Blessed in Jesus' Kingdom (1Ki 1:28-53)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:07.790 Well, as many, hopefully all of you know, in the afternoons I 2 00:00:07.870 --> 00:00:14.630 I'm leading a little time called afternoon prayer and we are currently going through first 3 00:00:14.669 --> 00:00:20.789 kings. I thought I would bring to you God's word from a passage that 4 00:00:20.870 --> 00:00:25.219 we finished on this last week. This is a little online meeting that meets 5 00:00:25.219 --> 00:00:29.820 from forty five to one. If you're available to come, all or welcome. 6 00:00:30.579 --> 00:00:34.100 Feel free to invite your friends, and this will give you a little 7 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:39.969 bit of a taste of of what we're doing right now, and I pray 8 00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:44.250 it's a blessing to you. So let's turn to first kings. Chapter One, 9 00:00:46.490 --> 00:00:56.520 Verses Twenty eight through fifty eight. Now, before I read this, 10 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:00.560 it's helpful to know that the setting for these events are in the very last 11 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:06.150 days of King David. He is old and his son ad a NYSA has 12 00:01:06.189 --> 00:01:08.310 sought to establish himself as the king. How are? He's not done this 13 00:01:08.430 --> 00:01:12.829 with David's permission. He's not done this with God's permission. He has done 14 00:01:12.870 --> 00:01:17.469 this in his own way and in his own strength. The other thing to 15 00:01:17.590 --> 00:01:22.579 know is that he's done this over and against his brother Solomon, his half 16 00:01:22.620 --> 00:01:26.500 brother Solomon. The promised are the one who is supposed to rule after David, 17 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:33.010 but it's the plot was discovered and it was revealed to David by Bathsheba, 18 00:01:33.250 --> 00:01:38.409 Solomon's mother, and also Nathan the Prophet. So now we come to 19 00:01:38.650 --> 00:01:42.769 our reading for this evening. I'm right. After the the conspiracy has been 20 00:01:42.810 --> 00:01:49.519 revealed and now we see what happens. What how David Responds. So let's 21 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:56.959 hear God's word now. Then King David answered. Call Bathsheba to me. 22 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:00.239 So she came into the king's presence and stood before the king, and the 23 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:04.989 king swore saying as the Lord Lives, who has redeemed my soul out of 24 00:02:05.069 --> 00:02:08.469 every adversity, as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of 25 00:02:08.550 --> 00:02:13.430 Israel, saying Solomon, your son, shall reign after me and he shall 26 00:02:13.430 --> 00:02:15.860 sit on my throne in my place. Even so, will I do this 27 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:22.020 day? Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and paid homage to 28 00:02:22.099 --> 00:02:24.699 the king and said, may my Lord, King David, live forever. 29 00:02:25.939 --> 00:02:30.689 King David said, call to me, Zadok the priest, Nathan the Prophet, 30 00:02:30.729 --> 00:02:34.050 and Ben and I are the son of Jehoiadah. So they came before 31 00:02:34.129 --> 00:02:38.610 the king and the king said to them take with you the servants of you, 32 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:40.889 of your Lord, and have Solomon, my son, ride on my 33 00:02:42.050 --> 00:02:46.240 own mule and bring him down to Gihan and let Zadok the priest and Nathan 34 00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:52.000 the Prophet there annoint him king over Israel. Then blow the trumpet and say, 35 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:55.719 Long Live King Solomon. You shall then come up after him and he 36 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:59.990 shall come and sit on my throne, for he shall be king in my 37 00:03:00.110 --> 00:03:04.990 place, and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. 38 00:03:05.629 --> 00:03:07.069 And Ben and I, of the son of Jehoidah, answered the king. 39 00:03:07.669 --> 00:03:13.379 Amen. May The Lord, the God of my King. Maybe may 40 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:16.099 the Lord, the God of my Lord the King, say so, as 41 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:20.099 the Lord has been with my Lord the king. Even so, may he 42 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:23.500 be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my Lord, 43 00:03:23.539 --> 00:03:28.409 King David. So Zadok the priest, Nathan the Prophet, and Ben and 44 00:03:28.490 --> 00:03:31.530 I, the son of Jehoiadah, and the karathites and the Pelathites went down 45 00:03:31.650 --> 00:03:37.849 and had Solomon ride on King David's mule and brought him to Gihon. There 46 00:03:37.930 --> 00:03:42.439 Zadok the priest took the Horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. 