Solomon’s End (Part B)

God had a plan for Jeroboam's life, and he will ruin it. You know, a lot of evangelists like to say, God's got a plan for your life.

Well, I don't disagree with that, but I also know you can mess it up. The way I know that is I look at the scriptures and see what happened. God had a plan for Jeroboam. He was to be king of the northern kingdom. God was going to make him great like David.

Look what he did. He created idols. The writer in Chronicles says he made those demons. He gets right at it. He doesn't pull any punches.

Those statues, they're demons. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of 1 Kings.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of 1 Kings chapter 11 as he continues his message, Solomon's End. Simeon, the tribe of Simeon, its territory was surrounded by Judah's territory. And by this time, Simeon had been assimilated into Judah.

The individuals still retained, you know, I'm Simeonite, but they really had no tribal leaders and they just were just absorbed. We'll find out that after Jeroboam starts pulling his little dud moves, many of the Levites will leave the north and come and dwell in Judah also. This mention of David, you know, I cringe when I hear people criticize David unwisely. It's fine, you know, he had his sins right, but to harp on those sins, I'd be very careful because God doesn't do that. God holds up David as his poster boy king. Verse 14, and I want to know about that. Why is God doing that? Verse 14, now Yahweh raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad, the Edomite.

He was a descendant of the king of Edom. Well, with a name like that, if you're not a father, you just have a lot of explaining to do all the time. Hey, Dad, I'm not a father.

That's your name. Anyway, there's a couple of them in here that are sentences. So, funny. And that's where I lose it. You know, when I see these things in Scripture, they're just so silly to me, and I refuse to grow up in that area. So, earth is full of resources for God, good and bad.

Here are these, he has these instruments, they're already there. He can restrain them, or he can release them. And because of Solomon's sin, and how blatant it was, he releases them. Now, if you struggle with sin, Satan will come along, the accuser of the brethren, he will come along, and he will say, this is you.

Well, you know, A.W. told you I had a book called I Talk Back to the Devil. That alone is a sermon. You can talk back to the devil. The Lord rebuke you.

My sins are forgiven. I am not Solomon. Solomon, we have no record of him laying it all out before God.

I messed this whole thing up. But we have a record of that with ourselves. Well, Solomon, he has no one to blame for this, all these enemies that are going to come up. And there will be three of them that God will launch on Solomon. Solomon's marriage, incidentally, to an Edomite did not, there's no benefit. This Hadad is an Edomite, and he is an enemy.

And that marriage is, he doesn't care about anything about that. There will be Hadad the Edomite, he will be an enemy from the south of Judah. Then we'll come to Rezan, he's a Syrian, he will come from the north. And then there will be Jeroboam, he is a Hebrew, and he will be from within. And so he's going to catch it from north, south, and from within, which is the worst. You know, in a church, you're ready for outside problems.

You're not ready for the intern, I mean, you know, you can, you get ready, but it's just never, never does it make any sense. Well, sin doesn't make any sense. What Satan did against God to rebel made no sense. Like are you kidding me? You're a created being.

What makes you think you're on his level? You know, he's a patriarch of insanity. Verse 15, for it happened when David was an Edom and Joab, the commander of the army, had gone up to bury the slain after he had killed every male in Edom. We pause there. There's a historical note there in verse 15 that they were going up to bury the slain, and according to the numbers we get, there's a lot of digging going on. What happens if they don't bury them? Well, the vultures and the, you know, scavengers.

And I'm sure that happened anyway, but that's just an interesting little point there. Verse 15, because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel until he had cut down every male in Edom. Well, this was, they were going to crush their ability to wage war. You could do it in different ways, and this way was to wipe out the men.

And this is true to this day. If you want to push an evil agenda, get rid of the men. And we're watching, you know, the feminization of men. Men are evil. And, well, according to those nitwits, and that's what they are. They're just polished nitwits. Satan's little puppets. That was my rant.

Back to this. Chronicles tells us this happened at the Valley of Salt. Such a name, right? The Valley of Salt. That's at the, you know, by the south, by the Dead Sea.

