Strength and Success in God's Kingdom (2 Chronicles 8-9)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:09.269 So this evening I'm going to do things just a little differently. The goal 2 00:00:09.470 --> 00:00:12.869 here, we will see if I can accomplish it, is long text, 3 00:00:12.990 --> 00:00:17.949 short sermon. I will see how that goes. But I want to begin 4 00:00:18.109 --> 00:00:23.019 by just introducing the text a little bit, by by reminding you of something 5 00:00:23.059 --> 00:00:27.179 that's probably true for all of us. When I was a child, I 6 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:32.539 love to pretend to be a king and I think less your lady. That's 7 00:00:32.780 --> 00:00:36.289 probably true of all of us. The the old king and Princess Game, 8 00:00:36.329 --> 00:00:41.049 as my father and sister used to play or I play with my kids, 9 00:00:41.570 --> 00:00:46.250 is very common, strange for American children, I think, but nevertheless we 10 00:00:46.369 --> 00:00:52.359 do it. But what if it wasn't to pretend? That's my question for 11 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:57.520 you. What if you really really had to be a king or a queen? 12 00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:03.799 What kind would you be? Would you be good or bad? Would 13 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:07.109 you be cruel or kind, rich or poor? Would you be wise? 14 00:01:07.150 --> 00:01:12.469 Would you be foolish? Now I know what all what kind of King or 15 00:01:12.469 --> 00:01:15.870 queen you would like to be, but that's not my question. My question 16 00:01:17.030 --> 00:01:21.540 is, what kind of King or Queen would you be? It take an 17 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:29.620 inventory of your skills in trade, politics, national security and all the rest 18 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:33.090 how? How would you do? How would you fair in ruling your people? 19 00:01:33.730 --> 00:01:38.530 I suspect that most of us would do a fairly poor job. This 20 00:01:38.730 --> 00:01:42.170 is the way it goes. Not all of us are born to be those 21 00:01:42.170 --> 00:01:47.200 kind of leaders, and that's fine. The reason I ask you this question 22 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:51.439 want you to sort of imagine this for a moment, is as we hear 23 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:59.159 now about King Solomon, the summary of his reign and the end of it 24 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:06.510 in particular, I want you to be amazed at how successful Solomon was at 25 00:02:06.670 --> 00:02:10.710 every level, whether it was a political power and influence, his wisdom, 26 00:02:12.349 --> 00:02:17.659 his wealth. Solomon is a king who would become one of the most famous 27 00:02:19.259 --> 00:02:24.500 kings of all history, and certainly of Israel, but even outside of Israel 28 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:30.969 as well. He is a synonymous with what it means to be a great 29 00:02:30.969 --> 00:02:36.490 king. So I want you to pay attention to that as we hear the 30 00:02:36.569 --> 00:02:43.050 Chronicler sum up Solomon's reign, and we're going to hear that by hearing two 31 00:02:43.250 --> 00:02:47.719 chapters of the Bible, I'm second chronicles, Chapter Eight and chapter nine, 32 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:53.000 and as much as you possibly can, I want you to listen and carefully. 33 00:02:53.560 --> 00:03:00.870 I want you to imagine the details of what the chronicler is telling us 34 00:03:00.990 --> 00:03:06.870 about this king's reign. So let's give our attention to God's word now in 35 00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:12.590 second chronicles, beginning at Chapter Eight, at the end of twenty years in 36 00:03:12.669 --> 00:03:16.740 which Solomon had built the House of the Lord and his own house, Solomon 37 00:03:16.819 --> 00:03:23.139 Rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given to him and settled the people of Israel 38 00:03:23.300 --> 00:03:28.530 in them. And Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and took it. He built 39 00:03:29.289 --> 00:03:32.289 Tad more in the Wilderness and all the store cities that he built, and 40 00:03:32.689 --> 00:03:40.210 in Hamath he also built Upper Beth harn and lower Beth Haron, fortified cities 41 00:03:40.370 --> 00:03:46.479 with walls, Gates and bars and bottle off and all the store cities that 42 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:51.800 Solomon had and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen 43 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:58.030 and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, at Lebanon and in all the 44 00:03:58.150 --> 00:04:02.069 land of his dominion. All the people who were left of the Hittites, 45 00:04:02.550 --> 00:04:08.389 the Amorites, the parasites, the Hivites and the jebusites, who were not 46 00:04:08.550 --> 00:04:13.419 of Israel, from their descendants who were left after them in the land whom 47 00:04:13.460 --> 00:04:18.060 the people of Israel had not destroyed these Solomon drafted as forced labor, and 48 00:04:18.339 --> 00:04:23.779 so they are to this day. But of the people of Israel, Solomon 49 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:29.250 made no slaves for his work. They were soldiers and his officers, the 50 00:04:29.410 --> 00:04:33.449 commanders of his chariots and his horsemen, and these were the chief officers of 51 00:04:33.490 --> 00:04:39.759 King Solomon, two hundred and fifty, who exercised authority over the people. 