Podcasts about was solomon

Note: The time signatures [00:00] below indicate the start of a question if you'd like to skip to a particular one of interest in the audio file.[06:32] - Q: Were God the father, son, and spirit all present at the beginning of creation? How can we know this?A: See Colossians 1:16 - For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.John 1:3 - All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.REVELATION / ESCHATOLOGY / END-TIMES[10:13] - Q: Do you personally see and feel the rise of the spirit of the antichrist throughout the world? All Romans 1 items checked within just a years time:Pastors thrown in prison, churches fenced off, their homes burned with their children in them, US churches gladly shuttered in the name of "saving just one is worth it" while bowing to the alter of health, wealth, and science (the new religion)Atrocities by world governments such as human trials of genetic modification supported by corporate coercion, suicide inducing lockdowns, planned starvation, destruction of small business, purposeful separating of sheep and goats due to testing and vaccination requirements, technological explosion ripe for the markFree speech removal, big tech takeover, cancel culture, woke culture, UFO/UAF disclosures, twisting of language and logic in that we have birthing persons because biological men can have babies, menstruate, and compete with girls in sports, amen must include “awomen”Big tech takeover of everyone's lives: biometric data prepared for payment, cashless society by a false coin shortage, the US dollar move towards the digital dollar, shadow-banned to free speech isn't allowed on this platform to digital jail to digital exileIsrael: a new wars with many around them, a new government mixed with Jew and Muslim power, global antisemitism, US funded enemies, and the continued push for a 2 state solutionNation fighting against nation with BLM peaceful protests, white guilt turned in to all whites are racist, Christians are racist, stolen elections, NWO schemes, and Israel is the oppressor of the world...to name just a fewThat wedding feast seems to be getting really close now. So, personally how close are you feeling that the removal of His bride church is now?[17:16] - Q: It seems like Christ's return is imminent, I believe that he's coming back soon. I can't wait to be taken up to heaven. I just don't know how to live day to day with that type of mindset, knowing that I'm going to be taken away. How do I live "normally" worrying about work/job, finances, buying cars/stuff, upkeep for my house, etc. In first 1 Thes Paul tells the believers there that they haven't missed it and they need to keep on working. So I know I need to continue on, I'm just challenged by how to do that. Christ's love is in me and yes I can share that with others and try to get as many to heaven as possible, but really preacher, I'm exhausted from what God has given me. I'm ready to go. Can you give a few pieces of advice for how to persevere? How should I be praying? ThanksA: See Matthew 24:45-51, 1 Thes 5:6-11[24:16] - Q: In Revelation John sees the events of the end times and since John is a saved man, would he also be seeing himself in the future? Meaning that there would be a past John and a future John. Also, if John is there for the end times, that he had already seen, wouldn't he have known that the Lamb was worthy to open the scroll and break the seals?A: 1 Corinthians 4:6 - I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written...OLD TESTIMENT LAW / DOCTRINAL ISSUES[30:22] - Q: Were multiple marriages in the Old Testament considered a sin? For example, David had multiple wives, if that was considered a sin and he continued to live in that sin seemingly unrepentant why did God still use him?Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines and God still used him... what? Was Solomon saved?[35:16] - Q: Why are there so many different versions of the Bible? Specifically the message, I know it gets the same point across but it says it completely differently than my NIV or ESV.[39:15] - Q: How do we know the Bible we have today is God's complete word? How does the apocrypha and other extra-biblical literature factor in? How can we be confident in it when it was seemingly assembled and decided by humans during various meetings/councils?A: Luke 24:27Any question that was missed due to time constraints during the service Pastor Jeff will address the answer on the blog.Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group Questions (Whole Group):Review the questions submitted above. Discuss any of these that stuck out to you, or that maybe your group finds particularly interesting.Breakout Questions:Pray for one another!