47 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:46.120 Then they blew the trumpet and all the people said, Long live King Solomon, 48 00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:51.319 and all the people went up after him, playing on pipes and rejoicing 49 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:55.150 with great joy, so that the earth was split by their noise. Adonijah 50 00:03:55.229 --> 00:03:59.389 and all the guests who are with him heard it as they finished feasting, 51 00:03:59.469 --> 00:04:02.870 and when Joe AB heard the sound of the trumpet, he said what is 52 00:04:02.909 --> 00:04:08.629 this uproar in the city mean? While he was still speaking, behold Jonathan, 53 00:04:08.669 --> 00:04:12.860 the son of Abiathar, the priest, came and Adonijah said, come 54 00:04:12.939 --> 00:04:16.180 in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news. Jonathan answered, 55 00:04:16.220 --> 00:04:21.019 Adonijah knew, for our Lord, King David has made Solomon King, 56 00:04:21.339 --> 00:04:25.610 and the king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the Prophet, 57 00:04:25.649 --> 00:04:29.129 and Ben and Iah, the son of Jehoidah, and the karathites and the 58 00:04:29.170 --> 00:04:32.810 Palla fits. They had him ride on the king's Mule. Zadok the priest 59 00:04:32.930 --> 00:04:38.250 and Nathan the Prophet have anointed him King Agihon, and they have gone up 60 00:04:38.290 --> 00:04:42.399 from their rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is 61 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:47.959 the noise that you have heard. Solomon sits on the royal throne. Moreover, 62 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:54.149 the king's servants came to congratulate our Lord, King David, saying may 63 00:04:54.269 --> 00:04:58.870 your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours and make his throne 64 00:04:58.910 --> 00:05:01.870 greater than your throne. And the king bowed himself on the bed, and 65 00:05:02.870 --> 00:05:05.990 the king also said, blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, 66 00:05:06.069 --> 00:05:11.740 who has granted someone to sit on my throne this day, my own eyes 67 00:05:11.819 --> 00:05:17.259 seeing it. Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and rose, and each 68 00:05:17.339 --> 00:05:24.089 win his own way. And ADONIJAH feared Solomon. So he arose and went 69 00:05:24.209 --> 00:05:28.129 and took hold of the horns of the altar. Then it was told Solomon, 70 00:05:28.209 --> 00:05:31.250 behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon. For behold, he has laid hold 71 00:05:31.290 --> 00:05:34.759 of the hordes of the altar, saying, let King Solomon Swear to me 72 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:39.759 first that he will not put his servant to death with the sword. And 73 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:43.639 Solomon said, if he will show himself a worthy man, not one of 74 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:46.480 his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, 75 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:50.750 he shall surely die. So King Solomon said, and they brought him 76 00:05:50.750 --> 00:05:56.629 down from the altar and he came and paid homage to King Solomon and Solomon 77 00:05:56.709 --> 00:06:02.149 said to him, go to your house, since the reading of God's word. 78 00:06:10.860 --> 00:06:18.250 So, as I mentioned, Solomon is anointed King by David and according 79 00:06:18.290 --> 00:06:24.290 to the promises that had been made. And as Solomon is anointed king, 80 00:06:24.370 --> 00:06:29.649 another one, a pretend king, his half brother, and Adonijah is put 81 00:06:29.769 --> 00:06:34.199 in him his place, and embarrassingly so, even, we might say, 82 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:40.839 fearfully so, because as the news came to Adonijah and came to all his 83 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:45.240 guests who are gathered there. I didn't tell you before that when Adonijah had 84 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:49.069 set himself as king, he called a bunch of people to him, including 85 00:06:49.110 --> 00:06:57.350 Joe AB, who was a commander of in David's Army, including Abyathar Aviathar, 86 00:06:57.550 --> 00:07:02.860 the priest. Adonijah was seeking very much to establish himself with the Kings 87 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:08.220 men, the king's people, and he had felt like he had done it. 88 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:12.660 They were they were partying and they hear this noise in the city. 89 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:16.569 What's that sound? And in a man comes in. Who could it be? 90 00:07:16.769 --> 00:07:19.610 Oh Jonathan, good to see or tell us what good news you have? 91 00:07:20.250 --> 00:07:26.170 Not Good News, bad news. And he goes through the events and 92 00:07:26.250 --> 00:07:30.439 he tells what happened. Solomon has written on this mule. Does that sound 93 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:33.720 a little familiar right? This, this kingly procession up to the throne. 94 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:40.000 I'm Solomon, Anointed with all I will, Solomon blest. What the words 95 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:45.750 of God and the Covenant by the Priest of God, the people rejoicing, 96 00:07:46.430 --> 00:07:49.750 may your God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours. And David 97 00:07:50.110 --> 00:07:57.470 being pleased with all of this, he blesses the Lord blest. Lesson God 98 00:07:57.589 --> 00:08:03.500 for being able to see this day, seeing the king so firmly established. 99 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:07.819 We see in verse forty nine that all the guests of adonize a trembled and 100 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:13.490 rose and each went his own way. I imagine the people pushing their chairs 101 00:08:13.529 --> 00:08:20.250 back, slowly creeping out of the room, hands in their pockets, trying 102 00:08:20.370 --> 00:08:26.250 to move out into the darkness. Become a kind of Peter in a way, 103 00:08:26.329 --> 00:08:28.199 did it? We? Weren't you that? No, I don't. 104 00:08:28.759 --> 00:08:35.039 I wasn't there. Solomon, one way of King Salmon Right, power is 105 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:39.240 changing and it's changing fast and it's changing according to the these promises that had 106 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:48.509 been made. This story, a true story, these accounts of in the 107 00:08:48.669 --> 00:08:54.830 history here of King David and this transfer of power to King Solomon are important 108 00:08:54.870 --> 00:08:58.860 for many reasons. I think the most important one is that it reveals to 109 00:08:58.940 --> 00:09:03.580 us the nature of Christ's kingship. It helps us understand, first of all, 110 00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:09.450 what kingly line Christ comes from, what God has done in the past 111 00:09:09.570 --> 00:09:13.809 to bring these things that we have now in the present. And they also 112 00:09:13.850 --> 00:09:18.129 help us to understand not only the history of Christ's Kingship, the background of 113 00:09:18.289 --> 00:09:22.929 that, but they also help us to understand the nature of his kingship through 114 00:09:24.049 --> 00:09:30.519 various comparisons and contrasts with what we see here. So I want to ask 115 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:37.000 three questions tonight as we consider these things. The first one is this. 116 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:41.990 In what ways is called Solomon's kingdom being established? In what ways is Solomon's 117 00:09:41.990 --> 00:09:48.830 kingdom being established, especially when we see it compared with the way at Anya's 118 00:09:48.870 --> 00:09:54.820 kingdom being established, very short lived kingdom. Well, one of the things 119 00:09:54.860 --> 00:09:58.419 that we see is that that Solomon's kingdom is being established with a view towards 120 00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:03.940 the covenant of the Lord. When Adonijah, I didn't read it to you 121 00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:07.409 tonight, but when an Adonijah sets up, sets himself up, notice Solomon 122 00:10:07.570 --> 00:10:11.850 is raised to that position. But what ADONIJAH SETS HIMSELF UP AS KING? 123 00:10:13.570 --> 00:10:18.490 God has has nothing to do with it really. Sure he's coopted a priest, 124 00:10:18.649 --> 00:10:22.399 but he he really is doing things on his own. Compare that to, 125 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:30.679 example, to David's response to Bathsheba. In Verse Twenty Nine. He 126 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:35.909 responds to her in a covenantal context when he says, as the Lord Lives, 127 00:10:35.669 --> 00:10:41.870 who has redeemed my soul out of ever adversary, as I swore to 128 00:10:41.909 --> 00:10:45.309 you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying Solomon, your son 129 00:10:45.429 --> 00:10:48.029 shall reign after me, he shall sit on my throne and in my place. 