Living Water Community Church

We worked through the first 15 verses of chapter 12. The crowning of Rehoboam and the start of his reign is recorded for us in this chapter. It is remarkably different from his father Solomon’s anointing as king. As a matter of fact there really does not appear to be any anointing going on for Rehoboam. The people had all gathered at Shechem to make him king. Jeroboam returns from Egypt and appears to represent most of the tribes as they come to Rehoboam to lay down some conditions. They ask for Rehoboam to make their work load lighter to receive their loyalty and support. Rehoboam asks the old men who advised his father what to do and they suggested he listen to the people. Rehoboam did not like that answer and so he asked young men he had grown up with what to do and they told him to basically show the people he is going to be even tougher on them then Solomon had been. Rehoboam chose to listen to the young men and display how tough he was going to be. We wrapped up with verse 15 where it explicitly states this poor choice on Rehoboam’s part was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord. God did this because He had spoke through Ahijah the prophet that Jeroboam would become king of 10 of the tribes. The thing which this passage is really highlighting is how even things like civil disunity are brought about by God. In this case He is bringing this about because the people had been caught up in worshipping other gods under Solomon. The passage is really highlighting how God is in control even when things seem out of control or negative. Jesus death is a perfect example of this. It was God’s plan that Jesus would become our substitute and ransom us. But the means of Jesus becoming our substitutionary sacrifice was through betrayal and unjust judgement. Things which were sinful and evil brought about Jesus death and people will face judgement for those things. But at the same time God ordained for these things to happen and He removed the grace which would have restrained men and kept these things from happening.

We explored what our relationships will be like according to what we see in scripture. We explored how the scripture speaks against false beliefs about relationships in eternity even held by great spiritual giants of theology in history. In 1 Thessalonians Paul talked about looking forward to recognizing and interacting with those who have gone before us into eternity. The followers of Jesus all recognize him after the resurrection. While it appears Jesus could keep some from recognizing Him, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Mary Magdalene and the twelve clearly know Him when they see Him. God created us to love relationships and at His core God has always existed in relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit forming the Trinity. Since God is relational at a very fundamental level He has created us to love relationships. This is not something God will take away in heaven but rather something which will be deeper and richer because we now know and see God. We also explored the idea of children who God could have chosen from conception like He did Samson. This means miscarriages or children who died very young or in childbirth could indeed be people we meet and come to know in eternity. We also considered the implications of people we love here who do not put their faith in Jesus not being in heaven. The reality is while we do not fully understand how we will not grieve their absence, the truth is God will somehow help us to have a different perspective on their rebellion against Him. While last time we dealt with question related specifically to relationships and eternity.

We wrapped up chapter 11. It is such a sad chapter because in it we see the seeds planted which will lead to the division of the kingdom of Israel. The real driving force for this break up is found in how Solomon fostered and introduced idol worship in the land. Solomon lacked a real fear of God like David his father possessed. He embraced the false worship introduced by his many wives and this is ultimately the thing which brought about the judgement of God. He calls His people to be faithful to Him. When His people are not faithful He brings correction and judgement. God is always working to bring His people into faithful pursuit of Him. He is faithful even when we are not and He is always working to bring us what is best for us which is the gift of a relationship with Him. There is nothing in this world better for us then this. At the risk of sounding overly simplistic the truth of the matter is: every single problem which we have in this world finds its truest answer and solution in Jesus. 

• Are you sick? Jesus is the great physician and the ultimate healing of every disease is found in Him. One day He will wipe away the effects of all sin and pain.

• Are you anxious? God tells us not to be anxious about anything because He is our provider.

• Are you weary? Jesus tells us to take His yoke upon us because His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

• Are you broken hearted? Jesus binds up the broken hearted and he comforts us with a supernatural comfort so we can comfort others in their distress.

This is just a short example of the reality of how every problem we face finds its ultimate answer in Jesus. Our problem is how easily and quickly we turn to something other then Jesus.

We explored what is essentially the detailing of Solomon’s kingdom declining. It starts with his disobedience to God’s command to not multiply wives. This led to him being introduced to the many gods of these wives. Ultimately the text says Solomon loved these gods. This is a dramatic departure for the man who started out in Kings with the declaration that he loved God. In a nutshell this really highlights Solomon’s decline. He went from loving God to loving many other gods. Yet there is a very real warning for us in Solomon’s decline. If the wisest man who ever lived can move from loving God to loving many gods what hope do we have. 

• The hope we have is found in Jesus. 

• The hope we have is found in continuing to pursue Him. 

• The hope we have is in cultivating a passionate pursuit of Him in our hearts.

