1 Kings 1 - 4 Solomon’s wisdom

I have a love-hate relationship with balloons. One the one hand I love
them because they bring joy to the whole family. We can kick, throw,
catch and bounce balloons around the house. If they’re helium filled,
we can carry them attached to a string – Balloons bring delight.

Unfortunately, though, balloons have a limited life expectancy.

Helium balloons can break free and float away. You never see them
again. And normal balloons, some explode as you blow them up,
some burst from the sun’s heat and all eventually go down. Sad, what
was once a source of joy has now collapsed or is destroyed, it’s only
fit for the bin.

Life’s full of things that can give us a lot of joy only to end in
disappointment. And for ancient Israel, Kingship was one of those
things. And the highs and lows of Israel are connected to the
godliness of the Kings. In the 1970’s Lee Iacocca rescued the Chyrsler
motor company in the US – he said, ‘the speed of the boss is the
speed of the team.’ That was certainly true for Israel. Her influence,
her godliness, her wealth as a nation - depended on the spiritual
condition of the king. And the King’s spiritual condition was
connected to his obedience to the Word of God.

The purpose of 1 Kings is to show why Israel ended up in a mess. It’s

why Israel ended up in exile. It shows what happens when God's
people reject their relationship with God. It shows that God is
sovereign and we are accountable. It shows that godly leadership is
vital if God’s people are to be blessed.

This morning, we’re looking at 1 Kings chapters 1 to 4. This was the

time of Israel’s golden age. But even now the seeds of destruction are
sown. This golden age begins with Solomon succeeding David. It’s
around 950 BC, it’s a thousand years before Jesus. And King David’s
on his last legs. And David’s eldest son Adonijah tries to make himself
king. He gets David's chief of military, Joab, and the high priest,
Abiathar, on board - not a bad combination for a coup - the boss of
the military and the high priest - they want to present old King David

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with a fait accompli: it’s all been arrange Adonijah will succeed you.
After all he is the oldest. He has the birth right. But 1 Chronicles 28
tells us that David’s already chosen Solomon and Solomon was also
God's choice. Adonijah is going against his father's wishes and God’s
will.

Well, Nathan the prophet hears about Adonijah's plot and goes to
Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, and says. Chapter 1 verse 11 'Have
you heard that Adonijah has become king and our lord David doesn’t
know it."

Nathan and Bathsheba then go to king David to tell him what’s

happening. Nathan's judicious action stops Adonijah’s enthronement
and that same day David make Solomon the new king of Israel.

And so in chapter 1 verses 32 - 40 Solomon is anointed king. And

David charges Solomon with the task of being king over Israel and
gives Solomon orders on how to deal with Adonijah, and his
supporters – who, in chapter 2, are all removed according to King
David's orders.

And so begins the golden age of Israel. Look at chapter 2 verse 46.
The kingdom was now firmly in Solomon's hands. Israel’s riding the
crest of a wave. As far as Israel’s concern - it doesn't get any better
than this.

And David's deep personal relationship with the Lord comes out in his
final words to his son Solomon. Israel’s new king was nurtured and
disciplined by his godly father.

Look at David’s words, chapter 2 verses 2 - 4 As for me, I am going

the way of all of the earth. Be strong and be a man, and keep your
obligation to the LORD your God to walk in his ways and to keep his
statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. This is written in the
law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you do and
wherever you turn, and so that the LORD will fulfil his promise that he
made to me: ‘If your sons guard their way to walk faithfully before me

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with all their heart and all their soul, you will never fail to have a man
on the throne of Israel.’

This is David's legacy: he tells Solomon how he should conduct

himself in his personal life, and in his role as a leader of God's people.
Solomon was challenged to obeyed God's Word and act in accordance
with God's will. The framework of Solomon's life was the teaching of
Moses. The Sinai Covenant when God laid down how Israel was to
live.

An as you read chapter 2 - you think, Yes. This is the sort of King God
blesses. This is the sort of King that builds a strong, stable, godly
nation. That’s the point of our reading, Solomon asks for wisdom and
that wisdom is displayed when two mothers claim to be the mother of
the same baby. And Solomon is able to work out who the real mother
is.

Here was a man who sought God's kingdom first. He didn’t seek what
we seek, you know, prosperity, a long life, status, victory over
enemies. He sought wisdom. And God gave this ruler a wise and
discerning heart. God gave him the ability to judge and rule well.

And another aspect of Solomon’s wisdom is displayed in chapter 4.

It’s more than a list of officials. Solomon was establishing a well
organised and strong central government. He developed a tax system
and extensive building projects. Here’s a wealthy kingdom. It had
military muscle. It has cultural sophistication. They all peaked during
the reign of Solomon.

And you can capture some of the splendour in chapter 4 verses 20 –

28. I’ll just read a few verses. Judah and Israel were as numerous as
the sand by the sea; they were eating, drinking, and
rejoicing. Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to
the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.

