Grand Vizier. Have you
ever heard of the Grand Vizier?
00:30:13.33\00:30:18.00
You've heard of the Sultan.
The leader of the Ottoman empire
00:30:18.04\00:30:22.49
was the Sultan. His number two
man was the Grand Vizier. During
00:30:22.52\00:30:26.94
the 10th century the Grand
Vizier kept all of the official
00:30:26.97\00:30:31.04
documents in the kingdom. He
was prime minister. And as he
00:30:31.08\00:30:35.13
traveled around the Ottoman
empire on various meetings, back
00:30:35.16\00:30:39.18
before they had airplanes
obviously, he traveled by
00:30:39.21\00:30:42.95
caravan. He took the library
with him wherever he traveled.
00:30:42.99\00:30:46.42
That library consisted of
177,000 volumes of books or
00:30:46.45\00:30:54.80
scrolls. They were carried
wherever he went on 400 camels.
00:30:54.84\00:31:00.04
And the camels were trained
to walk in alphabetical order so
00:31:00.08\00:31:05.10
that he could know which camel
to go to to find a book if they
00:31:05.13\00:31:10.12
needed some official document.
I thought that was pretty
00:31:10.15\00:31:14.77
amazing. Solomon had all
the knowledge of alpha to omega
00:31:14.81\00:31:19.36
in his head. God was giving him
this incredible wisdom and it
00:31:19.40\00:31:24.31
wasn't just knowledge. I
think he probably had almost a
00:31:24.34\00:31:27.53
photographic memory and most
of all he had the Holy Spirit.
00:31:27.56\00:31:31.70
Because even as Solomon
got older we'll talk about when
00:31:31.74\00:31:36.00
Solomon backslid big time.
He still had wisdom but there's
00:31:36.04\00:31:40.23
different kinds of wisdom. There
is good wisdom and there's bad
00:31:40.27\00:31:47.36
wisdom. How many of you could
use more wisdom? James 1 verse 5
00:31:47.39\00:31:53.28
If any of you, I like this. That
applies to me doesn't it. That
00:31:53.31\00:31:58.50
applies to you, any of you. If
any of you lack wisdom let him
00:31:58.53\00:32:03.91
ask of God, this is what Solomon
did, who gives to all liberally.
00:32:03.95\00:32:08.83
How did he give it to Solomon?
Liberally. Without reproach and
00:32:08.86\00:32:13.00
it will be given him. Now that's
a wonderful promise. You ought
00:32:13.03\00:32:16.06
to have that underlined. There's
a promise. You don't know what
00:32:16.09\00:32:19.48
to do? You underline that verse
and you mark that in your Bible,
00:32:19.52\00:32:22.86
put the ribbon down there and
almost on a daily basis you can
00:32:22.90\00:32:25.88
turn to that and say Lord you
said if I lack wisdom, I lack
00:32:25.92\00:32:28.83
wisdom. Please help me. I've got
to make this decision, I've got
00:32:28.87\00:32:32.63
to make that decision. I need
divine wisdom. You know that's
00:32:32.67\00:32:36.13
one of the gifts of the Holy
Spirit. Have you read there in
00:32:36.16\00:32:41.26
Isaiah chapter 11 in verse 2
speaking of the Messiah, it says
00:32:41.30\00:32:46.30
the Spirit of the Lord will rest
upon him, the spirit of wisdom
00:32:46.34\00:32:50.83
understanding, counsel, might,
knowledge, fear of the Lord.
00:32:50.87\00:32:55.33
You've read about the
seven spirits of God there in
00:32:55.36\00:32:57.58
Revelation, it talks about the
seven spirits a couple of times.
00:32:57.62\00:33:01.74
One of those seven spirits is
wisdom. And so when you pray for
00:33:01.77\00:33:05.33
the Holy Spirit, when you pray
for wisdom, I should say, you're
00:33:05.36\00:33:08.72
really asking for the Holy
Spirit. But there is true wisdom
00:33:08.75\00:33:12.08
and there's false wisdom.
Continuing with the book of
00:33:12.11\00:33:16.14
James. James 3 verse
13: Who then is wise and has
00:33:16.17\00:33:20.13
understanding among you? Let him
show by good conduct that his
00:33:20.17\00:33:24.23
works are done in the meekness
of wisdom. Real wisdom is meek.
00:33:24.26\00:33:27.69
But if you've got bitter envy
and self-seeking in your hearts
00:33:27.73\00:33:31.46
do not boast and lie against
the truth. This wisdom does not
00:33:31.49\00:33:35.00
descend from above but it is
earthly. There's another kind of
00:33:35.03\00:33:38.52
wisdom not from above. Does
the devil have a certain kind of
00:33:38.56\00:33:42.81
diabolical wisdom? Does he have
a shrewdness and a cunning? Does
00:33:42.85\00:33:47.07
the Lord talk about being
harmless as a dove and what as a
00:33:47.10\00:33:51.15
serpent? Wise as a serpent.
