Author’s note: This lesson was originally preached by Raul Moreno and this is a repurposing of that lesson with some changes reflective of the needs in our OC Single’s ministry at this time. Special thanks to Raul Moreno and also to Ricky Challinor for his advice on its content. Audio provided below:
Let’s Start With King Solomon
Please turn your bible to Deuteronomy chapter 7. Deuteronomy is part of the Pentateuch – the first five books of the Bible – and was written by Moses in roughly the 14th century BC.
King Solomon, the son of King David, ruled around 970 – 930BC.
Also, a Word About “BC” dates in general
When you see “BC” think “Backwards Counting” from “zero.” Zero/Year 1 in the calendar we use today (the “Gregorian Calendar”) is represented as the year of our Lord’s birth. AD is short for the Latin “Anno Dommini” which means “in the year of our Lord.” So, from the time Jesus “Our Lord” was born, 1 AD, until now, it’s been 2026 years.
BC in dating stands for “Before Christ.” These dates count “backwards” from the “0” which is Jesus’ birth. So if King Solomon ruled in 930 BC, how many years is that from today, 2026 AD? (2956 years). If Deuteronomy was written in 1400 BC, how long ago was that from today? 3426 years. Last one – how long was Deuteronomy around before King Solomon? 1400 BC – 970 BC is 430 years.
So Deuteronomy, the book/scroll, had been around for about 430 years when Solomon was born. That’s almost TWICE AS LONG as the USA has been a country. This is something that was deeply embedded in God’s people at the time of Solomon.
What Did Solomon Need To Do To Be Rightous?
[Deu 7:1-2, 4 NIV] 1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations–the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you– 2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. … 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.
- This could be a great starting point for a lesson about disciples dating only disciples of Jesus coupled with 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. The point here is when you are yoked together with someone who does not obey God, the bible, they turn your hearts away from following God.
[Deu 17:16-17 NIV] 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.
- These are some laws from God around the proper conduct of a Godly king of Israel.
- Keep these two precedents in mind. Let’s look at our first man of the hour – King Solomon.
[1Ki 9:1-7 NIV] 1 When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The LORD said to him: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ 6 “But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.
- We have the wisest man ever to live. Certainly, he knew Deuteronomy and the teachings from God therein! The very proverbs Solomon wrote speak about greed, idolatry, and sexual sins in numerous ways and throughout.
- God DIRECTLY tells him “do not serve other gods and worship them.” God tells him, do what is righteous and “I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever.”
God Gave Solomon Wisdom, Success, Talent, And Great Power
Solomon’s leadership revitalizes the economy. God uses him to massively improve the civil health, military might, and the beauty of the whole nation of Israel. God indeed gave Solomon great power. And with great power – comes great responsibility. Please turn to 1 Kings 10:8-9…
[1Ki 10:8-9 NIV] 8 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”
- God raises Solomon up and empowers him greatly. As you know, power…can have a very bad effect on people. People are fond of saying things like “Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.” There is a temptation that comes with empowerment.
For singles, God gives us power in what we do with our time and our income. In the US, there is a great deal of opportunity for both employment and “entertainment.” You have the power to choose. You can choose to give up power to God and for God, as your King, or we can hold into our power for ourselves.
What Did Solomon Do With His Power
[1Ki 10:14-15, 26 NIV] 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. … 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.
- That’s ~23 tonnes of gold a year. That’s like at least three billion maybe over four in today’s US Dollars. Solomon had entire cities devoted to chariots and horses.
[1Ki 11:1-8 NIV] 1 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. 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. 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. 7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
- And now we are off the rails completely. What happened? Solomon had the power. He had the choice. He had the freedom of choice. You may not feel like you have a lot of choice if you work a 40 hour work week, but there are 168 hours in a week – let’s break them down together.
- If you sleep for 8 hours a night thats 56 hours. 168 – 56 = 112 waking hours.
- If you work 40 hours for work and add say 10 hours for travel time a week, You have 112 – 50 (work and travel time) which and now you have 62 hours left.
- Let’s talk about seeking first the kingdom – you have three church meetings a week, Midweek 3 hours, Bible Talk 3 hours, Sunday 6 hours, a discipling time 2 hours. Do the math, that’s about 14 hours of church meetings on a busy week. (I included some travel time, YMMV) You still have 62-14 hours, or “48.” That’s a lot of power.
- When you are single and professional, you have a lot more flexibility and a lot less direct economic strain. You could be the Rich Young Ruler or You could be like Zachheus.
- What will you do with all your power?
[Luk 9:23-26 NIV] 23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
#1 Your Ceiling Is Your Righteousness – Give Your Power To The Right God!
- [2Ti 2:22 NIV] 22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
- [1Ti 6:12 NIV] 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
- [1Th 4:10-12 NIV] 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
- Meet ONE PERSON that becomes a true disciple this year!
#2 Your Ceiling Is Your Righteousness – Do Not Give Way To Fear!
Let’s talk about Jeroboam…
[1Ki 11:26-28 NIV] 26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah. 27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.
[1Ki 11:26, 29-33 NIV] 26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah. … 29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.
31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.
- Imagine being Jeroboam, a young man, doing a great job leading your labor forces.
- The Prophet Ahijah tells him what is coming. He’s wearing a new Robe – and tears it into 12 pieces.
Jeroboam Was Promised The Same Dynasty As David
[1Ki 11:34-40 NIV] 34 ” ‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.
37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’ ” 40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.
- You’ll be as great as David…one thing you need to do? Be righteous. That is the only thing that you need to do. Be righteous.
