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Introduction
- Overview of the book of I Kings…
- 1st – Who wrote the book of I Kings…
- Author unknown – but it has been traditionally accredited to Jeremiah or Ezra…
- It was written while the Temple was still standing – I Kings 8:8…
- 2nd – The 3rd of the 6 books of the Kings of Israel – I Samuel through II Chronicles…
- I Samuel followed the anointing / reign / and fall of King Saul…
- II Samuel is focused on the life of King David – from his coronation to his death…
- I Kings deals with the reign of Solomon in the first 11 chapters…
- The rest of the book and II Kings – follows the divided Kingdom…
- The 40 kings of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel…
- Concluding with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylon captivity…
- The Latin Bible (Vulgate) labels these books – I / II / III / and IV book of Kings!
- I and II Chronicles – retells the history of only Judah (the southern Kingdom)
- 3rd – There are 22 chapters in the book of I Kings…
- We will cover between 1-2 chapters a week (3 months) – highlighting key sections…
- The book of I Kings picks up immediately after the end of II Samuel…
- I Kings 1-2 – The death of King David…
- I Kings 3-11 – The reign of King Solomon…
- King Solomon – son of Bathsheba – inherited the throne from his father David!
- When God asked Solomon what he wanted – he asked for wisdom to rule Israel…
- Solomon was the richest – wisest man – ever to live on earth…
- Fulfilling God’s promise to David – He built the temple of God there in Jerusalem
- Solomon had 1000 wives – they turned his heart from God to worship false gods…
- I Kings 12-16 – The divided Kingdom…
- Because Solomon rejected the Lord – God rejected the kingly line of David…
- Only 2 of the tribes were left under the line of David – Judah and Benjamin…
- The other 10 tribes were broke off and became the Northern Kingdom of Israel…
- Israel was divided into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms…
- The Southern Kingdom – Judah / The Northern Kingdom – Israel
- I Kings 17-22 – Elijah the Prophet…
- The greatest of all the Prophets – prophesied against the Northern Kingdom…
- No other prophet in the Old Testament is mentioned more in the New Testament…
- He appears with Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration / 2 witnesses in Revelation…
- Elijah never died – a chariot of fire took him directly into heaven!
- 1st – Who wrote the book of I Kings…
The next king of Israel… (4 things)
- 1st – David was very old (about 70)… vs. 1-4 Read: I Kings 1:1-4
- 1st – His many hard years of being a King had taken their toll… vs. 1-4
- No matter how many blankets they covered him with – he was still cold…
- When people get old their circulation is not as good as when they were young…
- The result is that it is harder for their body to keep their hands / feet warm…
- Especially in a place like Jerusalem – which can get down to 0° a night!
- It is just one of many ways our body tells us – our time is running out…
- The solution was for David to marry a young woman…
- Essentially she would be his nurse – take care of him – keep him warm…
- So they searched throughout Israel and found a beautiful girl named Abishag…
- She became the nurse for David – but never knew him as his wife
- No matter how many blankets they covered him with – he was still cold…
- 1st – His many hard years of being a King had taken their toll… vs. 1-4
- 2nd – It seems kind of sad to see a great man like David becoming old and frail…
- But these bodies were not designed to last forever – II Corinthians 5:1…
- And we know that when they ‘wear out’ – we have a body waiting in heaven…
- Because our physical – sinful – corrupt bodies cannot inherit eternal life…
- Our bodies were not designed to live forever / not meant to go to heaven…
- But God has a new body – a MUCH better one – prepared for each one of us…
- I like the idea of a tent – tents are not permanent – our bodies are only temporary
- One day the Holy Spirit will give us new bodies – meant and designed for eternity!
- But these bodies were not designed to last forever – II Corinthians 5:1…
- While in this body – we groan (sometimes literally)…
- II Corinthians 5:4 – “Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life.”
- As we get old we start to slow down / aches and pains / wrinkles and grey hair…
- We get tired of this old achy body – it makes us long for the new model…
- Aging is God’s grace – as you look in the mirror and see you body getting old…
- It is God’s way of telling saying ‘you have an expiration date’…
- Aging is God’s way to get us ready – you are going to see Jesus soon!
- Not that we want to die – we want to live forever…
- We are looking forward to the day when we will get our perfect body…
- When you get home from a long day of work – your clothes are dirty / stink…
- You cannot wait to get out of those old stinky clothes – into something new…
- In the same way we want to get out of these old stinky bodies – and get the new…
- I John 3:2 – “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”
- When we are resurrected we will be just like Jesus – when He was resurrected…
- There will be no more pain / no more sickness / no more tears – Revelation 21:4
- And this is just the LITTLE we know about our resurrected bodies…
- FAR GREATER than anything we have now – beyond what we can imagine!
- 2nd – Adonijah for King… vs. 5-10 Read: I Kings 1:5-10
- 1st –Adonijah decided to act when he saw the failing health of David… vs. 5-6
- He was the 4th son of the King – but he was the oldest remaining son still alive…
- Amnon was killed by Absalom / and Absalom was killed by Joab…
- Adonijah rode through the streets of Jerusalem and claimed – ‘I will be King!’
- David never told Adonijah he could be king – but he also never corrected him…
- In fact David had never once ever questioned anything Adonijah did!
- David never disciplines his children – so his children had no one to guide them…
- Proverbs 23:13 – “Do not fail to correct your kids. They will not die if you spank them.”
- Dads and Mom – are children understand a lot more than we give them credit for…
- Hold your kids accountable to for their actions – they know right from wrong…
- Do not be afraid to lovingly punish you children – teach them consequences…
- Hebrews 12:6 -“For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children.”
