The reason for this series is that when we know the faithfulness of God’s character as it is put on display for us in the OT brings clarity to His purposes.

• God created us, our choice to sin corrupts God’s original purpose.
• Choosing to walk against God, what the Bible calls sin, is synonymous with choosing to suffer.

The Story

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…

• As we jump into this book this morning, I want you to be aware of where we are going over the next few weeks:
• 1 Kings begins with King David on his death bed.
• God had told David that

should become king. So, he does after a little bit of family drama in chapter 1.
• Then, in chapter 2 begins that “David’s time to die drew near.” So, his last words sound very similar to Moses’ & Joshua’s, calling Solomon to

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God & be faithful to His covenant, sounding very much like the David that we saw in the book of Psalms.
• In Psalm 86:11, David prayed that God would “unite” his heart to fear the name of the Lord. A heart that needs to be united is

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. Here we get a clear picture that David struggled with duplicity & hypocrisy (we definitely saw that in the account with Bathsheba & Uriah). So, to some degree, it shouldn’t surprise us as that duplicity returns on his deathbed. Right after he tells Solomon to be faithful to God, he then tells him to gain political advantage by assassinating some of David’s enemies.
• So, what are we going to see in the next several chapters that record the events of Solomon’s life? He is going to follow his father’s

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. We see him seek God, but then we see him being swayed by the deceptiveness of political power, making immoral decisions to gain political advantage.

The

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of Solomon

• In chapter 3, there is a problem with the

of Israel. People are following the cultural example of worshipping the God of Israel “in the high places.” Solomon did the same.
• Worship Leads to Wisdom &

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// Solomon worships >> 1 Kings 3:4-5 | Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”
// Solomon is transformed by that worship & humbled by his calling >> 1 Kings 3:7 | 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.
// With transformed desires based on what he has seen from God & what he has been about his calling, he recognizes his deficiency >> 1 Kings 3:9 | Give your servant therefore an understanding mind…

• Just as his father had united the kingdom politically in Jerusalem, Solomon is blessed by God to unite the people religiously in the

. Chapters 5-8 deal with that Temple being built & being filled with items that make us reflect upon the Garden of Eden, representing that it is the place where Heaven & Earth meet. It is the place where God’s presence will reside &, as we have seen before, God’s presence is to be the central component of our lives.

The

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of Solomon

• Chapters 9-11 record how Solomon begins to marry hundreds of women from neighboring nations in order to gain

advantage. He adopts their gods & their rituals.
• He also institutes

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in Israel. This is not the will of God or the wisdom of God. You’ll see this if you go read Deuteronomy 17, which is God’s commands for Israel’s kings.
• In the end, Solomon’s acts of foolishness makes him look more like

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in Egypt than he looks like David his father.

The Kingdom

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• After Solomon, his son Rehoboam became king, but continues in his father’s foolish leadership.
• A man named Jeroboam leads a

& 11 out of the 12 tribes of Israel secede to form their own kingdom. The north is called Israel & the south is called Judah. Different kings arise to rule the north while the line of David continues to rule in Judah.
• As the kingdom divides, the rest of 1 Kings & into 2 Kings mentions each of these kings & whether or not they were faithful to God.

Application

• God can

what sin has broken.

// So God brought blessing from the very broken situation between David and Bathsheba.
// Remember Joseph’s words, “What you intended for evil, God has used for good” (Genesis 50:20).
// Solomon (maybe unintentionally) wrote his own version of this when he wrote that God makes “everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

•

precedes wisdom. Knowing God gives us vision for the path of life.

// Psalm 16:11 | You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
// While he didn’t walk in faithfulness his entire life, Solomon models a very critical point for us: Worship precedes wisdom. Walking with God in obedience precedes clarity about the path of life before you.