1 Kings 11 (Part 1) Bible Study (Solomon Turns from the Lord) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Meet me in First Kings Chapter 11, please.

1 Kings 11 · chapter mention

In your Bibles, First things Chapter 11.

We all knew that this time would come, the time when we would

have to take a good, hard look at the downfall of one of

Israel's most influential and greatest among the rosters of

their leaders. And as we approach this text, I

just want to pray briefly and ask the Lord's help for this

time. Father, our prayer is simple as

we now come to your word. Give us understanding that we

may keep your Word and enlarge our hearts, that we may run in

the way of your commandments. We pray for the help of the

precious Holy Spirit to guide us through these verses to

eliminate any distraction or any obstruction to these truths

settling in our hearts. Lord, help us hide these truths

down deep inside that they may be with us for the rest of our

pilgrimage here on earth. And we pray that the power of

the Spirit would be known along with the knowledge and the

insights. Yes, but the power to make it

personal and applicable to our own lives.

We know that you will guide us and we trust as we pray.

In the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Amen. As I said, we have now come to

this text that we knew was going to come eventually, where we

have to face one of the greatest failures in Israel's

leadership's history. And as one writer said,

Solomon's fall is told in the same frank way as his wisdom and

his wealth. It's sometimes unpleasant to to

come to the realization of the shortcomings of someone who

especially has been esteemed by many as a champion in the cause

of God. But we have to also appreciate

and realize that God has preserved such things in

explicit detail, doesn't hide these failures for the sake of a

preventative measure in our own walk with Him.

This is His grace. This is His love, His love in

the form of warning and caution. You know, when we look at the

authenticity of the Scriptures, the honesty and the transparency

of the Bible, it does say something about the divine

authorship of this book. But God's primary reason for

this is again to supply the necessary truths in order for us

to be further sanctified as we take these truths to heart and

believe that they are for us. In fact, I want to make the case

to you as before we even dissect these verses, the 1st 8 verses

of this chapter, that even within the Scriptures we have

testimony of how this particular story was used in the life of a

man of God, and not only in his life, but in the lives of those

who served underneath his leadership, those who were under

his guidance. Can anybody think of the man

that I'm Speaking of who made specific reference to this very

chapter when he tried to exhort the people of Israel at a

particular time in its history? Very good, Nehemiah.

If you turn quickly to Nehemiah chapter 13, verse 26, you'll see

Nehemiah 13:26

what I'm Speaking of and it will solidify this point that I'm

trying to make, that this is intended to provide the

necessary truths in order to prevent us from making the same

mistakes. So Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse

Nehemiah 13 · chapter mention

26 to verse 27, Nehemiah comes back to Jerusalem from his

frequent visits back and forth, and he learned that the Exiles

who have returned are now marrying foreign women from

different nations who serve different gods.

And this is his warning to them in verse 26.

Did not Solomon King of Israel sin on account of such woman

among the many nations? There was no king like him, and

he was beloved by his God. And God made him king over all

Israel. Nevertheless foreign woman made

even him to sin. Shall we then listen to you and

do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by

marrying foreign woman? In other words, here's what

Nehemiah is saying to this generation.

Didn't you learn from Friday night Bible study?

That when the story of Solomon has been preserved for us, it

was meant for you to understand that you should learn from the

mistakes of others, and that you should understand that you are

setting yourself up for the same disastrous disasters that

Solomon brought upon himself and others by entertaining the same

sins that he entertained. Did you not learn?

Secondly, notice his wording is very carefully.

He says here in the second part of verse 26, among the many

nations where there was no king like him, and he was beloved by

his God. Do you not understand, O

generation of rebellion, rebellious Israelites, that

Solomon was unique in that he enjoyed a particular wisdom from

God? He had this special favor from

God. But even him with such stature

and such influence was not impervious to this temptation.

And if it's true for Solomon, how much more you?

If it's true for Solomon, how much more you, how much more

vulnerable are you? How much more on guard should

you be? Evidently, as devastating as

this chapter will be to read and to look at in great detail, it

was a value in Nehemiah's day, and there should be no doubt in

our minds that it carries value for the Church in this hour.

So let's come back to First Kings Chapter 11, and let's read

1 Kings 11 · chapter mention

the 1st 8 verses together and we'll take our time to look at

what each verse has to teach us. Now King Solomon loved many

foreign woman, along with the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabite,

Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite woman from the nations

concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel,

You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither

shall. They with you, for surely they

will turn away your heart after their gods.

Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives who were

princesses and 300 concubines, And his wives turned away his

heart. For when Solomon was old, his

wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart

was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of

David his father. For Solomon went after

Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Cydonians, and after milk them

the abomination of the Ammonites.

