Solomon A Wise Leader For God s People Michael W yatt

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1 Solomon A Wise Leader For God s People Solomon Is Made King David became old and feeble. He promised Solomon e rone of Israel; however, he had anoer son, Adonijah, who also wanted to be king. In fact, Adonijah gave a feast, inviting his key supporters, intending to make himself king of Israel (1 Kings 1:1-27). David was made aware of what was happening and had Zadok, e priest, and Naan, e prophet, escort Solomon to Gihon, e first city at David had captured, and ere Solomon was anointed king, and ey blew e trumpet and all e people said, God save king Solomon (1 Kings 1:39). W hen Adonijah received news about what had happened, his supporters began to drop away. Adonijah en begged Solomon to spare his life, and Solomon granted e request on e condition at Adonijah not interfere wi e rule of his kingdom. That worked for a while until Adonijah broke e agreement by trying to use a Semitic custom of taking e woman of a dead king which would make him e successor, and Solomon ordered him killed. It had been God s will at Solomon reign after David. In 1 Chronicles 22:9, David is speaking to his son Solomon and says at e word of e Lord came to him wi ese words, Behold, a son shall be born to ee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. After a time of co-rule, David neared dea. He gave his final instruction to his son Solomon. READ 1 Kings 2:1-4 and he continues wi instruction concerning his enemies. And verse 10 states, So David slept wi his faers, and was buried in e city of David. Solomon us overcame e last potential reats of his kingdom. He en appointed his friends to key military, governmental and religious posts, and great favor and rest came to e kingdom. In 1 Kings 3:5-14, e Lord appeared unto Solomon in a dream and said to him, ask what I shall give ee. Solomon responded in verse 7, I am but a little child. Actually he was about 20 years old, but he was like a child in is new responsibility. He knew he needed help. His request of e Lord begins in verse 9, Give erefore y servant an understanding heart to judge y people, at I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge is y so great a people? Anoer reading of e same request is found in 2 Chronicles 1:10, Give me now wisdom and knowledge, at I may go out and come in before is people: for who can judge is y people, at is so great? We see e wisdom of e young man Solomon before God gave him wisdom. God responded by giving him all he requested and more: I have given ee at which ou hast not asked, bo riches, and honor: so at ere shall not be any among e kings like unto ee all y days. But ere is a condition e Lord places on long life. In verse 14, If ou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as y faer David did walk, en I will lengen y days. Solomon Became Known for His Wisdom Alough Solomon was young, he soon became known for his wisdom. The first and most famous incident of his wisdom as a judge was when two women came to his court wi a baby whom bo women claimed as eir own. Solomon reatened to split e baby in half wi a sword. One Mark Them Which Walk So (Philippians 3:17) 24 Annual Mid-West Lectures Page 1 to be sold. For information contact e 39 Street church of Christ, East 39 Street, Independence, MO

