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"Under
God's Microscope" • 1.22.17 • Calvary Christian
Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- We looked last week at the answer that God
gave to Solomon's prayer which he made at the dedication of the Temple. As you
may recall, God's tone with Solomon was a little unexpected.
- After affirming the house that had been built
and confirming His willingness to endorse it, He warned Solomon with the same
warning that He had given him 20 years earlier.
- This second warning however, was far more
intense in it's scope and implication. Did you wonder why? What had prompted
His response? What actions were exposing Solomon's heart?
- Today, we'll look at God's view of Solomon's
life and prayerfully discover and learn to avoid, what prompted God's pointed
response. Let's pick it up in verse 10.
Text
• I Kings 9:10-14 : "Now it happened at
the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of
the Lord and the king’s
house (Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon
with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then
gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. Then Hiram went
from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not
please him. So he said, 'What kind of cities are these which you have given
me, my brother?' And he called them the land of Cabul, as they are to this day.
Then
Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold." : Hiram,
the King of Tyre, and Solomon had developed an extensive business relationship
over the twenty years that it took to complete the King's construction
projects.
- Hiram had been a friend of David's and also
had the good fortune of being Solomon's construction materials dealer. Tyre was
rich in cedar and cypress trees, as well as gold.
- Consequently, Solomon had no lack of material
to draw from. Somewhere in the agreement, Solomon bartered for materials offering
the cities surrounding the Sea of Galilee as payment.
- Capernaum, Tiberias, and Magdala are the most
famous of the towns that we would know. Hiram accepted these cities as payment,
sight unseen from his royal friend.
- It's difficult for us to comprehend how such
a thing happens, but it may owe to the fact that there had been a great many
positive deals that had been completed before this one.
- Hiram trusted Solomon and was sure that a
visit would only confirm the good deal that had been made. Unfortunately for
the King of Tyre, that wasn't the case.
- Hiram was thoroughly unimpressed with what he
finally did come to inspect his property.
- The value did not come close to the value of
his investment. Don't get him wrong. The sea of Galilee is a beautiful place to
visit.
- Whatever he had been led to believe about the
land, it definitely failed to live up to his expectation and he wasn't shy
about voicing his displeasure.
- Can you hear the incredulity in his tone?
"What sort of cities have you given me my brother?"
- He looked upon the land and called it
"The Land of Good for nothing!" It was trash to him.
- He had paid 120 talents of gold which is the
modern equivalent of 175 million dollars! That's quite a transaction in the
ancient world to end up being a complete bust!
- Solomon doesn't reply and the Bible doesn't
tell us that he was rebuked, but it seems that he had gotten the better of
Hiram by deception.
- If that is the case, Solomon used his God
given wisdom for a crafty, underhanded exchange. There is a fine line between
shrewd and being outright dishonest.
- Some might stand here and applaud the King
for getting the better side of the deal, but consider a few thoughts.
- First, this is a neighboring statesmen who
has shown great gestures of friendship. Hiram may have had ties to the Jews
through marriage, but he himself was not a Jew.
- He was a Gentile King who had chosen
friendship with Solomon. It is at the very least, poor judgment to alienate a
neighbor or friend in such a way, just to get the better part of a deal.
- Second, God's people knew from the law that
God hated deception, especially that which occurred in business transactions.
- Listen to the wisdom that Solomon spoke of in
Proverbs 20:10, perhaps having
learned from this very episode later in life.
• Proverbs 20:10 : "Diverse weights
and diverse measures, they are both alike, an abomination to the Lord." :
On your own time, you may also want to reference Proverbs 11:1, 16:11, 20:23, Leviticus 19:35 and Deuteronomy
25:13-15 which say likewise.
- The weight referred to the assigned value of
the merchant, which could be altered to insure more currency from the buyer.
- On the other hand, a person might measure out
less than what the buyer was promised! Both actions bring about the displeasure
of the Lord.
•
"This was done wrong
with plot and contrivance, and under colour of doing right...He (God) will not
prosper the trade that is thus driven, nor bless what is thus got. He hates
those that thus break the common faith by which justice is maintained, and will
be the avenger of all such." Matthew Henry
- The Word of God is very clear on this point.