So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did

not wholly follow the Lord as David his father had done.

Then Solomon built a high place for Kimash, the abomination of

Moab, and for Moloch, the abomination of the Ammonites on

the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did, for all the his

foreign wives who made offerings and sacrifice to their gods.

Verse one, this verse should strike us because we learned in

the previous chapter that Solomon had now entered into a

phase of multiplication. We learned that he multiplied

his wealth. And yes, part of that was

promised by God that he would be rich and that he would enjoy

honor. But Solomon took it to another

level, to an unhealthy measure. From there we learned that

Solomon multiplied not just his wealth, but his horses, and that

multiplication, though it may seem to be an act of wisdom, was

actually an act of unbelief. God told the kings not to have

multiple horses so that they could demonstrate and trust in

the arm of the Lord, not the arm of the flesh.

And now we read in verse one of Chapter 11, that he multiplies

not just his wealth, not just his horses, but his women.

Solomon multiplies his wives. All of these things go against

the specific decrees that God had instituted for the kings of

Israel. But I find it interesting how

the Holy Spirit in verse one explains and defines Solomon's

foreign wives. Again, look at this carefully

now. King Solomon loved many foreign

woman. Along with the daughter of

Pharaoh. That stood out to me.

He could have just said he multiplied his wives.

But he says in the middle, along with the daughter of Pharaoh.

Remember we studied about Pharaoh's daughter?

That was the crack in the beginning of his walk right as a

king and we're reminded, we're reminded of the daughter of

Pharaoh. In other words, what this is

trying to say is that before Solomon had multiple before he

made this collection of foreign wives, it began with him

marrying one foreign wife. And the principle there is a

reminder of the nature of sin. It is in the makeup of sin to

grow in strength. The more it is tolerated and

justified in one's life. Sin will grow in strength unless

it is cut off by repentance. The longer we remain

unrepentant, the more sin in our lives will spread like cancer.

And when it does spread, it can spread in one of two ways.

The first ways that it could cause you to engage in that one

sin with greater intensity and the other way is that it can

encourage you to sin in other ways.

Solomon started out with one foreign wife.

Now he has 1000. Sin multiplies.

Sin wants to take you and I further and deeper Into Darkness

it. Rarely.

Keeps you and I in one place. Rarely.

It's not designed that way. In fact, if sin would have its

way with each of us, it would take us all the way to death.

We thank God for a conscience. We thank God for the word of

God. We thank God for the Holy

Spirit's conviction. But unrestrained sin can destroy

you, can ruin you because that's the design of it.

And we even see the sequence of sin even in the very, very

verses that we read. Look again at verse one.

Now, King Solomon loved many foreign wives.

It started with love. He loved these foreign wives.

Now you come down to verse 5 and.

Look what you read here. For Solomon went after

Ashtoreth, and he names the different gods in the

imaminations of these foreign people.

So he loved the former women. Then he went after their gods

and. Then what do you see here down

in verse seven? Then Solomon built a high place

for Kamash. Then he listed different false

gods. Again it started with affection.

Then he began to make steps forward into action.

Then. Now he is building temples.

This man who built a temple for the Lord is now building temples

for false gods. Who would have thought, oh how

the mighty have fallen? Is this?

Is this for real? Is this the same guy who made

that elaborate and glorious prayer, the dedication of the

temple unto the true and living God?

And now you're making temples unto false deities.

It's amazing how sin can mar and mold us into something that is

hideous and almost unrecognizable.

And so this is what we see in verse one.

We learn here again the principle of how sin multiplies

in our lives if we're not careful.

But then we read in verse two what from the nations concerning

which the Lord had said to the people Israel, you shall not

enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for

surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.

Solomon clung to these in love. Here's the Holy Spirit reminding

us that this is Solomon disobeying a particular command

that has been inscribed hundreds of years before his time.

And this wasn't just for the kings of Israel.

This is for all the people of Israel.

And so we have a quote here from Exodus 34, verse 16.

Exodus 34:16

And what I find interesting about Exodus 3416 is that where

this command is found is the same context where we have a

name. Of God that is rarely mentioned

and christened them. I I doubt that most of us in

here have heard this name that God ascribes unto himself,

perhaps because it may cause confusion or there may be

misunderstanding, but it's not really difficult to understand

when you just meditate on it a little bit further.

There is a name that God gives himself, and I wonder, have you

ever called God this name? Have you ever heard God

identified in this way? It's found in Exodus 34, not 16

by verse 14. I'd encourage you to turn to

that passage, because by comprehending this name, not

only do we have greater insight into this command, but of all of

God's decrees. Here's what the Lord says in the

middle of these different exhortations in Exodus 34, verse

Exodus 34:14

14. For you shall worship no other

God for the Lord. Whose name is Jealous?

