All right, well, tonight we're here in 1 Kings chapter number 11. And of course, we've been making our way through the book of 1 Kings verse by verse and chapter by chapter on Wednesday night. And so far in this book, though we've been studying the book of 1 Kings, it's really been a study of the life of Solomon. And tonight, we're going to finish chapter 11. And we are getting to the end of Solomon's life. And unfortunately, it is a tragic end. And we've been with Solomon pretty much since the beginning of the book. The book will now continue on with other kings. But of course, we saw Solomon, and we saw him as a young man. We saw him as a humble man asking God for wisdom. And we saw God give Solomon not only wisdom, but really unfiltered favor and blessings. He built a temple. And he led Israel to the highest point of national success. But tonight, we're going to see how Solomon basically tears all that down. He brings it all down. And of course, we already began to see his decline. We saw that Solomon multiplied gold and he multiplied horses, he multiplied wives. These are all things that God told him not to do. And of course, we saw how his wives turned away his heart. And what we're going to see in the rest of this chapter is that God stirs up three adversaries against Solomon. And we're just going to walk through it and see what we can learn. But I want you to notice, beginning there in verse number 14, we see the first adversary. In verse 14, the Bible says, And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, he was of the king's seed in Edom. So we see here that the Bible says that the Lord stirred up an adversary against Solomon. And up to this point, something that has been characteristic of the kingdom of Solomon is that it was a kingdom of peace. is that there was no conflict, but now we see that there is a shift. I don't know, it might just be in my head, but it sounds a little echoey to me. I don't know if that, does it sound fine to you? My wife says it's fine, so just leave it alone. It's just me. I can't, I worked on the flight line for four years, I can't hear, so it's good. The Lord stirred up an adversary. unto Solomon. This is different for Solomon than what Solomon has dealt with in the past. In fact, if you don't mind, you're there in 1 Kings 11. Flip back just real quickly to 1 Kings chapter 4 and look down at verse number 24. In 1 Kings chapter 4 and verse 24, we still have Solomon, of course, under the blessing of God and loving God and God loving him. And in 1 Kings chapter 4 and verse 24, The Bible says this, for he had dominion over all the region of this side, the river, from Tiphaz even unto Aza, over all the kings on this side, the river, and he had peace, notice the last part of verse 24, and he had peace on all sides round about him. So Solomon's kingdom has been characterized by the fact that he's had prosperity, he's had peace. And that's all beginning to change here in verse 14. The Lord, and I want you to notice what the Bible says here, the Lord God stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the king's seed of Edom. Now Edom is south of Israel. And what we see is that the Lord, there's three ways to kind of characterize these adversaries. The first way is geographically, the Lord brought an adversary from the south. But I want you to notice that not only can we look at it geographically, but we can look at it Historically, or through a timeline, not only did the Lord bring an adversary from the south, but the Lord brought an adversary from the past. Notice verse 15. So this is Solomon's father, of course, the previous king. And Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom. For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom, that Hadad fled." So the Bible tells us that David and Joab, previous kingdom, decades ago, had smitten every male in Edom. Joab stayed there for six months basically making sure that every male, last part of verse 16, he had cut off every male in Edom. But the Bible says in verse 17 that Hadad fled he and certain Edomites. Now of course Hadad is a child here. He and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him to go into Egypt, hated being yet a little child. So David, with Joab, is conquering Edom, killing all the men of Edom, and this little child flees. And now this little child has grown up, and the Bible says that the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. So we see that the Lord brings an adversary from Israel's past. And I think what we can learn from this is this, that God has enemies oftentimes for us. And when I say for us, I mean for his own people, for God's people. God has enemies in reserve. And what God can do with those enemies is one of two things. He can restrain them or he can release them. And here, this whole time, the whole time that Solomon has been king, Hadad has existed, this man has had this history, but the Lord has been restraining him. The Lord has been keeping him from causing any problems. But now that Solomon has turned his heart away from the Lord and he's drifted away from the Lord, the Lord now stirs up this adversary unto Solomon is what the Bible says. So I think really that's the theme of this chapter and we're going to see it as we develop it. But the theme of the chapter is this, that the same God that can favor you can also fight against you. God can either restrain your enemies or He can release them upon you and we need to be careful about not thinking when there is a time of peace and prosperity that this is due to our own skill and ability And of course, there's going to be peace because I'm Solomon. Of course, there's going to be prosperity. Look at how great I am. I think Solomon had forgotten that the reason that there was peace is because the Lord was working on his behalf. The Lord was restraining these enemies. So the Lord now is going to remind Solomon that he was the one restraining them and now he can release them. So we see that here with Hadad. Look at verse 18. The Bible says, And they arose of Midian, and came to Paran. And they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, which gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife, the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tehapanes, the queen. And the sister of Tehapanes bare him Gennubath, his son, whom Tehapanes weaned in Pharaoh's house, and Gennubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh." Notice verse 21, and when Hadad heard in Egypt I want you to notice this, because we already saw that Hadad is