Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What Solomon’s Kingdom Represented | The Life of Solomon | 1 Kings 4

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to Tim Minut Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. My name is Patrick Miller. And I'm Keith Simon. Hey, let's start with a thought experiment. Imagine you live in the first century near the Sea of Galilee. And like all your neighbors, you've heard a lot about Jesus. He's the buzz. Everybody's talking about him.

Starting point is 00:00:26 So you decide you're going to go out and hear him speak. There you are standing out among all your neighbors under the hot Middle Eastern Sun, listening to this guy, this person who's stirring up so much trouble, what kind of things do you think he says? Like in your mind, what do you hear him say? What kind of things does he talk about? If you were going to summarize his talk, what's the headline? What's the takeaway? Maybe you think this is an easy question. I mean, you've read the gospel, so maybe you say something like, well, I hear him tell stories or what people commonly call parables. Or maybe you say, I hear him teach a lot of ethical truths. such as treat others as you would want to be treated.

Starting point is 00:01:08 Or maybe you hear him say, no, I hear him explain the Old Testament like he did on the sermon of the Mount. Or maybe you hear him arguing with all the Pharisees, which he did plenty of. In one sense, all those things are right. Jesus does all those things. But there's no verse that says, Jesus went around teaching parables. Or Jesus went around arguing with the Pharisees or teaching ethical truths or teaching about the Old Testament law. But there are verses that say what Jesus did go around talking

Starting point is 00:01:41 about. Here's a couple. Matthew 423. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Or Luke 8.1. After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. What did Jesus talk about? He talked about the good news of the kingdom, the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus says other things about the kingdom, like when he arrived, the kingdom arrived with him. He teaches his disciples to pray that God's kingdom would come on earth.

Starting point is 00:02:19 And he says that one day he will return and reestablish his kingdom. Now all this talk about kingdom is setting up where we are in the life of Solomon series as we go through First Kings. Today we're in chapter four, and in this chapter we see King Solomon reigning in Jerusalem. And I think Solomon's kingdom is designed to point us toward Jesus's kingdom. First King four starts with a list of a bunch of different leaders in government and what area they gave leadership to. And when you read the list, a couple things stand out. One is that we see a priest named Abithar. Now, you might remember that name from earlier in First Kings when we learned that he was banished from Jerusalem because he opposed Solomon's kingship. It looks like Abithar had a

Starting point is 00:03:11 change of heart and was restored to his position. We don't know all the details, but it is encouraging to see him restored to his role. It's encouraging because it reminds us that no matter what we've done, we can always turn from our sin and give our allegiance to the king. For Abithar, that meant submitting to the kingship of Solomon. For us, it means submitting or giving our allegiance to King Jesus. Is there any areas of your life that you need to resubmit to Jesus? Maybe you submitted to them in the past, but you've kind of taken back control of that area of your life. Or maybe there are areas of your life that you never used.

Starting point is 00:03:53 even considered submitting to Jesus. But as you've gotten to know him and trust him, now you're ready to bring this new area of your life under his authority. In this list of names in First Kings 4, we also notice a guy named Adniram, and he was overseeing all the forced labor. God had warned Israel through the prophet Samuel that if Israel appointed a king, that king would force them to work on his projects. Part of living in a fallen world is dealing with powerful people who use their power to meet their own needs, use their power to promote themselves, use their power on their own behalf. And that's what King Solomon is doing here. He's forcing people to work on projects that he wants them to work on. Now, all this also is telling us that Solomon is not a

Starting point is 00:04:51 perfect king. He has his own significant sins, his own significant flaws. And I love the Bible because it doesn't heroize the people in it, right? It doesn't make anybody into a hero. The only hero in the Bible is Jesus. Everyone else is a sinner. And that makes them very relatable to you and me. Now, the bulk of First Kings 4 gives us a lot of mundane details about how Solomon organized his kingdom. And if you're reading through it, you might think, does this have anything to say to us? It does. Just stay with me for a second. For example, First Kings 4 tells us that Solomon divided up his large kingdom into smaller units, each with their own leadership. Think of something similar to our city or county government. Solomon's kingdom is a well-organized and well-run operation. And because of the

Starting point is 00:05:49 leadership, the people were happy. First Kings 420. The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They ate, they drank, and they were happy. God's order and structure provided joy and was a blessing to the people. It's easy to overlook or take for granted spiritual gifts of leadership or practical skills like organization. But if you spend any time in a disorganized home or a chaotic office or chaotic church, you know it is not a productive and happy place. Maybe that's why my grandma used to say that orderliness is next to godliness. But organization alone, that's not enough to produce a joyful kingdom where everyone is happy. Some of the most repressive governments have been well organized. Nazi Germany was famously well-run.

Starting point is 00:06:43 The deep source of joy in the kingdom of Solomon was God. promises. Back to 1 Kings 420, and this time we'll add verse 21. The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They ate, they drank, and they're happy, and Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the borders of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's subjects all his life. Back in Genesis, God promised Abraham that he would make his descendants, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And now First Kings is using that exact same language

Starting point is 00:07:24 to let us know that we're seeing God's promises fulfilled under Solomon. God also promised Abraham that he would lead him to the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now we read that Solomon's kingdom covers the promised land. Solomon's kingdom was fruitful and had everything the people needed, just like the promised land was going to have. So all this is coming together under King Solomon, God's wise king. No wonder the people are happy.

Starting point is 00:07:55 Jesus said that Solomon pointed to him. In fact, Jesus said that he was a greater Solomon. Jesus is greater to Solomon like the sun is greater to a candle. Jesus is greater in wisdom. Just like every other kingdom in this world, Solomon's kingdom came and went, but Jesus' kingdom is eternal. Jesus' kingdom encompasses the entire world, dwarfing Solomon's kingdom. And Jesus' kingdom is more diverse, made up of people of every tribe, tongue, and nation. One day, King Jesus will fully establish his kingdom on earth.

Starting point is 00:08:34 One day, King Jesus will eradicate sin. And when he does that, all of his loyal subjects will be eternally happy, ultimately happy. our souls will be satisfied for we live in Jesus' kingdom. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with. Texting an episode to a friend or family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually.

Starting point is 00:09:09 If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What Solomon’s Kingdom Represented | The Life of Solomon | 1 Kings 4

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