He had peace on all his surrounding borders. Throughout Solomon’s

reign, Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan to Beer-sheba, each

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person under his own vine and his own fig tree. A glass of wine in one
hand, and a bunch of figs in the other. And it's all because of the
wisdom of their King.

And verses 29 – 34 record Solomon’s prolific writing. Most of which is

lost, but we do have his proverbs, some Psalms and Song of songs.

Solomon feared God, and applied godly wisdom to spiritual matters,

moral matters and government matters. Every aspect of human life is
included in God's wisdom. The spiritual, intellectual, the secular, the
practical. Nothing was left out. It covered his relationship with God,
and his relationship with others. But it wasn’t just Solomon who
brought in this golden age.

God promised three things to Abraham. That his descendants would

be very numerous and would form a great nation. That they would
have their own special land. And, that God would bless them and
bless other nations through them.

During Solomon's reign those promises are coming true. Chapter 4

verse 20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea
shore. Israel has now become a great nation just as God promised.

Chapter 4 verse 21 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the

Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border
of Egypt. And Israel had their own land just as God promised.

The growth of Israel, numerically, territorially, the prosperity of the

people, all attest to the faithfulness of God. God is keeping his
keeping his promises to Abraham. Why else would things be this
good?

But not just an outworking of God's promises to Abraham, it’s also

part of the fulfilment of God's promises to King David.

2 Samuel 7: 8 - 16 is one of the most important passages in the Old

Testament. God promised King David two things. First one of David's
descendants would always occupy the throne of Israel and secondly,
one of his descendants would build a house for God. 2 Samuel 7 verse

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12 The LORD declared to David: When your time comes and you rest
with your fathers, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will
come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one
who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom forever.

It as Solomon who built God's temple. It was Solomon who occupies

the throne of Israel. It was Solomon who ushered in the golden years
of Israel. As king he was loved by God, he was endowed with the gift
of wisdom. Even when we were riding on the sheep’s back, and
Bradman was at the height of his powers it was never as good as it
was in Israel.

But friends, 1 Kings is explaining why Israel’s golden age would not
last. In year 12 I was a house captain and to gain more points for my
house I ran the 400 metre race. I was tied from other events but I was
also keyed up to run. At the 100 metre mark I was leading by 15
metres. By the 200 metre mark one runner passed me but I was still
10 metres in front of the next runners. Two more runners passed me
just after the 300 metre mark. I finished 5th. It’s not how you start a
race it’s were you finish that counts. I expended too much energy
early. The seeds of my failure were sown at the start.

Solomon started so well but even at the height of his power the seeds
of destruction were being sown. Look at chapter 3 verses 1 and 2.
Solomon made political alliances with foreign nations by marriage.
But his foreign wives brought their own gods and in time this would
lead Israel away from to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, away
from the law of Moses to worship the gods of other nations.

The bubble would burst. Solomon's golden era didn’t last long and
even at its high it wasn’t perfect. And the Kings that follow Solomon
go from bad to worse. To the point where we'll say, how could God
ever raise up a son of David who will rule over the people of God in
wisdom and righteousness and truth?

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Israel had to wait a 1000 years until a king after God’s own heart
would come. And his name was Jesus. Turn to Luke chapter 11,
because I want us to notice how Jesus refers to himself. Verse 31,
Jesus says, The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with
the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came
from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look—
something greater than Solomon is here.

The point is, Jesus is far greater than Solomon, but the teachers and
the rulers of the law, the power brokers and
the politicians of Israel... they want nothing to do with him. Jesus the
heir to the promises God gave to king David, one who is wiser than
Solomon, and the leaders of Israel haven't got the sense
to take notice of him.

I wonder, ‘Do we take notice of Jesus’.

Because Jesus not only called on Israel to repent, he makes the same
call on us. To stop living the way we want. And submit to his rule
instead. But do we actually believe that?

I wonder if it's ever occurred to you to think of king Jesus as the ruler
of your life. Because so often we seem to think it's a bit of a drag to
be under his rule.

He tells love your enemies. And if someone slaps you on one cheek,
instead of hitting back, offer them the other cheek as well. And we
say, no, that's too hard. It's not fair. No, I don't want to do that.
Because want revenge.

Jesus says, seek first the kingdom of God. Instead of material stuff.
And we nob agreement on Sunday. And then, from Monday to
Saturday, we forget. And so sacrifice our relationships and sacrifice
our families and sacrifice our ultimate blessing on the altar of
materialism.

Jesus says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, and that the greatest in the kingdom are the ones who

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serve others. But we push ourselves forward, we control the

conversation and don’t allow the other person to speak. We want the
best seats. The best food. Because we don't quite trust the wisdom of
our King.

We're called to trust Jesus as our saviour and obey him as our ruler.
And when we do that we will be blessed. And in the words of Jesus...
one even greater than Solomon has come. Let’s make sure we pay
attention to what Jesus is saying to us.

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