And the southernmost tip of the Dead Sea, actually, where Edom was located, at much of Edom, that is. Well, three men in the scripture are credited with great slaughters on the battlefield at this time. 2 Samuel 8. David made himself a name when he returned from killing 18,000 Syrians in the Valley of Salt.

Well, they came a long way south. 1 Chronicles 18. Moreover, Abishai, that's the brother of Joab, killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

And then in Psalm 60, as part of the heading to the Psalm, it says, And Joab returned and killed 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. These are large, I mean, no one's out there counting, okay, one, two dead, three dead. It's not that kind of a body count. These are large numbers of troop divisions that were wiped out, and that's where they're getting these numbers. It would not be sensible to think that, you know, they just, okay, how many did you count today? I missed five. The coyote's dragged off a couple of them.

Anyway, that's, there you go. Verse 17. That hadad fled to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him.

Hadad was still a little child. So when David launched this campaign against the Edomite to keep them in place and remove that threat, that southern threat, because they could have teamed up with Egypt, man, that would have been more of a problem, or the Ethiopians. But anyway, when David deals with these people, he escapes, he's a little boy, and they get him out of, off the battlefield to Egypt, the nearest civilization.

Everything else was Bedouin. And it was common practice in ancient war to annihilate the people that were against you, so that they couldn't rise up again and take revenge. And ancient kings were often paranoid when it came to claims to the throne. You know, Herod, you know, the king of the Jews, you know, killing the innocent babies at Bethlehem. It's because of his paranoia that he had a claim on the throne and he just wasn't going to tolerate any of it.

That's Satan's excuse. Verse 18, Then they arose from Midian, and he took men with them from Paran, and came to Egypt, the Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, portioned food for him, and gave him land. Well, we see this today, exiles, you know, I remember the Shah of Paran, he fled to France and they just set him up, and he had a pretty good life, until he died, as people go. Verse 19, And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife his sister of his own wife, that is, his sister, Queen Tophenes. Verse 20, Then the sister of Tophenes bore him, Genubath his son, whom Tophenes weaned in Pharaoh's house, and Genubath was in Pharaoh's house, was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. Well, again, if you, you know, you want to, some parents really feel it's their obligation to be unique in naming their child, and the Bible has some names for you. Genubath is a male name.

I wouldn't do it. Verse 21, So when Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested with his fathers, and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart that I may go to my own country. Listen to how the Bible words that. David rested with his fathers. Joab is dead. David was dead, too. It's a euphemism for David. Joab doesn't get the same treatment, because he's dead.

We don't know where he is, because he was a murderer. Anyway, verse 22, Then Pharaoh said to him, But what have you lacked with me that suddenly you seek to go to your own country? So he answered, Nothing. But do let me go anyway. Well, no one wants to be a bad host. So what was it, the silverware, the forks on the wrong side? Well, what was it? And it's the type of orange juice you buy.

You know I only like Tropicana. And anyway, I wonder if I'll get, like, some fees for that promotion. Hmm. Anyway, he has got unfinished business against Israel, and this destabilization of the region from the north and within and from the south is all Solomon's fault. Well, not really. God's going to point out some others, too.

It's really, he's like 90 percent of it, maybe. But it's not only Solomon, but he is the leader. And had Solomon been faithful, God would have restrained these agitators.

They would not have popped up. And that's a lesson for us in that, for sure. His reckless treatment, again, of Deuteronomy 17 was the gateway, and then idolatry was Satan's payoff. Verse 23, well, back to that just a moment.

So it wasn't the wealth, it wasn't the women, it wasn't just the going with the horses and multiplying them. It was the idolatry. It was the treatment of God, how he treated the name of God.

That's what provoked God the most. Verse 23, and God raised up another adversary against him, Rezan, the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah. So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders when David killed those of Zobah, and they went to Damascus and dwelt there and reigned in Damascus. Verse 25, he was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the trouble that Hadad caused, and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria. And so here we have this territory David took from the Edomites and then up in Damascus. Well, Solomon's now losing all this.