like a sleeper cell. He's been there since David, but he's been restrained by the Lord. He's been asleep, if you will, and God is now stirring him up. He's bringing him up, and that gives us a lesson that God can restrain or God can release your enemies. And really, which one would you prefer? I would much rather God restrain my enemies and God restrain his curse upon me, than to release those things. But here we see another principle about Hadad. Notice verse 21. and that Joab the captain of the host was dead. Hadad said to Pharaoh, let me depart that I may go to mine own country. Then Pharaoh said unto him, but what has thou lacked with me that behold thou seekest to go to thine own country? And he answered nothing, how be it let me go So I want you to notice in verse 21 the Bible says, Because remember, why did Hadad run away? Because David came to Edom, and Joab, the captain of the host, were killing all of the males. He runs away as a child. He's taken away to save his life. And now, the whole time that David is reigning, the whole time that Joab is the captain of the host, Hadad is in Egypt. He's in hiding. But the Bible says when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and Joab, the captain of the host, was dead, we see that it was David and Joab and their reputation that was keeping Hadad at bay. But when Hadad heard that David was dead and that Joab was dead, that's when he decided, that's when He went to Pharaoh and said, let me go to my own country. So we see something here, and it's this, that David's righteous leadership restrained the enemies that Solomon's rebellion released. And really there's just an application here that strong leadership restrains danger, while weak leadership invites it. And as long as David was alive, Hadad was at bay. But when he heard that David was dead, then Hadad decided to come out of the woodwork to be an enemy against the nation of Israel and against Solomon. Keep your place there in 1 Kings 11. That's obviously our text for tonight. But go with me if you wouldn't mind to the book of Proverbs real quickly. Proverbs chapter 29. Proverbs chapter 29. If you open your Bible just right in the center, you're more than likely to find the book of Psalms. Right after Psalms, you have the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 29. Do me a favor when you get to Proverbs, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. And I'd like for you to get to it quickly. Proverbs 29, look at verse number 2. So we see a principle here that strong leadership will restrain danger, it'll keep danger at bay. But Solomon did not strike fear into Hadad the way that David did. And this is a lesson for really anyone in leadership. I think there's a big application here maybe for fathers and mothers. And that is this, that when you are a strong leader as a father and a mother, you're going to keep dangers and you're going to restrain your children. Because Hadad, you know, he stayed away. He was afraid of David and he was afraid of Joab. But when he heard they were dead, apparently he wasn't that afraid of Solomon. Even though Solomon was extremely successful and extremely famous, when he heard David was dead, he said, I'm going to go back. and I'm gonna begin to be an adversary to Solomon. Notice Proverbs 29, look at verse 2. And of course, this was after Solomon, because Solomon had 20 years of peace and prosperity while he was right with the Lord. But this was towards the end when God is stirring up adversaries. Proverbs 29, look at verse 2, the Bible says, When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. So you see that when the righteous, the Bible is telling us here, and this is I think one of the verses that kind of indicates this idea that everything rises and falls on leadership. And when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. When people that God is using and blessing have the positions of leadership, then the people are going to be fine. They're going to rejoice. They're going to be happy. But when the wicked bear through all, the people mourn. And that's what we saw. David was a man after God's own heart. As long as he was alive, as long as he was leading, Hadad was staying in place, the enemies were staying at bay. But now we see Solomon. His heart has drifted from the Lord. He's become a wicked. The wicked are bearing root now. And we see that the people are going to mourn. So keep your place in Proverbs. We're going to come back to it and go back to 1 Kings 11. So we saw the first adversary there in verses 14 through 22. I want you to notice the second adversary in verse number 23. Notice the wording again. The Bible says, and God stirred him up. another adversary. So it's God who's doing this. It was God who was keeping the adversaries at bay, and now it's God who's stirring them up, who's causing them to come out. The Bible says, and God stirred him up another adversary, Rezan, the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer, the king of Zobah. Notice verse 24, and he gathered men unto him and became captains over a band when David slew them to Zobah. And they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. " Now Edom is south of the nation of Israel. And if you remember, Hadad was an enemy from the past. Now here we see that Damascus is north of the nation of Israel. And this is an enemy of the present. Notice verse 25. The Bible says, And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon. Now, of course, it's talking about once God began to stir up the enemies of Solomon, this guy was an enemy to Israel all the days of Solomon beside the mischief that Hadad did. And he abhorred Israel and reigned over Israel and reigned over Syria. So we see that there is an enemy from the south. and it's an enemy from the past, but we also see that there's an enemy from the north, and it's an enemy from the present. He was an adversary. And I want you to notice two things about this man, Reason. First, the Bible says that he abhorred Israel. If you look at the last part of verse 25, it says he abhorred Israel. And you know, sometimes you're going to have enemies that just hate you, and honestly, sometimes people just hate you for no reason. I mean, if we're honest, a lot of times people hate us, and they've got some reason, maybe not a good reason, but there's something there. But sometimes people just hate you, and you think to yourself, I don't know why this person hates me so bad. I've never done anything wrong to them. I've never done anything but good to them. And that's