29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 1 Kings 11:29-38

31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the L ORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe.

33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.

34 “ ‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes.

36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel.

38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’ ”

Even in the Old Testament Faith was the key Commitment and loyalty The more you have the more you will probably have Because God is faithful we can look for the good news

1 kings 9 4 “As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father...’

Solomon is also reminded If you are not faithful This beautiful and imposing temple will become rubble

8 …‘Why has the L ORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 9 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the L ORD their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the L ORD brought all this disaster on them.’ ”

At first all seems to be good The king honors his obligations

25 Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the L ORD, burning incense before the L ORD along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.

We are introduced to queen Sheba She is one of many who come to see the king Are the stories true? Wisdom and wealth Don’t come empty handed

1 kings And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty.

It seems strange The king who has so much Is showered with gifts There more you have the more you get The less you have the less you entrusted with

23 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

King Solomon was wise and yet his downfall was his desire to love his many wives That they were foreign is one problem – not the biggest That he worshiped their gods is the real problem for the king

1 kings 11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the L ORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.”.

4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the L ORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the L ORD ; he did not follow the L ORD completely, as David his father had done.

Solomon worshipped other God’s Unlike his father King David The Lord became angry with Solomon And there were consequences Why? Faith, worship and service

9 The L ORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the L ORD, the God of Israel…

11 So the L ORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.

The promises are removed The kingdom will fall out of his hands Because of Solomon’s lack of faith Because of his worship of other God’s

Hadad the Edomite returns to fight against Israel Rezon gathered an army in Damascus Rehaboam is promised ten tribes The tribes of Israel will be yours IF…

There is a lot of bad news There is a nugget of good news David’s kingdom is not gone forever Because of David’s faithfulness His linage will play a significant role in Israel yet

39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’ ”

This is a prophetic word Because of David’s faithfulness… The Lord will bring the messiah through the line of David Faithfulness is rewarded

Putting it all together Faith in our Lord, in both the Old and New Testament, trumps everything Our actions are important Faith is the guiding principle of who we are and who we believe in Actions can be changed, forgiven or removed

Putting it all together We tend to attract people who we are like us When we have something, more is added to what we have To be entrusted with more we must demonstrate wisdom Pray for and seek wisdom

Putting it all together There is always a nugget of good news even in the toughest of times When things are tough, our fault or someone else’s, it is not forever Look for the good news, no matter how small God does not walk away from us

Be faithful Seek wisdom God always has something good stored for us