WHEN WISDOM WAS NOT ENOUGHKING SOLOMON STRAYS FROM HIS OWN PROVERBS

March 9, 2014FIRST BAPTIST CHURCHJACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

USA

MARCH MEMORY VERSE

John 14:66 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

REFERENCE

SEEKING WISDOM – FINDING GOLD

A Study Guide

By

Dr. David Jeremiah

TODAY’S LESSON

WHEN WISDOM WAS NOT ENOUGH

- King Solomon loses his “fear of the Lord”.

- How could this happen to the wisest man on earth?

REVIEW OF LAST SUNDAY’S LESSONSolomon’s Early Years

Spiritual influences that impacted Solomon’s life

– Blessed before he was born.

– Blessed at his birth.

– Chosen by God as Israel’s King to follow David.

– Prayed for by King David.

– God blessed Solomon’s request for wisdom.

– Blessed by God beyond any other man.

REVIEW OF LAST SUNDAY’S LESSON

What is wisdom?

– “The right use of knowledge.” – Spurgeon

– “Common sense in an uncommon degree.”

– “Wisdom is knowledge using its head.” Twain

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

THE 7 PILLARS OF WISDOMProverbs 1:1-7

1. Wisdom is Development.

2. Wisdom is Discipline.

3. Wisdom is Discernment.

4. Wisdom is Dignity.

5. Wisdom is Discretion.

6. Wisdom is Depth of Understanding.

7. Wisdom is Devotion to God.

HOW DOES WISDOM COME TO US?

1 Corinthians 1:3030 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

• Jesus Christ is our wisdom from God.

• Jesus (Wisdom) dwells in us through the Holy Spirit.

SOLOMON’S EARLY YEARS

1 Kings 4:29-34

29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight,

and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the

sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater

than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and

greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser

than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser

than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And

his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.

SOLOMON’S EARLY YEARS

32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

1 Kings 4:29-34

Describe King Solomon’s Early Reign

• Blessed & Generous

• Successful & Popular

• Discerning & Upright

• Productive & Ambitious

• Wisdom & Knowledge

• “Feared the Lord”

• Walked in the ways of the Lord

GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS FOR KINGS

Deuteronomy 17:14-2014 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” 15 be sure to appoint over you a king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite.

GOD”S INSTRUCTIONS FOR KINGS

16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS FOR KINGS

18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees. 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20

GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS FOR KINGSSummary

1. God’s choice & an Israelite

2. Limited number of horses

3. Do not return to Egypt

4. Do not take many wives

5. Do not accumulate large amounts of gold

6. Read and study the scriptures

7. Do not be prideful

8. Obey God

DID KING SOLOMON FOLLOW GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS?

1 Kings 11:9-119 The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command.

11 So the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.

1 Kings 11:9-11

• What caused Solomon’s downfall?

• What are the lessons for us?

• Buckle your seatbelts!!!!!

WHAT CAUSED SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL?

1. He had an incredible appetite for wealth.

2. He had an incredible appetite for women.

SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL: Appetite for Wealth - Luxury

1 Kings 6:37-38 37 The foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications. He had spent sevenyears building it.

1 Kings 7:1 1 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.

SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:Appetite for Wealth

1 Kings 10:14-15 14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

• Solomon received 25 tons of gold annually

• Gold price today in pounds = $19,545

• 25 tons (50,000 lbs.) = $977,250,000

SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:Appetite for Wealth - Gold

1 Kings 10:2121 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days.

• Solomon would not drink from a silver cup!

SOLOMON’S DOWNFALLAppetite for Wealth - Horses

1 Kings 10:26, 29 26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.

29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.

SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:Appetite for Wealth

Ecclesiastes 2:8 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.

Ecclesiastes 2:10 10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil.

SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:Appetite for Wealth - Throne

1 Kings 10:18-20

18 Then the king made a great throne covered with

ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had

six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both

sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing

beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the

six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing

like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.

