Transcript
Speaker: The following podcast is a Jill dev Divine Media production.
Speaker: Welcome back to Normal Goes a Long Way. I'm your host, Jill Divine, and I hope you had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We are getting back into our sermon series based on the book, The Story, and we are continuing with chapter 13, The King Who Had It All.
Speaker: Now, if you are new to Messiah or just happen to have a short memory, allow me to introduce or reintroduce to you a message series that we have been in since the beginning of 2025. It's called the story, which is to say the Bible.
Speaker: However, the story is a little different than the Bible in the way that it's organized. I'll explain The Bible is organized topically.
Speaker: In the Old Testament, the books of history are first, then come the poetry books, then the prophecy books. But the reality is the poetry books and the prophecy books take place during the same time as the history books.
Speaker: Confused? Well, that's why the story kind of came about. The story takes the word of God and arranges it chronologically. Or another way to put it is the story is the Bible as one continuous narrative of God.
Speaker: and his people. So let's catch up to speed. We've had a few weeks off. We began in the beginning. That's always a good place to start. God creates the universe and all that is in it. It was good. It was great. It was perfect, in fact.
Speaker: ah But that perfection was lost as the first two people, Adam and Eve, chose to disobey God and sin enters the world. The rest of the story is about God's plan they get us back.
Speaker: plan kicked off as God creates a brand new nation from scratch called Israel. It will be through Israel through which the solution will come.
Speaker: In Genesis chapter 12, God made a promise to Abraham, the father of this new nation, that the Messiah would come from his family tree. Abraham has Isaac.
Speaker: Isaac has Jacob. Jacob has 12 sons. And from one of those sons, Judah eventually leads us to David, King David. And God reminds David of the promise that the Messiah, Jesus, is going to come from his line, which brings us now to today.
Speaker: David is old and he is dying. He is checking out and one of his sons will succeed him on the throne. But which one?
Speaker: You see, David has several wives. Stop. Wait. Time out. What's up with all these guys having multiple wives?
Speaker: Is God cool with that? mean, Well, here's how I understand it. In the first part of the Bible, and I'm not really sure why, but God does not forbid polygamy.
Speaker: He allows it, but he's not a fan of it. God's plan for marriage, Genesis chapter 2, was, still is, for one man and one woman to be married. That's it.
Speaker: However, you see in the Old Testament a lot of dudes, including ah Abraham, died Jacob, David, with more than one wife. And here's what else you see. Problems.
Speaker: problems
Speaker: Lots and lots of problems. It never works out well. Never. How could it? ah There's jealousy and envy, and there's nothing but trouble. You ever see Sister Wives, right?
Speaker: There you go. Back to David. David has several wives and more than a few children. He's been king for 40 years. And as he's lying on his deathbed, the boys are kind of sizing each other up. You know, who's going to get the crown kind of a thing.
Speaker: And naturally, there's a power grab, you know, going on. And the oldest surviving son of David attempts to take the throne. But that's not the one that God has in mind. The one God has is Solomon.
Speaker: And it is a very good time to be the king of Israel. As David passes the baton to Solomon, the nation of Israel is in great shape, never been better.
Speaker: They are strong, they are prosperous, they are doing well financially, and they are at peace. There's no debt, there's no enemies, no wars that Solomon has to deal with.
Speaker: And it gets even better. Early in his reign, God approaches Solomon and tells him that he can have anything he wants.
Speaker: Wow. Can you imagine that? What would that be like if God came to you and said, name it, ask away?
Speaker: You want it? You got it. What would you ask for?
Speaker: want to think about health, wealth, fame, fortune, good looks, a long life. I'll tell you what I'd ask for. um i'm I'm a pretty simple pretty simple man. i don't need much, really.
Speaker: ah Just enough money for some more schools to be built in Uganda. That's it. Oh, and and Wrigley Field.
Speaker: That's it. I want schools for Uganda and Wrigley Field for me. wait, I also want to buy the football Cardinals and the Rams and bring them both back to St. Louis.
Speaker: Yeah, you're welcome. And if the Blues could win the Stanley Cup yearly, you know, that's it, that's it. Well, then again, we now that I think about it we could also use an NBA team around here, couldn't we?
Speaker: Just the basic necessities. That's all I'd ask for. And a Mini Cooper, convertible, and hot tub. And a plane. No, a plane with a hot tub. Yes.
Speaker: All right, let's move it along. Solomon asked for wisdom, which is exactly what I would have asked for eventually.
Speaker: Solomon asked for wisdom, which is amazing. Wow, way to go, Solomon. And all the more so is that his request is really not so much for himself, but it's for insight to fu fulfill his duties as the leader of God's people.
Speaker: Now, oh Lord, my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father, David, but I am only a little child. He's about 20 years old, by the way. I'm a little child, and I don't know how to carry out my duties. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.
Speaker: For who is able to govern this great people of yours? Wow, Solomon, that's a good answer, man. He didn't ask for power. He didn't ask for wealth. He didn't ask for a three-hump camel. And the Lord was pleased.