Do you really want that kind of
00:33:51.18\00:33:55.20
wisdom? What the Lord
means by that is you need to be
00:33:55.23\00:33:59.95
intelligent. You need to
understand what the devil's up
00:33:59.99\00:34:03.55
to. You don't use his wisdom.
You just understand what his
00:34:03.58\00:34:07.11
tactics are. The devil
is shrewd and he's cunning.
00:34:07.14\00:34:11.57
That's the wisdom of the world.
This wisdom does not descend
00:34:11.61\00:34:15.93
from above, but it is earthly,
sensual, demonic, for where
00:34:15.97\00:34:19.75
there is envy and self-seeking,
where any self-seeking exists,
00:34:19.79\00:34:23.22
confusion and every evil thing
are there. But the wisdom that
00:34:23.26\00:34:27.50
is from above is first pure,
it is peaceable, it is gentle,
00:34:27.54\00:34:31.80
willing to yield, full of mercy,
good fruits without partiality
00:34:31.83\00:34:35.62
and without hypocrisy. You
know what it seems like James is
00:34:35.65\00:34:39.51
describing? The wisdom that is
from above; you take this list
00:34:39.54\00:34:42.51
and you go over to the fruits
of the Spirit and there are a
00:34:42.55\00:34:45.65
lot of connections there. The
wisdom that is from above will
00:34:45.68\00:34:49.28
make you Christ like. It doesn't
make you arrogant and say I have
00:34:49.31\00:34:52.94
all knowledge swirling around
in my head. I am wiser than you.
00:34:52.98\00:34:57.39
Real wisdom is humble and it
makes you Christ like. Gives you
00:34:57.43\00:35:02.21
patience. I Corinthians 3 verse
For the wisdom of the world
00:35:02.25\00:35:06.74
is foolishness with God. There
is a wisdom in the world and
00:35:06.77\00:35:11.19
you know... You know, I love
nature programs. I like good
00:35:11.22\00:35:15.91
ones, high definition, good
quality. I tell you one of the
00:35:15.94\00:35:20.57
things that really inspires me
with the reality of God is when
00:35:20.60\00:35:25.14
I see God in nature. We'll learn
about Solomon in a little bit
00:35:25.17\00:35:29.68
that he wrote about
God in nature. But it is so
00:35:29.71\00:35:34.85
exasperating to me. You'll see
one of these programs from PBS
00:35:34.89\00:35:38.26
or BBC and they'll put out
and they'll show this beautiful
00:35:38.30\00:35:41.64
nature footage of these
incredible miracles of nature
00:35:41.67\00:35:44.72
and then they'll say something
really dumb like 50 million
00:35:44.76\00:35:49.62
years ago this butterfly
realized it needed to develop
00:35:49.65\00:35:54.44
eyeballs on its wings to scare
away predators. What are the
00:35:54.48\00:35:58.23
odds that a butterfly is going
to try to evolve something on
00:35:58.26\00:36:01.98
it's wings that look
like eyeballs to scare away
00:36:02.01\00:36:04.03
predators? These guys are
so smart, these nature experts.
00:36:04.07\00:36:09.70
Forgive me, I'm sorry friends.
I don't mean to be disrespectful
00:36:09.74\00:36:12.65
to these scientists but that's
the wisdom of the world which
00:36:12.69\00:36:18.49
is foolishness with God. So
I probably went far enough with
00:36:18.53\00:36:23.92
that. Let's find out an example
about Solomon's wisdom. We all
00:36:23.96\00:36:28.34
know this story. In I Kings
chapter 3 verse 16. Go back to
00:36:28.38\00:36:32.73
I Kings. And I think
you remember this experience
00:36:32.76\00:36:36.88
of the two women and the
baby. Two women who were harlots
00:36:36.92\00:36:41.41
came in to the king and stood
before him and one woman said
00:36:41.45\00:36:45.60
O my Lord, this woman and I
dwell in the same house and I
00:36:45.64\00:36:49.70
gave birth while she was in
the house. Then it happened the
00:36:49.74\00:36:52.93
third day... That always is
an interesting word when you see
00:36:52.96\00:36:56.51
that, the third day... after I
had given birth that this woman
00:36:56.54\00:37:00.23
also gave birth. And we were
together. There was no one with
00:37:00.26\00:37:03.99
us in the house except the two
of us. No witnesses. And this
00:37:04.02\00:37:08.51
woman's son died in the night
because she lay on it. Maybe she
00:37:08.55\00:37:12.39
was careless and may have been
a combination of that and SIDS.