Whose name is Jealous? Is a jealous God.

Jealous is his name. Now how do we make sense of

this? It's very simple.

Jealousy is such an intrinsic part of the nature of God that

he unashamedly uses the word as a name for himself.

Jealousy is such an intrinsic part of the nature of God that

he willingly, unashamedly ascribes it to his identity.

That is fascinating to me. And that might be fascinating to

you, because generally we understand jealousy to be a

negative emotion, and that is true most cases.

But evidently here. For God, who is perfectly good

without sin, using that to identify himself means that

there is a righteous expression of jealousy.

There's a way of experiencing jealousy, expressing jealousy

that is perfectly holy and in alignment with God's nature.

Just like anger, there's a righteous anger, there's an

unrighteous anger. And clearly here there is a

jealousy that is holy. There's a jealousy that is holy.

How do we distinguish between unholy jealousy and holy

jealousy? I'll give you a couple of

seconds here to to answer it if you have a brief definition

between the two or difference between the two.

Any idea the difference between unholy jealousy and holy

jealousy? It feels very much the same, but

it's not. Go ahead.

There's jealousy. OK, there's a jealousy that's

filled with love. I think that's a key ingredient.

Sure. Yes.

The motive of the heart. Why am I jealous?

Sure. A healthy possessiveness.

Every answer is giving us a closer reach to the true meaning

of a true and holy jealousy. I have every right to be jealous

about something that exclusively belongs to me.

I have no right to feel jealousy about something or someone that

does not belong to me, whether that be a skill, whether that be

an object, whether that be a person.

If it doesn't belong to me, if it's not exclusively my own, I

have no right to feel that burning sensation in my chest.

If that does belong to me and exclusively belongs to me and

righteously belongs to me, I have every right to feel that

complex set of emotions, anger and grief, when it is being

threatened to be violated or seized by someone else.

And the most positive example of this righteous jealousy is when

a man learns that some other man is pursuing his wife, is

flirting with his wife, is trying to get the attention, the

affection of his wife. That man has every single right

to feel that emotion of jealousy.

Why? Because she belongs to him by

righteous relational covenant, your mind and your mind alone I

cannot share you, and you have no right to share yourself with

any other. And that positive example is

precisely the example that God uses in the context of

introducing himself as a jealous.

God. Notice the language in the

following verses where he says that he is jealous.

Scroll down to verse 15 and 16 of the same chapter of Exodus

34. Lest you make a covenant with

the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods

and sacrifice to their gods, and you are invited, you eat of a

sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons and

their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons

whore after their gods. Notice that after the Lord

reveals himself as jealous, he employs promiscuous and

adulterous language in explaining the nature of the sin

of idolatry. He wants to open the eyes of his

people to understand that to be with another God, to follow

another God, to share this right of worship that exclusively

belongs to God is spiritual adultery.

So again, how does this work? Well, what belongs to God alone?

Worship. Adoration.

Obedience. And to give that to another

deity is to say in some great sense that a wife giving her

submission or her affection or a body to another man is

unthinkable. It's in case inconceivable.

It's wrong. And the Lord wants us to feel it

that way. The Lord wants us to see it that

way. You can give this to other

deities. That belongs to me.

You can't give this to other idols, any object, any person,

because those things belong to me.

So it's spiritual adultery. And I have every right to feel

jealous when I see you being pursued and being entertaining

to other things that threaten your devotion to me.

And I I think understanding, I believe with all my heart, and I

encourage you to do the same. To see God as a jealous God is

one of the most comforting and encouraging truths about Him.

Why? Because it helps me understand

that behind every command, that this understanding of obedience

is firmly fixed with the realization that this is a

relationship with a person. This isn't just a set of rules

issued from a cosmic judge that has no interest in me but is

ready to lay down the law if I cross the line.

That's not who we're dealing with.

You. He is a judge, but he's also the

bridegroom. He he is justice, but he's also

jealous. And so I am to feel obedience.

I'm to realize that this is about a person that I love and

who loves me. I have to see that these are

boundaries to protect the purity and the joy of this relationship

between me and my God, my Creator, my Savior.

You remove the aspect of God's jealousy.

You are very much threatening the understanding of the

relationship of this whole thing.

He's a jealous God, meaning he's a person and he's a person who

loves. He's a bridegroom who wants the

purity and the chase thee and the faithfulness of his bride,

which I am a part of. And so I'm to see every command

in that way that fuels the joy of holiness, and that also gives

me the taste of the severity of sinfulness.

So he is a jealous God. And this verse is quoted with

that context in mind. That's the beauty of Bible

study. When you see a quote like this,

go to that verse. Look at the context of that

verse. And this is where revelation

comes. This is where revelation comes.