Speaker: So much so that God said, i will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, Solomon, so that there will never be anyone like you, nor will there ever be Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for.
Speaker: I'll give you riches and honor so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. But here's the kicker. If you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did I'll give you a long life so God honors Solomon's request and it doesn't take too long for the new king to put the gift from God to work Now, back then, one of the duties of the king was to settle disputes.
Speaker: And shortly after Solomon becomes king, but two women come to him with a baby. The problem is they both claim to be the mama. And it's Solomon's job to decide what to do.
Speaker: about flipping coin? Rock, paper, scissors, two out of three. No, Solomon has a better idea. With both women standing before him, he asked for one of his attendants to cut the child in two and give each mother half a baby.
Speaker: Weirdly enough, the first lady thinks that's a great idea.
Speaker: ah but the second one is horrified and she withdraws her claim from the child. And so now knowing who the real mother of the baby would not allow any harm to come to the baby, ah Solomon gives the baby to its true mother. Mystery solved, Scoob.
Speaker: And no offense to Solomon here, but I bet you and I could have figured that one out. You know. That being said, Solomon was full of wisdom. He wrote down hundreds of wise sayings that are included in the Bible. called the book of Proverbs. That's wisdom literature.
Speaker: And wisdom, it's more than just intelligence. Actually, it's more moral than mental. It's knowing God's way In God's world, how to live.
Speaker: God's way and God's world. And so a proverb then is a short little word of instruction, which is intended to help God's people live rightly. And proverbs are cool. They're they're poetic, yet they're practical.
Speaker: It's teaching is direct, sometimes kind of funny. In general, life will work out pretty well if you take the wisdom of proverbs to heart.
Speaker: A few examples. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it. Generally speaking, generally speaking, that is true.
Speaker: Here's another. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. should Lean not on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge God, and he'll make your path straight. Good stuff.
Speaker: Now, this one's a personal favorite. Gray hair is a crown of splendor. It is attained by a righteous life. Ah, just saying, it's in the Bible. Here's another one that I've recently come to love. Grandchildren are the crown of the aged. That's right, my daughter Janie and her husband Max are expecting.
Speaker: Come the middle of June, yours truly will be grandfather. How cool is that? Very cool. How about this one? Do not love sleep or you will grow poor.
Speaker: Kind of sounds like a fortune cookie, doesn't it Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel. That's a warning. That's more of a negative. There are negative proverbs.
Speaker: Here's a positive one. Be like this. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflow and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Speaker: So it's be wise with your money. Acknowledge God with it. Be wise. Be wise with your mouth. Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Speaker: Last one. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Guard your heart.
Speaker: Wise words. But Solomon had it going on. And what's more, Solomon's father, ah David, had raised a whole bunch of money so that a temple would be built for God. And not just any temple. This thing was immense, one worthy of God's presence so that as God's people worshipped him. They would be reminded of the awesomeness and the the majesty of the God they served.
Speaker: The Bible tells us it took 180,000 workers seven years to build this temple. And when it was all done, God showed up He took up residence at a special place in the back there called the Holy of Holies.
Speaker: It was a magnificent place. And we're going to learn more about the great temple as we move along in the story. but The temple and the prosperity throughout the land of Israel attracted a lot of attention.
Speaker: Word traveled fast and kings and royalty. They came from all over to have a look for themselves. Here's an artist's rendering of when the Queen of Sheba came to visit.
Speaker: All these dignitaries came to seek Solomon's advice and to pay him tributes with gifts of gold and silver and weapons and spices.
Speaker: And Solomon was loaded. There was gold all over the place. He had fleet of ships that sailed the world, returning everything every three years just loaded down with riches, gold and silver and ivory and apes and baboons. Not sure why you'd want that, but nevertheless, he's got them. And we're told that Solomon accumulated more than 25 tons of gold.
Speaker: tons of gold The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones and cedar as plentiful as fig trees.
Speaker: Solomon's horses were obtained from Egypt. Oh, it's good to be the king.
Speaker: Maybe too good. You see, there's a subtle shift that's taking place in Solomon's heart. That Bible verse up there, that is a, it's called a tip off.
Speaker: That is a tip off because God specifically forbid that. Deuteronomy chapter 17, the king must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them.
Speaker: For the Lord has told you, you are not to go back that way again. Moreover, he must not take many wives or his heart will be led astray.
Speaker: Moreover, he must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. Whoops.
Speaker: Solomon's got too much gold, got too much silver, too many Egyptian horses, too many wives.
Speaker: Solomon had seven, wow, what is that really?
Speaker: 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines besides. And his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods.
Speaker: And his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God as the heart of David his father had been.
Speaker: By the time of King Solomon's reign, it comes to an end. The once wise and humble king is worshiping other gods.
Speaker: ad buttaries Adversaries are attacking him. The kingdom is in chaos. He's running for his life. How did this happen? He worshiped other gods, including Molech, the one they sacrificed children to.
Speaker: Furthermore, Solomon built him a temple. In fact, he built several temples for other false gods. Absolutely crazy.
Speaker: After all that God had done for him, how is this possible?
Speaker: Well, here's the thing.