just the way it is. Here, this guy, the Bible says he abhorred Israel. But also, there is a contrast here, because it says he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad did. So Hadad was an adversary, but the Bible seems to be indicating for us that Hadad maybe had his times or had his moments when he kind of rose his head, as opposed to Reason, who was a constant adversary all the days of Solomon. When Solomon began to have enemies, he was just an annoyance. I want you to notice that Reason was He abhorred Israel, but also He annoyed Israel all the days of Solomon. And really we see different types of adversaries here. There are different types of problems that God allows to bring into our lives. Sometimes the problems, and I think the problems that get the most attention or that get the most, you know, Preaching time if I can say it that way are the big storms, right? the big storms of life that come into our life and those storms can come fairly quickly and they just kind of come in out of nowhere and and all of a Sudden, you know, we're just traveling through a life and everything was going well and all of a sudden everything's messed up and everything's chaotic and maybe you've lost your job or maybe it's your health or or whatever it might be. And those are like the Haydad. They kind of just come out of nowhere. And really, they've been there the whole time, right? Haydad had been there the whole time. You know, it's interesting that our past often finds its way into our present. And that should be a lesson for us, that our present will probably find its way into our future. So we should realize that we're going to reap what we sow. And that's why the Bible says, be not weary in well-doing. And we should just try to do good, because what we are doing right now, we're going to reap that in the future. We see that with Hadad. But here, with reason. We see that it's a different thing. It doesn't just kind of come up out of nowhere, but he's there all the days of Solomon. And look, some problems that God allows in our lives, they don't come suddenly, and they don't leave quickly, and they don't resolve easily. Paul would say it this way about something that God allowed in his life. It was a thorn in the flesh. the messenger of Satan to buffet him. And sometimes God allows these things into our lives. And Solomon is realizing what it means to live without the favor of God. He had an enemy from the south, which came from the past. He had an enemy from the north, which is in his present. Then I want you to notice a third enemy, beginning in verse 26. The Bible says in Jeroboam, the son of Nabat. Now, Jeroboam is going to become a central figure in the book of First Kings and in the history of Israel, because we're going to see in the next chapter that the kingdom is going to split, the nation of Israel is going to split into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom of Israel, the southern kingdom of Judah. And Solomon's son, Rehoboam, will be the king of the southern kingdom of Judah. And Rehoboam is the man that is, excuse me, Jeroboam is the man that's going to split the kingdom and take, in fact, it's prophesied in this very chapter. So Jeroboam is a name that you should get familiar with because he's going to become a central figure. And in fact, his sin is going to come up throughout the entire time that the northern kings are doing wickedness because he really sets them up for failure, but that's a sermon for another day. But verse 26 says this, and Jeroboam the son of Nabat, an Ephrathithite of Zerida, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zerua, a widow woman. I want you to notice the emphasis here, last part of verse 26, the Bible says, even he lifted up his hand against the king. So there's an emphasis here that you've got an enemy from the south and he comes from the past. You've got an enemy from the north and he comes from the present. But this is different because this is an enemy from within. This is Jeroboam, Solomon's servant. Even he lifted up his hand against the king. This is an enemy from within and really this is going to be an enemy for the future. And again, the emphasis I think in this chapter and the big takeaway, and there's a lot more here that I want to go over, but let me just take a moment to emphasize this. The big takeaway is this, that God can be for you or God can be against you. God can help you or God can hinder you. And that's what we see in Solomon's life. Solomon reigns for 40 years. And for the first 20 years, as he's building the temple, and he's loving the Lord, and he's serving God, and he has his issues. He's not perfect. Even all the way back there. The Bible tells us that he loved the Lord only and he allowed certain things. But by and large, he's serving God and God's favoring him and God's blessing him. But then he allows his heart to be turned and he begins to worship other gods. He drifts away from the Lord and the Lord begins to remove his hand of blessing, remove his hand of protection. Now we've got these enemies that are rising up. It is not characteristic to the kingdom of Solomon. Solomon, as we already saw in 1 Kings chapter 4, he had peace on all sides. He had tranquility on all sides. But now, he's got enemies from the south. He's got enemies from the north. He's got enemies from within. He's got enemies surrounding him. And it's all because the Lord is stirring them up. The Lord is bringing them against Solomon. There's a verse in Proverbs 16 that I think is very applicable to this. If you don't mind, if you kept your place in Proverbs, go back to Proverbs real quickly, Proverbs chapter 16. And look at verse number seven, Proverbs chapter 16 in verse seven. Notice what the Bible says here. Proverbs 16 in verse seven, the Bible says this. When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies. to be at peace with him. And I think we see a contrast here with Solomon. While he was pleasing the Lord, he was keeping his enemies at bay. While he was pleasing the Lord, he made his enemies to be at peace with him. When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even His enemies to be at peace. And again, the idea, the takeaway is this, that God can favor us or God can fight against us. He can help us or He can hinder us. If you remember in Job, you don't have to turn there, but in Job chapter 1, remember when Satan came to God and spoke about Job and he said, does Job serve you for naught? He says, has not thou made a hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side? God