We explored a section which in one way foreshadows the kingdom of God and in another way is a warning to the people in exile of how the kingdom of Israel’s decline began. In the section we witness Solomon gaining a super-abundance of wealth. His wealth in his time would have made him by today’s standards a multi-billionaire. Given the lack of true capitalistic economies in Solomon’s day he would have no doubt been the richest man in the world. The wealth and abundance of the kingdom really foreshadows the greater and better kingdom of God which is coming. In God’s coming kingdom there will never be want. God will be supplying our needs in a sinless environment. It will be magnificent in every way. The problem in Solomon’s kingdom can be found in the fact that his was not a sinless environment. The massive build up of wealth would prove to be a corrupting influence on Solomon and all Israel. Silver was so abundant in Jerusalem it was said to be as common as stone. This would have driven the value of silver down in the city and surrounding area. This super common silver was used to purchase chariots and horses. This means these items cost Solomon very little because they used silver in the trade. We also see Solomon engaging in trade with Egypt which was expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy. In a variety of ways the exultation of Solomon and his wisdom is overshadowed by the wealth and power he acquires. The trade with forbidden foreign nations and the accumulation of wealth are items expressly forbidden for the kings of Israel in the book of Deuteronomy.

The early Church was united and devoted to prayer. A united pursuit of 

God and a seeking after wisdom from God on the path forward after Jesus Ascension. A 50 day period takes place after the resurrection before we come to Pentecost. A brief overview of corporate prayer is a part of this study.

We explored the first 13 verses of chapter 10. In this section we have the record of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon. She came because of all she had heard. It was such astonishing reports she simply had to see it for herself. What she found was greater than what she had been told. The scale and scope of what she saw simply took her breath away. But even greater than what she saw was the fact she perceived this was from God. She encountered not just Solomon and his wisdom but she encountered the God who had granted Solomon wisdom. Jesus declared that the queen of the south the queen of Sheba will be at the judgement condemning those who do not believe. The only way she can be there in that capacity is because she saw and believed. We get to know God even better then the queen of Sheba did. We are called to be ambassadors of the kingdom of God in an even more explicit way then Solomon was.

We looked at God’s promise of blessing and also warning to Solomon of what would happen if he turned aside from following God. This happened when God appeared to Solomon a second time after the dedication of the temple. The warning even extended to his children. But there was also the promise of blessing if Solomon remained faithful and followed God like David his father did. God promised to extend the same blessing He had given David to establish his throne forever. The warning came with the promise of judgement on the nation of Israel and the temple building itself if the people go and serve and worship other gods. This was done to be a declaration of the importance of fidelity to God to all the surrounding nations. That the world would know they faced judgement because they abandoned God. This same type of warning extends to the church. We looked at how passages in James and Hebrews speak to the importance of being true to God and not playing a game of externalized religion. God is the same yesterday today and forever and He will not be mocked by people who claim to follow Him as Lord.

We worked through the end of chapter 8. In this section Solomon rises from the prayer of dedication and the passage tells us he blesses the people. It is really interesting that it states this is a blessing on the people because what Solomon does is bless God for giving rest to His people as He promised. Then Solomon blesses the people with God being with them and inclining their hearts to Him to keep His commandments, statutes and rules. He charges them to keep their hearts true to God. Basically if you consider the content of this blessing even though it is really directed at God and being true to Him then you have the best possible blessing Solomon could give to the people. He is blessing them with a pursuit of God and obedience to Him. There is quite literally nothing better we could wish for anyone in this life. The passage then turns from Solomon’s blessing to the sacrifices offered and the feast which they held. We noted the fact that one of the sacrifices was a peace offering. The peace offering was asking for peace with God. The idea was for God to forgive them for their sins. In this offering the fat of the animal being sacrificed was offered to God. Some of the meat was given to the priest and the rest of the animal was to be consumed by the one offering the sacrifice and their family within 2 days. It was to celebrate the promise of God forgiving them of their sins. In essence the offering was a meal shared with God celebrating the reconciliation they were to enjoy through the sacrifice. After the week of dedicating the temple and making sacrifices the people left on the eighth day joyful and glad of heart. This all took place during the feast of tabernacles. All of these things really foreshadow the ultimate sacrifice and reconciliation which was to come to be found in Jesus when He came and tabernacled in the body God prepared for Him.

We worked through the end of chapter 8. In this section Solomon rises from the prayer of dedication and the passage tells us he blesses the people. It is really interesting that it states this is a blessing on the people because what Solomon does is bless God for giving rest to His people as He promised. Then Solomon blesses the people with God being with them and inclining their hearts to Him to keep His commandments, statutes and rules. He charges them to keep their hearts true to God. Basically if you consider the content of this blessing even though it is really directed at God and being true to Him then you have the best possible blessing Solomon could give to the people. He is blessing them with a pursuit of God and obedience to Him. There is quite literally nothing better we could wish for anyone in this life. The passage then turns from Solomon’s blessing to the sacrifices offered and the feast which they held. We noted the fact that one of the sacrifices was a peace offering. The peace offering was asking for peace with God. The idea was for God to forgive them for their sins. In this offering the fat of the animal being sacrificed was offered to God. Some of the meat was given to the priest and the rest of the animal was to be consumed by the one offering the sacrifice and their family within 2 days. It was to celebrate the promise of God forgiving them of their sins. In essence the offering was a meal shared with God celebrating the reconciliation they were to enjoy through the sacrifice. After the week of dedicating the temple and making sacrifices the people left on the eighth day joyful and glad of heart. This all took place during the feast of tabernacles. All of these things really foreshadow the ultimate sacrifice and reconciliation which was to come to be found in Jesus when He came and tabernacled in the body God prepared for Him.