It's all falling apart. He personally is not threatened. The kingdom is not threatened, except for when Jeroboam comes on the scene. But this was all avoidable, and this man, he is Rezan, an inveterate enemy. He's going to be a lot of problem for the Jews, and we'll come across him as we move through the kings. In Syria, in Damascus, Syria, they'll get stronger and Israel will get weaker. Verse 26, then Solomon's servants Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zerida, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king.

And so here's the third one. God had a plan for Jeroboam's life, and he will ruin it. You know, a lot of evangelists like to say, God's got a plan for your life.

Well, I don't disagree with that, but I also know you can mess it up. The way I know that is I look at the scripture and see what happened. God had a plan for Jeroboam. He was to be king of the northern kingdom. God was going to make him great like David.

Look what he did. He created idols. The writer in Chronicles says he made those demons. He gets right at it.

He doesn't pull any punches. Those statues, they're demons. So anyway, Hadad attacked Solomon as a review from the south, Rezon from the north, and Jeroboam from within. Verse 27 is pouring on him, and this is the fruit of his idolatry. And this is what caused him to rebel against the king. This is the catalyst behind Jeroboam's problem with Solomon. Solomon had built the millow and repaired the damages to the city of David his father. And that millow is likely in embankments, fortifications, and or terraces to fight erosion or grow crops.

Just a lot of other things could be also or include. Verse 28, the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor, and Solomon seeing that the young man was industrious made him an officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph. So he's the secretary of labor.

That's a pretty big position as a cabinet member. Verse 29, now it happened at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem that the prophet Ahijah, the Shiloh knight, met him on the way, and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. Finally, finally, a prophet's on the scene.

Now it's getting good again. I'm so tired of these bourgeoisie kings. Well, Solomon, not David. Just finally, I'm in animated because when he gets old, God is still using this man. He can't see him. We'll get to that, I don't know, chapter 14.

Yeah, it might be Chronicles. Anyway, he just, he can't even see and God is telling him who's in front of him and giving him prophecy. Just these two sections, I just like this guy. He comes on the scene like this. Well, anyway, Solomon's not going to yield to the prophecy that's coming, and Jeroboam, he was a faithful servant to Solomon. He's just unfaithful to God.

How's that work? Because man was more real to him than God. We see this all the time. Ahijah, this prophet, he's the first prophet named since Nathan back in chapter 1. It is 1 Kings 14 and we'll come to him again when Jeroboam's wife comes to them about their sick child and wants to know, will he survive?

And Jeroboam essentially says, the only good thing in your house is that kid, not you two. Anyway, you just got to love these prophets because God is, he's now going to start ramping up the prophets that not only pronounce judgment but perform miracles, like Elijah. If I'm a man of God, let fire come down. Then God will set a second wave of prophets who will not only pronounce God's word and write God's word for future generations, but they also will do miraculous things, mostly Isaiah and Jeremiah. But, and Daniel of course can't, and Daniel will do his, have his ministry mostly outside of Israel. Anyway, verse 30, then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him and tore it into 12 pieces.

Now this, this is kind of cute. Whose garment? I mean, whose garment is he? It doesn't tell us and the Hebrew lens for both, the context is, it seems first thought that the prophet grabs a Jeroboam's garment and he tears it up into 12 pieces. Well, it says a new garment in his new position, he would have new, you know, a new suit to go into the king's presence to take care of business. This is a big thing in those days, you know, give him a robe, put my robe on him and a medallion and stuff like that. I don't think he tore his own, I think the prophets were cheap.

I don't think he tore his own. Well, it's just a funny little thing in the story, like, hey, what are you doing? You know, in the field, I mean, well, this is different. We've had, we have three examples of prophets or not prophets, people in the Bible trying to make their point, drive it home in an extraordinary way. The first is that gruesome Levite who chose to butcher his dead concubine to make his point and chopped her up and sent her to the various tribal leaders to rally them for war.

