The Story: The King Who Had It All

[0:01] Back home in Myanmar, the first day of the year or the first week of the year is very significant for us in terms of projecting the whole year.

[0:14] That's why we expect to take place good thing on the first day of the year. If good thing happened on the first day, the rest of the year will be great.

[0:27] I'm not sure if you would remember that I share about getting tickets on New Year last year, on New Year Day last year.

[0:39] Do you know how many I got last year? I got a total of four tickets, but my wife only knew three.

[0:52] If this church was in Myanmar this week, I have no doubt that it will be full or probably overflow.

[1:07] There are still people who believe if they miss the first Sunday, they will probably miss more over the whole year.

[1:17] So people make a time for the church on the first week of the year. If you are one of us, we shall see more senior here on the first week of the year.

[1:35] Well, last week we are exploring and reflecting about King David. This morning we will be exploring and reflecting King Solomon with the title of the king who had it all.

[1:55] You all know that King David's reign 40 years over Israel. Throughout the Bible, he was known as a man after God's own heart.

[2:09] He was faithful to God, righteous and upright in his heart. He definitely had a wide reign of experience in relationship with God.

[2:23] Learning from his own mistake or his experience in relationship with God, King David gave the most important advice to his son Solomon, who was about to become king over the people of Israel.

[2:42] In 1 Kings 2-4, David said, Be strong like a man and observe what the Lord your God requires.

[3:01] Walk in obedience to him and keep his decrees and command, his law and regulation as written in the law of Moses.

[3:12] And he said, Do this so that you may prosper in all you do wherever you go. And the Lord may keep his promise to me.

[3:27] If your descendants watch how they live. If they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.

[3:42] Solomon has indeed showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instruction that was given to him by his father, David.

[3:59] Since King Solomon showed his devotion to God, God was pleased and invited him to ask anything he wants.

[4:13] 1 Kings 3-5, it said like that, Ask for whatever you want me to give you. Ask whatever you want me to give you.

[4:27] We all know that what King Solomon asked. He only asked a discerning heart to govern his people and to distinguish between right and wrong.

[4:47] God was very pleased that King Solomon has only asked those, asked for a discerning heart. So God blessed him with not just a discerning heart, but also well and honor that he has not asked for.

[5:08] In 1 Kings 3-12-13, God said, I will do whatever you have asked. I will give you a wise and a discerning heart so that there will never be anyone like you, nor will there ever be.

[5:30] Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for, both wealth and honor, so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.

[5:43] Dear church, this blessing, our ultimate blessing, of the highest, because it says, there will never be anyone like him, nor ever be.

[6:02] So basically what it said is, King Solomon is the wisest man who ever lived in this art. So we can see his wisdom on 1 Kings 4-29-34.

[6:23] It said, I won't go into detail, it said, Solomon's wisdom was as measureless as the sand on the seashore.

[6:37] His wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He composed 3,000 proverbs, and he wrote over 1,000 songs.

[6:52] He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants. He could speak about animals, birds, creatures, and fish.

[7:06] Kings from every nation sent their ambassador to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. The Queen of Sheba was one of them who came to test Solomon with her hard question.

[7:24] 1 Kings 10, verse 3-5, it said, Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.

[7:39] When the king of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the palace he has built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cup beer, and the burnt offering he made at the temple of the Lord, she was just overwhelmed.

[8:05] I don't know much about Ethiopia, but one of my friends from Ethiopia said, they are descendants of King Solomon.

[8:21] It could be. St. Queen Sheba was from that region. Some scholars suggest that the queen of Sheba must have slept with King Solomon.

[8:34] Based on 1 Kings 10, verses 13, it said, King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty.

[8:54] Then she left, returned, then she left and returned with her attendants to her own country. We can also explore more of Solomon's wealth and splendor in 1 Kings 10, verses 14 to 29.

[9:15] Again, I won't go detail on this part as well. It says, King Solomon received every year 25 tons of gold.

[9:28] He received every year 25 tons of gold. And more other articles, such as like savil, rope, weapons, and spies, horses, or mew.

[9:45] In this scripture, it said, his kingdom is described as like that. Nothing like it had ever been made for the other kingdoms.

[9:59] King Solomon was definitely greater in reach and wisdom than all other kings of the earth. Not only he was the wisest man on us and the greatest, the greater in reach, but also he was the one who was able to build the temple of God.

[10:24] King David first has in his heart to build a temple for the name of the Lord, but God did not allow him. But 1 Kings chapter 8, verses 17 to 19 and said, my father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

[10:52] But the Lord said to my father David, you did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my name. Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood, he is the one who will build the temple for my name.

[11:15] Building a temple for God could be a milestone for the history of Israel because the people of Israel hasn't been able to put the Ark of Covenants at one location permanently over the last 480 years.

