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Solomon's Fall from God - The Books of 1 Kings & 2 Chronicles · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch
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  Speaker 1: as this is done of thee, and thou hast not
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  Speaker 1: kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded thee,
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  Speaker 1: I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will
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  Speaker 1: give it to thy servant. 1 Kings 11.11 Heavenly Father,
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  Speaker 1: with every new breath that I take, and as I
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  Speaker 1: watch you bring goodness and increase into my life, Help
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  Speaker 1: me not to forget that apart from you and your presence,
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  Speaker 1: there is no true life. I will not forget that
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  Speaker 1: it is in you that I live, I breathe, and
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  Speaker 1: I have my being. So when temptations and the pleasures
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  Speaker 1: of this world try to lure me from your path
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  Speaker 1: of godliness, I will hold fast and combat the lie
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  Speaker 1: that life is better without you. I will reject the
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  Speaker 1: many idols that will try to divide me from your
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  Speaker 1: divinity like Solomon in his latter years. I will speak
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  Speaker 1: to my mind and heart and command it to remember
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  Speaker 1: the God of your youth, the God who has always
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  Speaker 1: been there guiding, loving, protecting me on the way to
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  Speaker 1: my designed destiny. I confess that my future is secure
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  Speaker 1: as long as I secure myself in your ways, God.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for preserving me and protecting me and drifting
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  Speaker 1: away from my spiritual foundation. You, Lord. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
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  Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
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  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 3: Solomon's Fall from God In our last story, the temple
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  Speaker 3: of God was finally built. David's dream to see God's
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  Speaker 3: home amongst the people of Israel had finally been fulfilled
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  Speaker 3: through his son Solomon. King Solomon dedicated the temple to God,
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  Speaker 3: and a new age of peace fell upon the Hebrews
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  Speaker 3: for the first time in their history. In this story,
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  Speaker 3: Solomon meets the Queen of Sheba and slowly begins to
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  Speaker 3: fall from God. Solomon will seek to fill a hole
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  Speaker 3: in his heart with women as his final years bring
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  Speaker 3: war to the land of Israel, inspired by the books
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  Speaker 3: of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles.
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  Speaker 4: Hi, this is Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of
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  Speaker 4: the Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode,
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  Speaker 4: we heard how Solomon built the temple for the Lord,
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  Speaker 4: a glorious temple. Israel was in a time of unprecedented
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  Speaker 4: prosperity and peace. And the people gathered to worship God
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  Speaker 4: in this magnificent temple that Solomon had built, the place
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  Speaker 4: where God's presence would dwell among them. But as we
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  Speaker 4: will hear today, as Solomon's fame grew, bringing wise men
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  Speaker 4: and royals from far and wide to seek his counsel,
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  Speaker 4: he became distracted by things other than God. It would
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  Speaker 4: spell the end of peace for Israel and mar his
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  Speaker 4: legacy forever. So let's listen now to today's reading from
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  Speaker 4: God's Word.
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  Speaker 3: Under the rule of Solomon, Israel became the crown jewel
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  Speaker 3: of the Eastern world. Kings and queens of all nations
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  Speaker 3: would visit Israel to marvel at Solomon's temple, libraries, architecture, gardens,
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  Speaker 3: and fields. Solomon's fame spread across the deserts, forests, and
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  Speaker 3: mountain ranges. Wise men and women would travel far and
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  Speaker 3: wide to seek his counsel. He was the heralded philosopher king,
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  Speaker 3: and all adored his kind and wise nature. One day,
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  Speaker 3: a caravan emerged from the south. A sea of camels, jewels, spices,
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  Speaker 3: and gold paraded into the city streets. At the top
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  Speaker 3: of her carriage, pulled by prized camels, The queen of
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  Speaker 3: Sheba sat lounging in the mild Israeli sun. She had
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  Speaker 3: heard of Solomon's great wisdom and sought to ask him
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  Speaker 3: questions of ethics, politics, philosophy, and theology. Solomon watched as
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  Speaker 3: the queen's caravan filled Jerusalem like a golden river. He
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  Speaker 3: beckoned her into his palace, and the two spoke of
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  Speaker 3: deep things among his gardens. The queen had profound questions
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  Speaker 3: and challenging problems that needed solving.
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  Speaker 2: However, nothing was too hard for the king.
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  Speaker 3: Gently and kindly, Solomon walked the queen through every issue.
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  Speaker 3: She was amazed at his wisdom. She had not realized
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  Speaker 3: just how knowledgeable the king truly was.
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  Speaker 2: Nor did she expect.
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  Speaker 3: The riches of Israel to be so vast and immaculate.