And then we read this last sentence of this verse, a verse

to Solomon clung to these in love.

And when I read the word clung, something triggered in me,

because I told myself reading this the other day, I've seen

this word before. I've seen this word clung

before. And when you look for where this

word has been mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures, it's been

mentioned in many places, but in one particular place, it will

make Solomon's sin that much more heartbreaking.

We're told here that Solomon clung to these in love, right?

These false gods by way of these foreign wives.

Joshua warned the generation that was entering into the

Promised Land in Joshua 23, verse six and eight.

Notice what he tells them. Joshua 23, six and eight.

Therefore be very strong to keep and do all that is written in

the book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to

the right hand or to the left. That you may not mix with these

nations remaining among you, or make mention of the names of

their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them.

Here it is in verse 8. But you shall.

Cling. You shall cling to the Lord your

God, just as you have done to this day.

That was the standard of faithfulness and obedience that

all of the Israelites were to have to Lord, clinging to the

Lord. When you cling to something, you

know what that implies? Desperation, dependency and

Joshua says. Cling to the Lord.

Grip on the Lord. Hold this book tightly to your

heart, and don't you ever let go.

And then you come to 1st Kings 11.

What do you read? Solomon clung to these in love.

For you. To cling to these means that you

let go of something else. You let go of the Lord at some

point for you to cling to these things.

That's exactly what He did. He clung to these in love.

And then we read this. Something that most people know.

It's something that's pretty common in Bible trivia is that

most people get right. He had 700 wives who are

princesses and 300 concubines, and his wives turned away his

heart. Yeah, to the carnal man, they

might praise this kind of an achievement.

Wow. You're able to secure 1000 women

and your harem. And as much as these marriages

here in part are motivated by politics, you and I should

understand that Solomon, by doing this, is also trying to

reach a gratification by way of companionship.

He actually makes that known. So these, these are not just

political alliances. There's lust involved here.

There is a pursuit to satisfy something of the soul.

So these additions of woman says something about a vacuum in his

own life. And it's not until again, you

faithfully read your Bible through and through and you come

to 1st Kings 11 and you learn, wow, Solomon had 1000 women in

his home. How did that work out?

Maybe you meditate on that a little bit.

How do you, how do you take him out on dates?

How does that work? How?

And then you remove that thought, but you still remember

1000 women. And then you come to the book of

Ecclesiastes. And then you read this in

Ecclesiastes 7, where Solomon, he gives commentary about this

season of his life, this very verse 3700 princesses and 300

concubines. He speaks about his experience

and it is insightful. Here's what he says in

Ecclesiastes Chapter 7, beginning in verse 27.

Ecclesiastes 7 · chapter mention

Behold, this is what I found, says the preacher, while adding

one thing to another to find the scheme of things.

Which my soul, Verse 28, which my soul has sought repeatedly.

My soul was searching for something.

I'm investigating something. I'm longing for something.

I'm trying to find answers to something.

And here now at this point he is trying to discover something in

the area of relationships. This is what he says.

But I have not found one man among a thousand 1000.

Does that sound familiar? One man among a.

Thousand I found But a woman among all these I have not

found, but a woman among all these I have not found.

So he's not just speaking by inspiration here, he's speaking

by experience. Listen to this man. 1000 women

at your disposal who can grant you anything that you desire,

clearly will not bring gratification to you.

I'm looking for something. And among 1000 women, a

companion who is righteous, a companion who shows excellence

in character, companion who can bring something to what my soul

is looking for. Among 1000, I have not found.

And you know why? Having 1000 women in your life,

whether they are there consecutively or they are there

sequentially. However you experience them,

whether you jump from relationship to relationship or

from marriage to marriage, God didn't design you to know

fulfilment in that area. In this way.

You know how God designed it for you.

One woman who fears the Lord, one wife for life.

That's what it is. And Solomon builds on that

thought in the next verse. Look at verse 29.

This is an excellent verse to speak on the depravity of man.

See this alone? I found that God made man

upright. But they have sought out many

schemes. God made man upright and

evidently through the fall of Adam.

Now man lives to scheme their way through life and try to

figure out, try to create these recipes and ideas that go

contrary to God's design and end up falling into sin.

These are sinful schemes. What Solomon is essentially

saying in part is it's difficult to find those who are righteous.

It's difficult to find those who are God fearing because man's

nature stimulates and coaxes us to search out sinful schemes.

But if you connect it with what we've just been saying, here's

what we can see connecting with the previous verses.

Such schemes never quenched even Solomon's own schemes.