00:37:12.43\00:37:17.05
She woke up in the morning and
the baby wasn't breathing. She
00:37:17.08\00:37:21.38
arose in the middle of the night
and she took my son from my
00:37:21.41\00:37:25.35
side while your maidservant
slept and she laid him in her
00:37:25.39\00:37:29.77
bosom and she laid her dead
child in my bosom. And when I
00:37:29.81\00:37:34.30
arose in the morning to nurse
my son there he was dead. But
00:37:34.33\00:37:38.38
when I examined him in the
morning, indeed he was not my
00:37:38.42\00:37:42.40
son which I had born. You know
when babies are first born they
00:37:42.44\00:37:47.33
all look a little bit
like raisins, don't they?
00:37:47.36\00:37:49.21
You know, they're a little
wrinkled mass with cone heads
00:37:49.25\00:37:53.86
when they're first born and
then they start to take on more
00:37:53.90\00:37:58.29
human characteristics. And so
these are two newborns and she
00:37:58.32\00:38:02.00
first gets up to nurse it but
she examines it. Does a mother
00:38:02.04\00:38:05.41
know her baby. I mean it's
amazing to me, these penguins
00:38:05.45\00:38:08.90
come back from four months
of feeding and there's 10,000 of
00:38:08.94\00:38:12.50
them gathered on this white
plain and they all look exactly
00:38:12.53\00:38:15.90
the same to me and those
mothers come wandering honking
00:38:15.94\00:38:19.24
into the camp and they all find
their babies. You know it's just
00:38:19.28\00:38:24.69
a miracle how they do that. But
that mother said this is not my
00:38:24.72\00:38:28.73
baby and she looked over at
her friend who was suspiciously
00:38:28.77\00:38:32.31
nursing her baby and she said
that's my baby. No this is my
00:38:32.35\00:38:35.86
baby. That's your baby.
Oh it would have been a very
00:38:35.89\00:38:38.75
interesting conversation
what went on between these women
00:38:38.79\00:38:41.57
before they ever got to the king
but I bet there were some pretty
00:38:41.61\00:38:45.00
heated words that were spoken.
You hate to picture the two of
00:38:45.04\00:38:49.61
them doing a tug-of-war with
this baby. There's a spiritual
00:38:49.65\00:38:54.35
lesson there. So the king, young
king now, he's got his first
00:38:54.38\00:38:58.56
really difficult supreme court
case. They used to bring the
00:38:58.59\00:39:01.88
very difficult... You know the
local constable would take care
00:39:01.91\00:39:05.00
of some of the disagreements but
the difficult cases were brought
00:39:05.04\00:39:08.10
to the king. And so the other
woman said, verse 22, No, but
00:39:08.13\00:39:14.05
the living one is my son. The
dead one is your son. And the
00:39:14.08\00:39:19.93
first woman said no but the dead
one is your son, the living one
00:39:19.97\00:39:23.14
is my son. What's she going to
do? Thus they both spoke before
00:39:23.17\00:39:26.93
the king. When the king issued
judgment he had his counselors
00:39:26.96\00:39:30.69
around him and there
were soldiers around him and
00:39:30.72\00:39:32.47
sometimes there was an audience
that was watching like a court
00:39:32.51\00:39:35.94
room, learning from the court
cases. So everyone's wondering
00:39:35.97\00:39:39.02
what is the king going to do
about this. This is a conundrum.
00:39:39.05\00:39:42.23
How do you solve something
like this? There are no cameras,
00:39:42.26\00:39:46.32
there are no birth certificates.
What are you going to do. And
00:39:46.36\00:39:51.38
the king said, verse 23, one
says this one is my son, the one
00:39:51.42\00:39:54.99
who lives and your son is
the dead one. The other one says
00:39:55.02\00:39:57.99
no, but your son is the dead
one, my son is the living one.
00:39:58.03\00:40:02.27
and the king said bring me
a sword. And he was probably
00:40:02.31\00:40:06.57
looking very carefully at
the faces of those women when he
00:40:06.61\00:40:10.80
said that studying them for how
they're going to react. Bring me
00:40:10.84\00:40:17.41
a sword. So they brought the
sword before the king and the
00:40:17.44\00:40:21.56
king said, probably to one of
his guards that was standing by,
00:40:21.59\00:40:25.75
divide the living child in two,
give half to one and half to
00:40:25.78\00:40:30.85
the other. Now he's new on
the throne. I mean they haven't
00:40:30.89\00:40:34.55
figured out when he's kidding
and when he's serious and he's
00:40:34.58\00:40:38.47
the king. And when the king says
something I imagine the guard
00:40:38.50\00:40:43.87
pulled the sword out of its
scabbard. You know he's going.