had put a hedge of protection around Job. God had put a hedge of protection around Solomon. And we need to realize that anything that's good in our lives, this is why James says, every good gift is from above. It comes from God. And God is showing Solomon, look, the prosperity and the peace that you had was not because of your wisdom or your skill. It was because of me. And God is now removing, starting to take all these things away from Solomon. So we see the three adversaries. From the south, from the north, from within, from the past, from the present, for the future. Solomon is finding himself surrounded by these enemies. Now let me just give you some other things that we can learn from this passage and takeaways as we continue to move through it. Notice verse 27. We're talking about Jeroboam here. Remember in verse 26 it says, and Jeroboam the son of Nabat, it tells us he was Solomon's servant, and it tells us even he lifted up his hand against the king, last part of verse 26. Notice verse 27, and this was the cause. This verse is interesting Because it tells us this is why Jeroboam turned against the Lord, or turns against Solomon, excuse me. But then it doesn't really tell us, at least not just real obviously in the surface. It says, this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king. Solomon built Milo and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. And then in verse 28 says, and the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. So in verse 28, we're continuing to talk about Jeroboam, but the subject changes. It's no longer about why he turned against Solomon. So in verse 27 is really just a verse kind of that stands alone. And it says, because in verse 26 it says, he lifted up his hand against the king. Verse 27, verse 28 says that he was a mighty man of valor. And verse 27 tells us why he lifted up his hand against the king. It says that this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king. Solomon built Milo and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. Now that doesn't really say a lot and you know I tried to think about this and look into it and maybe I missed something maybe there's something you know that I didn't catch but the Bible I think is indicating for us that something about Solomon building Milo and repairing the breach of the city of David was the reason why that Jeroboam turned against Solomon. Now we know that Jeroboam was Solomon's servant And we know we're going to see here in a minute, well let's just look at it real quickly, verse 28. He, Solomon, made him, Jeroboam, ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. So Solomon took Jeroboam, made him his servant, saw that he was industrious, made him his servant, put him in charge of different things. And verse 27 tells us that this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king, that Solomon built Milo. So something about Solomon building Milo upset Jeroboam. Now, what was it? I don't know. I can figure it out. Definitively, I don't know. I couldn't figure it out. Maybe if you know, let me know after the service, or you should have let me know before the service. I could have added to the sermon. But anyway, that's a different story. But let me give you what I think might be going on here. Because Solomon was notorious for his building projects. I mean, that's really, I mean, we spent like a lot of time looking at all the building projects of Solomon. He builds the temple. He builds the house of Lebanon. He's building all these cities. He was a builder. He was a guy that was building a lot. And actually, there was a lot of complaints about his building projects. Flip over, if you don't mind, to 1 Kings chapter 12, just real quickly. We're going to just go into chapter 12 real quickly. We'll cover that another time. Rehoboam, his son, and all those things. But I want you to notice with the children of Israel, when Solomon is dead and Rehoboam becomes the king, I want you to notice what they said about him. 1 Kings chapter 12, look at verse 4. 1 Kings chapter 12, verse 4. This is the people speaking to Rehoboam. who's the son of Solomon, who's now the king in chapter 12, they said, thy father, referring to Solomon, made our yoke grievous. Now, therefore, make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke, which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. Now I want you to notice here that the way that the people described the way they were treated by Solomon was this way. Your father made our yoke grievous. They're asking, make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us lighter. So the people felt that Solomon was just mistreating them, working them too hard. He was putting a grievous yoke upon them. And he was putting a heavy yoke upon them. So I think that gives us a hint, if you go back to 1 Kings 11, Why Jeroboam lifted up the Solomon's servant, even he lifted up his hand against the king. And it's connected to Solomon built Milo and repaired the breaches. But it probably had to do with the fact that Solomon just mistreated Jeroboam. And look, whether Solomon had the right to or whether Jeroboam was just complaining or being a whiner or whatever, all those things are things that you can talk about. But the point is this, and I think the application remains, and it is this, that how you treat people matters. And look, you can say like, well, I can just mistreat my children, and I'm their dad, or I'm their mom, and it's my right, and it's whatever. And here's the thing, and you're right. Look, husbands, you realize that you can just treat your wife like garbage, and at the end of the day, she's supposed to obey, and she's supposed to submit herself to you, and all of that is true. Your children are supposed to pay. Your employees are supposed to pay. All of that is true. But here's the thing. Do you really want to lead people who just hate you? Because you're just a jerk. And you say, what's my right? Yeah, it's your right. Absolutely. But that doesn't mean that people won't rebel. That doesn't mean that they're not going to hate you. So there's some wisdom I think that we can use here in life and realize, look, we need to be careful, or maybe careful is the wrong word, but we should be considerate about how we treat people. And here we see that Solomon, there's something that happened because the Bible is telling us this was the cause. that Jeroboam lifted up his hand against the king. And it had to do with this building project. And it seems that maybe Solomon was just mistreating them or whatever it might be. So have some wisdom there and realize, look, yes, when you're an authority, you can be a jerk to your employees. You can just mistreat them. You can talk down to them. You can, all those things, whatever authority, but is that really what you want? Do you want your followers to just hate you? and just be looking for any opportunity to rise up against you. I think there's a lesson here, and the lesson is that it matters how we treat people, and we should consider that. There's also another lesson I want you to see here about Jeroboam. And this is maybe more of a positive thing, even though it's within a negative context. So we're talking about Jeroboam rebelling. But I want you to notice why Jeroboam stood out to begin with, verse 28. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. And Solomon, seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. So I want you to notice that here we see something that's highlighted throughout scripture, and it is this, that a key to success in the secular world, really, I shouldn't even say secular world, because the key to success anywhere, but I'm talking about like at a job, is to be industrious. is to be a hard worker. This is something the Bible highlights. Go back to Proverbs. If you kept your place in Proverbs, look at Proverbs 22. Proverbs 22. Because here we're told that Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. And Solomon seeing the young man, so he's a young man, Solomon saw that he was industrious and he made him ruler over the charge of the house of Joseph. And by the way, that's how you end up leading. That's how you end up getting promoted. That's how you end up becoming the ruler and being in charge by being industrious and being a hard worker. It reminds me of in Genesis when Joseph brought the children of Israel into Egypt, do you remember that? Genesis, you go to Proverbs 22, let me read to you from Genesis 47 and verse 6. The Bible says, this is Pharaoh speaking to Joseph about his family. He said, the land of Egypt is before thee. In the best of the land, make thy father and brethren to dwell. In the land of Goshen, let them dwell. And then this is what Pharaoh said to Joseph. And if thou knowest any men of activity among them, make them rulers over my cattle. So I want you to notice that Pharaoh, he says, look Joseph, if you know of any men of activity, make them rulers, put them in charge. We see that Solomon, and Pharaoh was a very successful king, Solomon, another very successful king, he saw that Jeroboam was industrious and he made him ruler. Here's what Proverbs 22 and verse 29 says. It says, seest thou a man diligent in his business? So he says, when you see someone who's diligent in their business, diligent in their work, the Bible says, he shall stand before kings. He shall not stand before mean men. And the word mean there is not referring to like not nice. The word mean is talking about average. The word mean means average. And what the Bible says, when someone is diligent in their business, you know, that person is going to, has found the secret to success. They're going to stand before kings. They're not going to stand before average men. And what is that secret? It's to be industrious. It's to be a hard worker. And, you know, I was thinking about this because obviously we always want to teach everyone, men, women, children, everyone, to be hard workers. Obviously right now we're applying it to the secular world. But you know, it's easy to say like, be industrious, be a hard worker. Pharaoh said it, and I like how Pharaoh said it in Genesis, men of activity. But what does that really mean? And we could spend a lot of time talking about what that means and how to describe that. But let me just give you three quick qualities for someone who's industrious. Three quick qualities for someone who's industrious. These are just something I wrote down. But just to give it some context, you say, what does it mean? you know, how can I be a hard worker at work or wherever I'm at? Number one, it means to take initiative. I think that's what Pharaoh was talking about when he says men of activity. Not men who are just sitting around doing nothing. But they're doing something. They take initiative. This is the type of person who sees a problem and addresses it, and fixes it, and works at it. They see that something needs to be done, and they do it. This is the opposite, because even that, sometimes it's easier to understand, like, well, what is the opposite of that? Here's the opposite of that. The person that does the bare minimum. The person that only does what they're asked. You know what I'm talking about? At work, and when I say at work, I'm talking about at your job, but I'm saying anytime you're working, don't be the person who's just doing the bare minimum. Who's just, well, I'm only gonna do what I'm asked to do. Nobody asked me to do it, so I'm not gonna do it. That's not being a person of activity, a man of activity. Someone who's industrious is someone who takes initiative. So they get things done. They start, often it's referred to as being a self-starter. You don't need someone to tell you, you just do it. But here's another characteristic, another quality. Number one, they take initiative, which has to do with starting. But here's another quality, is that they get things done. That has to do with finishing. See, not only do they start things, but they finish things. He finishes what he starts. An industrious person is someone who finishes what they start. They don't leave things half done. Because here's the thing, you might be someone who's proactive and you're getting things started, but if you're never finishing them, that's not industrious either. That's not being a hard worker either. So there's two sides to this. There's the beginning. They take initiative. They're men of activity. But they're also finishers. They finish projects. They finish things. They get them done. They don't leave them half done. But there's another concept, and it is this. Number one, they take initiative. Number two, they get things done. And number three, they do things well. So not only do they start things, not only do they end things, but they do things well as well. It means they produce good quality. It means they don't just do things, but they do them well. It means they pay attention to detail. It means that they value excellence. Because here's the thing, if you take the initiative, and you start something, and you finish it, but then it has to get redone because