Never mind the schemes of people in terms of general idea of

humanity in their pursuits. But I myself, even in my own

schemes, I cannot find fulfilment.

My soul is still searching, repeatedly, experimenting and

dipping my toe here and dipping my toe there.

Any scheme that you have in life, any plan, any idea, any

pursuit that's not in alignment or is supported by the word of

God, is bound to fail you. It will fail you.

And that's why you're here tonight.

I'm sure that's why you can sing.

That's why you can rejoice. That's why you enjoy Bible

study, Because at some point in your life you realize my schemes

have failed me. And so forget my schemes.

I repent for my schemes, and I surrender to the Savior and not

just His saving work, but His Lordship over my life.

He is the great Shepherd who would lead me home, and he will

lead me and make me lie down by green pastures, and He will let

me sip on living water and keep me satisfied until the end, to

the point where you never have to consider another man made

scheme again. So 700 wives who are princesses

and 300. Concubines.

And then later on, Ecclesia, as he goes, that was a headache.

I didn't find what I thought I would find.

Praise God for his will, so pure, so clean, so direct, and

hold so much promise. Now we come back to our text and

we read in verse four. For when Solomon was old, his

wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart

was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of

David, his father. What stands out to you about

that verse? I mean, there are many things.

We'll mention a few things, but there's something in the

beginning of this verse that really struck me.

I wonder if it caught your attention.

We're told about his backslide. We're told about his apostasy.

We're told about his unfaithfulness.

But there's something about Solomon's description that's

really sobering old. Did you catch it?

When Solomon was old, I thought age was supposed to make was on

one wiser. Not necessarily.

Not automatically. It can, but not in this case.

Clearly. You see, it wasn't when Solomon

was young that he fell into idolatry.

It was when he. Was old life lesson.

Write it down if you don't need to.

Write it down and you're able to retain these things in your

mind. God bless your mind life lesson.

Temptation awaits us in every season of life.

Temptation awaits us in every season of life until you give

your final breath. Sin is crouching at that door,

the door of your heart, And this is especially necessary for

people like Solomon. Solomon is just isn't just a

nobody. Solomon had done great things

for the Lord. Solomon had a history.

He had a resume, remarkable testimonies that he had

performed for the glory of God, and it's often the case that

even in our own lifetime we have seen great.

Falls from men and people in Christendom even after they have

made great feats in the name of Christ.

Is that not true? There's some kind of

intoxication that takes place. I don't know what it is, but I

know that I've seen it enough where it is a common pattern and

something to be weary of that when people do great things for

God and and they build something for the Lord and they do some

great things and many people are influenced by their gift, they

let their guard down. They let their guard down.

They they're not as vigilant. They're not as careful.

And then they get sucked into something.

And this is what we see with this man here.

He did great things for the Lord, but after these great

things, there was a great fall. Listen to this, please.

Listen to this, Please. I love you.

This is why I'm saying this. Past victories and past

testimonies will not prepare you for tomorrow's temptations.

They won't. No matter what you say to

yourself about the days of old, or what you've done, or who

knows you and how many people are blessed by you, those things

will not keep you protected from the attacks that await you.

Do you know what will keep you from the temptations that await

you? From the things that are there

lurking, ready to try to snatch you away from the bull of God?

It's not what you've done in the past.

It's not who knows your name. It's not what kind of position

you have daily devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's what it's going to do. That's what's going to cut it.

You need daily dependence upon the Lord.

I've talked to some people, many people said, brother, Sometimes

I think about, you know, I'm young in the Lord.

I still have many years of God keeps me on these on this earth.

How will I know if I will remain fervent?

How will I know if I will remain obedient down the years after I

became a father, Become a father grandfather.

How will I know? And I just tell him this.

Take it one day at a time, will you?

One day at a time. Just make it your ambition the

moment you wake up. I must spend time with the

master. I must sit at his feet.

I must let the hammer of the Word, the fire of the word, the

sword of the word, the water of the word do what's work in me,

because all it takes is a little bit of negligence here, a little

bit negligence there, And then what?

Seemed to disturb you. Now doesn't bother you as much.

And then all it takes is a few months and then years, and then

things get really scary. You think this happened

overnight with Solomon? It never happens overnight.

It always takes time. That is the case with this man.

Notice that the word heart is mentioned three times in verse

4. Did you catch that?

For when Psalm was old, his wives turned away, his heart one

after other gods, and his heart too was not wholly true.

To Lord is God, as was the heart of David, his father.

The word heart three times in one verse.

That's where it all starts. The heart, it's internal, it's

hidden. It's only between you and God.

It doesn't manifest right away. It's not observable by by

others. It doesn't start with you not

coming to church. That happened.

You not coming to the House of God regularly for unjustifiable

reasons. You not serving the Lord.