[11:35] it was indeed a great achievement for King Solomon. So he began to build a temple in his fourth year of ruling over Israel, which happened to be 480 years after the Israelites came out of Egypt.

[11:56] again, I won't be telling the detail of building the temple, but after completing the temple, he dedicated to God in prayer.

[12:15] 2 Chronicles chapter 6 verses 42 42 42 42 Lord God, do not reject your unrightened wants.

[12:56] Remember the great love promised to David, your servants. When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven, consume, burn, offering, and sacrifice, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

[13:16] The priest could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled in. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they kneel on the pavement with their face to the ground, and they worship and give thanks to the Lord, saying, He is good.

[13:42] His love endure forever. the king and all people offer sacrifice before the Lord. You know how many cows, how many cattle and sheep and go are sacrificed?

[14:04] It said 22,000 of head of cattle, 22,000 and over 100,000 over 100,000 over 120,000 sheep and go.

[14:29] That was how the king and his people dedicated to the temple of God. what do you think? Why King Solomon become the wisest man, the most well and honored man on earth?

[14:50] Why he became the one who was able to build such a great, able to do such a great job building the temple of God? The answer is simply he followed his father instruction which is observing what the Lord, his God required.

[15:14] I read in the beginning, it said he walked in obedience to him and keep his decrees and command his law and regulation as written in the law of Moses.

[15:32] As a result, he was prospering in all he did and wherever he went. So, 1 Kings 2, chapter 2, verses 3, it said, do this so that you may prosper in all you do wherever you go.

[15:53] Similarly, he'll listen to what God said on 2 Chronicles chapter 7, verses 17. it said, as for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, do all I command and observe my decrees and law, I will establish royal throne.

[16:19] let's continue, I will extubate royal throne as I covenanted with David your father when I said, you shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.

[16:42] if he if he is faithful to him, basically God said he will make sure that his successor will be there.

[17:02] But however, was King Solomon faithful to God as much as his father did? this is the question.

[17:16] No, he could not keep up his he could not keep up himself with the expect of faithfulness in the greedy of heart uprightness and obedience in his later time.

[17:33] As a result the covenant with God the covenant with King David was seized after his kingdom. In 1 King chapter 11 verse 9 to 13 it describes how God became angry with King Solomon.

[17:56] It said the Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart turned away from the Lord and the God of Israel who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord commands.

[18:12] So the Lord said to Solomon sin this is your attitude you have not kept my covenant and my decrees which I commanded you. I will most suddenly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinate.

[18:29] make nevertheless for the sake of David your father I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out the hand of your son yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him but will give him one try for the sake of David my servants and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.

[18:54] I believe we can relate this story with our present situation. I believe you would somehow agree with me that the older generation have much stronger faith than younger generation.

[19:15] The fact is that like King David older generation did go through some hardship or various days of life.

[19:28] They witnessed the hand of God grace and mercy of God in their time. So basically they could not help without embracing the faith that they have in God or trusting the Lord.

[19:49] So like David the only advice they can give to younger generation is to trust God or to have faith in God.

[20:03] On the other hand like King Solomon younger generation will follow and obey instruction given to them by older generation just to the point they want to follow.

[20:19] however since they have less experience in hardship or different state of life their faith in God is less appreciated less value.

[20:38] They would have high tendency to compromise with other worldly things. For instance polygamy was considered normal in King Solomon time but not with God.

[20:55] Not with God. King Solomon compromised with this issue and he had married many foreigner women many foreign women who were from Mobis Ammonis Adomai Sidonians and Hittitas.

[21:19] God has already forbidden that the people of Israel not to intermarriage with them because God said they will surely turn your heart after their gods.

[21:37] Surely 1st King chapter 11 verse 4 said as Solomon grew old his wife turned his heart after other gods and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God as the heart of David his father has been.

[22:00] God I can relate it with the illustration of fruit into boiling water. It is said if you put a fruit into boiling water it will jump up.

[22:17] However if you put a fruit in room temperature water lukewarm water and turn the burner off you can literally cook the fruit to death.

[22:31] The first story is a metaphor for the person in the story King Solomon. Solomon was a fraud who could jump out in the beginning but he got himself into lukewarm water and by the end his life is cooked.

[22:55] King Solomon starts strong God into the part and by the end we know that he ends poorly.

[23:08] Dear church God is love God is faithful let's be faithful to him continually like Apostle Paul said we just need to finish the race the crown of righteousness is for everyone who finish the race we don't need to be fast like the crown is for everyone who finish the race I can read 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verses 7 to 8 it said I have fought the good fight I have finished the race I have remained faithful and now the prize await me the crown of righteousness which the

[24:11] Lord the righteous judge will give me the day of his return his return and the pride is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing let's pray