The person who honors God's Word, must honor honesty above the ability to get
one over on another person!
- The fact that the Spirit of God chooses to
place this story here lends credence to the fact that this was part of why He
noted Solomon's lax attitude toward the Word. Verse 15.
•
I Kings 9:15-24 : "And this is the reason for the
labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the Millo, the
wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up
and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in
the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth
Horon, Baalath,
and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, all the storage cities that Solomon
had, cities for his chariots and cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon
desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. All the people who were left of the
Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the
children of Israel—that is, their descendants
who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel had not been
able to destroy completely—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to
this day. But of the children of Israel
Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants:
his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry. Others were chiefs of the officials who were
over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did
the work. But Pharaoh’s daughter came up from
the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then
he built the Millo." : Solomon's building projects
obviously required a large, dedicated work force. We read in chapter 5 that the work force employed by the
Temple were comprised of a rotating band of Israeli men.
-
But there were many other construction projects that demanded laborers. These
others were employed in more civil, secular if you will, work beginning with this
Israel's defense infrastructure.
-
The Millo was a fort in the city of David. The wall surrounding Jerusalem also
received improvements. There were also certain cities that had to be rebuilt,
one of which was Gezer.
-
The Pharaoh had burnt it down in order to defeat the Canaanites that remained
in it as a dowry for his daughter. Solomon's labor force cleaned the mess that
he left for them!
-
Additionally, storage facilities for food and chariots were built. None of this
is essentially wrong. Every nation has the duty and the right to expand and
improve it's nation's defense.
-
The issue here is that Solomon raised forced labor, slaves, from the people
groups who had been leftover from Joshua's time, who were designated by God to
be destroyed, not enslaved.
-
When we examined the passages in Deuteronomy
and Joshua, we came to realize that these
people were hardly innocent. Their practices while in the land were blatantly
wicked.
-
Aside from their expulsion from the land, God deemed it right to make Israel
His hammer of justice. Their judgment was not only just, but would insure
Israel's spiritual safety!
-
Deuteronomy 20:16-18 contains Israel's
marching orders and the warning for failure, namely that any remnant left
behind would teach the children of Israel their abominable ways!
-
When Israel came into the land in Joshua's time, things went according to plan
for a time.
-
Unfortunately, Joshua's army and the people of Israel were unwilling to depose
these natives.
In the record of Judges, it was not strange to see that
God's people had made use of the enemies.
-
One could almost excuse the people of Israel during the time of the Judges.
After all, there was no King to govern them, so they all did what was right in
their own eyes.
-
And you will recall that most of David's life and Kingdom were concerned with
battles which led to the expansion and in some cases, the salvation of the
Kingdom.
-
But to accept their presence in the land now, much less exploit it as a
condition in their favor during the reign of Solomon? Unthinkable!
-
We aren't talking about a few people. There were enough to facilitate all of
Solomon's work!
-
Is the lesson in life that we simply ignore what God says when it serves us to
do otherwise? Do we look the other way in our life when we want to choose what
is opposite of His will?
-
Why would Israel accept this? For the same reason we accept compromise: It
suits us! We benefit from shortcuts of all kinds, ranging from cheap, illegal
work to excusing our own pet sins.
-
Besides, the people of Israel could not be bothered. They formed Solomon's
supervising corps! They went right along with it because they could now be the
masters!
-
Can you see the irony of this last statement? Pharaoh's daughter had been
living in the city of David when all of this went down! What an ironic piece of
history to be woven in!
-
The people who once had been enslaved by the Egyptians were now enslaving
people in front of the Egyptians! Wow! And then on top of that, to build the
Millo.
-
What had Israel built for Egypt that God wasn't able to bring down in judgment?
Here they are fortifying themselves against an enemy, but are not obedient to
God!
-
How much more important is it for us to obey God, who will stand as our great
fortress when we are walking according to His Word? Security had been a
covenant promise to Israel's obedience!
-
No wonder they feel the need to bolster their defenses! Where obedience is
absent, insecurity rules the day! Verse 25.