00:40:43.90\00:40:49.20
He grabs the baby and really I
don't want to do this but you're
00:40:49.23\00:40:53.99
the king, you know. Probably
Solomon nodded to the soldier
00:40:54.03\00:41:00.10
like you keep going. And he took
the baby and he unsheathed the
00:41:00.13\00:41:05.20
sword and right at that time the
real mother threw herself down
00:41:05.23\00:41:10.27
at King Solomon's feet.
The woman whose son was living
00:41:10.30\00:41:15.19
spoke to the king for she
yearned with compassion for her
00:41:15.22\00:41:20.04
son. And she said, O my Lord,
give her the living child. By no
00:41:20.08\00:41:23.92
means kill him. But the other
one said let it be. That's the
00:41:23.96\00:41:27.53
only fair thing to do, cut him
in two. Boy she really was hard
00:41:27.56\00:41:32.75
hearted wasn't she? She probably
did smother her baby. Let him be
00:41:32.79\00:41:37.94
neither mine nor yours, you
know but divide him. So the king
00:41:37.98\00:41:42.12
answered and said, Give the
first woman the living child and
00:41:42.15\00:41:46.39
by no means kill him for she
is the mother. So the king uses
00:41:46.42\00:41:50.69
this near execution as a test.
I wonder if he got that from
00:41:50.72\00:41:54.67
what God did with Abraham? Did
Abraham almost bring down the
00:41:54.70\00:41:58.65
knife on his son? But you could
tell where his heart was at that
00:41:58.68\00:42:03.31
point. His heart was with God.
So the king answered, said this
00:42:03.35\00:42:07.47
is the real mother and look at
verse 28. And all Israel heard
00:42:07.50\00:42:11.26
of the judgment of the king what
he had rendered and they feared
00:42:11.29\00:42:15.73
the king for they saw the wisdom
of God was in him to administer
00:42:15.77\00:42:20.17
judgment. Nobody would have
thought of that. And you know
00:42:20.21\00:42:23.78
you read about Jesus. One of the
things that amazes me about the
00:42:23.81\00:42:27.83
life of Christ, and keep in mind
when I first was reading the
00:42:27.87\00:42:32.26
gospels, I was already 17,
18 years old. I had never really
00:42:32.30\00:42:36.25
read anything Jesus said and
I was going through the Bible.
00:42:36.28\00:42:40.26
I would come across these
stories where a woman is caught
00:42:40.29\00:42:43.90
in adultery and brought to Jesus
What will you do? Moses' law
00:42:43.93\00:42:47.47
says she should be stoned. The
Roman law says if you stone her
00:42:47.51\00:42:50.61
then you're executed. What do
you do? And you know you think
00:42:50.64\00:42:53.78
oh boy, he's stuck now, what's
he going to do? And Jesus with
00:42:53.82\00:42:57.51
one statement would demonstrate
the wisdom of Solomon and say he
00:42:57.55\00:43:01.10
that is without sin cast the
first stone. So he accomplished
00:43:01.13\00:43:03.96
both things. Well you bring the
tax money and the people hate
00:43:03.99\00:43:07.27
the Romans, they hate the
Roman taxes. But the Romans are
00:43:07.30\00:43:10.51
listening also. If you say don't
pay taxes you going to cause an
00:43:10.55\00:43:13.58
insurrection, you're going to
jail. And so they say, what do
00:43:13.62\00:43:16.62
you think, should we pay
tribute to Caesar or not.
00:43:16.66\00:43:18.85
That's something you didn't ask
in public. If you're going to
00:43:18.88\00:43:21.38
complain about taxes you had
to do that under your breath in
00:43:21.42\00:43:24.46
front of the Romans. Right there
with the Romans watching they
00:43:24.50\00:43:28.16
asked Jesus that question.
What is he going to say. He says
00:43:28.20\00:43:31.56
render unto Caesar the things
that are Caesar's and unto God
00:43:31.59\00:43:34.94
the things that are God's.
I mean he just blew them away.
00:43:34.98\00:43:39.75
One line, his wisdom. I mean
that's divine wisdom. Don't you
00:43:39.78\00:43:43.71
wish you had that kind of
insight. You can't think those
00:43:43.74\00:43:47.60
things up, God gives it to you.
Usually at the moment when you
00:43:47.64\00:43:50.93
need it. Have you ever been
in one of those situations where
00:43:50.96\00:43:54.22
you've got this very awkward
moment? You've got to say
00:43:54.25\00:43:57.22
something and you're thinking
about everybody around and you
00:43:57.25\00:44:00.27
don't know what to say so you're
not going to offend somebody.