2 woman was prepared to accept e decision, but e oer begged e King to give e live baby to e oer woman. Solomon en knew e second woman was e moer. People from surrounding nations also came to hear Solomon s wisdom. Listen to what is said about his fame and accomplishments in 1 Kings 4:29-34: And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as e sand at is on e sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled e wisdom of all e children of e east country, and all e wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser an all men; an Ean e Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, e sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake ree ousand proverbs: and his songs were a ousand and five. And he spake of trees, from e cedar tree at is in Lebanon even unto e hyssop at springe out of e wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping ings, and of fishes. And ere came of all people to hear e wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of e ear, which had heard of his wisdom. Even e Queen of Sheba, from souern Arabia, came to visit and to see e wisdom and glory of Solomon s kingdom. Arabia was a country rich in gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Solomon needed Sheba s products and trade routes; e queen of Sheba needed Solomon s cooperation in marketing her country s goods. The queen was astonished at all she saw, wi e statement, e half was not told me (1 Kings 10:1-10). It is said at he composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. He wrote e Song of Solomon and much of Proverbs and e book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon Builds e Temple Again, e kingdom had peace from any enemy. It was during is time at God had plans for e building of e temple. There had long been a need for a permanent center of Jewish worship. For 400 years it centered around e tabernacle. During David s reign, Jerusalem was made e capital and e ark lodged in Zion. David had wanted to build e temple (2 Sam. 7:1-2-13), but God had oer plans (2 Sam ; 1 Chron. 22:1-11). Solomon began e structure of e temple in e four year of his reign. He formed a league wi Hiram to furnish cedar and fir. He raised a levy of 30,000 Israelites Ten ousand a mon worked in Lebanon and en spent two mons at home. Solomon also had Canaanite labor: 70,000 burden bearers, 80,000 hewers in e mountains and 3,300 overseers. This building was e first pre-cut structure, for it reads, And e house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought ier: so at ere was neier hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in e house, while it was in building (1 Kings 6:7). It took seven years to build and when finished its cost is estimated to have been between two and five billion dollars. This costly and ornate building was not as large as some church buildings. It was ninety feet long, irty feet wide and forty-five feet high. This was exactly twice e size of e tabernacle. W i a building no larger an at, and yet estimated at billions of dollars, can you imagine e furnishings? Solomon s wisdom can be seen in building e Temple in several areas: (1) The silent grow of its structure. Just imagine is magnificent temple being built wiout e sound of hammers and axes. All of e work was done at a different location. The stones were brought to e temple Mark Them Which Walk So (Philippians 3:17) 24 Annual Mid-West Lectures Page 2 to be sold. For information contact e 39 Street church of Christ, East 39 Street, Independence, MO

3 already shaped to sit into eir place. (2) The variety of talents at were used for e construction. The list of materials is amazing: cedars from Lebanon, gold, silver and precious stones from Ophir and Parvaim, and brass from Succo and Zarean. (3) The orderly arrangement of its various parts. The courts, chambers, galleries, alters, lavers and utensils, all concentrated to some sacred use. God promised Solomon His presence in e temple. Just as He had promised to dwell in e tabernacle, He assured Solomon e temple would be His dwelling place. Or, in oer words, e temple would signify e presence of God in e life of Israel. SOLOMON S WISDOM IN BUSINESS AND BUILDING Solomon was a shrewd businessman. He organized Israel into twelve districts wi an officer over each. Each district provided for e palace s expenses for one mon. Just to supply Solomon s table was a huge task. It is estimated he fed 50,000 people a day. This took 2,300 gallons of flour, 4,600 gallons of meal, 30 oxen, 100 sheep, plus harts, roebucks and fowl (1 Kings 22-23). Solomon also recognized Israel s strategic economic location. He had merchant ships (1 Kings 10:15, 22). He built seaports, mining centers, metal refineries, stables and granaries. Gold at came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents. This was about 15 million dollars. This would amount to $42,000 daily in gold alone (2 Chron. 9:13). The silver and gold in Jerusalem were said to be as plentiful as stones (2 Chron. 1:15). It gives you e idea of Jesus statement in Matew about e lilies of e field, how at Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of ese (Matew 6:28-30). Solomon was renowned for his oer building projects in which he used slave labor from e Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. He spent 13 years building his own palace, and also built a city wall, a citadel called e Millo, a palace for e daughter of Pharaoh (who was one of his wives) and facilities for foreign traders. He erected cities for chariots and horsemen and created storage cities. He extended Jerusalem to e nor and fortified cities near e mountains of Judah and Jerusalem. The first twenty years of Solomon s rule were productive and progressive. God had given e peace at He had promised Solomon s rule as long as Solomon obeyed God. Through at promise Solomon started ambitious building projects, he kept e annual festivals prescribed by e Law, he reached out in various trading ventures and he put e descendants of e Canaanites, who were left in e land, to slave labor. In almost every project he undertook, Solomon was a great success. During ose years Solomon s reputation spread far and wide. During ose years ere was peace, just as God had promised. Solomon, Led Away from God A fitting epitaph for Solomon s life might read e wise king who acted foolishly. As Solomon s fame and weal mushroomed, his heart became full of pride. Solomon s foolishness was shown in two ways: (1) The use of his weal. He erected a number of elaborate buildings. He fortified Mark Them Which Walk So (Philippians 3:17) 24 Annual Mid-West Lectures Page 3 to be sold. For information contact e 39 Street church of Christ, East 39 Street, Independence, MO

