King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Chapters: I Kings 10-11, II Chronicles 9
Message: True Wealth
Hello My Friend,
Many Christians get this presumption that their salvation protects them, and allows them to live the life they choose without consequence. You absolutely cannot get saved and live in the world, it will do more than take you away from God’s protection, it will turn your heart away from Him all together, and you will end up in a much worse state than you ever were in the world. “Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” – II Peter 2:14-15,20-21.
“an heart they have exercised with covetous practices;” There is a reason why many faithful Christians are live day by day my daily bread Christians, we do not do well with great wealth. This happens because the wealthier people get the more they want, and more they want, the less they rely on God to provide their daily needs. And this in turn turns their heart away from God. It truly is awesome when God starts blessing us financially, but we need to make sure that we do not get caught up in all its fame. King Solomon was the most powerful, wealthiest, and prosperous king of all time because he was a Godly man, led by the influence of his father, David. Solomon not only possessed great wisdom and wealth, he was looked highly upon by the rest of the world as the king who was blessed by the only living God. Kings and queens came from all over the world to meet him, when the queen of Sheba heard the stories of this great king lead by God Himself she had to come and see it for herself.
“And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.” – I Kings 10:4-9.
“Blessed be the LORD thy God,” You see, God did not just want Israel to know and worship Him, He wanted all nations to do so. The queen of Sheba heard what God had done for Israel, when she saw it for herself that was when she was convinced that He is true, and chose Him as her God as well. And this is why we are to be separate and set apart from the world, so that when they see us it is Jesus they see. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.” – Titus 3:5-8.
“might be careful to maintain good works.” What are good works? The works of Christ. We can work out in the world and not become of the world, in fact, Jesus wants it this way. Let me tell you, when we work as Christ we prosper, and quickly, the reason so many Christians are living more like paupers than princes is that they are not working for it by faith. I do not know if it is lack of confidence or self esteem, but we convince ourselves that this is as good as it will get, but we are so much better than that and need to start convincing ourselves that we can do all things through Christ. Solomon was no different than the rest of us, he prospered as king because of his faithfulness to God, and so did the kingdom. An account is given of all that he had been blessed with.
“And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance. And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.” – II Chronicles 9:22-28.
“that God had put in his heart.” Here is the key right there, because his heart was tender for God, He made all this possible. We are only as prosperous as God sees fit to bless us with the things within the world according to our obedience to Him. Remember, God told Solomon that because he only asked for wisdom He would give him great prosperity, but that was dependent upon him remaining faithful to Him. All of this was about to change as Solomon’s heart moved away from God, and he started worshiping all the gods of his strange wives.
“But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.” – I Kings 10:1,4,9-13.
“I will surely rend the kingdom from thee,” The women were called strange because of different faiths, they worshiped the god of their nation, and with a thousand wives worshiping every man made god known it was inevitable that Solomon would be influenced by them to worship their god too. And this is why Solomon wrote so many proverbs about not letting a woman influence a man. All that fame, all that wealth, and all those women turned his heart to the lusts of his flesh and away from God. And because of this, God took the kingdom away from his children, but not all, because of His covenant with David, one tribe would remain, Judah. God already chose someone to reign over Israel while Solomon’s son would reign over Judah, a man named, Jeroboam.
“And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.” – I Kings 11:26,29-39.
“if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee,” The same rules applied to this guy as well, if he wanted to be a great nation it was dependent on his faithfulness to God. When you read about the rise and fall of Israel you cannot help, but think about your own country and how it parallels with Israel. This should be a warning to all nations, once protected and kept under the hand of God that His blessing are conditional. Every nation that is led by God becomes great, likewise, and nation that turns away from God literally turns into a wasteland. There is a reason why Jesus came here as a poor man, to show us that great prosperity and wealth is not in what man can give us it is in what God can give us through our faith, and obedience to Him. Believe it or not, God does want all His children to prosper greatly, and as long as we are faithful to Him, and work at it by faith, we will. Never let anyone tell you that you are not capable of turning things around for your life, you can do all things through Christ, and as for those who prosper in the world without Him, they will have their reward.
“Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.” – Psalm 73:12-13,17-19,26-28.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.” – I Kings 11:36.
Today’s Prayer: God, You have proven to me time and time again that it is not how much I have that determines my worth, but who I have. True wealth is not about fame, fortune, or pleasing my flesh, it is about a relationship with Your Son, and working as He did. I am royalty, joint heirs with Jesus, one who does not need everything I desire to feel worthy, all I need is You, and Your had guiding me. Lord, I do not want my life to be about meaningless pursuits that turn my heart away from You, watch over me, guide me, give me Your mercies and grace, wisdom, truth, and true love, help me let go of anything that is hurting me, and let me do all things through Christ who is my strength. I ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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