130 00:10:48.470 --> 00:10:54.620 Even so, I will do this day. There's many things going on 131 00:10:54.940 --> 00:11:00.580 there and what David says. Some of them, we might notice, are 132 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:05.970 these. First of all, he has vowed in the name of the Lord. 133 00:11:05.730 --> 00:11:11.169 He has taken a serious promise, and he has done so according to 134 00:11:11.330 --> 00:11:15.570 God. He does so according to the God who lives, the God who 135 00:11:16.929 --> 00:11:20.080 is not a false god, not an idol, not King David himself, 136 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:24.440 but God, but Yahwey, the one who had revealed himself, the one 137 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:26.639 who had chosen David to sit on the throne, the one who had set 138 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:31.840 David on the throne. Notice also how he identifies God. He calls him 139 00:11:33.149 --> 00:11:39.830 the one who has redeemed my soul out of every adversary or adversity. Imagine 140 00:11:39.870 --> 00:11:43.429 these events. Put Your from day of its perspective, put yourself in his 141 00:11:43.549 --> 00:11:48.740 shoes. David's life is very dramatic one. I actually have kind of a 142 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:54.740 hard time really putting myself in issues, but trying for a moment. David 143 00:11:54.779 --> 00:12:00.539 had experienced similar things like this before. I'm absalom had tried to take over 144 00:12:00.620 --> 00:12:03.730 David's kingdom in his earlier days and it tried to what absalom another one of 145 00:12:03.769 --> 00:12:11.929 David's sons and tried to replace him. David had lost other sons through this 146 00:12:11.049 --> 00:12:15.649 kind of conflict back and forth, and now here it is. He's an 147 00:12:15.649 --> 00:12:18.240 old man, it's his last few years, maybe his last few days, 148 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:26.000 and they're still great turmoil and violence in his house. His son not respecting 149 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:31.029 his father, his son not respecting his king, his son not respecting the 150 00:12:31.230 --> 00:12:35.389 Lord and setting up his own kingdom in his own way. And remember, 151 00:12:35.429 --> 00:12:41.470 this is not just some kingdom, this is the Kingdom of God, this 152 00:12:41.590 --> 00:12:46.659 is a holy kingdom and Adonijah treats it as though it was just some other, 153 00:12:46.580 --> 00:12:52.980 some other kingdom, some other Inter family political thing, and it's all 154 00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:58.850 his own son. Remember it was to David's lineage that God had promised to 155 00:12:58.929 --> 00:13:05.250 establish an eternal kingdom. And the sons are dying and falling all over the 156 00:13:05.370 --> 00:13:11.769 place and sinning in great ways. And so what does David Do? Does 157 00:13:11.809 --> 00:13:16.840 he look to his own power and strength? Does he look too deep down 158 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:22.120 in himself and muster up his last bit of Kingly Authority to declare the way 159 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:26.909 things will be? No, he places things where they probably should be, 160 00:13:28.870 --> 00:13:33.870 for King rules, the Kingdom of God, he says, as the Lord 161 00:13:33.990 --> 00:13:39.669 Lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, I swore to 162 00:13:39.750 --> 00:13:41.620 you. His speaking to Bathsheba is a little bit of a prayer, I 163 00:13:41.700 --> 00:13:48.019 think almost. He speaks to her, but he speaks knowing that the Lord 164 00:13:48.179 --> 00:13:52.580 listens. He speaks to her and he does. He makes his next move 165 00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:56.690 with an eye to the Lord who watches, the Lord who's promised to the 166 00:13:56.769 --> 00:14:03.009 Lord who rescues, very different from the way out of Nijah's kingdom was set 167 00:14:03.049 --> 00:14:09.960 up. And then he says he makes to her of this promise. This 168 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:16.360 