The Rule of Solomon

The reading this morning comes from 1 Kings, various verses in chapters 4 and 10.

You can follow along in your bulletins or on the screens in front of you.

Starting in chapter 4, verse 20, we read,

Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea.

They ate and drank and were happy.

Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt.

They brought tribute and served to Solomon all the days of his life.

Solomon's provision for one day was 30 cores of fine flour and 60 cores of meal,

10 fat oxen and 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks and fattened fowl.

For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates,

from Tipsa to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates.

And he had peace on all sides around him.

And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Bathsheba,

every man under his vine and under his fig tree all the days of Solomon.

And in verse 29 we read,

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure,

and breath of mind like the sand on the seashore,

so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east,

and all the wisdom of Egypt.

For he was wiser than all other men,

wiser than Ethan the Ezraite,

and Heman, Chalcol, and Dada,

the sons of Mahal.

And his fame was in all the surrounding nations.

He also spoke 3,000 proverbs,

and his songs were 1,005.

He spoke of trees,

from the cedar that is in Lebanon,

to the hyssop that grows out of the wall.

He spoke also of beasts,

and of birds,

and of reptiles,

and of fish.

And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon,

and from all the kings of the earth,

who had heard of his wisdom.

Then in chapter 10, verse 1, we read,

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon,

concerning the name of the Lord,

she came to test him with hard questions.

She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue,

with camels bearing spices,

and very much gold and precious stones.

And when she came to Solomon,

she told him all that was on her mind.

And Solomon answered all her questions.

There was nothing hidden from the king

that he could not explain to her.

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon,

the house that he had built,

the food of his table,

the seating of his officials,

and the attendance of his servants,

their clothing,

his cupbearers,

and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord,

there was no more breath in her.

And she said to the king,

The report was true that I heard in my own land

of your words and of your wisdom.

But I did not believe the reports

until I came and my own eyes had seen it.

And behold,

the half was not told me.

Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard.

Happy are your men.

Happy are your servants

who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom.

Blessed be the Lord your God

who has delighted in you

and set you on the throne of Israel.

Because the Lord loved Israel forever,

he has made you king

that you may execute justice and righteousness.

Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold

and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones.

Never again came such an abundance of spices

as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

In verse 13,

And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba

all that she desired,

whatever she asked,

besides what was given her

by the bounty of King Solomon.

So she turned

and went back to her own land

with her servants.

This is the word of God.

Amen.

Great.

Thanks, Angeline, for reading.

Yeah, really exciting chapters.

Now,

one of my favorite apps is Carousel.

I think many of you use it.

I'm Dutch.

I like to save money,

and so buying stuff for secondhand,

much cheaper,

I like doing that.

I'm sure many people do the same.

I've had some really good deals,

but my guess is,

yeah,

like some of you,

sometimes you buy something

and it's just fake, right?

It's not the real deal,

or it doesn't work,

or something like that.

And so,

I've become a bit suspicious,

especially when they say,

well,

let's not beat up.

I'll just post it to you.

You pay me,

and I'll post it,

and then I don't want to do that,

right?

I think we like to try before we buy.

We don't know what it is.

We don't know if it works.

I think that's a natural instinct.

But then as Christians,

that same instinct can be difficult

when it comes to our faith, right?

Because so much of our faith,

well,

you can't really try before you buy, right?

We believe there's this invisible God

who made us

and who made the world,

and one day he's coming back,

and if you trust him and follow him,

it'll be great,

and if you don't,

then there'll be judgment,

but you can't see it.

You really don't,

yeah,

it feels like blind faith, right?

Because we don't see it,

and that can be hard.

It can be hard to tell your friends,

hey,

believe this,

when they say,

well,

why?

Right?

I don't see it.

It doesn't look like to be true,

and even if we want to live for Jesus,

right?

You know,

Jesus asks us to give our whole lives to him.

That's quite a big investment.