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  Speaker 3: She watched the way Solomon's servants worked diligently and with joy.
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  Speaker 3: She awed at the worship in the temple, and she
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  Speaker 3: could not understand the depth of Solomon's kindness. despite his riches.
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  Speaker 3: I had heard much about your country and its achievements,
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  Speaker 3: the queen said. However, it has exceeded my wildest dreams.
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  Speaker 3: A smile came across her face. How happy your people
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  Speaker 3: must be to live here, and how happy your officials
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  Speaker 3: must be to learn under you. Praise your God for
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  Speaker 3: what has happened here. Then she gave Solomon a gift
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  Speaker 3: of 9,000 pounds of gold, along with spices and precious jewels.
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  Speaker 3: After saying goodbyes, the queen departed, determined to bring similar
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  Speaker 3: wisdom and joy to her land. Solomon was gifted with
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  Speaker 3: great wisdom and riches, yet even his intellect and wealth
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  Speaker 3: could not protect him from the darkness within his own heart.
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  Speaker 3: Solomon slowly began to search for meaning in things other
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  Speaker 3: than God. His heart often wandered aimlessly, seeking satisfaction in
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  Speaker 3: carnal activities. Solomon had a love for foreign women. What
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  Speaker 3: started as marriages to form alliances quickly turned into a
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  Speaker 3: sick addition to new women and new pleasures. Besides his
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  Speaker 3: first wife from Egypt, Solomon married women from Moab, Amman, Edom, Sidon,
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  Speaker 3: and Hittite. He immersed himself in the strange sexual practices
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  Speaker 3: of other cultures. Soon his mind began to wander into
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  Speaker 3: the dark recesses of other religions. This is why the
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  Speaker 3: Lord had strictly warned the people of Israel to not
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  Speaker 3: marry those with other gods. Solomon was reaping the terrible
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  Speaker 3: consequences of his actions. Solomon amassed a harem of 700
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  Speaker 3: wives and 300 concubines, continually wanting to satisfy himself with
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  Speaker 3: new women. He began to forget what it meant to
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  Speaker 3: love faithfully. Solomon's heart began to fall from God. Solomon
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  Speaker 3: had built the temple of God, For this, he would
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  Speaker 3: be remembered forever for his faithfulness.
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  Speaker 2: However, his union with many different.
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  Speaker 3: Cultures and nations also led him to build shrines and
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  Speaker 3: altars to false gods. With each passing year, Solomon would
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  Speaker 3: give a piece of his soul over to a new god.
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  Speaker 2: This caused a deep anger in God.
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  Speaker 3: He had gently warned Solomon many times. However, his heart
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  Speaker 3: was corrupted just as his ancestors in the wilderness. God's
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  Speaker 3: wrath burned against Solomon, and he decided to divide his
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  Speaker 3: kingdom among his descendants. As Solomon engaged in his sexual
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  Speaker 3: idol worship, rebels and adversaries began to emerge from the
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  Speaker 3: depths of Israel, giving Solomon his first taste of war.
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  Speaker 3: Rebellion from the east and south began to emerge, and
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  Speaker 3: Solomon was finally called to war. His era of peace
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  Speaker 3: had been interrupted by doubt, bloodshed, and conflict. This was
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  Speaker 3: a representation of Solomon's heart. For the last years of
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  Speaker 3: Solomon's life, he warred against rebellion and felt no peace.
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  Speaker 3: For 40 years, Solomon ruled over Israel. He brought the
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  Speaker 3: nation into an unprecedented era of peace. His heart to
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  Speaker 3: worship God reflected his father's, and his wisdom gave him
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  Speaker 3: more riches than he could ever have imagined. However, the
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  Speaker 3: last few years of his rule was marked with woe.
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  Speaker 3: Towards the end of his life, Solomon's writings became contemplative
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  Speaker 3: and sorrowful. He reflected on the meaningless pursuit of knowledge, riches,
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  Speaker 3: and success. As his eyes began to dim and his
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  Speaker 3: bones grew brittle, Solomon finally came to the understanding that
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  Speaker 3: there is.
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  Speaker 2: No meaning in life apart from God's presence.
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  Speaker 3: With his dying breath, he praised God, and his son, Rehoboam,
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  Speaker 3: took his place as king.
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  Speaker 4: As we begin today's passage, Solomon has become a man
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  Speaker 4: of great renown, not only in Israel, but all around
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  Speaker 4: the world. Word of his wisdom and kindness spread far
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  Speaker 4: and wide to kings and queens and sages from distant lands.