00:44:00.31\00:44:03.42
I've had a lot of moments like
that and I still don't know what
00:44:03.45\00:44:08.21
to say. But every now and then
all of a sudden the Holy Spirit
00:44:08.24\00:44:12.21
will tell you just the right
thing to say. Solomon calls it
00:44:12.25\00:44:16.82
they're like apples of gold in
pictures of silver or apples of
00:44:16.85\00:44:21.56
gold in settings of silver. A
word fitly spoken. I mean this
00:44:21.59\00:44:26.26
is what God was doing
for Solomon on a daily basis.
00:44:26.30\00:44:29.11
Everything he said was like wow
that's heavy. I've got Reader's
00:44:29.15\00:44:33.86
Digest, sometimes take that
on the airplane. They've got a
00:44:33.90\00:44:38.58
section in the book
where they've got great quotes.
00:44:38.61\00:44:41.00
And they try and say you know
in the last month these are some
00:44:41.04\00:44:44.16
of the most profound things that
were said. They could be new,
00:44:44.20\00:44:48.05
they could be old but they take
highlights of great quotes. I've
00:44:48.09\00:44:51.00
often wondered what do I have
to say to get in Reader's Digest
00:44:51.04\00:44:55.86
What great quote, what profound
utterance? Everything Solomon
00:44:55.90\00:45:00.51
said was a Reader's Digest quote
all day long. They were all
00:45:00.55\00:45:04.99
profound. I mean that's the
wisdom of God that only he can
00:45:05.03\00:45:09.40
give. Now I don't want to leave
this story of the two women and
00:45:09.44\00:45:13.74
the baby because there's a very
strong spiritual application in
00:45:13.77\00:45:18.24
this. First of all, what does
a woman represent in the Bible?
00:45:18.27\00:45:22.70
Church. Are there true
churches and false churches.
00:45:22.73\00:45:26.54
In Revelation do we have a
couple of women. You've got
00:45:26.58\00:45:30.32
God's bride clothed with light.
The church of God is a woman in
00:45:30.35\00:45:35.86
Revelation 12. Then you've got
another woman in Revelation 17.
00:45:35.89\00:45:41.36
She's got daughters and
that represents Babylon and her
00:45:41.40\00:45:43.80
harlot daughters. And by the way
these women were harlots weren't
00:45:43.83\00:45:46.95
they? And you've got the true
and the false. You know God's
00:45:46.99\00:45:51.63
church used to be a harlot but
she's cleansed. Mary Magdalene
00:45:51.66\00:45:56.19
is a type of the church who is
sanctified. Don't forget in the
00:45:56.23\00:46:01.31
family tree of Jesus were there
some harlots? Did you have Rahab
00:46:01.34\00:46:06.53
Was she cleansed from her ways
when she married Salmon? Did you
00:46:06.57\00:46:11.73
have Tamar who dressed up
like a harlot and slept with her
00:46:11.76\00:46:16.54
father-in-law in Jesus family
tree? And so that's telling us
00:46:16.58\00:46:21.63
that God's bride used to be out
there but he cleanses her. He's
00:46:21.67\00:46:26.42
got these two harlots and there
are two babies, one's alive and
00:46:26.45\00:46:30.47
one's dead. Are there a lot of
churches out there that claim to
00:46:30.50\00:46:35.35
have Christ but their Christ is
not alive? Are there counterfeit
00:46:35.39\00:46:40.31
Christs out there? Did Jesus say
there would be? And so you've
00:46:40.35\00:46:45.58
got to understand which is true.
Which woman has the real baby?
00:46:45.62\00:46:50.82
And there's this contest in
this story. How does Solomon
00:46:50.85\00:46:54.22
ultimately decide, what does he
use to divine between the true
00:46:54.26\00:46:59.06
and the false? A sword. What
does a sword represent? The word
00:46:59.09\00:47:03.35
of God. So how do we determine
between the true church and the
00:47:03.38\00:47:07.60
false church? How do we
find where the real living child
00:47:07.64\00:47:12.31
goes? You see the spiritual
application of this story and
00:47:12.34\00:47:16.95
it's the son of David who calls
for the sword. Jesus the Son of
00:47:16.98\00:47:20.33
David tells us to use the sword
to find the truth. So that's
00:47:20.36\00:47:23.67
just one of the spiritual
historicals here. But there's
00:47:23.71\00:47:26.94
more. Get your credit card
out and we'll add to your order
00:47:26.98\00:47:31.07
right now for the same price.
You look through the Bible and
00:47:31.11\00:47:35.05
you see there are a lot of
stories where you've got these
00:47:35.08\00:47:39.22
baby boys at risk. There's some
kind of contest, some kind of
00:47:39.26\00:47:43.37
battle, some kind of struggle
over the baby boys. Never baby
00:47:43.40\00:47:47.34
girls. Because they were types
of Christ. There was a woman
00:47:47.38\00:47:51.37
names Jocabed who had a baby
boy and that baby boy was going
00:47:51.41\00:47:55.82
to be killed. She had to do
something. Remember the Pharaoh
00:47:55.86\00:48:00.20
said if it's a boy kill him. If
it's a girl you can let her live
00:48:00.23\00:48:04.29
And a woman conceived a son,
Exodus 2:2, she saw he was a
00:48:04.33\00:48:09.36
beautiful child. She hid him for
three months. Moses as a baby
00:48:09.39\00:48:15.16
there was an effort to destroy
him. You go to II Kings chapter
00:48:15.19\00:48:19.97
6, very troubling story but it's
there and I need to tell you.