I would buy something cheap on Scarborough Cell,

but I wouldn't buy something big without seeing it.

Well,

would you give your whole life to Jesus

without actually seeing what his kingdom will be like,

that he's promising?

That's kind of where we're going today,

because that is something I think we feel.

Maybe you're here,

you're not a Christian.

You know,

it sounds all nice,

but how do we know it's real?

Why do we know what it's like?

And as Christians,

yeah,

I think we need that just to keep living for Jesus with all its demands.

And so that's where we're going.

Now,

we're doing a sermon series on the work of the wonderful work of God.

We're going through the storyline of the Bible,

but they're not just individual episodes,

right?

It's a storyline.

And so we need to get that clear.

And I think last week,

of course,

was Chinese New Year.

Many of us were not here.

And so I'll take a little bit more time to kind of review last week,

because we need to see this week really in light of what happened last week.

Where are we in the story?

Well,

of course,

the Bible story is the story of great hope,

of God's plan to reverse the fall.

God made a perfect world.

Everything was wonderful,

Adam and Eve,

but they rejected God.

And everything went wrong.

They were shut out from God's presence.

The world is cursed,

but wonderfully in his grace,

God promises,

I'm going to make things better.

So he appeared to a man called Abraham and promised,

okay,

I'm going to make a new kingdom.

And with your descendants,

they're going to be my people,

live in my place.

It's like,

he's going to make things right again.

And so it was not just a promise,

was a covenant.

And God kind of promised to,

uh,

yeah.

So the promises made is where we are.

Uh,

he promised to Abraham.

Yeah.

That's basically God.

He will reverse the consequences of the fall.

I'm going to make the world right.

I'm going to make things right again.

But as we went on in the series,

uh,

there was a problem because it's not just about the consequences,

right?

It's not just that,

uh,

all the suffering is gone and all the pain is gone.

Actually for God,

the world to be right means that God needs to be at the center again.

That is how the world is supposed to work.

That is how the garden of Eden works.

So that is what God is restoring.

So he gave Israel this law that they need to keep to,

you know,

put himself at the center of life again,

to make this wonderful,

loving society where he is honored.

But the,

of course,

the problem is that people are sinners.

And so Israel,

they,

uh,

they tried,

but actually often they didn't try and they rejected God and they suffered the consequences.

And for hundreds of years,

life just wasn't great.

And they often suffered.

Sometimes it was good.

Uh,

usually under a leader,

a leader,

like a judge or a king.

Now,

uh,

we hear king and we think of King Charles,

or you hear judge and you think of this guy in a black rope.

And now think of a,

a great warrior like Aragorn,

right?

That kind of king from Lord of the Rings.

And he,

uh,

he could rescue the people from their enemies,

rescue them from the consequences of their sin.

Uh,

and then he would lead them.

He would help them worship God and serve him.

And things were good.

Well,

last week,

then we came to David and David was,

uh,

the great,

uh,

king and David's and God made another covenant with him.

And he kind of confirmed,

well,

this is how I'm going to solve it.

And there was this problem of sin,

but it's going to be solved.

Um,

how do we see that to Samuel seven?

If we can have that on the screen to Samuel seven,

10 and 11,

a few slides on.

Yeah,

great.

This is what God promised.

Uh,

verse 10,

uh,

I will appoint a place for my people,

Israel,

and will plant them so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed.

No more.

And violent men shall afflict them.

No more as formerly from the time that I appointed judges over my people,

Israel.

God says,

I'm going to change it.

All the kind of up and down and difficulty and oppression.

That's going to be gone.

So basically your sin is going to be dealt with.

And how?

Well,

through a King.

Verse 12,

when your days,

David are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers,

I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body.

And I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son.

And one day there'll be a,

yeah,

one of your descendants,

he will be the King and he,

his kingdom will last forever.

How will Israel,

you don't have peace forever?

Well,

because this guy's kingdom will last forever.

So it is through this King that he's going to make things right.