- If he would have stayed righteous – the bible would have been very different. God would have blessed the 10 tribes in an incredible way. If he’d only been righteous, the Bible would have recorded a radically different history for the Northern Kingdom of Israel!
- My ceiling is my righteousness. If I am righteous, God will bless my ministry and my efforts. God will bless my life if I am righteous – this conviction is what Jeroboam lacked.
- The potential he had – the same as David. So as do I! What keeps me down? Lack of righteousness – could be in the sensual sins, but more so insecurity, lack of faith, focus on self, envy…it is my lack of righteousness in certain areas that is keeping me from doing what God wants me to do, from being who God is calling me to be!
Jeroboam Was Taken Out By Insecurity, Fear, and Unbelief
What killed Jeroboam? Insecurity. Fear. That his ministry/leadership would not do as well. Your ceiling is your righteousness! We will come back to Jeroboam’s fear/insecurity in a moment.
Sometimes our ministry does not grow, we don’t have an impact. Sometimes, it just takes time to turn around…there is maintenance (life issues, spiritual drift), new leaders, you’ll have dips…but if you are righteous and persevere in being righteous – you will figure it out.
- Krystal’s restoration. Chungyu’s restoration. Joey’s baptism.
Remember, Jeroboam’s promise was the same as David. Let’s talk about Solomon’s son, the heir apparent:
Rehoboam Did Some Things Right
[1Ki 12:1-5 NIV] 1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.
- Remember how In Chapter 10, when Solomon was younger, his people are noted as very happy. As Solomon grew older, he grew far from God and so was very harsh.
- Sometimes people want to pressure you into making a decision right away. Let me think about this and pray some more. When it is something important, do not make a decision right away. Do not make such a decision on the fly.
- Ruben. Job situation. Get a “great” job right now but miss midweeks and maybe some other meetings of the body? Ricky told me about Ruben’s heart to pause, seek advice, and pray before jumping on an “opportunity.” He chose to wait for the other job that’s still “in the air” and do some part time work in the meantime.
- Do not let Satan – or people unknowingly in his service – pressure you into a decision. Be careful trusting anyone who will not give you ample time to think about a decision they are asking you to make. Do not let your hard times make you desperate for anything except God – keep your eyes healthy.
So Rehoboam gets advice from the Elders…and then from his childhood friends…
Rehoboam Teaches Us Whose Advice You Take Matters
[1Ki 12:6-17 NIV] 6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked. 7 They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.” 8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
9 He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?” 10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’ ” 12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.”
13 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite. 16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!” So the Israelites went home. 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.
- So many lessons here! Interestingly – the older guys, the elders, who ruled with Solomon – they probably saw the change in him, going from a great king to a harsh one. They advise him to be kind to them. The younger guys – “show them who is the boss!” He took advice from the younger people – and it split.
- When you take over a group or find yourself in a new situation – you have to be kind. Shower disciples around you with love, with kindness, with understanding, do not make assumptions, cultivate love good, honest communication. You build a culture of love by talking with your leaders, not about them or around them – they need to learn about what you need too from you, it’s a huge help when you’re trying to build. We can’t swing the other way, to tolerate sin, not giving, not evangelizing, recognize we evangelize because we love the LORD. We are at this stage right now, trying to bring the pendulum back to the middle. Looking for a healthy, biblical, Jesus-like medium.
- The kingdom split because of Solomon’s sin – God foretold it. The split was from God.
Jeroboam Focused On Man Instead of God’s Promises
[1Ki 12:25-27 NIV] 25 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. 26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”
- This guy did not believe the WORD of the LORD!
- What is his sin? Insecurity and FEAR. “What if they go to Judah…they will go back and kill me…” He did not remember GOD gave him a promise! God has given me a future!
- There are all these problems! We all have many excuses…it’s just FEARS – forgetting the promises of GOD…BE faithful!
Jeroboam Also Got Advice, BAD Advice!
[1Ki 12:28-33 NIV] 28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 29 One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other. 31 Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites.
32 He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.
- This is ridiculous. This is exactly what God said NOT to do. God gave him the promise! At least Solomon waited until he was older to completely dive in. This guy STARTED in the deep-end of wickedness right away – your potential is your righteousness.
- If you are righteous, God will bless you. What was his sin? He did not believe in God’s promise, that was his sin…he sinned so much he led the people to sin.
Jereoboam Is An Example of Unbelief – Fear Instead of Faith
[Heb 3:16-19 NIV] 16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
What was Jeroboam’s sin!? LACK of FAITH! He knew very well Solomon fell away because of his wives, his idolatry, and this was the most talented guy in his leadership circle. So, he did not believe God’s Words. Do I really believe God’s promises? Do I believe that God will bless me? This lesson is simple, God will bless you, if you are righteous.
The “prosperity “Gospel” is true (to a point) – Malachi 3:6-12. God will bless me if I give, but in his timing!
God can change world events if you pray! Pray for God to bless the USA. If you don’t like the US, move to Mexico, move to Venezuela, move to Palestine! Pray for them to have wisdom. Pray for Iran’s leaders too – Trump, Nettinyahu…and open up the world for world evangelism. We want GOD to bless the US. The US is what God is using to bless the nations.
The Challenge – Be Like Jesus, Just Be Righteous!
Who are we like? Do we misuse our power, like Solomon? Rehoboam rejected the “hard” advice and looked for what he wanted to hear – do we? Let’s hold tightly to the promises of God, refused to give into fear of man, and remember the warning that is Jeroboam’s life! We all can struggle with these things throughout our life walking with God. A the end of the day, we all need to just be righteous.
We all need to be like Jesus.