You not reading your word. Where did it all start that

started in your heart. So this man's heart was not in

check. It was not regularly brought

before. The refiner who looks at the

spots and looks at the mud that splashed on your heart as you

went through that weekend work, and as you fell maybe into this

temptation and that temptation was ready to clean you as he's

so eagerly to wash your feet, that was not brought before him.

And it eventually becomes calloused and hard and it

becomes crystallized. And then you begin to start

doing things like this, building temples to idols when you once

built one temple into the true God.

What a different picture of someone in their old age than

what the Bible aspires and commands meant to be in their

old age. The Bible has a whole different

picture than what we see here with Solomon for men, men, and

women, but it spells it out for men specifically.

And when you read this verse, you're going to learn that this

is something that is not just for men.

Again, what this verse is going to show is that there's a

standard that God has in mind that as we grow in years, we

also grow in these characteristics.

We should grow in these things as as we spend more time with

the Lord, as we. Continue to serve the Lord, and

they are 6 qualities that I believe summarize beautifully

what a true biblical man looks like.

It's found in the Book of Titus, chapter 2, verse 2, and I'm not

Titus 2:2

going to expound on these things, just to give you an idea

and you can take this home, men especially, and reflect on these

things. In Titus 22, you're told what

older men should demonstrate and display in the local church.

And this is not just for older men, as though younger men

should not pursue these things. I argue this is what older men

should exemplify. And this is what younger men

should pursue passionately as they see these things modeled by

those who are older in the church.

Here's what we're told in Titus 22, When Solomon was old, his

heart turned from the Lord. That's not you in Christ.

That's not your destination in Christ.

That's not what the Holy Spirit is ready to empower you to.

Here's what we read. Titus 2 Two older men.

Are to be sober minded 1 dignified to self-control 3.

Sound in faith, four in love, sound in love 5 and sound in

steadfastness. Sound simply means healthy and

these are not characteristics of elders.

This is not for. Pastors in the church.

This is for those in the pews, those in the congregation,

seasoned men, men who have known the Lord for years.

You should operate in these things and younger men should

see it and and pursue it with their passion.

And the thing that stands out to me out of all these six is the

first one sober minded. Let me just give you a sample of

what biblical masculinity looks like.

I'm not going to touch on all these things and there's so much

to touch on, but. Let me give you just a sample.

Yeah, just something to taste on and chew on.

Sober minded. You know what that means in the

original Not drunken. Now, don't limit the application

of that to. Intoxication with actual

substance. Paul's application here is much

broader than that. What Paul means by saying older

men should be sober minded is that they should be clear

headed. They should be vigilant.

They should be aware. Aware of what?

They should be aware of the principle of moderation in

every. Area of their lives and they

should not be given over to excess.

As those are who are not ruled by divine principles, So what

Paul is saying here is men should live in moderation and

there should be no pursuit in their lives that.

Puts the greatest emphasis of your life as a man of God, the

Kingdom of God, the gospel of God.

There should be no excess in your life that pushes that into

the shadows. There should be no other

emphasis in your life that eliminates or the dilutes that

which you should be preoccupied by as a man of God, sober

minded, you're not giving over to excess as a man of God.

Excess of what? Excess of sleep?

Excess of Entertainment. Excess of.

Anything. Anything, even that might be

neutral morally. Anything that would overtake you

or discourage you or derail you from your calling.

As a man of God, your responsibilities, your ministry,

you should be clear headed, aware.

You know, Paul said it this way. In First Corinthians 612 all

things are permissible, but not all things are helpful.

All things are legal in a sense, but not all things are

beneficial. And then he goes on to say this.

I will not be mastered by anything.

How do I know if I'm mastered by anything?

How do I know if I'm being dominated by anything?

Very easy. Very easy.

Can you say no to it? That's all you have to ask.

Can I say no to this when it's when it's asking of me more than

it deserves? Can I look at it as a man of God

filled with the Holy Spirit ruled by the truth,

understanding my responsibilities as a man of God

to my wife, my wife to be to the local church, to my friendships,

to my work? Can I look at that and say no,

not today. I had enough of you.

That's a sober minded man of God, Solomon.

In his old age, he going to do that?

Any pretty Princess that walked by that he saw on his Instagram,

She's mine. Hey, you have 999 too many

Solomon, you're not sober minded.

Oh, we can make the rest of this about Biblical.

Masculinity We won't because we have four more verses and 1st

Kings 11 verse 5. For Solomon went after

Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Cydonians, and after Milkham,

the abomination of the Ammonites.

So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did

not wholly follow the Lord as David his father had done twice

in the set of verses that we are examining tonight.

Solomon's devotion is unfaithfulness is compared to

the wholehearted devotion of his Father.