is repeated. Then we see the integrity of these words in pre repeated or 169 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:20.240 similar themes, repeated verse thirty six. Ben and I, a kind of 170 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:26.269 a joeab counterpart, a military man, the son of Jehoiadah, answers the 171 00:14:26.309 --> 00:14:31.789 king and says Amen, may the Lord, the God of my Lord the 172 00:14:31.870 --> 00:14:37.629 King, say so, as the Lord has been with my Lord the king. 173 00:14:37.789 --> 00:14:41.419 Even so, may he be with Solomon and make his throne greater than 174 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:46.299 the throne of my Lord, King David. Was David going to be threatened 175 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:50.299 by this? Wait, what are you saying? What are you saying, 176 00:14:50.379 --> 00:14:52.889 Ben and I? Aren't I great? I? Am I not the greatest 177 00:14:52.970 --> 00:14:56.809 in the world? Am I not the chosen of the Lord? No, 178 00:14:58.649 --> 00:15:01.690 he doesn't recur. Correct Ben and I ah, no doubt he rejoices with 179 00:15:01.850 --> 00:15:05.210 Ben and I, because then he speaks the words of the Covenant. Ben 180 00:15:05.289 --> 00:15:09.240 And I is framing these things according to the promises that God has made. 181 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:13.679 This is the way things will go, this is the way the Kingdom of 182 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:20.559 God will be successful when it is according to his word. And so we 183 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:26.070 seek Solomon's authority already being established in the right way, established on God's authority, 184 00:15:26.590 --> 00:15:31.909 on God's promises. We see him anointed as the true King and we 185 00:15:33.070 --> 00:15:37.779 see a view towards the future fulfillment of God's promises, the expansion of the 186 00:15:37.820 --> 00:15:41.779 kingdom, the greatness of the kingdom. This was always the hope that the 187 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:48.580 Kingdom of God would not be this isolated, tiny little place somewhere, but 188 00:15:48.700 --> 00:15:52.570 that it would draw in from all over the world, as the prophets would 189 00:15:52.570 --> 00:15:58.370 begin would say later on, would draw in through this through this kingdom, 190 00:15:58.409 --> 00:16:07.159 and expand everywhere. Through this kingdom, the promises to Abraham would be fulfilled, 191 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:11.080 that all the families on the earth would be blessed. And so as 192 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:15.559 they look forward to Solomon and the expansion of the Kingdom and the growth the 193 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:21.309 better than David Kingdom, they are doing things in a covenantal way, which 194 00:16:21.309 --> 00:16:26.830 is to say according to the word of the Lord, very different the way 195 00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:32.669 Solomon's Kingdom is established. So the second question then is are there ways in 196 00:16:32.750 --> 00:16:37.539 which we begin to see cracks in that kingdom? So we've noticed some good 197 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:41.019 things, some really great things that we see in Pslomn in the rise of 198 00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:45.259 Solomon, but are there ways in which we see the weaknesses of it here, 199 00:16:45.460 --> 00:16:51.049 even at the beginning, even in the inauguration of his kingdom? And 200 00:16:52.210 --> 00:16:56.649 we do. One of the things we see here at the beginning. Is 201 00:16:56.809 --> 00:17:00.289 the problem, the continuing problem, we can say, of multiple wives. 202 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:07.640 This tension and conflict between these half brothers is in part, I'm due to 203 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:14.680 that. The text also hints at these kind of issues when we when we 204 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:18.990 go back at the beginning of the chapter, we are told that Abishag the 205 00:17:18.029 --> 00:17:25.430 SHUNAMITE is brought into this king, this young woman, to be a part 206 00:17:25.470 --> 00:17:33.900 of his something harem wife collection. It's not entirely clear, but something strange 207 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:38.019 is going on, something awkward at least. We read in Verse Fifteen that 208 00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:42.500 