4 Jerusalem and e trade-route cities. He built numerous buildings for storage, his chariots and horsemen. He lived at e very apex of luxury (1 Kings 10:14-29). W hat happens so many times in at situation happened to Solomon his expenses exceeded his income. The result was taxes climbed higher and at his dea e tragic results of his high living and high taxation came to light and divided e kingdom (1 Kings 12:1-16). The Arabs had a legend of how a worm was silently and invisibly eating out e heart of e staff on which Solomon leaned. (2) The foolishness shown in his marriages (1 Kings 11:1-8). Solomon had come to power at e youful age of 20. At such a young age, he was no doubt flattered by all e attention from foreign nations. Before long, he formed matrimonial alliances wi e royal families of ese nations, and soon his palace was filled wi foreign wives who knew not Jehovah. Along wi e foreign wives came eir foreign gods and worship. It was a short and easy step for Solomon from his foreign wives to eir false gods. Someone had said at in Solomon s life, e seeds were planted early and ended up as a crop failure in his old age. First Kings 11:5-8 contains one of e saddest stories in e Bible. Though God had given Solomon e kingdom, rest from his enemies, unparalleled wisdom, weal and power, and now all ese blessings were being turned against God. Everying in e way of glory, honor and power were being used to glorify e false gods of oer nations. God s Anger Toward Solomon God increased His anger toward Solomon because Solomon had refused to listen to His warnings. God had not changed in His purpose or meod, but Solomon s heart had been turned away from God. How fatal was is change in Solomon s life? Even in e execution of e sentence against Solomon, God showed mercy. He allowed Solomon to reign in e nation as king for e sake of e sacred memory of his faer, David. Maybe is was because God was giving Solomon e time to repent and turn his heart back to God, for even in God s wra He remembers mercy. God showed His gracious forbearance in allowing Solomon time to ink about e way he had conducted e affairs of e kingdom. God s chastisements were faerly. W e are ankful for God s loving-kindness roughout His dealings wi all generations, for wiout em, we would not enjoy His grace and forgiveness rough e atoning sacrifice of Jesus our Savior. Do as I Say, Not as I Do! In his old age, Solomon set himself to e task of determining life s meaning, using only his ability to reason from information gained by experience. The book is not so much a communication of tru from God as it is an inspired report of Solomon s experiences and reasoning. The tru found in e book is noneeless a message God desires all men to understand, and in at sense must be considered to be from God Himself. Did Solomon every repent? No where does e Bible say he did. The closest ing to repentance nd st we have from Solomon is e book of Ecclesiastes. But for Solomon ere was no 32 Psalm, 51 Psalm or 130 Psalm. Therein lies e difference between Solomon and his faer, David. Though Mark Them Which Walk So (Philippians 3:17) 24 Annual Mid-West Lectures Page 4 to be sold. For information contact e 39 Street church of Christ, East 39 Street, Independence, MO