00:48:20.01\00:48:24.75
Two women are fighting
over their baby boys. They were
00:48:24.78\00:48:28.90
starving to death. They agreed
to kill and eat one boy one day
00:48:28.93\00:48:32.47
and the next day they would kill
and eat the other boy. And they
00:48:32.50\00:48:36.81
appealed to the king because one
woman said you know we agreed
00:48:36.84\00:48:40.40
and we killed and ate my baby
and now this woman has hidden
00:48:40.44\00:48:44.17
her baby. I bet she was glad
she did too because the next day
00:48:44.21\00:48:48.55
there was plenty of food. The
baby that was hidden. Now that
00:48:48.59\00:48:52.72
sounds like a pattern. Moses was
hidden. This baby was hidden.
00:48:52.76\00:48:56.86
He was kept alive. II Kings
chapter 11, when Athaliah the
00:48:56.89\00:49:00.61
mother of Ahaziah saw that her
son was dead she arose and she
00:49:00.65\00:49:04.12
destroyed all the royal heirs,
all the children of David, the
00:49:04.16\00:49:07.65
heirs that were living them.
But Jehoshabah, the daughter of
00:49:07.68\00:49:11.40
King Joram, sister of Ahaziah,
she took Joash the son of
00:49:11.43\00:49:15.08
Ahaziah and stole him away from
among the king's sons, he was a
00:49:15.11\00:49:20.27
year old, who were being
murdered and she hid him and
00:49:20.30\00:49:23.05
his nurse in the bedroom from
00:49:23.09\00:49:24.12
Athaliah, hidden in the house
of the Lord so that he was not
00:49:24.15\00:49:28.52
killed. Baby boy. Matthew
chapter 2. This sound familiar?
00:49:28.55\00:49:32.91
King Herod when he
00:49:32.94\00:49:33.97
saw that he was deceived by
the wise men, he was exceedingly
00:49:34.00\00:49:37.78
angry and he sent forth and
he put to death all the male
00:49:37.82\00:49:41.64
children who were in Bethlehem.
Except Joseph was warned in a
00:49:41.67\00:49:45.96
dream and they took the baby and
hid him in Egypt, hidden away.
00:49:45.99\00:49:50.52
Then you read in Revelation.
A woman is great with child and
00:49:50.56\00:49:54.06
she brings forth this man child
who is to rule all nations with
00:49:54.10\00:49:57.56
a rod of iron and the dragon
wants to devour the child as
00:49:57.60\00:50:01.61
soon as it's born. All these
storied about these baby boys
00:50:01.64\00:50:05.17
that are being hidden are
because someone's trying to take
00:50:05.20\00:50:08.66
them or someone's trying to harm
them and they're somehow hidden
00:50:08.69\00:50:13.10
or saved or delivered. Of course
they're types of Christ. You see
00:50:13.13\00:50:16.35
it all through the Bible. There
are more I could share with you
00:50:16.39\00:50:21.02
but time won't permit. Well I
want to talk a little bit about
00:50:21.06\00:50:27.77
wisdom here. Go back to Solomon.
I Kings chapter 4 verse 29: And
00:50:27.81\00:50:34.49
God gave Solomon wisdom and
exceeding great understanding
00:50:34.52\00:50:39.41
and largeness of heart like
the sand on the sea shore. Thus
00:50:39.45\00:50:44.19
Solomon's wisdom excelled all
the wisdom of all the people of
00:50:44.23\00:50:48.47
the East and all the wisdom
of Egypt. Wow! You know we think
00:50:48.50\00:50:52.45
about the great ancient wisdom,
the engineers that built the
00:50:52.48\00:50:56.28
pyramids and those great
colossal structures. That was a
00:50:56.32\00:51:00.05
lot of wisdom. It says here the
wisdom of Solomon exceeded all
00:51:00.08\00:51:04.83
of the wisdom of Egypt for
he was wiser than all men, than
00:51:04.87\00:51:09.54
Ethan the Ezrahite, now I don't
know who that was but evidently
00:51:09.58\00:51:12.84
he had a reputation back then.