when Bathsheba goes into the king's chamber, there's a small little note that says 209 00:17:42.539 --> 00:17:47.170 now the king was very old and Abishag the shunamite was attending to the king. 210 00:17:48.210 --> 00:17:52.490 It's an interesting little note. Makes me ask why is it put there, 211 00:17:52.569 --> 00:17:56.930 and I think it does create some tension. Here's Bathsheba walking in and 212 00:17:57.130 --> 00:18:03.119 the younger woman is there with King David and now she has to advocate on 213 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:06.880 behalf of her son and the whole thing is just a big mess. It's 214 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:11.720 complicated. These things ought to have been warnings to Solomon ride at the beginning. 215 00:18:12.230 --> 00:18:15.950 Look at how things played out for your father. Look at how things 216 00:18:15.069 --> 00:18:19.549 began to play out even at the beginning of your kingship, the complicated nature 217 00:18:19.549 --> 00:18:26.109 of these things, the sins that were committed. Sadly, as we will 218 00:18:26.109 --> 00:18:30.500 come to see, Solomon does not pay attention to these things and instead does 219 00:18:30.619 --> 00:18:34.740 the exact opposite of what the scriptures warn against, and he takes many, 220 00:18:36.259 --> 00:18:41.259 many, many, many, many wives to himself, and ultimately it is 221 00:18:41.490 --> 00:18:48.930 the undoing of his throne and his kingdom. This is a great weakness. 222 00:18:51.210 --> 00:18:53.289 It's the problem of multiple wives. What we might put it more generally and 223 00:18:53.369 --> 00:18:59.160 say it's the problem of sin. Solomon, as it turns out, is 224 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:06.880 a fallen man. He's not a perfectly righteous king, and so we can 225 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:14.670 expect to see that this kingdom under Solomon will not stand perfectly forever, as 226 00:19:15.190 --> 00:19:22.230 as it did not with David either. Another problem, and it's related to 227 00:19:22.309 --> 00:19:26.259 the sin, has to do with the law, because of course the law 228 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:30.420 is what exposes our sin, and I think we can see that that crack 229 00:19:30.619 --> 00:19:37.769 in the foundation of this kingdom. In Verse Fifty Two we see the mercy 230 00:19:38.049 --> 00:19:42.170 that is offered to add any Jah. Right Adonijah goes, he runs to 231 00:19:42.289 --> 00:19:45.049 the altar, he grabs hold of the horns of the altar. He's like, 232 00:19:45.089 --> 00:19:49.210 I'm not let him go unless Solomon Promises to save me. Right, 233 00:19:49.289 --> 00:19:53.599 this is a man who knows he needs mercy. Right, may we likewise 234 00:19:53.960 --> 00:20:02.319 go to the cross and cling in such a way that the Lord would forgive 235 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:10.630 us and rescue us? Adonijah knows he is done for unless he's granted mercy, 236 00:20:10.710 --> 00:20:14.349 and so he pleads, he asks, he demands for it. But 237 00:20:14.470 --> 00:20:18.150 notice what Solomon says. Solomon Does Give Him mercy, Solomon does let him 238 00:20:18.190 --> 00:20:22.619 live. But what he say say? He says, if he will show 239 00:20:22.619 --> 00:20:27.059 himself a worthy man, not one of his hair shall fall to the earth, 240 00:20:29.019 --> 00:20:34.140 but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die. So Solomon 241 00:20:34.299 --> 00:20:38.529 sets up a principle on which the Lord had set up the principle for the 242 00:20:38.569 --> 00:20:45.529 whole kingdom, a principle of law. Do Well and you shall live, 243 00:20:45.809 --> 00:20:51.799 don't do well and you shall die. Well, this principle doesn't only apply 244 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:57.240 to out an EYSA, applies to Solomon too. And this problem of sin, 245 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:03.000 this repliance, the reliance on the law to stay in this place, 246 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:07.630 to stay in this kingdom, will be it's undoing. God promises, as 247 00:21:07.789 --> 00:21:12.509 at the beginning at the foundation of the Kingdom and its constitutional document. He 248 00:21:12.670 --> 00:21:15.910 tells the people that if you commit these evils, if you do these wrong 249 00:21:17.029 --> 00:21:21.900 things, I will eject you out of the land, I will destroy you, 250 00:21:22.099 --> 00:21:26.099 just as I destroyed the people's before you. If you prove yourselves to 251 00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:32.579 