52 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:46.560 Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from the city of David to the House that he 53 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:49.399 had built for her, for he said, my wife shall not live in 54 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:54.149 the House of David, King of Israel, for the places to which the 55 00:04:54.269 --> 00:05:00.910 Ark of the Lord has come our holy. Then Solomon offered up burnt offerings 56 00:05:00.990 --> 00:05:03.350 to the Lord on the altar of the Lord that he had built before the 57 00:05:03.430 --> 00:05:10.300 vestibule, as the duty of each day required according offering, according to the 58 00:05:10.379 --> 00:05:14.939 commandment of Moses, for the Sabbaths, the new moons and the three annual 59 00:05:15.019 --> 00:05:18.579 feasts, the Feast of unloven bread, the Feast of weeks and the Feast 60 00:05:18.660 --> 00:05:24.250 of booths. According to the ruling of David, his father, he appointed 61 00:05:24.290 --> 00:05:28.490 the divisions of the priests for their service in the Levites, for their offices 62 00:05:28.569 --> 00:05:32.209 of praise and ministry, before the priests, as the duty of each day 63 00:05:32.810 --> 00:05:39.240 required, and the gatekeepers and their divisions at each gate, for so David, 64 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:43.000 the man of God, had commanded, and they did not turn aside 65 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:46.800 from what the king had commanded, the priests and Levites concerning any matter and 66 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:53.269 concerning the treasuries. Thus was accomplished all the work of Solomon, from the 67 00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:57.509 day the foundation of the House of the Lord was laid until it was finished. 68 00:05:58.149 --> 00:06:02.310 So the House of the Lord was completed. Then Solomon went to Azion, 69 00:06:02.389 --> 00:06:06.180 Geber and eloth on the shore of the sea, and to the land 70 00:06:06.220 --> 00:06:12.180 of Edom and Hiram sent to him by the hand of his servants, ships 71 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:16.100 and servants familiar with the sea, and they went to ophier together with the 72 00:06:16.180 --> 00:06:20.569 servants of Solomon, and brought from their four hundred and fifty talents of gold 73 00:06:21.089 --> 00:06:27.889 and brought it to King Solomon. Now, when the Queen of Sheba heard 74 00:06:27.970 --> 00:06:31.370 of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard 75 00:06:31.410 --> 00:06:38.560 questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold 76 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:43.079 and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all 77 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:47.310 that was on her mind and Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing 78 00:06:47.389 --> 00:06:51.550 hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. And when the Queen 79 00:06:51.629 --> 00:06:56.350 of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, in the House that he had 80 00:06:56.389 --> 00:07:00.269 built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials and the 81 00:07:00.350 --> 00:07:04.980 attendance of his service servants and their clothing, his cut bears and their clothing 82 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:10.019 and his burnt offerings that he offered at the House of the Lord, there 83 00:07:10.220 --> 00:07:15.889 is no more breath in her. And she said to the king, the 84 00:07:15.089 --> 00:07:20.410 report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of 85 00:07:20.490 --> 00:07:26.930 your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my 86 00:07:27.129 --> 00:07:31.240 own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom 87 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:36.319 was not told to me. You surpassed the report that I heard. Happy, 88 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:42.240 are your wives happy? Are Those your servants who continually stand before you 89 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:46.629 and hear your wisdom? Blessed be the Lord, your God, who has 90 00:07:46.709 --> 00:07:50.709 delighted in you and set you on his throne. Is King for the Lord 91 00:07:50.790 --> 00:07:57.189 your God, because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he 92 00:07:57.310 --> 00:08:03.139 has made you king over them that you may execute justice and righteousness. Then 93 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:05.860 she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great 94 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:11.379 quantity of spices and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that 95 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:18.370 