it's such poor quality, that doesn't impress the boss either. So what does it mean to be industrious? What does it mean to be diligent? See a Saba man diligent in his business? What does that mean? Well, it means that they're men of activity. They take initiative. They are proactive. They see things and they step up. They don't have to be asked. They start. But they also get things done. They see things through. They follow through. They finish. And also, they have a high level of excellence. That's what it means to be industrious. And here's the thing, if you can learn that, then they'll probably put you in charge. They'll make you the ruler. Because you know what successful people are looking for? They're looking for industrious people. Solomon, the Bible says, he saw that Jeroboam was industrious, and he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. And we saw there that Proverbs says, see as thou a man diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men. Look down at verse number 27, 1 Kings chapter 11, excuse me, verse number 29, 1 Kings chapter 11, verse 29. Now here's, there's another portion of scripture, and again, it's Wednesday night, so it's Bible study and preaching, and we try to do a little bit of all of it, but let me just kind of get into a Bible study mode for a second and talk about something here in verse 29 1st Kings chapter 11 verse 29 in verse 29 the Bible says this and it came to pass at the time when Jeroboam went out to Jerusalem that the prophet Ahijah the Shilohite 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 12 pieces. Now, the way the wording is here, it's hard to tell. But the way I like to imagine the story, and maybe I could be wrong about this. It could be that we don't know which one had the new garment. The way the wording is, it's not clear. I like to imagine that Jeroboam had the new garment. I think that's a little more dramatic. But probably Ahijah had the new garment. But whatever it is, one of these men is wearing a new article of clothing. They collided themselves with a new garment and Ahijah, the prophet, copped the new garment and rent it in 12 pieces. He takes this new garment. It's like if you're wearing a new jacket and he takes the new jacket and then he just tears it into 12 pieces. Now, possibly Ahijah was wearing the new garment. He's wearing new clothing. He walks up to Jeroboam and says, you see my new jacket? Jeroboam says, yeah, that's a new jacket. That's a nice jacket. Where'd you get that jacket? He says, it doesn't matter. Takes it off and tears it. Either that's the way the story goes, or the way I like to envision it, which is a little more dramatic, is that Jeroboam's wearing the new jacket. And Ahijah walks up and says, I like your jacket. Jeroboam says, thank you. And then he rips it off of him and tears it in 12 pieces. Either way, a piece of garment is torn into 12 pieces. That's really the gist of what we need to know. It was rent in 12 pieces. And this is an illustration. It's a picture of something, verse 31. And he said to Jeroboam, take the 10 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 10 tribes to thee. But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. I feel like it's a little, I hear a ring. Again, maybe that's just in my head, but if somebody could help me with that, I would appreciate it. So we see that he has 10 pieces and then he tears the garment to 12 pieces. He gives him 10 pieces and then he has the one. He says he shall have one tribe. And of course this is picturing the fact that the nation of Israel is going to be rent. It's going to be divided. There's 12 tribes of Israel, and 10 are going to become the northern kingdom of Israel. And the southern kingdom of Israel are going to be two tribes, Judah and Benjamin. In fact, if you don't mind, just flip over to 1 Kings chapter 12 real quickly. Look at verse 21. 1 Kings chapter 12. In verse 21, the Bible says, and when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah. This is after the nation is divided. He assembled all the house of Judah, and notice what it says here, with the tribe of Benjamin. With the tribe of Benjamin. So he has these two, the two tribes become the southern kingdom, Judah and Benjamin. Now, I highlight this just to show you this. If you go back to 1 Kings 11, There's a passage here that sometimes people try to act like it's a mistake in the Bible or some sort of, not really a contradiction, but just a mistake. Because in verse 31, Ahijah tells Jeroboam to take the 10 pieces. He says, I will give 10 tribes to thee. And then in verse 32, he says, but he shall have, referring to Rehoboam, he shall have one tribe. And some people will look at this and say, here's a mistake. Because he says, you take 10, Jeroboam, and Rehoboam's going to take one tribe. Well, that's 11. That's not 12. So there's a mistake here in the Bible, because it was 12 tribes. So the question is, how do we answer this, or what's the answer for this? And I'll just give you two arguments that I think you could jot down. Probably either one of these arguments is fine. But I'll give you the first one, and then I'll give you the second one, and I'll tell you which one I lean towards. But the first argument is this. Go to Joshua, if you don't mind, Joshua chapter 18. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and then you've got the book of Joshua, Joshua chapter 18. The first argument is this, that the reason that, because the Bible is clear about the fact that the southern kingdom was Judah and Benjamin. So the first argument is that the reason that it says 10 and 1 is that the two tribes that ended up being the Southern Kingdom, Judah and Benjamin, are just referred to as one. and they're considered one. And they're considered one because of two reasons. First of all, because if you look at a map of ancient Israel and the tribe allocations, you'll find that you have Judah, that's the big tribe, and then you have Benjamin that is on the northern side, but Benjamin really just kind of hugs the entire border of Judah. So it's just kind of like an addition. Geographically, it's connected to Judah. But not only that, but also Jerusalem, of course, is the capital city of the nation of Israel and of Judah in particular. And Jerusalem is going to become the capital city of the southern kingdom of Israel when it splits. But the thing about Jerusalem, which is a very obviously important city in history, is that It's partially in the land allocated to the tribe of Benjamin. Are you there in Joshua chapter 