And so those three confidence,

if you kind of put them in a row,

uh,

what is,

yeah,

covenants,

usually they're the big messages.

So God will reverse the consequences of the fall.

He's going to make the world,

right?

But the cause of the fall needs to be dealt with sin.

And how is God going to do it?

Well,

God will do it through his Davidic King.

And that's what God slowly is teaching.

And I guess if you know the gospel,

right,

that's it,

right?

God will make things right.

And how is he going to solve the problem of sin?

Well,

through his King.

Uh,

we know that.

And so we are here.

And,

uh,

well,

that's the great promise,

the promise of God's King,

the promise of the Messiah.

That's going to run through the whole Bible from now on.

And who better to look to then?

Well,

David's son,

because,

uh,

after this promise,

uh,

David,

you know,

he sins,

uh,

the kingdom suffered,

but was restored.

He got old.

And the next King is one of his sons called Solomon.

That's a good thing about a dynasty,

right?

When the King gets old and dies,

then there's a new King,

his son.

And what kind of King is he?

We're going to look at him today.

And he seems a great King,

especially in a chapter three.

We didn't read it,

but it says that Solomon loved the Lord and walked in all the statues of David,

right?

He was like David.

And,

uh,

one day God appeared to him in a dream and asked,

okay,

Hey,

what,

uh,

what do you want Solomon?

And Solomon said,

well,

I,

can you give me wisdom?

You know,

I'm,

I'm just young.

I'm,

how can I rule this people?

Uh,

three verse nine,

give your servant,

therefore an understanding mind to govern your people that I may discern between good and evil for who is able to govern this, your great people.

I mean,

he's a real servant.

Right.

He wants to rule.

Well,

he wants to rule with justice and righteousness.

And he says,

I need wisdom for that.

And so he asked for that and,

and God gives it.

He has great wisdom.

And then,

uh,

there's this episode after that where he shows that,

uh,

verse 28,

all Israel heard of the judgment that the King had rendered.

And they stood in all of the King because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

And so here's a King and he loves the Lord and he's humble.

And now he has supernatural wisdom.

And of course,

God says,

well,

because you,

you asked for the right thing,

I'm going to give you everything else as well.

I'm going to give you riches and victory over your enemies and,

and everything.

And so certainly Solomon thought,

well,

he is the King.

So in chapter eight,

uh,

when he dedicates the temple,

he prays,

uh,

verses,

uh,

17 to 20,

uh,

talks about the promise of David to David.

Let's start at verse 19.

Nevertheless,

uh,

God said to David,

you shall not build a house,

but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.

And now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made for,

I have risen in the place of David,

my father and sit on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised.

And I've built a house for the name of the Lord,

the God of Israel.

And so here we now are here is God had promised.

It's going to be a son of David.

And here is the son of David and he's godly and he has wisdom.

How are things going to turn out?

And then we get seven chapters of,

uh,

yeah,

of Solomon's kingdom.

And I'd call it promises fulfilled promises fulfilled.

If you see this,

it's like,

wow,

God's promises are fulfilled.

So chapter four,

look at Israel,

uh,

four verse 20,

Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea.

They ate and drank and were happy.

Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Uradis to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt.

Uh,

verse 24,

uh,

they had peace all on all sides around him.

Judah and Israel lived in safety from then even to bear Shabba,

every man under his vine and under his victory,

all the days of Solomon.

And so what is it like?

Israel is a great nation,

right?

You can't even count them.

There are so many and,

uh,

they are safe because,

uh,

Solomon rules over the whole Middle East and there's no enemies.

And so it's peace and their safety and they are blessed,

right?

They ate and drink and were happy and they,

uh,

you know,

work is good.

They just rest under their vine and their victory.

They're their farmers.

And so,

yeah,

this is wonderful,

right?

This is where they live.

Life was wonderful.

I mean,

if you read on it,

it's crazy,

right?

Uh,

things were so prosperous.