•
I Kings 9:25-28 : "Now three times a year Solomon
offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for
the Lord, and he burned incense with them
on the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the temple. King Solomon also built a fleet of
ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red
Sea, in the land of Edom. Then Hiram sent his
servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of
Solomon. And they went to Ophir, and acquired
four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King
Solomon." : Solomon continued to offer before
the Lord as he should have.
-
According to Deuteronomy 16:16, every
male had to appear before the Lord with an offering three times in the year at
the Feasts of Unleavened Bread, Weeks and Tabernacles respectively.
-
There is something to be said here about a shallow relgious facade that can
plague us all.
-
If what I am saying is correct, Solomon is bringing his offerings just like he
was supposed to, but at the same time, he was unwilling to obey the Lord in the
"small" matters of life!
-
He could take advantage of a person and look the other way at the various
"ites" that made up his forced labor group and still bring his
offering to the Lord as if it canceled everything else out!
-
He was faithful to meet the requirements when a feast could be had, but
couldn't be bothered to see his faith meet the streets! There is nothing
honoring to God in that!
-
God hasn't given His Son as a substitute for our lives for a "least that
we can do" response! What an affront! What an insult!
-
Yes, Solomon brought his offerings and burnt his incense, but the moment he was
finished, he was back to what really kept his boat afloat! Literally! He built
a fleet of ships!
-
Solomon was a partner with Hiram, who helped to provide the men that were able
to sail the ships. When they came to Ophir, an unknown area to Bible scholars,
they came away rich in gold.
-
120 talents was equal to 175 million dollars. We are talking about a 70 billion
dollar haul!
-
Wealth is pouring into the Kingdom from every side! From a human perspective, it
was an incredibly prosperous time that had to be seen to be believed.
-
From God's perspective, it was a spiritually dangerous time! Let me say to you
that this illustrates a very important point.
-
A life marked by prosperity is not necessarily one that is marked by God's
endorsement!
-
The prosperity preachers would have us believe otherwise, but how many of them
do you feel will awake in eternity to the pleasure of God!
-
The world would have loved to be Solomon. And God's people were benefitting,
but spiritually, Solomon is trending downward and his prosperity was blinding
him to his true poverty!
-
It's easy to think this way isn't it? If God is so concerned with my way, why
does He not step in and stop me in my tracks? This is our pragmatism speaking.
It's been working, why question it?
-
A story like Solomon's begs us to! Turn with me to Revelation 3 and see if this isn't a fitting parallel to close on
today.
-
As you may or may not know, chapters 2
and 3 of Revelation are written from Jesus to the churches that existed at
that time, but which are also representative of believers in all times.
-
Laodicea is the last of these churches and there are many who would believe
that it is most representative of the age of believers found in our time.
-
Laodicea was situated by hot springs, very near Colossae, which provides an
interesting backdrop for our Lord's comments to them.
•
Revelation 3:14-16 : "And to
the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and
True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 'I know your works, that you are
neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." : What an indictment! God knows your works, but you aren't a hot
drink comforting the cold or a cold drinking refreshing the hot!
-
You are tepid only worthy of exiting my mouth! What was their condition? How
could they have fallen so far? Look at this next verse and consider Solomon's
life.
•
Revelation 3:17-19 : "Because
you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not
know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to
buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments,
that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed;
and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous
and repent." : The world sees in Solomon the
wealth, the joy, the wisdom and gifting that comes apart from the repentance.
God sees a man who is edging closer and closer to misery and wretchedness!
-
Why does God allow it? That he, that you and that I may look again to Him and
see!
-
See what we really are in the light of His love. See our own nakedness and
wretchedness apart from Him. See our own distance, created by our lack of true
spiritual assessment!
-
The beauty is that when we look to the Lord who will rebuke His son or daughter
because of His love, when we are fervent in our response and repentant, He will
restore what has been lost.
•
Revelation 3:20 : "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If
anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with
him, and he with Me."
Conclusion
- Christian,
hear His voice! See that our faith matters more when we leave than when we
come! See that God accounts worship value in the matters that we may consider
small.
- See again
that obedience to God is the true language and gauge of our love. And may we
all see again that His grace is evident by the time that He does not judge us!
- Let us judge
ourselves this day! Let us ask the Lord for His assesment of our life and let
us not settle for what barely makes it before Him!
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