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  Speaker 4: Just as God had promised him, Solomon's wisdom was matched
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  Speaker 4: by no one. But his wealth and prosperity was also
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  Speaker 4: without equal. It was an opportunity for Israel to be
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  Speaker 4: a shining witness to the rest of the world. as
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  Speaker 4: when the Queen of Sheba came to see Solomon. She
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  Speaker 4: was impressed by his great mind and by the wealth
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  Speaker 4: that she saw in his country. She even seemed to
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  Speaker 4: praise God for what he had done for Israel. But
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  Speaker 4: in reality, she wasn't interested as much in the giver
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  Speaker 4: of blessings as she was in the blessings and all
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  Speaker 4: the blessings of God. benefits themselves. Though she had a
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  Speaker 4: chance to turn to God, the one true God, and
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  Speaker 4: honor him, what she really wanted, in the end, were
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  Speaker 4: the riches. Unfortunately, it wasn't just the Queen of Sheba
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  Speaker 4: who missed the point of things. As his fame and
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  Speaker 4: influence grew, Solomon's attentions turned away from God And then
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  Speaker 4: came the gratifying of the flesh. Like so many before him,
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  Speaker 4: Solomon's appetite for sexual pleasure clouded his vision. And being
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  Speaker 4: a man of such power and influence, he was able
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  Speaker 4: to take many wives for himself. As he would later
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  Speaker 4: write in Ecclesiastes, Solomon denied himself nothing he desired. That
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  Speaker 4: is a recipe for disaster. He married women from many
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  Speaker 4: different countries. women who worshiped other gods. Taking wives from
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  Speaker 4: other nations was against God's will, and in 1 Kings 11,
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  Speaker 4: verse 2, we hear why. You shall not enter into
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  Speaker 4: marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely
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  Speaker 4: they will turn away your heart after their gods. But Solomon,
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  Speaker 4: for all of his wisdom, ignored God's command, and sure enough,
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  Speaker 4: his heart became divided. He took more than 700 wives
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  Speaker 4: and 300 concubines, and each of these unions chipped away
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  Speaker 4: at his relationship with the Lord and his ability to lead.
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  Speaker 4: Despite multiple warnings from God, Solomon allowed himself to be
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  Speaker 4: corrupted by lust, and eventually God's anger could be held
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  Speaker 4: back no more. The peace that Israel had experienced was
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  Speaker 4: shattered as wars broke out once more. Not only that,
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  Speaker 4: but Solomon's own peace was destroyed and sorrow filled his
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  Speaker 4: heart for much of his latter years. Because of his
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  Speaker 4: persistent sin, God would split the kingdom in two. But
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  Speaker 4: this would not happen until his son Rehoboam became king.
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  Speaker 4: It is the tragic result of sin and unfaithfulness, and
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  Speaker 4: it is a powerful reminder that what Israel needed, what
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  Speaker 4: we all need, is a king that was not just wise,
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  Speaker 4: but one who is perfectly good and pure. And there
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  Speaker 4: is only one king who is above all kings. He
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  Speaker 4: would one day rise from the house of David as
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  Speaker 4: Savior and Lord and give us the power to defeat sin.
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  Speaker 4: Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
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  Speaker 4: Solomon came to understand at the end of his life
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  Speaker 4: what his father knew, that there is nothing that compares
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  Speaker 4: to being in God's presence. Solomon repented and praised God
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  Speaker 4: once more before he went to his final rest and
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  Speaker 4: the kingdom passed into the hands of his son, Rehoboam.
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  Speaker 4: Would the new king model the wisdom of his father,
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  Speaker 4: or was Israel headed for more pain? We'll find out
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  Speaker 4: the next time. Dear God, we remember the words of
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  Speaker 4: the hymn which says, Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.
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  Speaker 4: Prone to leave the God I love. We are all
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  Speaker 4: prone to leave the God that we love. Just like Solomon,
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  Speaker 4: we want to wander. But God, we ask you to
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  Speaker 4: move in our hearts. to sanctify and purify us, and
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  Speaker 4: by your grace and because of your forgiveness, that we
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  Speaker 4: would live holy and godly lives. Help us to keep
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  Speaker 4: our eyes on you and to worship you and you only.
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  Speaker 4: May you be our King and our Lord forever and ever. Amen.
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  Speaker 4: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 4: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app
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  Speaker 4: and make sure that prayer and Bible reading is a
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  Speaker 4: priority in your life. If you enjoyed this podcast, let
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  Speaker 4: someone else know. Share it with someone you love and
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  Speaker 4: let's get the Word of God out to many, many people.
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  Speaker 4: And if you want more resources as to how you
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  Speaker 4: can learn and live the Christian life, be sure to
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  Speaker 4: visit jackgraham.org. That's jackgraham.org.