Uh,

it's not on the screen,

but,

uh,

10 verse 21,

all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold.

None were of silver.

Silver wasn't considered as anything in the days of Solomon,

right?

Can you imagine the silver is nothing?

Just everything is of gold.

That's how prosperous they were.

That's how blessed they were at this time under Solomon and all through this one king,

right?

For verse 29,

God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure,

a breadth of mind,

like the sand on the seashore.

So that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people.

Even some weird stuff,

right?

Did you notice that verse about nature?

That seems so weird,

right?

Verse 33,

he spoke of trees from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall.

He spoke also of beasts and of birds and of reptiles and of fish.

You may wonder,

well,

what's the point of that?

Why is Solomon talking about birds and fish?

Basically,

we're going back to the garden of Eden,

right?

You know,

back in the garden of Eden,

here was mankind created to have dominion over nature,

over the world,

to steward it for God,

right?

And so Solomon is like a new Adam,

right?

Who has dominion,

who knowledge is power,

right?

He knows about birds and fish and reptiles.

So he rules over them.

Everything is like the garden of Eden,

right?

You have trees and fruit and gold and peace.

It's like we're back to the garden of Eden,

which was the whole goal,

right?

That was what God is doing.

And it really looks like it,

a new Adam in a new garden.

And of course,

the garden of Eden,

what did it mainly have?

It has God's presence.

And so that's what Solomon does.

He is greatest achievement.

He builds the temple.

We didn't read it because you get kind of three chapters of,

of measurements and three chapters of furnishings.

And it seems quite boring,

but actually it's not boring,

right?

This is God's house.

Who's going to move in with the people of Israel and just every measurement

kind of emphasizes God is really going to live there.

And he does,

right?

They build a beautiful temple and it's so exciting.

They have a big dedication ceremony and they,

they bring the ark,

which is the symbol of his presence into it.

And then eight verse 10,

when the priests came out of the house,

out of the holy place,

a cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priests could not stand to

minister because of the cloud for the glory of the Lord filled the house of

the Lord.

And God moved in.

God's glory came down in a cloud and,

and took up residence.

God was living with them and not just in a tent that he could move away again.

No,

in a house permanently.

God had said,

I will be your God.

You will be my people.

And there he is living with them.

It's a symbol of his,

his presence,

his,

his rule,

his protection.

God is with them.

And again,

God told David,

your son is going to build it.

And he did.

And,

and even,

yeah,

one more promise that he had made,

right?

About the nations coming in.

When God spoke to Abraham,

he says,

Hey,

through you,

all the nations will be blessed.

Uh,

do you wonder how's that going to happen?

Well,

God had said,

okay,

your descendants,

they're going to be so great.

Everyone will see it.

And,

and there'll be,

wow.

Well,

isn't that what we read in chapter 10,

right?

The,

the queen of Sheba.

She comes,

I guess,

from Ethiopia or Sudan or something.

Uh,

10 verse one.

Now,

when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord,

she came to test him with hard questions.

She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue,

with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones.

And when she came to Solomon,

she told him all that was on her mind.

And Solomon answered all her questions.

There was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her.

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon,

the house that he had built,

the food of his table,

the seating of his officials and the attendance of his servants,

their clothing,

his cupbearers and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord,

there was no more breath in her.

Right?

It's like,

wow.

This is unbelievable.

What she saw.

What a great kingdom.

And,

and what a great king,

right?

Verse nine,

blessed be the Lord,

your God,

who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel because the Lord loved Israel forever.

He's made you king that you may,

execute justice and righteousness.

Right?

What a great God who's given such a great king and built such a great kingdom.

The nations see it and,

and are blessed.

Right?

That is,

that was God's promise.

Such an exciting moment.

Abraham,

just one old man,

but now God has built this huge,

beautiful kingdom.

And,

and the world is being blessed through it.

It took a while,

but it's happening.