18? Look at verse 28. Notice what the Bible says. Joshua 18, 28. Now Jebusai, notice what the Bible says here, which is Jerusalem. So Jebusai is just the older name of the city of Jerusalem. And Zillah and Elath and Jebusai, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath and Kirjath, 14 cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children, notice what it says, not Judah, of the children of Benjamin, according to their families. So the city of Jerusalem is actually in the tribal territory of Benjamin, or at least partially in the tribal territory of Benjamin. So for that reason, some people give the argument that that's why Judah and Benjamin are just meshed and referred to as one. So in case, you know, in case you want to just have an answer for this, one possible answer, why did he 10 and 1, is because Benjamin and Judah, they weren't just near each other. They weren't just bordering. They even had a city, the capital city, not just a city, the city, Jerusalem, that was in both territories. So therefore, that's why an argument for why they're referred to as 1. Another argument, which is the argument that I tend to lean towards, is this. that when Ahijah says, you take ten pieces and he'll take one piece, the idea is that Rehoboam was already the leader of Judah, where Jeroboam wasn't the leader of anything. He received 10 pieces, 10 tribes that he's now the king of. Rehoboam was already from the tribe of Judah, from the line of David. So when it says that he receives one, he receives one in addition to what he already had. He is Judah and he receives Benjamin and that gives you the number 12. So that's another way to look at it, another argument. And I kind of lean towards that one. I think that makes more sense, at least to me. So either way, there's not really a contradiction here. You just have to consider what's being said and who it's being spoken to and whatever. Go back to 1 Kings 11, look at verse 33. 1 Kings 11, verse 33. The Bible says, Now here God is going to highlight the three lowercase g gods that Solomon was worshiping. And this is Ahijah, the prophet, telling Jeroboam, here's why God's going to take away the kingdom. Because they have forsaken me and have worshipped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zerodians, Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, and Milcom, the god of the children of Ammon. and have not walked in my ways to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David my father. Howbeit, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him a prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose because he kept my commandments and my statutes. But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hands and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes, and unto his son will I give one tribe. So again, the idea is that he already had the one tribe, he's Judah and he's given another tribe, Benjamin, which gives us the number 12. The city which I have chosen me to put my name there and against Jerusalem is in both territories, Benjamin and Judah, verse 37. And I will take thee and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth and shalt be king over Israel. Now just one thing that I want to highlight from here is this. I don't think it's a coincidence that God highlights three idols that Solomon and the children of Israel were worshiping, Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom. And he says, because of that, he takes the kingdom away, but he also rises up three adversaries. And I think that God maybe rose, chose to bring three adversaries because there was three idols. I don't think that these things are a coincidence with God. And I think the application for us there, and a question you should ask is, what if God rose up as many adversaries as things that you put before him? That might cause us to want to limit how many things we put before him, because if you're going to put seven things, you're going to worship seven things more than you worship God, then he might rise up seven adversaries for each one of those things. And back when we were studying the book of Ezekiel, there was this theme in Ezekiel, and it was this, that anything that you make an idol of, God is going to make an enemy of. Anything you make an idol of, God is going to destroy. So be careful about making an idol of things that you love, because God ends up destroying them. And it just kind of goes with this, because they had three idols they were worshiping, three false gods, so God brings three adversaries against Solomon. So, let's try to finish this up real quickly. Look at verse 38. We just got a few more verses, we'll just go through this real quick. Verse 38. Notice what God says to Jeroboam through the prophet Ahijah. And it shall be, notice what he says, he says, if. This is God not speaking to Solomon, not speaking to Jeroboam. He's speaking to Jeroboam. It says, not related to David at all. Notice what he says. That's exactly what God said to David. That's what he said to Solomon. Now he's saying it to Jeroboam. He said, if you will hearken to my commands and walk in my ways, as David my servant did, that I will be with thee and build thee a sure house. Notice what he says there, last part of verse 38, as I built for David and will give Israel unto thee. And here's a lesson we learned from verse 38, and it's this, that God is not a respecter of persons. He loved and blessed David. But you know, it wasn't that, oh, David's just special and David got a free pass because God just loved David. You know, God was telling Solomon, I can have the same relationship with you and you can have the same relationship with me that David had. And the reason that Solomon didn't have the same relationship with God that David had was not God's fault, it was Solomon's fault. And now God is telling Jeroboam, I'll have the same relationship with you. that I had with David, if you want, and the reason that God didn't have the same relationship with Jeroboam, that he had with David, was not God's fault, it was Jeroboam's fault. And what we can learn, you know the Bible says in Romans 2.11, for there is no respect of persons with God. What we can learn is this, that you and I, think about this, can be as close to God as David, and Moses, and Paul, and Elijah, and anybody else you want to name, because God is no respecter of persons. If we're not as close to God as we could be, that's not God's fault. It's ours. So we see that God is no respecter of persons. Then in verse 39, we see that God