be worthless men, prove yourselves to be worthy, prove yourselves to follow the 252 00:21:32.619 --> 00:21:36.210 law, love as you ought, a care as you ought, honor the 253 00:21:36.289 --> 00:21:41.289 Lord as you ought, and you will get to stay. This threat and 254 00:21:41.809 --> 00:21:48.400 promise that God or that Solomon gives to a lie or Adonijah is very similar 255 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:52.559 to the threat and the promise that God had given to Solomon and to the 256 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:56.880 whole kingdom. And, as we know, no one can keep the law. 257 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.230 This was, of course, a could not. God was not surprised 258 00:22:02.309 --> 00:22:06.309 by this. Paul tells us in glacians that this was exactly God's purpose. 259 00:22:07.150 --> 00:22:10.309 He gave the law at this time and in this way to be a teacher, 260 00:22:11.349 --> 00:22:15.619 to be a tutor, one to show us all how incapable we are 261 00:22:17.220 --> 00:22:22.059 of remaining in God's kingdom, how incapable we are of being the worthy people 262 00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:30.089 to stand solidly on the Lord's Holy Hill. Even the king, even a 263 00:22:30.170 --> 00:22:34.009 king who will be as wise and as powerful and as wonderful as King Solomon 264 00:22:34.049 --> 00:22:40.730 will be in so many ways, even he is not able to stay and 265 00:22:40.890 --> 00:22:47.480 maintain the rule that is necessary. These are the cracks that we see in 266 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:51.440 the beginning of the Kingdom of Solomon, and they remind us of the strengths 267 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:56.319 and the permanence of Christ's kingdom as he brings all of these things to completion. 268 00:22:56.440 --> 00:23:00.470 And that brings me to the last question. How does Christ magnify these 269 00:23:00.589 --> 00:23:06.910 strengths and remove these weaknesses? Well, for one, he establish as a 270 00:23:06.950 --> 00:23:14.660 kingdom of men under God by being the worthy man. Christ does what no 271 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:18.660 one was ever able to do. He is able not he didn't need the 272 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:23.660 mercy of Adonijah, but we did. We all did. Dead and he 273 00:23:23.819 --> 00:23:27.930 comes and he stands in our place and he, the Lord Finds Him, 274 00:23:27.970 --> 00:23:34.130 God finds him as a worthy man, perfectly righteous, and he's raised from 275 00:23:34.130 --> 00:23:41.289 the dead as vindication and proof of that. He is the king that we 276 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:47.839 all need and he gives to us that righteousness so that we can be united 277 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:55.079 to him. We also know that Jesus is anointed, and the anointed as 278 00:23:55.200 --> 00:24:00.430 the true King. According to these promises, how do we know. How 279 00:24:00.509 --> 00:24:04.069 do we know that Jesus is the true king and he's not some Adonijah? 280 00:24:06.190 --> 00:24:11.259 There's a hundred ways we know, maybe more. I think of the angels 281 00:24:11.380 --> 00:24:17.259 proclaiming is his birth. We think of the the the Magi coming from the 282 00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:22.980 East be having likely read the Scriptures of the Old Testament and knowing where to 283 00:24:22.099 --> 00:24:29.210 anticipate these things. We see Jesus fulfilling prophecy after prophecy after prophecy. We 284 00:24:29.329 --> 00:24:33.809 see the miracle of the Virgin Birth. We see over and over again, 285 00:24:33.849 --> 00:24:40.160 the Lord's strength and his continual commitment to the covenants that God has made, 286 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:47.640 not only as God who made those covenants, but also as man who now 287 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:55.029 keeps those covenants and fulfills that law, all on our behalf. And so 288 00:24:55.190 --> 00:25:00.269 all this means that Jesus established is a kingdom that we don't need to ever 289 00:25:00.430 --> 00:25:06.670 worry about falling apart as we go through first kings. As we go through 290 00:25:06.710 --> 00:25:11.740 first kings, and as a point of logistics that I forgot to mention earlier, 291 00:25:11.779 --> 00:25:15.460 there's information on our church's website. If you happen to be listening to 292 00:25:15.579 --> 00:25:18.700 this afterwards online somewhere else, you can find a link there on how to 293 