So go back to verse 4 again and notice at the end of verse four,

as was the heart of David, his father.

Then you come to verse six as David his father had done.

I find that interesting. I find that interesting for one

main reason. Was David really wholehearted to

the Lord himself? If we're being honest, what's

the answer? No, and less Wholeheartedness to

us means perfection. Here's what's even more

fascinating. There's a there's a comparison

here, right? Solomon was not like his father

David. And what's the sin that we're

dealing with here? Multiple wives.

Hello, Who had multiple wives? David had multiple wives.

How do we make sense of this? I think the best way to make

sense of this is that though David struggled in the same area

as his son here, he never allowed it to totally sabotage

his faith. He struggled.

There's no doubt he stumbled absolutely.

He paid the price for it, yes, but in the area of worship,

David never wavered and understanding that this is the

true and living God, This is the one to whom I pledge my

allegiance to. There is no other God but this

God. David was firm, and when he did

sin, you know what he did? He lived a repentant life.

That's what the Lord is after. You've heard this before from

this Bible study. That's what makes David a man

after God's heart. Not necessarily whether or not

this, the sin in his life was present, but it was his attitude

toward that sin. Yes, we should strive unto

perfection. This is not license for us to

justify sin, but what's the the thing that the Lord is after is

your attitude towards sin. That's what defines us as being

wholehearted to the Lord. Do we turn back to the Lord when

we do fall? If we do fall, there's no

indication from the narrative of first kings that Solomon ever

turned back to the Lord. So he struggled in the same area

as as they. Maybe not to the same extent,

but it was to his ruin. It.

Ruined him. And I find David writing many

Psalms, expressing his woes and his laments of what his sin has

done, not just in his life, but primarily to to you Lord.

And before you have I sinned. David repented.

Solomon remained. Big difference.

Verse 7. Solomon built a high place for

Akimosh, the abomination of Moab, for Molech the abomination

of the Ammonites on the mountain east of Jerusalem.

And so he did for all his former wives who made offerings and

sacrifice to their gods. And partly why this is an

abomination. I'm going to turn you there to

Psalm One O 6 Psalm One O 6. Verse 37 we read they sacrifice

their sons in Psalm One O 6, verse 37.

They sacrifice their sons and their daughters to who?

Demons and their daughters. To the demons they poured out

innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom

they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.

And the land was polluted with blood.

You know this very well, that in great part the practice of false

worship. To these false deities were very

cruel, cruel things. The giving up of the lives of

infants and little children, sexual orgies and drunkenness,

and arriving to a state of ecstasy as a form of trying to

tap into the divine. It was horrible.

But Psalm One O 6 indicates that behind these Isles are demons,

spiritual entities that deceive the masses, and believing

something to be untrue. And so let me say this bluntly

and boldly. No matter how innocent, no

matter how pure, no matter how civil some of these different

beliefs are, rest assured and believe that behind these things

are demons, demonic ideas. We we kind of equate demons to

erratic behavior and self harm, sure, but demons are very

sophisticated. They come up with doctrines,

they come up with false theologies.

So if they don't physically destroy, they'll deceive you and

allow you to destroy yourself for all of eternity.

And I think that's very important in our understanding

of spiritual warfare. That demons are at work, whether

you realize it or not. And the more you understand this

word, the more you realize that what we're seeing before us is

energized by demons. Now, this is what's so

interesting. Come back to verse seven and 1st

Corinthians. Excuse me.

First Kings 11. Solomon built a high place for

these different gods. Notice where they were built.

Tell me where they were built. On the mountain east of

Jerusalem. That's very specific.

On the mountain east of Jerusalem.

The consensus this mountain east of Jerusalem guess which

mountain it is. No good guess though.

Mount of Olives. This mountain where these high

places were built was actually to this day is the Mount of

Olives. The Mount of Olives is mentioned

a couple of times in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Is mentioned plenty more times in the New Testament.

But this is where Solomon decided to erect these false

things. And what's so interesting is

that over time in the Book of Kings, in the Record of Kings,

this very mountain developed a reputation and actually

developed a new name. Do you want to know that name

is? Actually, let me ask you, do you

know what the name is? It's it's called the Mount of

Something, and it's found in Second Kings.

This mountain is referred to in a derogatory way.

You'll have the chance to say it if you're the quickest to the

reference. In Second Kings 23 verse 13 you

2 Kings 23:13

have the answer of what this mountain was referred to as.

And it's not a pleasant name. If you're there, you have the

right to blurt it out. Mount of corruption, Did you see

it? Well, let's read in Second Kings

2313. This is in the context of

Josiah's reforms where he's bringing revival to the land, to

the people of Judah. And this is what we're told here

at this point of his efforts. And the king defiled the high

places that were east of Jerusalem.