is merciful. The Bible says, and I will for this afflict the seed of David. I love this little phrase. He says, but not forever, but not forever. Aren't you thankful for God's mercy? He says, I'm going to afflict him. I'm going to afflict his house, but not forever. The prophet said that we've been given a space of grace. So we see that God is merciful. He afflicts but not forever. And then we see the end of Solomon, verse 40. and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. Pretty much the last thing we read about Solomon's life, as far as what he did, is that he tried to kill Jeroboam. He found out that Jeroboam was going to take 10, that it was prophesied that Jeroboam was going to take 10 of the tribes, and he tries to kill him. Jeroboam flees to Egypt until the death of Solomon. Verse 41, and the rest of the Acts of Solomon and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the books of the Acts of Solomon? And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was 40 years. And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David, his father. And Rehoboam, his son, reigned in his stead. Now, let me just say one thing, and we'll finish up, because we're ending the life of Solomon tonight. And it's a tragic end. But let me just say this. There are some people who believe, and I'm not one of them, I don't agree with this, but they'll teach that Solomon wasn't even saved. because he ended up worshiping these other gods. And what I would say to you is that if you look at what the Bible actually says about Solomon, and I won't have you look at it, but it says that his heart was not perfect with the Lord, meaning complete, and that he did not go fully after the Lord as David his father. And I think that Solomon absolutely worshiped false idols, no doubt about it, and that was wicked and God was angry about it. But it wasn't that he replaced the Lord with those idols, it's that he added those idols to the Lord. Now that was wicked, but he never stopped believing in the Lord. And so some people come to the end of Solomon's life and they'll say, he was a failure, wasn't even saved, and all that. And here's the thing, the end of his life was tragic, and he did fail in many respects. But I believe, and this is just my opinion, I believe, can you just go to Ecclesiastes real quickly, Ecclesiastes chapter 12? If you've had Proverbs, you have Ecclesiastes, and we'll be done, okay? We're gonna be done in two minutes. Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Personally, I don't think that God used a bunch of unsaved people to write large portions of scripture. And Solomon wrote the Song of Solomon, the Book of Proverbs, and the Book of Ecclesiastes. And most people believe, and I think the way that you read, if you read those books, the way that they seem to be written, the way that they read, is that the Song of Solomon was written about Solomon in his youth, his first love and true love. And God, you know, loved that with a wife, with his wife, that God favored and God was happy with. That was the Song of Solomon. Then the Book of Proverbs, of course, is the Book of Proverbs. I mean, it's got the book of wisdom and everything we really need for life. And that, most people agree, was probably written before Solomon got backslidden. That would just make sense. But at the climax of Solomon's, the height of his success and wisdom, probably right around the time he was finishing the temple. And then you have the book of Ecclesiastes. And some people argue this, and I'm not sure why, but I think it's obvious if you read the book of Ecclesiastes that it's written by an old man. And it's written by a man with a lot of regrets. And I personally think that Solomon did get right in the end. Notice the last chapter of Ecclesiastes chapter 12 in verse 1. Notice what this man says. He says, remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. And then Solomon goes on, and I'm not going to take the time to do it now, but he goes on to have this beautiful depiction of old age. And not only old age, but death. And he goes through this whole thing, and then here's how he ends the book of Ecclesiastes, which if you read the book of Ecclesiastes, it's a book of regret. I mean, it's vanity of vanities, all is vanity under the sun. He's talking about how he gave his life to wine, and women, and wealth, and education, and success, and how none of it fulfilled him, and how, you know, he hated his life. And then he ends the book by saying this, Ecclesiastes 12 and verse 13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Maybe I'm a little too hopeful, but I think that in the end, Solomon did wake up and got right. And God used him to write the book of Ecclesiastes. But let me just say this, just because Solomon got right, Doesn't mean he got all those years back. Just because Solomon got right, doesn't mean that he got all those opportunities back. Just because Solomon got right, doesn't mean that the kingdom still didn't split. Doesn't mean that all the consequences still didn't come. So this old man, full of regrets, tells us, remember now, thy creator, in the days of thy youth. He says, the conclusion of the whole matter is this. He said, if you want to be fulfilled in life, if you want to get to the end of your life and not have wasted it, he said, fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. And isn't it interesting that as we get to the end of Solomon's life, that's exactly what he failed to do. Fear God, he worshiped other gods. and keep his commandments, he didn't keep any of the commandments. He failed to do the whole duty of man. So we get to the end of Solomon's life, and it's a tragic one. And I think it serves as a lesson for all of us that we need to make sure that we're living our lives with the end in mind. Fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we love you. And we thank you for your word. And we thank you for this passage. And we thank you that you've documented these things like Solomon, someone who was given so much, had so much favor and blessing and help from you. And things just ended so badly. And Lord, I pray that you'd help us to learn from it. And help us to learn that you're not a respecter of persons. You will allow us to get close to you. Like Abraham, like Moses, like David, like Paul, we have access to you. And Lord, I pray you'd help us to just get our priorities straight and to love you with all our hearts. We love you. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. We're going to have Brother Moses