SOLOMON’S THRONEby Edward Poynter 1890

SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:

1. He had an incredible appetite for wealth.

2. He had an incredible appetite for women.

SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:Appetite for Women

1 Kings 11:1-61 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the LORD

had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.

SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:Appetite for Women

3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:Appetite for Women

5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.

1 Kings 11:1-6

HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO A WISE MAN?

• Solomon’s words to Israel in dedicating the Temple built for God:

1 Kings 8:61 61 And may your hearts be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”

- What happens to a heart not fully committed?

A HEART NOT FULLY COMMITTED

1 Kings 11:44 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

1 Kings 11:66 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.

KING SOLOMON KNEW BETTER

Proverbs 3:5–75 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD

and shun evil.

IDOLATRY: Not Fully Committed

IDOL: Anything that replaces God in any area of your life.

- Idolatry is our most basic sin, and in it an exchange is made: God reveals His truth about Himself, and we trade in that truth and walk out with a lie.

- We exchange the glory of God for the glory of the creature (creation or world).

How do we commit idolatry like Solomon did?

• By worshipping the creation (Wealth, Pleasure) instead of the Creator.

Romans 1:21-2521 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Romans 1:21-25

- Solomon went from worshipping the Creator to worshipping the creation (wealth, pleasure)

WHAT ARE THE LESSONS FOR US?

1. No person is immune from temptation.

2. No plateau is safe from sin’s allure.

3. No position is safe from sin’s snare.

4. No privileges will protect from Satan’s reach.

5. At no point can you be lenient toward sin.

LESSON FOR US

1. No person is immune from temptation.• Wisdom does not automatically immunize

anyone against the sickness of sin.

1 Corinthians 10:1313 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

JESUS UNDERSTANDS TEMPTATION

Hebrews 4:1515 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did not sin.

Hebrews 2:18 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

BE CAREFUL WHEN…….

• You say, “_____ is not a temptation for me.”

• You say, “Just this one time only.”

• You say, “No one will know.”

• You say, “God wants me to be happy.”

• You are tired, hungry or upset!

LESSON FOR US

2. No plateau is safe from sin’s allure.

I Kings 11:4 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

• Solomon is 60 and chasing 1000 women!

• There is no fool like an old fool!

No Plateau Is Safe From Sin’s Allure

• Age –

• Marriage –

• Financially secure –

• Empty Nest –

• Retirement –

• Life’s goals are met -

LESSON FOR US

3. No position is safe from sin’s snare

• Solomon was the King and God’s chosen.

• He was the wisest man on earth.

• Satan intensifies his attack on people who should set the godly example.

• Satan is out to make Jesus’ followers look like hypocrites.

LESSON FOR US

4. No privileges will protect from Satan’s reach

1 Kings 11:99 The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

• Solomon had talked personally with God.

• God had chosen and blessed Solomon.

No Privileges Will Protect From Satan’s Reach

• 1,000 wives does not keep you from lust.

• Knowledge and wisdom does not mean godly actions.

• Wealth does not keep you from greed and envy.

• Being smart does not keep you from being stupid.

LESSON FOR US

5. At NO point can you be lenient toward sin

• How did Solomon fall so far?

• Solomon did not become an idolater or a polygamist overnight.

• His demise was a gradual process.

• Solomon slowly lost his “fear of God”.

• It was not a blowout – it was a slow leak!

At NO Point Can You Be Lenient Toward Sin

• Satan’s Tricks

– Desensitization. (slowly lose guilt and shame)

– Delayed punishment from God.

– Doubt: Did God really say………? (Garden of Eden)

– Pleasure must increase over time for satisfaction.

– Pride – I did it my way! I deserve it!

– Make decisions when tired, hungry or upset.

At NO Point Can You Be Lenient Toward Sin

1 Peter 5:8-98 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

SOLOMON’S FINAL WORDSWhere Life Finds Its Meaning

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 KJV13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this isthe whole duty of man.

14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

• The whole duty of man = A life totally committed.