We just read that in First Kings 11/7 to the South of the Mount

of Corruption, Mount of corruption which Solomon the

king of Israel, had built for Asherah, the abomination of the

Cydonians, and for Akemos the abomination of Moab, and for

Milk on the abomination of the Ammonites, the same deities that

we read of in First Kings 11. It became known as the mount of

Scandal, the mount of corruption, vile, putrid, evil,

and Josiah. I love that.

King, My nephew's name too. He defiles that, He defiles that

which Solomon honored, and he brings it down.

The mount of corruption. I find that fascinating.

If this is in fact the mount of Olives, what a glorious picture.

At the same time, because Jesus comes on the scene and he

declares himself to be greater than he of Solomon.

One who is greater than Solomon is here.

How is he? Greater in so many ways, and

even in this way that he reverses what Solomon did.

On this mountain, Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives, this place

that was known as the mount of corruption.

And what does he do on that night, the night that he would

be betrayed? He intercedes for you, for me.

He sweats drops of blood. He patiently endures the lack of

faithfulness of the three closest of his disciples.

He has one of his disciples come with an army to betray him with

a kiss and one of his own and their zeal.

And the flesh strikes one of those men, and his ear is cut

off. And one of the final acts of

Jesus before he is nailed upon a tree, is to heal a man.

He recreates the ear of that man.

And here's Jesus on that night, the night that would begin the

Passion and the one greater than Solomon on the mount of

corruption was ready to pay for humanity's corruption.

The time of Solomon, not just time of Solomon, all the way

back to the beginning, and not just in the beginning before the

generations ahead. He who is greater than Solomon

came to the mount of corruption and with his blood can make the

most corrupt, evil, dark, vile, perverted of them all, make them

pure, white and holy in the sight of a holy God.

This is why he is greater than Solomon, and This is why we

study, Bible study. Because Christ is there, Christ

is there, Christ is here. Let's pray,

oh Lord, we, like those two disciples on the road to Emmaus,

testify that our hearts burned within us as we open the

scriptures. What a book this is.

What revelation is this? Forgive us for our unbelief, for

every thinking that such texts have no value to us in the New

Covenant. Lord, many of these truths were

heavy, sobering, challenging, convicting, and we say yes to

them. And, Lord, we thank you for the

final note of redemption, That on that mount of corruption

there was the Christ who spoke to the Father and accepted the

will of the Father to die for the sins and the corruption of

all humanity. Thank you for dying for our

corruption. Thank you, Lord, that despite

our failures we have been made righteous, and that Lord the

Holy Spirit in us as a seal, as a guarantee until the day of

redemption. Thank you, Lord, that even in

the temptation that we experience, even when we are

feeling the urge to flirt with that which we should not flirt

with, your Holy Spirit will not let us go so easily.

You will convict us, You will warn us, You'll send things in

our way. You are a gracious God, a

jealous God. You are jealous, and we praise

you for being jealous. Lord, tonight we sit here

basking in the glory of your attributes, in your character

the practical truths that Solomon's downfall provides for

us. And we pray that they would be

indeed so embedded in our hearts that as we grow old, we would be

sober minded. Unlike him, we would be vigilant

and clear headed. We would not be given over to

excess in anything. And when we feel ourselves

drifting in one way, we would with holy ambition, say no, this

is not to be true in a man of God.

So we pray for the men of this church that older men and

younger men would pursue these attributes.

Oh Lord, there's so many things that we can pray and ask for.

We just ask that in this time of meditation you would receive the

aroma of personalized prayer. You would receive, Lord, our

true, sincere supplication. We need you, Lord.

It's so easy to begin, so hard to finish.

Well, number US among those who finish well, we want to finish

well. And thank you that we are

considered wholehearted. When we know how to live

repentantly, we repent. We repent, and we gladly repent.

We thank you for the gift of repentance in your name.

Amen. Don't lift your head too

quickly. I encourage you to just the next

few moments as the praise team will come quietly to prepare to

sing a final song. This was a weighty Bible study,

and I love when God's weighty conviction settles in because

it's so necessary for us to reflect on these truths and

conviction is what alarms us. I just want to encourage you

just speak to your God, just you're in the House of the Lord.

Speak to the Lord and just give him your desires, your needs,

your prayers. Offer him praise.

Just before we sing and we wrap up, we're all going to make it

home by God's grace. But now in this moment, as we've

heard from the Lord, speak to the Lord now and don't distract

your neighbor. Just speak to the Lord, your

God, your king, your shepherd, with the truth that you heard

and translate them in your own way to him.

And then we will sing together, OK.