They used to sing his praises
00:51:12.88\00:51:18.11
for his wisdom, and Heman, don't
know who Heman was, but he's
00:51:18.15\00:51:23.35
been forgotten, Solomon's still
remembered, and Chalcol and
00:51:23.38\00:51:26.37
Darda, the sons of Mahol. These
were all the wisest people in
00:51:26.41\00:51:30.40
the world back then or even the
history of wisdom. And his fame,
00:51:30.44\00:51:34.73
Solomon's fame, was in all the
surrounding nations. He spoke
00:51:34.77\00:51:39.02
3000 proverbs and his
psalms were 1,005, that's an
00:51:39.06\00:51:43.83
interesting number. And he
spoke of trees from the cedar of
00:51:43.86\00:51:46.87
Lebanon even to the hyssop
that springs out of the wall.
00:51:46.91\00:51:50.49
Now this must be some proverbs
that Solomon spoke about that
00:51:50.52\00:51:53.61
are not in the book of Proverbs.
We may not have all of them
00:51:53.65\00:51:56.06
because there are some things
referred to here that there is
00:51:56.09\00:52:00.21
no record of. And he spoke
of the animals and the birds and
00:52:00.25\00:52:04.33
the creeping things.
Quite a bit of that in Proverbs.
00:52:04.37\00:52:06.37
For instance, you read Proverbs
6 verse 6: Go to the ant you
00:52:06.41\00:52:10.75
sluggard. Solomon must have
spent some time watching the
00:52:11.65\00:52:13.56
ants. Go to the ant you sluggard
consider her ways and be wise
00:52:13.60\00:52:19.50
that having no captain or
overseer or ruler provides
00:52:19.54\00:52:22.72
supplies in summer and
gathers her food in the harvest.
00:52:22.76\00:52:25.87
It's interesting that he said
gathers her food because I think
00:52:25.90\00:52:29.10
most of them are sisters.
He spoke of creeping things and
00:52:29.13\00:52:36.06
fish and of men of all nations
from all kings of the earth who
00:52:36.09\00:52:41.60
had heard of his wisdom came to
hear of the wisdom of Solomon.
00:52:41.64\00:52:46.68
A short life with wisdom is
better than a long life without
00:52:46.71\00:52:52.29
it. Solomon says in all of
your getting get wisdom. Someone
00:52:52.32\00:52:56.96
else said a single conversation
across the table with a wise
00:52:56.99\00:53:02.54
man is worth a month of study
with books. He who would be wise
00:53:02.58\00:53:07.73
needs to find wise friends
and be friends with them. So how
00:53:07.76\00:53:12.78
did God honor Solomon because
he asked for wisdom? He had the
00:53:12.82\00:53:17.80
right priorities. He
had these words of wisdom.
00:53:17.84\00:53:22.12
II Chronicles chapter 1 verses
11 and 12: And God said to
00:53:22.15\00:53:26.49
Solomon, because this was
in your heart and you have not
00:53:26.53\00:53:30.05
asked for riches, notice this.
How many of you would like to
00:53:30.09\00:53:34.18
have riches? Come on, nothing
wrong with that. How many of you
00:53:34.21\00:53:38.27
would rather have poverty?
See you don't want to admit
00:53:38.31\00:53:41.98
wanting riches, but you won't
say... How many just want to
00:53:42.02\00:53:46.91
be comfortable? Because it was
in your heart and you did not
00:53:46.95\00:53:51.47
ask for riches or wealth or
honor, not your pride or fame,
00:53:51.51\00:53:55.67
or the life of your enemies,
nor have you asked for long life
00:53:55.71\00:54:00.25
but you have asked wisdom and
knowledge for yourself that you
00:54:00.29\00:54:04.26
might judge my people over whom
I have made you king, wisdom and
00:54:04.30\00:54:08.24
knowledge are granted to you.
Your wish is fulfilled. And I
00:54:08.27\00:54:12.69
will give you what you did not
ask for. Listen to this. Because
00:54:12.73\00:54:17.11
you have sought... listen,
listen, listen, listen. I meant
00:54:17.15\00:54:21.82
to tell you at the beginning of
the sermon all the kids to count
00:54:21.85\00:54:24.37
how many times I say wisdom.
Is it too late? (Laughter)
00:54:24.40\00:54:29.11
I forgot. Just play that tape
backwards and see if you can
00:54:29.14\00:54:34.21
remember. And God says, I am
giving you what you didn't ask
00:54:34.25\00:54:39.25
for. He says, I'm going to give
you riches, and wealth and honor
00:54:39.29\00:54:45.10
such as none of the kings who
were before you nor shall any
00:54:45.14\00:54:48.95
after you have the same. Now
when the Bible says Solomon was
00:54:48.99\00:54:52.17
the richest man who ever lived
or wisest man who ever lived
00:54:52.20\00:54:55.77
there is one exception there.