And there's just no way to spin that into something good. Saul, less ghoulish than that Levite, he butchered an ox to rally Israel to answer the cry for battle. Less ghoulish, but still butchering. But here the man of God chooses something less savage to drive home his point.

He rips up a garment. Jeroboam's not going to forget this. The message is going to be very clear. He won't walk away saying, now, did he mean, he's going to know full well and he's not going to ever forget this. He will act like it did not happen, according to God, when he becomes an apostate. But right now, the prophet tears the garment into these pieces. This division that is coming of the kingdom will not be the peaceful product of negotiations.

It won't be the northern tribes negotiating with it. It will be a rip, painful work of God's displeasure will befall the people of Israel. So, let's move on, verse 31.

And he said to Jeroboam, take for yourself ten pieces. For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you. Verse 32, but he shall have one tribe for my sake, for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

Well, as I mentioned, he's not going to forget or be confused about this message because of how Ahijah illustrates it. The citizens of the ten tribes who decide to stay in Judah, they'll be free to stay there and remain faithful to the throne of David. Levites will then later come from the northern kingdom. Because when it splits, the people have no, they're not thinking, okay, we now have a north and southern kingdom, but they still have Jerusalem as their central place of worship. And Jeroboam's going to see that as a threat and he's going to take steps to stop that.

And he's going to be largely successful. And thus we have the prophets to the north, like Hosea and Amos, for example. Well, it says here in verse 32, behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give ten tribes to you. What an unpleasant message for the prophet to get. I mean, there he's minding his business, doing whatever he's doing, making candles, whatever, working on a transmission for this new chariot he's got. And the message comes to him, I'm going to split the kingdom. So the unpleasantness of receiving this kind of a message, then having to deliver it, and then living to see it happen. But this is what the man of God does. He says, I'm just a messenger and I deliver the message.

I'm not here to edit it or criticize it. Verse 33, because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, Kimash, the god of the Moabites, Milcom, the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways to do what is right in my eyes and keep my statutes and my judgments as did his father David. You teens, you notice here, the world has got plenty of fake gods for you. They'll just make one up that you might like. Don't forget you used to come to church on a Wednesday night. You came to graduate school. Well, some used to be like, I had to come. Well, God then, he is the one that designed that. You were born into a home, Jesus said, love the Lord enough to come to a midweek. At what point are you responsible to say to God, thank you? Well, when you're faced with these fake old gods in the world, the god of intelligence, the god of pleasure, the god of drugs, whatever it is, stand up to it and don't be Satan's little whooping boy or girl as it might be. Christianity requires you be involved. That's why Jesus did take up your cross. It's personal.

All right, that was not a rant. And we move on back to this, these fake gods. So here is where we come to, it says, notice, we notice that they are identified as the cause because they have forsaken me and worshiped asterisk, not just Solomon, they.

The people were enjoying it. I think if the people, maybe if the people pushed back a little bit more, maybe Solomon would have been, you know, maybe I shouldn't be doing this. They had a booming economy and a dud religion, dud faith, and it's nobody's fault but their own.

The enchanted kingdom of opulence and splendor was doomed and the clock is ticking before there will be nothing left to be reminded of it except what's in print. Islam has supplanted the gods of this region of the world, just pushed them all out and just, you know what, this is the god you're going to worship now, like it or die. Verse 34, however, Ahijah is still speaking God's message, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose because he kept my commandments and my statutes. It is David again.

God misses no chance to dote on this man. Thanks for joining us for today's teaching on Cross-Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia.

We trust that what you've heard today in the book of 1 Kings has had a lasting imprint on your life. If you'd like to listen to more teachings from this series or share it with someone you know, please visit Cross-Reference Radio.com. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast too so you'll never miss another edition. Just visit Cross-Reference Radio.com and follow the links under radio. Again, that's Cross-Reference Radio.com. Our time with you today is about up but we hope you'll tune in next time to continue studying the Word of God. Join us again as Pastor Rick covers more in the book of 1 Kings on Cross-Reference Radio.