the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. Moreover, the servants of Hiram 96 00:08:18.449 --> 00:08:22.250 and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from othear, brought Algamwood and 97 00:08:22.370 --> 00:08:26.800 precious stones, and the king made from the algamwood supports for the House of 98 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:31.279 the Lord and for the King's House, Liars also, and harps for the 99 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:37.360 singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of 100 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:43.149 Judah, and King Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba all that she desired, 101 00:08:43.750 --> 00:08:48.789 whatever she asked, besides what she had brought to the king. So 102 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:54.789 she turned and went back to her own land with her servants. Now the 103 00:08:54.909 --> 00:09:00.100 weight of gold that came to Solomnon in one year was six hundred and sixty 104 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:05.980 six talents of gold, besides that which the explorers and merchants brought, and 105 00:09:05.139 --> 00:09:09.210 all the Kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver 106 00:09:09.370 --> 00:09:15.450 to Solomon. King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold. Six 107 00:09:15.490 --> 00:09:20.970 hundred shekels of beaten gold, with went to each into each shield shield, 108 00:09:20.809 --> 00:09:26.000 and he made three hundred shields of beaten gold, three hundred shekels of gold 109 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:28.360 women to each shield, and the king put them in the House of the 110 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:35.519 forest of Lebanon. The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it 111 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:41.830 with pure gold. The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold which 112 00:09:41.870 --> 00:09:46.190 were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests 113 00:09:46.309 --> 00:09:50.350 and two lions standing beside the arm rests, while twelve lions stood there, 114 00:09:50.870 --> 00:09:56.779 one on each end of a step of the six steps. Nothing like it 115 00:09:56.980 --> 00:10:01.620 was ever made for any kingdom all kings. Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold 116 00:10:01.659 --> 00:10:05.860 and the vessels of the House of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. 117 00:10:07.649 --> 00:10:11.169 Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon, for the 118 00:10:11.210 --> 00:10:16.529 king's ships went to tarshish with the servants of Hiram once every three years. 119 00:10:16.649 --> 00:10:24.039 The ships of Starshus tarshish used to come bringing gold, silvery ivory, apes 120 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:31.120 and peacocks. Thus King Solomon Excelled all the kings of the earth in riches 121 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:35.990 and in wisdom, and all the kings of the Earth sought the presence of 122 00:10:37.110 --> 00:10:41.149 Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put into his mind. Every one 123 00:10:41.190 --> 00:10:46.070 of them brought his present articles of silver and of gold, garments, mers 124 00:10:46.230 --> 00:10:52.740 spices, horses and mules, so much, year by year, and Solomon 125 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:58.100 had four thousand stalls for horses and Chariots and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed 126 00:10:58.179 --> 00:11:01.700 in the chariot cities and with the king of Jerus and with the king in 127 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:07.169 Jerusalem. And he ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates to the land 128 00:11:07.210 --> 00:11:13.769 of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. And the king made silver 129 00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:18.600 as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made Cedar as plentiful as the 130 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:24.639 Sycamore of the Shefelah. And the horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and 131 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:31.440 from all lands. Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first 132 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:33.629 to last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the Prophet, 133 00:11:35.190 --> 00:11:39.830 and then the prophecies of a he'Sah, the Sheilanite, and in the visions 134 00:11:39.870 --> 00:11:45.710 of Edo the seer concerning Jeribalum, the son of Nibot? Solomon reigned in 135 00:11:45.750 --> 00:11:50.659 Jerusalem, over all Israel, forty years and Solomon slept with his father's and 136 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:56.179 was buried in the city of David, his father and ray a bone, 137 00:11:56.340 --> 00:12:00.179 his son, reigned in his place. So you see what I mean. 138 00:12:01.289 --> 00:12:09.730 It's fantastic, it's spectacular. I would love to see some picture of this 139 00:12:09.850 --> 00:12:18.120 or to experience