Who would that be? Obviously
00:54:55.81\00:54:59.89
Jesus is God the Son. And when
he said that no one will have
00:54:59.93\00:55:03.69
the glory of the kingdom and the
riches that you have, of course
00:55:03.72\00:55:06.59
there's one exception and that
would be the other Son of David
00:55:06.62\00:55:10.34
which is Jesus, in his kingdom
will have greater wisdom and
00:55:10.37\00:55:14.30
greater riches. You know what
this makes me think of? What was
00:55:14.33\00:55:19.48
Jesus thinking in Matthew 6:33
when he said, Seek ye first the
00:55:19.51\00:55:24.63
kingdom of God and his
righteousness? What did Solomon
00:55:24.66\00:55:28.91
ask for? Lord give me a wise
and understanding heart so I can
00:55:28.94\00:55:33.24
know how to discern between
right and wrong. He sought first
00:55:33.28\00:55:37.26
the kingdom of God. The people
of God were his concern and the
00:55:37.29\00:55:41.21
righteousness of God that he
might do what's right. He sought
00:55:41.24\00:55:44.57
first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness and so what did
00:55:44.61\00:55:47.90
God do for him? It says because
you were seeking first my
00:55:47.94\00:55:51.71
righteousness and my people, my
kingdom, I'm going to give you
00:55:51.74\00:55:56.18
everything else that you didn't
ask for. We always turn the
00:55:56.22\00:55:59.64
equation upside down. We
say Lord, give me the riches and
00:55:59.67\00:56:03.02
give me long life and give me
health and give me this and then
00:56:03.06\00:56:05.74
also I'd like some wisdom
and I'd like to be righteous.
00:56:05.78\00:56:09.32
Solomon got it right to
start with. He sought first the
00:56:09.36\00:56:12.83
kingdom of God and his righteous
ness and then everything else he
00:56:12.86\00:56:15.77
needed... By the way, even
to get riches what do you need?
00:56:15.80\00:56:19.93
Wisdom, right? It takes
a certain amount of wisdom
00:56:19.96\00:56:23.38
to take care of your body
and live a long time. A lot of
00:56:23.42\00:56:26.94
people are not very wise in how
they take care of their bodies
00:56:26.98\00:56:29.48
and they die young. So if you've
got wisdom everything else seems
00:56:29.52\00:56:31.98
to follow in its path and
that begins by seeking first his
00:56:32.02\00:56:36.50
kingdom and his righteousness.
The priority for Solomon was the
00:56:36.54\00:56:40.56
kingdom of God. Is that the
priority in your life? He did
00:56:40.60\00:56:44.97
have a long life. He was wise.
He was very rich and we're going
00:56:45.01\00:56:47.79
to get into that. We've got some
exciting things coming in this
00:56:47.83\00:56:50.39
series, but I didn't want you
to miss the most important point
00:56:50.43\00:56:53.02
that he sought first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness
00:56:53.06\00:56:56.14
and that's why he prospered all
through his reign. If you want
00:56:56.17\00:56:59.10
to prosper in your life make
that your priority. That's the
00:56:59.13\00:57:02.02
most wise thing
you can do. Let's pray.
00:57:02.06\00:57:05.61
Dear Father in heaven, Lord we
are just like little children.
00:57:05.65\00:57:10.19
We don't know what's coming from
one moment to the next. We often
00:57:10.23\00:57:14.74
don't know whether to turn
to the right hand or the left.
00:57:14.77\00:57:18.82
That's why we need your
word, that sword, to help us to
00:57:18.85\00:57:22.83
discern. Lord we pray for wisdom
we pray for it every day. You've
00:57:22.86\00:57:27.12
promised to give it liberally
as we continue to ask and I pray
00:57:27.16\00:57:31.05
that we can keep the priority
of seeking first your kingdom to
00:57:31.08\00:57:34.80
model this part of Solomon's
life, of coming before you in
00:57:34.83\00:57:38.51
earnestness, of giving
our hearts and our lives
00:57:38.55\00:57:41.47
sacrificially, of loving you
and then trusting that you will
00:57:41.50\00:57:45.19
guide us and give us wisdom
day by day. Bless these who have
00:57:45.23\00:57:48.95
come forward with some special
need and give them the wisdom
00:57:48.99\00:57:52.55
of Solomon so they can know
how to grapple with some of the
00:57:52.59\00:57:56.29
challenges they may be facing.
And Lord we pray that we will
00:57:56.33\00:57:59.62
represent you as we go from this
place, your people, with that
00:57:59.66\00:58:02.84
humility and that love, that
wisdom that comes from above.
00:58:02.87\00:58:06.12
Thank you again for your
goodness and the riches of that
00:58:06.16\00:58:09.34
kingdom we will someday enjoy.
It's in Jesus' name we pray Amen
00:58:09.37\00:58:14.86