And so all through these chapters,

it really feels like fulfillment.

Again,

when Solomon prays,

uh,

chapter eight,

verses 23,

Oh,

Lord,

God of Israel.

There is no one like,

no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath,

keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their hearts,

who have kept with your servant,

David,

my father,

what you declared to him.

You spoke with your mouth and with your hands have fulfilled it.

This day,

you fulfilled it.

Verse 56,

blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people,

Israel,

according to all that he promised.

Not one word has failed of all his good promise,

which he spoke by Moses,

his servant.

You can hear it,

right?

God has fulfilled every promise.

It's,

he's done it,

right?

What a beautiful kingdom.

And,

and the people are so happy.

Verse 66,

on the eighth day,

he sent the people away and they blessed the king and went to their homes,

joyful and glad of hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David,

his servant and to Israel,

his people.

I mean,

how would you feel,

right?

You can feel the joy.

You can feel the celebration of,

you know,

God fulfilling his promises.

He said he would do it and he did it.

And,

you know,

that's one of the most important things about God,

right?

That he's faithful to his promises.

And these chapters are just beautiful fulfillment.

The people should be so happy.

and,

and not just,

you know,

God is faithful to do some,

anything.

I think the amazing thing here is just seeing what God is doing,

right?

Look at,

uh,

think about the Israelites,

400 years of slavery and have 40 years in the desert.

And then hundreds of years under the judges with all the oppression and,

uh,

enemies coming in.

But now each person sitting under their own vine and victory is the good life.

They have more gold than they ever need.

Uh,

no one has any wants.

All the centuries of war and oppression is gone.

They're safe.

There's peace.

Now,

because Solomon rules over the Middle East,

uh,

by their relationship with God,

which was always shaking,

shaky.

Now the temple in the middle of the city,

they have everything that they're fulfilling their purpose.

God,

the world is blessed through them.

It's amazing,

right?

And actually,

and they had nothing to do with it.

It was purely the King,

right?

It's all because of this wise,

humble,

godly King who brought God's blessing to them.

And it was just grace,

pure grace.

And it really feels,

it feels like the end of revelation,

right?

They've been waiting.

They've been trusting.

They've kept going.

And now look at where it got them.

And they are in the glorious kingdom.

It was worth the wait.

And God is faithful.

And what a beautiful kingdom.

of course,

you may wonder,

well,

what does that mean for us?

Because yeah,

this looks beautiful,

but you look outside and it's sunny today,

but actually the world isn't quite what we read here,

right?

Jerusalem,

you know,

a few months ago was really not safe as we see it here.

Did they live happily ever after?

No,

they didn't.

It was great,

but it wasn't permanent.

I mean,

we're only 30% through the Bible story.

As Christians,

we know,

actually Solomon,

he turns out he wasn't that King.

We'll look more at that next week.

And Solomon was great,

but he wasn't the true King.

That was Jesus.

Although then people wonder,

well,

if Solomon wasn't it,

why bother?

Can't we just go straight to Jesus and look at him,

right?

Why do we need the Old Testament?

Why spend so much time when we can just go straight to Jesus?

Well,

God wants us to go to Jesus.

Absolutely.

Right?

But he wants us to go there via Solomon.

Because the thing is,

yeah,

Solomon isn't Jesus,

but he is given to us as a picture of Jesus.

Right?

So we can see what it will be like.

So the Old Testament,

and especially these chapters,

well,

I'd call it promises foreshadowed.

And we need to understand why God gave us the Old Testament.

And it's provide a picture,

or maybe think of a scale model.

Right?

They're building some new estate,

or some new building,

and they make some little model.

And you can see,

oh,

wow,

that's really great.

I want to buy an apartment there.

I want to invest in this.

Right?

Otherwise,

you wouldn't invest when people just say,

okay,

I'll make a great building.

Do you want to buy,

invest?

Well,

show me.

And so you have this scale model.

Right?

That's the idea.