that. The chronicler has given us this spectacular summary. Forget 140 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:22.360 about being king for a moment and imagine what it would be like to be 141 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:28.200 a subject of someone like this, or a trading partner or a foreign dignitary, 142 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:33.669 or like this queen of Sheba, place very far from Israel, or 143 00:12:33.710 --> 00:12:37.509 even a slave. Now, of course we know that things weren't perfect in 144 00:12:37.669 --> 00:12:41.830 Israel. Life was hard. There are hints of this even here, as 145 00:12:41.870 --> 00:12:46.620 we read of Solomon's many wives, of a of a princess, of his 146 00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:50.299 queen coming from Egypt, and our eyebrows go up a little bit. But 147 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:56.379 nevertheless they're all put in this very positive light. The best way that they 148 00:12:56.419 --> 00:13:01.690 could be understood is is pointed out, not to excuse them, but to 149 00:13:01.809 --> 00:13:07.570 really show how glorious Solomon was. This king, or the kings of this 150 00:13:07.809 --> 00:13:13.120 world, I'm do not come close to this and in all this we see 151 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:18.279 that he was truly blessed by God. It's not stated over and over and 152 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:22.799 over again, as it is in other sections, because here we have a 153 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:26.000 listing of these things, but the fact that God is the giver of all 154 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:31.870 of them is very clear and comes out several times. The Queen of Sheba, 155 00:13:31.990 --> 00:13:37.509 herself a gentile, recognizes this, recognizes that the wisdom he has, 156 00:13:37.230 --> 00:13:43.299 the gifts that he has, are from God. Let's consider some of the 157 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:50.700 details of the glory of Solomon. First, there's the infrastructure of the kingdom 158 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:56.929 and it's sovereignty. In first kings we learned that some cities had been given 159 00:13:56.970 --> 00:14:03.289 to Hiram and possibly as collateral for loans. But here in the Solomon's reign, 160 00:14:03.409 --> 00:14:05.769 and these is this summary is given to us, we see that they 161 00:14:05.889 --> 00:14:11.759 seem to be coming back into his hands. In Chapter Eight, versus, 162 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:18.759 versus one and and two. There, furthermore, we see that these cities 163 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:24.710 of Solomon are very strong. In verses three through seven, even in far 164 00:14:24.990 --> 00:14:28.909 away places, saw aloman is able to fortify and secure all that belongs to 165 00:14:28.990 --> 00:14:35.590 him. This is not always easy. Tucson, for example, and much 166 00:14:35.629 --> 00:14:41.100 of our history has been something of a border town, a frontier kind of 167 00:14:41.259 --> 00:14:48.259 place that has changed hands and moved in and out of various people's control, 168 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:52.730 and it's hard to control what goes on there. It's hard to manage what 169 00:14:52.929 --> 00:14:58.529 happens in a place like that. But Solomon, even in the farthest reaches 170 00:14:58.610 --> 00:15:03.809 of his kingdom, has strength and power. They very much belong to him. 171 00:15:03.850 --> 00:15:09.440 If you get a chance sometime to look at a map of Solomon's kingdom 172 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:15.559 and you see how far it really went, it was never this big before 173 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:20.830 and it would never be this big again. So his infrastructure and the very 174 00:15:20.870 --> 00:15:26.669 borders of the land were strong and big. And that leads into a second 175 00:15:26.710 --> 00:15:31.710 thing to notice. Just the security of the nation. Israel was big, 176 00:15:31.950 --> 00:15:39.259 but it was also secure and throughout Solomon's reign, Israel enjoyed a great peace 177 00:15:39.379 --> 00:15:46.019 with her neighbors. In fact, Solomon's kingdom was more secure, was more 178 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:52.529 than secure, it was famous within the international community. Instead of trying, 179 00:15:52.570 --> 00:15:56.850 as we read through these verses, instead of him trying to protect himself against 180 00:15:56.929 --> 00:16:04.159 these other nations, what do we see? The Nation's coming into Israel, 181 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:11.840 subjecting themselves to him, giving him gifts instead of compelled to take what he 182 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:17.200 has, they feel compelled to give what they have. This is how great 183 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:22.710 a Solomon is. He unlike David, who was constantly fighting battles, Solomon 184 00:16:22.870 --> 00:16:32.190 is not a warrior. His country is strong and at peace. This leads 185 00:16:32.230 --> 00:16:37.100 to a third point. But today, the nation of Israel does not enjoy 186 00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:42.019 this kind of situation. She feels threatened, constantly needing to be on guard 187 00:16:42.179 --> 00:16:47.570 from her neighbors, both near and far. But during Solomon's reign, it 188 00:16:47.690 --> 00:16:52.409 seems like the world couldn't have been happier with Israel, instead of being jealous 189 00:16:52.450 --> 00:16:57.330 and greedy about fertile land and constant crops, coveting the important trade roots that 190 00:16:57.409 --> 00:17:03.440 ran along her borders, Israel became one of the most important trading partners in 191 00:17:03.599 --> 00:17:08.000 the world, and Solomon took advantage of this, and the economy grew. 192 00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:15.079 I'm according to some archeologist, there's even evidence that the standard of living rose 193 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:19.549 during this time. The visit of the Queen of Sheba from such a far 194 00:17:19.630 --> 00:17:29.029 away place points to that Solomon is getting supplies from far, far away, 195 00:17:29.910 --> 00:17:33.819 and he seems to be able to work alongside people like the Queen of Sheba 196 00:17:33.900 --> 00:17:38.819 or the king of tire. The hium, he has a relation somehow with 197 00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:42.700 Egypt, and that they would give to him. There there are queen, 198 00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:51.130 this princess and Queen. Israel is acting in an advantaged position on the world's 199 00:17:51.369 --> 00:17:57.720 stage. But it wasn't all about money and power. Solomon was also getting 200 00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:03.559 things right on the spiritual front as well, as we discussed a little bit 201 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:07.839 in Sunday school this morning. There are other times when Israel was wealthy, 202 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:14.910 but we're spiritually all wrong. Not So in Solomon's reign. He does well 203 00:18:15.069 --> 00:18:19.190 on this point as well. As a comment in the ESV Study Bible points 204 00:18:19.230 --> 00:18:25.470 out, it wasn't until the temple was actually an operation that the chronicle oiler 205 00:18:25.630 --> 00:18:30.740 finally considers it done Solomon. For Solomon, it wasn't just important to build 206 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:36.339 the thing, it was to see it working, to see the sacrifices made 207 00:18:36.579 --> 00:18:41.890 and the priests in place. He even says, and it points out several 208 00:18:41.970 --> 00:18:47.490 times, that he does this according to the Commands of Moses, according to 209 00:18:47.569 --> 00:18:56.799 the Commands of David. Finally, finally, of course, there is Solomon's 210 00:18:56.279 --> 00:19:02.319 great wealth. And what more could be said? The chapters there have made 211 00:19:02.359 --> 00:19:10.069 it very plain. This was a wonderful place, a beautiful place, fine 212 00:19:10.349 --> 00:19:15.309 treasures, even animals are listed here. Imports from all over the world, 213 00:19:15.910 --> 00:19:21.470 their wealth growing and growing, and Solomon's wisdom growing and growing, and the 214 00:19:21.630 --> 00:19:26.900 religious a worship of the people growing and growing, God pouring out all these 215 00:19:26.940 --> 00:19:30.859 blessings on Solomon. This country was safe, it was important, it was 216 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:37.380 famous, it was wealthy, it was respected and it was living right before 217 00:19:37.579 --> 00:19:45.410 the Lord. Well, we consider the glory of Solomon and we will continue 218 00:19:45.690 --> 00:19:51.930 to exercise our minds in this way. As we read the chronicles, we 219 00:19:52.089 --> 00:19:56.839 have to think about how this compares to our King. Perhaps, at least 220 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:02.000 as Christians, this is one we reason we keep playing king and Queen, 221 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:07.079 because we do belong to a kingdom, we do have a king who is 222 00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:11.230 over us, who rules us, and so it's very natural for us to 223 00:20:11.309 --> 00:20:15.109 think, well, how does the King of Israel and this olden days King 224 00:20:15.309 --> 00:20:22.420 Solomon, compared to our king and the kingdom that we belong to, namely 225 00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:27.460 the Kingdom of God and and King Jesus? What we find is that, 226 00:20:27.900 --> 00:20:37.049 as splendid as Solomon was, he doesn't even begin to compare. How can 227 00:20:37.329 --> 00:20:41.769 you say that? When many people think of Jesus, they don't think of 228 00:20:41.809 --> 00:20:45.609 him as a king first of all, and certainly I don't think of him 229 00:20:45.609 --> 00:20:48.809 as a King like Solomon. You may remember that when they nailed Jesus to 230 00:20:48.849 --> 00:20:52.599 the cross, they also nailed a sign to the cross that mocked him and 231 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:57.839 made fun of him, saying King of the Jews. When people think of 232 00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:03.000 Christians, they don't think of powerful, wealthy, famous, politically connected people. 