1 KINGS 2:1-3:3
DAVID'S DEATH: (Compare 1 Chron 22-29) David reigned for 40 years. He charged SOLOMON to "act like a man." And to be strong. Solomon will prosper if he keeps God's Word because then God could keep His Word to David. BUT....David wants revenge on JOAB (David's thorn) and SHIMEI.
SOLOMON: Saul and David were born among commoners, but Solomon was born in the palace at Jerusalem and among men of power. Solomon's kingdom was "established greatly". ADONIJAH: Sneaked around to Bath-sheba to go ask Solomon for Abishag, David's wife in his old age. This is tantamount to trying to usurp the throne, as she had been the King's wife. It was like asking for the Kingdom, too! Guess who died next!
ABIATHAR: Was removed from his office as priest, but not executed because he had been loyal to the Ark and shared in David's affliction. ZADOK remained faithful to David during Adonijah's rebellion - and so he took Abiathar's place as priest. His name in Hebrew: "Tsadowq" is from "tsadaq" which is the word "righteousness". Zadok is a type of Jesus, the righteous man, the spirit.
JOAB: Like ABIATHAR in the past, he, too, grabbed the "horns of the altar" in the tabernacle - where murderers went to get immunity. BUT, when he insisted he wouldn't leave the tabernacle, Solomon had him executed right there at the altar! And his blood would be on HIS OWN HEAD for killing two righteous men.
SHIMEI: He was under house arrest (with the penalty of death) in Jerusalem because of his treason under David. When two of his slaves ran away, he chased them 64 miles to retrieve them. It cost him his life.
SOLOMON SKIRTS TROUBLE: He knew the Word, but didn't live it totally. Marriage to an Egyptian was not forbidden, just implied - but he was still "unequally yoked". Just like the Law did not prohibit "high places", but it was implied. These "high places" fostered IDOLATRY and endangered the UNITY of one altar. It says that "Solomon loved the Lord......only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places." He was playing at the edges....and many immature Christians do this.
RESPONSE: Thank God for the Holy Spirit. If the Word of God does not come right out and SAY that something is wrong, the Holy Spirit will tell us. We shouldn't be trying to find loopholes in the Word anyway! We need to stay RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF GOD'S WILL! Not out on the edges, trying to see how much we can get away with and still call ourselves Christians! You are either married or you aren't! (to Jesus)
ACTS 5:1-42
EQUIPPING THE CHURCH BY THE HOLY SPIRIT: Acts 1-7
Acts 1 - Restoring Order.
Acts 2 - Giving of Holy Spirit, being "baptized" into Community.
Acts 3 - The Name of Jesus
Acts 4 - Boldness of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5 - "The Life". The incident of Ananias and Sapphira caused "great fear" to come on the people. The couple had lied to the Holy Ghost because Satan had "conceived this thing" in their hearts. Satan planted the seed which James 1:14 says ends in DEATH....he put the idea in them to entice them, and then it took hold and it brought forth sin, and sin brings death. This had to be dealt with, because we are the carriers of "the life" of God. (v.20) Peter contained so much Life, that his shadow brought restoration. And even the prison couldn't hold him! RESPONSE: "The life" is by the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead (Rom 8:11). It is characterized by abundance (John 10:10), righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom 14:17), knowing God (John 17:2-3), God's interactive Presence in our lives. The Holy Spirit is God's antidote to what would kill us and render us inoperative and useless in the Kingdom of God.
PSALM 125:1-5
SIXTH STEP: Psalm 125: Learning to walk by faith. If we want stability and security, we cannot go by our feelings, or even what we think. We MUST teach our hearts to trust God. That is the ONLY place of safety for us. The alternative is to "turn aside unto their crooked ways".
PROVERBS 16:25
We cannot live by sight and by natural discernment and expect to succeed as Christians. "The way that seems right to man" is antichristian, anti-God, independent and demonic. James 3:15 describes it as "This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish." This means it is like the world-system (controlled by an antichristian spirit), of the FLESH, and demonic. No wonder it leads to DEATH.
RESPONSE: I have to instruct my heart often some days. When things go wrong, I tell my heart OUT LOUD that God is good, God is in control, God is working His plan, and God loves me. No matter what things may look like, what God has said is TRUTH to us. If we are up and down in our emotions and are riding an emotional roller-coaster, it is because we haven't taught our hearts to trust God yet. Just keep working on it.
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