5 David s sins where great, his fear of Jehovah remained and when confronted wi his sins, he sincerely repented. Solomon had a head full of wisdom and a mou full of songs. He could preach and teach wi incredible skill. He had a well-organized operation, wi talented leaders. Everying about his life appeared to be decent and in order. But everying Solomon did ended up in Ecclesiastes, in e phrase, All is vanity and despair! In e end, Solomon delivered an absolutely powerless message because he had no power to practice what he preached! He gave himself to strange women. He raised wicked children, including a devil who succeeded him on e rone. Indeed, Solomon ended up a decrepit, anguished idolater, living out his days in a sensuous cesspool of immorality. And his entire generation became harlot-chasing reprobates in spite of all his wisdom, teaching and ree ousand proverbs! The book of Ecclesiastes documents Solomon s test for what life is all about. He tried to find e meaning of life and its purposes rough pleasure, money, works, knowledge, and sexual immorality. Solomon did not just write about ese ings, he witnessed first hand each and every form listed. He was living in e fast-lane. He pushed aside all restraints, ignored every cringe of guilt and set out on a quest for pleasure at would make lifestyles of e rich and famous of our time pale into insignificance. Solomon s world was a cafeteria of pleasure. W hen he laughed, it was no doubt noing short of an uproar. W hen he drank, he did so wi gusto. His sexual escapades knew no limitation. He had everying at his disposal wi no dream a mere fantasy. But when it was all over, he found only emptiness. W i each summary he mentioned at is was vanity, useless, meaningless and empty. He had tried each and every avenue, and after each one would basically say, No, at is not what life is all about! After trying all ese avenues himself, he finally comes to e last chapter. Solomon looks back over e wasted years of his life, during which he turned from God s commandments and lost his grip on ose realities at really give life meaning and direction. After his experiments in ese various areas, Solomon concludes at not meaning or purpose to human life can be discerned by an examination of human experience. He is now ready to show how life should be lived wi a view towards God s judgment. Solomon Tries to Set e Record Straight He begins e final chapter talking about you, and how at is e time to remember God, when everying is going well, and you are alive and energetic. But Solomon is not saying to e you, Do as I did, indulge your lusts. He is trying to educate e young people to learn by his mistakes and sins. He tells em to walk in e ways of y heart and in e sight of ine eyes. But just to insure at one does not misunderstand e point, he mentions at God will bring everying into judgment! Remember God in your you, keep your eyes on God, and realize who made you and find out what His purpose is for your life. He is also encouraging e you to recognize eir existence is not for self-pleasure, gratifying passions at are now strong, but to use powers, energies and abilities to glorify eir Creator. Mark Them Which Walk So (Philippians 3:17) 24 Annual Mid-West Lectures Page 5 to be sold. For information contact e 39 Street church of Christ, East 39 Street, Independence, MO

6 Solomon en talks about how life grows old. He builds an analogy between e deterioration of a house and e aging of e physical body. He discuses e mental process of man, and en e physical. The man is pictured at getting older, feeble, and weaker as e days go by, and we say, I have no pleasure in em. Then, man dies. Solomon mentions at e man is going to his long home. This is e destiny toward which all of us are heading. Every beat of e heart beats as it were a funeral march to e grave. And when man dies, Solomon says, The dust returne to e ear as it was and e spirit returne unto God who gave it. In a book concerning e meaning and purpose of life, Solomon talks about dea. And he seems to be saying, if you miss e fact at we are all moving toward dea, and will one day stand before God in judgment, en you have missed what life is all about. Conclusion Solomon writes e book of Ecclesiastes like a good mystery. He made us wait until e final chapter before giving us e answer to all e questions at he brought up. And now we arrive at e conclusion: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Let us hear e conclusion of e whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for is is e whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, wi every secret ing, wheer it be good, or wheer it be evil. Solomon died in Jerusalem after forty years as ruler of Israel. He was buried in e City of David. His son, Rehoboam succeeded him as king. Under Rehoboam s rule, Solomon s empire was lost and his kingdom was divided into two parts. Did Solomon take his own advice offered in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14? That is someing we will have to wait and find out. Solomon not only wrote ese words rough inspiration of e Holy Spirit, but he also wrote em rough e experiences of his own life. W heer Solomon took his own advice or not is not e real question. The real question is is: Are we taking e wise advice of Solomon? W e must warn ourselves at wisdom can be ignored, and at knowledge can be altogeer forgotten. I really hope at Proverbs and Ecclesiastes were written near e end of his life, and at he took e advice offered in em. We must be warned at a good beginning is only at, a good beginning. W e must look to God and follow Him to e end! Mark Them Which Walk So (Philippians 3:17) 24 Annual Mid-West Lectures Page 6 to be sold. For information contact e 39 Street church of Christ, East 39 Street, Independence, MO

Ezra A Prepared Servant of God (Ezra 7:6-10) Don Underwood

Ezra A Prepared Servant of God (Ezra 7:6-10) Don Underwood This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in e law of Moses, which e LORD God of Israel had given: and e king granted him all his request, according to e hand of e LORD his God upon him.6