233 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:07.509 When the world thinks of Christians, they think of backwards people, Awkward 234 00:21:07.589 --> 00:21:14.750 People, strange people, loyal perhaps, but wrongly so, sometimes even a 235 00:21:14.869 --> 00:21:21.619 burden and a danger to the communities way of life. In fact, people 236 00:21:21.700 --> 00:21:26.500 crucify Christians just like they crucified their king. So how can I say that 237 00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:32.779 Solomon doesn't? Solomon, in his glory doesn't even begin to compare to Jesus. 238 00:21:34.170 --> 00:21:41.049 Well, the first reason is that there truly is great glory in his 239 00:21:41.210 --> 00:21:47.640 kingdom, even though it's not always outward and visible in the forms that we 240 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:53.759 would usually expect in our time. In this period of grace before the day 241 00:21:53.799 --> 00:21:59.079 of the Lord comes, much of the glory of the Lord and his kingdom 242 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:06.190 is hidden. It's found in unexpected and humble places. We might call the 243 00:22:06.230 --> 00:22:08.470 Kingdom of Heaven, as it is right now. The Kingdom of the Cross. 244 00:22:10.390 --> 00:22:15.470 That's how where characterized. Instead of wielding the sword, we find Christians 245 00:22:15.589 --> 00:22:19.940 wash washing feet, instead of executing justice, we see them turning the other 246 00:22:21.059 --> 00:22:27.579 cheek. And yet, even though the glory is hidden, I do think 247 00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:33.690 you can see it and you can hear it. Take, for example, 248 00:22:33.730 --> 00:22:37.410 a prisoner that I had the opportunity to disciple for a while, a man 249 00:22:37.609 --> 00:22:42.210 here in the Tucson a federal prison who had done terrible things to his children, 250 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:47.559 but by the grace of God and the Holy Spirit that had come into 251 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:53.200 his heart and changed him and brought him to true humility and repentance and faith, 252 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:59.630 I found that sitting across from this man, I found a very serious 253 00:23:00.390 --> 00:23:06.990 and devoted Christian man who is broken by his sins and in love with the 254 00:23:07.069 --> 00:23:12.579 Lord Jesus, a man who talked about his past and present and hopes, 255 00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:18.420 all in terms of his faith, a man who struggled still but was most 256 00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:26.450 certainly a man with Christ. Is that not a glorious thing? Of course 257 00:23:26.490 --> 00:23:30.170 it is. When we look at our own lives. Perhaps some of you 258 00:23:30.450 --> 00:23:37.369 have became Christians later in life, and you see the change that happened and 259 00:23:37.569 --> 00:23:41.680 the glory that is attached to that. How of loving God can take things 260 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:48.920 that are broken and corrupt and make them new. I have to ask, 261 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:55.519 is that not a glorious thing? And I think it's even more than that. 262 00:23:55.640 --> 00:24:02.309 It's not just glorious, but it's even more glorious. Compare the two. 263 00:24:02.869 --> 00:24:08.269 External peace and good crops in the field or internal peace with God and 264 00:24:08.390 --> 00:24:15.740 the bouncilful fruit of the Holy Spirit. What's better? Pomegranates and olives and 265 00:24:15.900 --> 00:24:22.579 grapes or love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness 266 00:24:22.619 --> 00:24:29.210 and self control? Which would you rather have? which more truly speaks to 267 00:24:29.329 --> 00:24:33.089 the glories of the Kingdom of God? And we see that, sure, 268 00:24:33.410 --> 00:24:38.279 in a hidden way and in a broken way and in an incomplete way in 269 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:45.599 our lives, but they're nevertheless. You could think of the glory of Christ 270 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:49.519 also in terms of its extent, not only its effect in our lives, 271 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:56.950 but it's extent. The Kingdom of God is found throughout the world, behind 272 00:24:56.190 --> 00:25:03.750 prisoned walls and in houses and in steepled churches. The word of God and 273 00:25:03.869 --> 00:25:08.740 the glory of Christ penetrates the most impenetrable forces and even the hardest of our 274 00:25:08.859 --> 00:25:17.700 hearts. Is that not glorious. Solomon's kingdom was indeed big, but it 275 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:25.930 doesn't worldwide as the Lord Jesus's is. You can see the glory of Christ's 276 00:25:25.930 --> 00:25:30.369 kingdom also, I think, in the humble means by which it comes. 