- God teaches us through disciple – not out of anger – but to show His love!
- Discipline teaches us boundaries – keeps us from things that would harm us…
- If we let our kids they would eat candy and snacks all day long…
- But we know better – we know as tasty as those are – they are not healthy..,
- So even though our kids WANT them – we need to teach them to eat right
- In the same way teach your kids to stay away from sin – that can destroy them!
- He was the 4th son of the King – but he was the oldest remaining son still alive…
- 2nd – David was the 2nd King of Israel… vs. 7-10
- He had replaced King Saul after his death – because God chose him…
- But Joab and Abiathar the priest agreed to help Adonijah be the next King…
- Perhaps their assumption was the oldest son should be the next King…
- It gave a great deal of power to Abiathar – Joab represented the army of Israel…
- And Abiathar represented the authority of the priests!
- When Adonijah threw a feast – he called all the sons of David and leaders of Israel…
- But he intentionally left out Nathan / Zadok / Benaiah – and Solomon…
- Because Nathan the prophet / and Zadok the Priest remained loyal to King David…
- As well as the captain of David’s bodyguard – Benaiah (guy who killed a lion)…
- They all knew God had promised the throne to Solomon – I Chronicles 22:9
- And it was God who chose the leader of Israel – not men!
- God appoints all governments – Romans 13:1…
- People tend to be critical of their governments – looking for the flaws…
- And to be honest since governments are full of people – it is easy to find the flaws…
- Yet rather than attack the men God has put into power – we should pray for them…
- Being critical of them changes nothing – praying for them can change everything!
- I Timothy 2:2 – “Pray for kings and all others who are in authority…”
- He had replaced King Saul after his death – because God chose him…
- 1st –Adonijah decided to act when he saw the failing health of David… vs. 5-6
- 3rd – Solomon for King… vs. 11-40 Read: I Kings 1:15-24
- 1st – Nathan the prophet went to speak to Bathsheba… vs. 11-14
- Did she know that Adonijah had just made himself King – without David knowing…
- If she wanted to save her life / and the life of Solomon – they needed to act quickly…
- She needed to go to David – and tell him everything that had happened – now!
- A flood once hit a city – and a man was caught on the roof of his house…
- A rescue boat came to save him – but he told them ‘I am waiting on the Lord to save me…’
- The flood went higher – and a helicopter came to save him – ‘I am waiting on the Lord…’
- The man died and when he got to heaven he asked God why He did not save him…
- God answered – I sent a boat and a helicopter – why did you not get on board!
- There is a time to sit and wait on the Lord – and there is a time to stand up and act!
- 2nd – Bathsheba went to see the King… vs. 15-28
- She reminded David that the throne had been promised to their son Solomon…
- Yet Adonijah claimed he was King – and now their lives were in danger…
- All of Israel was waiting for David to choose – who would be the next King!
- If David did not choose – then the choice would be made for him…
- Most people in life try to avoid making choices – follow Jesus / or have fun…
- Instead they try and stay neutral – church on Sunday / fun on Monday!
- But not choosing is also a choice – one that we will most likely regret!
- While Bathsheba was still speaking – Nathan the prophet arrived…
- He confirmed all that Bathsheba had told the King…
- Joab and Abiathar were at that very hour toasting – ‘Long live King Adonijah!’
- Nathan asked David if he had chosen Adonijah – and not let anyone know!
- Faced with the decision – David choose Solomon…
- He had Nathan and Zadok take Solomon down to the Gihon Spring…
- It was the main water source for Jerusalem – and would have a LARGE crowd…
- Solomon rode down on David’s personal mule / surrounded by his bodyguard…
- There they anointed him as the new King – and blew the trumpets to celebrate…
- It caused so much noise – that the very earth shook with the sound…
- Then Solomon returned to the palace – and sat on the throne of David!
- The choice of following Jesus or the world is simple – heaven or hell…
- Someone the only way to get people to choose – it to show them the choices!
- She reminded David that the throne had been promised to their son Solomon…
- 1st – Nathan the prophet went to speak to Bathsheba… vs. 11-14
Turn away from the world – and make sure we are following the King!
4th – From King to Coward… vs.41-53 Read: I Kings 1:49-52
1st – Adonijah and his guests heard the celebration in the city… vs. 41-49
Joab wanted to know what the reason for all the noise was…
Just then Jonathan – son of Abiathar the priest – came running in…
David had just declared Solomon as the new King of Israel…
Talk about bad news – all the guests were at the WRONG coronation…
They immediately all got up and ran out – quickly going their separate ways!
People love to attend parties – enjoy life…
But a days is coming soon when the King is going to be crowned – Jesus…
And in that day everyone who is not for Jesus – is going to run for cover!
If Jesus returned today – where would we be – what would He find us doing…
If we knew Jesus was coming tomorrow – what would we change in our lives!
2nd – Adonijah was afraid of Solomon… vs. 50-53
Adonijah knew his plan was to kill off Solomon once he was king…
And he assumed that Solomon would do the same thing now that HE was King!
So he ran to the Tabernacle and grabbed a hold of the horns of the Altar…
He wanted a promise from Solomon that he would not be put to death…
The Altar was where sacrifices were made to God for the sins of the people…
It was a place of grace – he was in a way asking for forgiveness!
Solomon agreed to spare his life – as long as he was good…
Adonijah came and bowed down before Solomon – and was sent home
If you are like Adonijah – in the wrong camp this evening – there is good news…
God is very patient – full of grace and forgiveness – we just need to do what is good…
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