00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:23.650 access afternoon prayer. But as we go through first kings, what you will 294 00:25:23.690 --> 00:25:27.970 see is there as this constant struggle of like, our things getting good? 295 00:25:29.089 --> 00:25:30.650 No, they're terrible. What things are getting better? No, it's not. 296 00:25:30.769 --> 00:25:34.130 Well, this king is gonna know it's not. There's this it never 297 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:41.359 never comes into its own, because no one was a king like Jesus until 298 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:47.319 he came. But now that he's come, we see that he fulfills these 299 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:52.710 promises and he gives to US mercy in a way that Solomon did not give 300 00:25:52.750 --> 00:25:56.230 a mercy to Addon Aysha. And this is what I want to end with. 301 00:26:02.069 --> 00:26:04.099 When it comes to the Kingdom of God, we essentially do the exact 302 00:26:04.140 --> 00:26:07.619 same thing as Adon Aisah did. We set up our own kingdoms in our 303 00:26:07.660 --> 00:26:11.579 own way, against the Lord and against his annointed one. This is what 304 00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:14.500 we do. This is the idolatry in our hearts, and we do it 305 00:26:14.579 --> 00:26:22.049 in a thousand different ways. We attack the Lord, we attack his kingdom, 306 00:26:22.250 --> 00:26:32.490 we rebel against him, and then he invites us to come into his 307 00:26:32.609 --> 00:26:38.200 kingdom. And when he does, he doesn't say, if you prove yourself 308 00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:44.440 to be worthy, I'm going to let you stay. He doesn't say that 309 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:48.950 because we all know what would happen if he said that. We'd be out 310 00:26:48.990 --> 00:26:55.589 in a moment, condemned in a moment. Any promise of Fute, a 311 00:26:55.750 --> 00:26:59.549 future judgment in which we will be judged for all our things on the basis 312 00:26:59.589 --> 00:27:03.019 of our righteousness. It would end an utter disaster for us, as it 313 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:10.059 will for Adonijah. What does the Lord say and said? He says, 314 00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:15.849 I will make you worthy. He says. First of all, my justification 315 00:27:15.049 --> 00:27:21.329 for you is perfect and we're done once and for all, my sacrifice, 316 00:27:21.490 --> 00:27:29.089 my blood atone for your sins, and you are forgiven, forever justified, 317 00:27:29.210 --> 00:27:34.480 forever innocent, forever of all your sin. Yeah, Amen. And then, 318 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:40.359 on top of that, the Lord sanctifies us and increasingly makes us holy, 319 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:45.630 with the promise of one day glorifying us where there is zero sin, 320 00:27:45.630 --> 00:27:52.950 zill nothing, perfectly holy. Who will stand on my Holy Hill, the 321 00:27:53.069 --> 00:27:56.990 one who does the righteous things? That one and that one and that one 322 00:27:57.029 --> 00:28:00.940 and that one and that one and that one, all of them because I 323 00:28:00.059 --> 00:28:03.940 have chosen them, because I have loved them, because I have saved them, 324 00:28:03.980 --> 00:28:11.019 and it's my will and it is done. God keeps his Covenant Promises 325 00:28:12.450 --> 00:28:17.849 Better Than Even David did. Way Better Than David did, and he keeps 326 00:28:17.890 --> 00:28:22.809 them year after year after year, generation after generation, his steadfast love, 327 00:28:22.809 --> 00:28:30.519 his steadfast faithfulness. All this to say you can trust your Lord and when 328 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:34.680 you find yourself in a position of Adonijah, feeling the weight of your sins, 329 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:41.359 feeling that this is not going well, cling to the Lord and his 330 00:28:41.470 --> 00:28:45.230 forgiveness, cling to the cross, cling to his promise, cling to his 331 00:28:45.349 --> 00:28:51.710 covenants, to his invitation to you, and he will not reject you. 332 00:28:52.750 --> 00:28:56.900 He will have mercy on you, despite your unfaithfulness. He will even keep 333 00:28:56.980 --> 00:29:03.819 you safe and protect you forever. This is our Lord and this is our 334 00:29:03.900 --> 00:29:10.049 God. This teaches us the history of Jesus's kingship and it reminds us of 335 00:29:10.130 --> 00:29:12.529 his gracious and Protective Grace. Let's pray