You have a little picture of what it will be like.

And so that is what God is doing.

The Old Testament is a scale model.

It's a preview of God's kingdom.

And we have a small rescue,

and a small king,

and a small kingdom.

Because it's a picture of a great rescue,

and a great king,

and a great kingdom.

That is what God is doing.

Right?

So pointing to something bigger,

Jesus says,

yeah,

someone greater than Solomon.

That's who I am.

And the thing is,

we need that.

I think we need to see what it's going to be like,

because otherwise it's so abstract.

You know,

God is restoring his kingdom.

What does that mean?

God is reversing the fall.

Yeah,

well,

what does that look like?

We don't know,

right?

Even think of something as simple,

going to heaven.

Right,

Christians?

We're going to go to heaven.

What will that be like?

I mean,

to be honest,

most of us have some funny ideas about it,

right?

Stereotypical ideas,

maybe sitting on a cloud,

in a white dress,

with a harp,

right?

That's what many of us think.

This is what it's going to be like,

or otherwise the eternal worship service,

where forever we have our hands in the air.

I don't know.

That's kind of what we expect,

right?

Maybe you're,

especially if you're here,

you're not a Christian.

Actually,

yeah,

you can go to heaven.

Well,

the thing is,

does this sound exciting?

No wonder the world has such a hold on us,

right?

Why do we obsess with our job,

and our relationships,

and entertainment,

and travel?

Why?

Well,

because we think heaven is not going to be very special,

right?

And so we want to really get more out of this life.

I mean,

it's like God's giving us these two choices,

right?

Okay,

you can burn in hell,

or you can sit on a cloud.

What do you choose?

I think most of us,

yeah,

we choose the cloud.

But we're not excited about it,

right?

It's not really giving,

worth giving your whole life for,

really living for.

Well,

you know,

yeah,

you know,

this famous cartoon,

right?

From Gary Lawson,

this guy sitting on a cloud,

wish I'd bought a magazine.

That's how we feel,

right?

And so,

yeah,

that's how we live.

YOLO.

Make the most of life now.

But look at these chapters.

Look at this concrete picture of what God is doing.

Isn't this what we want?

I mean,

especially for a lot of people in the world,

right?

Imagine the people in Ukraine.

Wouldn't they long for a place where there's peace,

and no more enemy attacks,

and safety,

where they have a chance to just live normally.

You know,

so many of the poor and oppressed people in the world,

wouldn't they want to live here in abundance and prosperity with everything they desire,

rather than just fearing for their life?

Not because of anything they did,

just because of the blessing of this king.

And how about us?

I mean,

we,

we,

we,

we,

materially,

most of us are pretty well off,

right?

We,

we don't care much about the vine and the fig tree.

But so,

how many of us feel trapped in our jobs?

You know,

and it's hard work,

and it's demanding,

and in a way,

you're miserable,

and you feel trapped and stressed.

Wouldn't you want to be here,

and,

and just eat,

and drink,

and be happy,

and have a fulfilling,

normal work that,

that,

that is peaceful,

right?

How about,

if we're fearful of what might happen,

you know,

of the next accident,

or disaster,

or what the economy will do,

but then to just live here,

and,

and,

and,

and there's nothing bad that will happen,

and everything will just be great.

Or,

or when we feel far from God,

and,

it's shaky,

and we're always afraid that our sin gets in the way,

to just know that,

okay,

we have a,

a glorious king,

and God's glory has come down,

and is with you forever,

isn't that what we want?

Or,

just if you're struggling,

you know,

the king will do everything,

and you can just relax,

wouldn't it be such a wonderful kingdom?

And,

this is great,

if God did just this,

this would be wonderful,

except that he's doing a new creation,

that's a million times better,

like this,

but even greater.

Isn't that wonderful?

And,

we just don't think about it,

and so we're not excited about it.