277 00:25:30.730 --> 00:25:37.839 It's not the flashing sword which accomplishes this change, but it is the Gospel, 278 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:41.680 the preaching of the word. That is the power of God, unto 279 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:48.559 salvation for those who believe it's the word of God that makes a man, 280 00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:57.150 a woman, a child devote him or herself, even unto death, to 281 00:25:57.309 --> 00:26:06.779 God, their savior. These are some of the obvious glories of the Kingdom 282 00:26:06.819 --> 00:26:12.059 of Christ. Now they come in a meek and a humble way, because 283 00:26:12.099 --> 00:26:18.140 that's how the king came, and that's good news to us. It's good 284 00:26:18.259 --> 00:26:22.450 news because it means that the Lord came in a gracious way, in a 285 00:26:22.650 --> 00:26:27.049 lowly way. It's good because it means that the glory is a glory of 286 00:26:27.250 --> 00:26:33.559 grace. At the moment it's a different kind of glory. It's a glory 287 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:38.279 that means people like you and me can belong. It means that we can 288 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:45.880 come into the kingdom and belong to Jesus and not be kicked out for not 289 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:52.430 being glorious enough. Without the gracious glory of God, you and I would 290 00:26:52.430 --> 00:26:57.069 never measure up, we would never be good enough, we would be always 291 00:26:57.069 --> 00:27:06.299 outstanding outside and never in. But there will be a time when this period 292 00:27:06.380 --> 00:27:08.940 of grace, when the glory of grace, will come to an end and 293 00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:15.700 the glories of God and judgment and consummation will come finally, and these are 294 00:27:15.809 --> 00:27:21.089 pictured throughout the Bible, partly here and set second chronicles, but in other 295 00:27:21.170 --> 00:27:26.009 places as well. Even some of the individual images that are address here in 296 00:27:26.009 --> 00:27:32.240 chronicles come up. Take the throne, for example, this amazing throne that 297 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:37.240 Solomon builds. You remember it, covered with made of ivory, covered with 298 00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:44.039 pure gold, two lions on either side, with lions going down six steps. 299 00:27:44.750 --> 00:27:49.789 Beautiful, amazing. And yet how does the Bible describe the throne of 300 00:27:49.950 --> 00:28:00.859 God? Surrounded not by statues of Lions, but terrible and fearful, fearsome 301 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:07.980 rather angels, myriads of Angels, not twelve stone lions, but a hundred 302 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:15.049 million angels ready to obey the Lord's command. He stands there, he sits 303 00:28:15.089 --> 00:28:22.289 rather in heaven, in all his glory and Awesomeness. Whenever the profits are 304 00:28:22.369 --> 00:28:29.319 given even a vision into this heavenly throne room, they throw themselves down at 305 00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:33.799 his feet and wish to die. It's that glorious. The Queen of Sheba 306 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:40.920 is certainly not. I'm proud. She's humble, she's thankful, she offers 307 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:45.789 all kinds of gifts to Solomon, she's amazed. No one would falter for 308 00:28:45.910 --> 00:28:49.630 her reaction, but she doesn't fall down before his throne and wish her own 309 00:28:49.710 --> 00:28:57.259 death upon herself. She doesn't say I'm a woman of Unclean Lips, but 310 00:28:57.380 --> 00:29:02.940 that's what the prophets say when they see the kingdom, or rather the throne 311 00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:07.259 room, of God. And that's a glory opened up to them and one 312 00:29:07.299 --> 00:29:11.289 day will be opened up to us all, revealed on the last day, 313 00:29:12.329 --> 00:29:18.289 and then no one will ever doubt whether the Kingdom of God is more glorious 314 00:29:18.329 --> 00:29:23.130 than the Kingdom of Solomon. Our opportunity, though, here and now, 315 00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:27.839 at this moment, is to hear a passage like this and to see two 316 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:33.079 things. First, the blessings of God that are poured out on this son 317 00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:38.750 of David, and to see also in that a picture of the greater glory 318 00:29:38.869 --> 00:29:45.269 that God would pour out on Jesus David's greater son. And when we hear 319 00:29:45.390 --> 00:29:52.980 that, let us be filled with fear and awe in worship and not turn 320 00:29:52.180 --> 00:29:57.779 to him, or rather turn away from him and despise him and be apathetic 321 00:29:57.900 --> 00:30:03.019 and not care, but to worship and to give our gifts and to give 322 00:30:03.059 --> 00:30:11.250 ourselves fully and entirely unto him. Let us trust him in this period of 323 00:30:11.329 --> 00:30:15.730 grace, while we still have it, and give all the glory to God. 324 00:30:18.170 --> 00:30:18.769 Let's pray