Speaker: We went through this story really fast. but it didn't happen overnight. You probably heard the bit about putting a frog in a pan of boiling water, and know he'll jump out immediately to save his life, just like if you accidentally touch scalding water, you would instantly jerk your hand back.
Speaker: Well, our little green friend will do the same, but if you put the frog in a pan of lukewarm water, he'll just sit there happy and content as a pastor in a hot tub on a plane.
Speaker: Now kids, that' that's a that's not real there, okay? Just so you know, that's not a real picture. That is an artist rendering. Okay, no worries, kids. However, I don't know why someone would do that to poor Kermit. Why would, you know?
Speaker: But if you gradually turn up the heat, the frog will relax all the more. And as the water gets warmer and warmer, he doesn't realize that his nice warm bath has become a death trap until it's too late.
Speaker: Well, that's what happened to Solomon. He got cooked. ah He wrote about his experience in this book called Ecclesiastes. You should read it, but I'll warn you it's pretty depressing.
Speaker: Here's how it starts. The words of the teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem, Meaningless, meaningless, says the teacher.
Speaker: Utterly meaningless. Everything is meaningless. See what I mean? Solomon writes a rather sad story.
Speaker: It is the story of his life and what it looks like when God is not at the top spot in your life.
Speaker: He calls it chasing after the wind. It's Solomon at his worst. He tries this, he he tries that. He tries all these things that should make him happy and satisfied and nothing works.
Speaker: It's about a man who has gone mad and he is pulling his hair out because he got to the end he's cooked.
Speaker: but Solomon's story should really cause us to sit up straight pay attention because false gods, idol worship, that has not gone away.
Speaker: ah Solomon started so strong. And we don't know if his fall started, you know, 20 years after ruling or 30 years into his reign, but eventually the water got too hot.
Speaker: It happened to Solomon, and don't think that it can't happen to you and me. Pastor Randy Frazee writes, in all my years of ministry, I've never met anyone who jumped into pot of boiling water.
Speaker: I've never met anyone who woke up one morning and declared to himself, I'm gonna ruin my relationships with my family and commit adultery today.
Speaker: I've never met a businessman who just out of the blue decided to embezzle from his company. I've never met a woman who decided to become an alcoholic. But sadly, I've known men who lost their marriages and their businesses.
Speaker: but I've known women who had to be committed to rehab. And if you could talk with them, they would tell you the water didn't seem too hot at first.
Speaker: So how about you?
Speaker: It doesn't take a thousand wives and 25 tons of gold to steal your heart from God.
Speaker: Each of us has something that competes for our loyalty to God.
Speaker: Whatever you worship in place of God, that's your idol. Whatever that thing is.
Speaker: ah Check the water. it heating up?
Speaker: Or maybe you feel like you've already been cooked.
Speaker: Well, that's you, you need to know something. You can jump out.
Speaker: There's a little story that comes to mind. so written by Patricia Nelson. It's called an autobiography in five short paragraphs. Paragraph one.
Speaker: I walk down the street. There's a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I'm lost. I'm helpless.
Speaker: is It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. Paragraph two. I walk down the street. There's a deep hole in the sidewalk.
Speaker: I pretend don't see it. I fall in. ah can't believe I'm in the same place, but it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
Speaker: Paragraph three. I walk down the street. There's a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. ah still fall in.
Speaker: It's a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. it is my fault. I get out immediately.
Speaker: Paragraph four. I walk down the street. There's a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. Paragraph five. I walk down ah different street.
Speaker: Friends, there are deep holes all around us. And perhaps you find yourself continually falling in. If this is you, need to stop walking down that street.
Speaker: Maybe the Holy Spirit wanted you to hear just that today. But there's another way to go.
Speaker: you see, it's never too late to jump out and turn back to God. There's always forgiveness with him. It's not too late to change.
Speaker: But the only way to change is to change what you worship. Worship the one who saves you. All other plans, all other gods will kill you.
Speaker: But there is one who came to save you. Centuries after Solomon, another descendant of David, Another son would arrive, and that son possessed all the same wisdom that Solomon had, even more.
Speaker: And people came from all around just to hear what he had to say. But the mission of his life wasn't just to offer some wise sayings, nor was it to build a temple.
Speaker: No, he came to be the temple. He came to die and rise again for sinners, sinners like you and me. it came to make dead people alive.
Speaker: That is what Jesus is all about. That is why Easter is a joy story after all. You have a God who saves you and wants nothing and but the best for you.
Speaker: So guard your hearts and lean not on your own understanding. And all your ways acknowledge him. And he will make your path straight. And very, very soon now, Pastor Jim is going to pray for us. And then he is going to invite you to walk down a different street.
Speaker: It is the street known as the aisle leading to the Lord's Supper. And we will come with our sin. And Jesus will meet us there.
Speaker: And he will forgive us. and refresh us and strengthen us and lead us in the way we should go.
Speaker: Amen. Come back on Thursday as Ms. Hannah and Ms. April present to you Chapter 13 in kids form for Normal Goes a Long Way for Kids. Thanks for listening.