Again,

20 years ago,

we were in this Bible study,

with Koreans,

and there was this one girl,

and we told her,

and she was not a Christian,

hey,

if you believe in Jesus,

you can have eternal life.

And she thought,

I don't want it.

Why not?

I don't like my life.

Why would I want to live forever?

Yeah,

if you think eternal life is just,

normal,

yeah,

if you don't know what it is,

you're not excited about it.

So we explained,

hey,

eternal is about quality,

not just quantity,

and she got it,

and she wanted it,

and she turned to Christ,

right?

This is what we want.

This is so beautiful.

I hope as a Christian,

that you are excited about this.

If you're here,

and you're visiting,

this is a picture,

of what Christianity offers.

This is a picture,

of the world as it should be,

as it once was,

but that we ruined,

but God is graciously,

making it again.

If we turn to Jesus,

and come to him,

and let him do it,

right?

Because we can't do it.

Isn't that so beautiful?

You know,

I hope you feel excited,

and yeah,

not just about the kingdom,

but again,

about the king,

our great king,

Jesus,

right?

Because all of this,

is just because of Solomon.

The Israelites,

they just ate,

and drank,

and were happy,

but the king,

did everything.

The godly king,

supernatural wisdom,

doing justice,

and righteousness,

and who received God's blessing,

and gave it to the people,

and Jesus is like that,

but a million times better.

Isn't that what we want?

Yeah,

so,

yeah,

I hope this encourages us,

that we just feel,

that we want to long for it,

we want to live for this,

right?

You know,

tomorrow,

when you're going back to work,

isn't this such a great hope?

Isn't it worth,

yeah,

I'm going to live for Jesus,

I'm going to,

whatever it costs,

this is so wonderful,

I want to be there,

I want to live for Jesus,

Jesus is so wonderful.

That is what these chapters,

should do.

And again,

it's not just a picture,

remember,

this is more than a picture,

because it all sounds great,

but how do we know,

it will really happen?

Well,

this was not just a picture,

right?

This was real,

there really was,

a glorious kingdom,

and that's why,

there's this emphasis,

on God's faithfulness,

God did it,

God doesn't just say things,

he says it,

and that's the other reason,

why the Old Testament,

is so important,

it doesn't just give us,

a nice earthly picture,

that we can understand,

it is actually,

a real action,

in history,

right?

Because so many religions,

it's just a philosophy,

it's just rules,

but philosophy doesn't,

you know,

you can't really check it,

you can't really see,

if it's real,

but Bible is history,

right?

People back then,

they saw it,

and they touched it,

and these days,

we can,

you know,

we can dig it up,

right?

God doesn't just say,

he is faithful,

he shows it,

that he is faithful,

right?

God says,

and you will know me,

by my actions,

well then we need,

some actions for him,

right?

To know him,

and that's what we have,

yeah?

So in a way,

yeah,

you can try before you buy,

you can see what it's like,

and you can see,

God is doing it,

and God can do it,

that's why,

all through the Old Testament,

history is so important,

right?

That's why they keep remembering,

the Exodus,

yeah,

God really rescued us from Egypt,

that was real,

and we want to remember that,

not just because it's a story,

a nice story,

it is real,

it helps them remember God,

as they're rescuing God,

and it's the same for us,

right?

If God is real,

his actions are real,

and so his coming kingdom,

is real,

and so when he says,

I can do this,

we believe him,

and supremely of course again,

in Jesus,

right?

How do we know Jesus,

is such a great king?

How do we know Jesus,

can heal the world,

and bring justice?

We've seen it,

right?

Because Jesus was really here,

2000 years ago,

people saw it,

he showed who he is,

by his miracles,

and his actions,

and he showed his love,

by dying for our sins,

and he showed his power,

over death,

by rising from the dead,

right?

We have a faith,

built on history,

built on reality,

built on a real God,

who was really here,

as the culmination,

of what we see here,

in the Old Testament,

so let these chapters,

strengthen our faith,

it is real,

it's happened before,

it will happen again.