Download I Kings 11-14 We are in the Nation Stream and turn the corner in Solomon's Reign. We are reading from The Message this week. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Streams | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Lord we want to heed your warnings, hear your prophetic words and not suffer the losses that we see the disobedient and profane people suffering as they turn away from Truth.  Thank you for sending us the Truth; in Jesus.  Amen. 11 - Solomon was told by a dear older woman he knew of; King Lemuel's mother actually, in Proverbs 31:2-3.  He was pleaded with to not waste his life on women (the gender isn't the problem - the plurality is!).  He was told that they ruin kings.  But Solomon however felt that he was different, [as most people do] that sin wouldn't hook him in.  Well it did. Remember him marrying the daughter of Pharaoh right out of the gate?  He did that so there would be peace with Egypt.  Solomon loved his Lord at the start, and God honored his love for Him.  But the "sex-for-politics-for-sex-for power-and-pleasure pact" that Solomon had made as a deal (with himself I guess) let him astray and he fell away from the faith of his fathers. One wrong wife wasn't enough.  He needed hundreds of false women.  It is like one's physical hunger trying to find satisfaction from a deep-fried/sugar-filled donut.  How many of them do you need to eat on an empty stomach in order to feel satisfied? It's not going to happen.  Solomon's women was the disastrous shame of Solomon's rule. His pagan love life took him and the country with it on a downward spiral of no return.  He invited pagan religions in to keep his women happy. From this the God of Abraham was offended and a spirit of unrest seeped into the country.  Before Solomon died, enemies were growing restless within the land and it was a preview of the tension that would cause 10 of the 12 tribes to splinter off to the north. Was Solomon's love life just his private business and he could be sinful if he so chose to? No. It became everyone's business as all of these things always do. When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam took the throne.  Solomon's rule lasted from I Kings 1-11 / the parallel story, though distinctively written, is also told in II Chronicles 1-9 12 - Rehoboam, Solomon's son, was to be the next king.  Jeroboam resented Solomon and therefore Rehoboam and took up the grievances of a people who were over taxed during Solomon's rule. Jeroboam pleaded that taxes be lowered, Rehoboam did not listen and the rebellion was on.  Sounds like 1776 doesn't it? Jeroboam rallied for the north against Judah and strengthened the north against the south by actually paganizing the northern 10 tribes and making two golden calves to distract them away from the God of Abraham, Jerusalem, the Temple, and all that. Jeroboam set up the false gods of golden calves (just like Exodus 32!).  One calf was in Bethel in the south while the other was up north in Dan. The country was 'covered' in terms of false religion.  As we are reading in the prophets, this stunt started Israel on a fast road to being decimated.  200 years later, they were. 13 - is a zany tale of lies and false religion and paganism and getting mauled by a lion in a strangest of tales, and prophecy ignored and suffering because of it and demanding that godly people act immediately to remedy the wrong that bad religion had brought on.  It is the personal vision of the northern kingdom's first king and how a dark decision ends up rippling for centuries.  Jeroboam cheapened the faith and adulterated it. He ignored Ahijah who told him that there was a right way to represent the people to God, but he ignored Ahijah.  Jeroboam was angry at Solomon - who was gone now.  He was angry at Solomon's son; Rehoboam. Perhaps his anger was valid, but his "remedy" for the anger at the leaders in the south was not gone about properly.  Here's a truth in life: the right thing must be done the right way. There are many who attempt the right thing but go about it the wrong way. Some seek God's Will but don't pursue His Will His Way...they want to find God their own way (many of these types end up "playing God" before they are done!).  Many of us have seen this. There is a line between these two methods.  As for the wrong way - there never is a right way to do the wrong thing. Jeroboam may have commenced and wanted to do God's Will but He wouldn't do it God's Way.  It was not long after that that Jeroboam was shunning all good prophetic words and advice and was doing everything just plain, flat out WRONG,  And He wanted it this way and remained deliberate in this to his end. 14 -  God gets to Jeroboam through his son's illness. Jeroboam is desperate for solutions and who does he go to but Ahijah-the-prophet  ... who's advice he won't follow (in case anyone forgot). So, as Jeroboams' vapid character dictates, he sends his wife to Ahijah and she gets an earful of a horrid prophecy and it is accurate.  Meanwhile Jeroboam is up north feverishly fanning the flames of his "fornication-for-faith" cult that he had instituted to make sure no one ventured to Jerusalem and found the real God.  His wife comes home, his son dies on the spot.  And this was only the beginning of the doom that would be lowering upon Jeroboam.  The last of the ch. 14, we flip back south to Judah where  Rehoboam is king in Jerusalem. He is 41 at the start of his rule. He rules until he is 58. Jeroboam up north had a special relationship with Egypt based in a mutual disgust for Jerusalem/Solomon/Rehoboam. But what gave way for Egypt's invasion and ransacking of the Temple in Jerusalem was the exodus of God's blessing since Rehoboam allowed his pagan Ammonite mother to have a say in the religion of the south as Asherah shrines sprang up across the country.  Asherah was a sex-cult in the region that God had obviously forbidden his people to take part in.  This disobedience left them open to attack as Shishak of Egypt invaded and plundered the Temple. Shishak stole the gold from the Temple.  How much of the dozens of tons of gold that had been brought there and stored and decorated the Temple with is hard to say but it is such a shame.  God seems to be saying, "you act like pagans, then your wealth is going to go back to the pagans!"  The first of this gold was taken out of Egypt in the Exodus; Exo. 12:35-36.  Well it was being returned today. Yeesh.  Rehoboam made new articles of bronze as if it was supposed to make things all better now.  Do you think anyone noticed the missing gold?????

Jesus.  We are almost at 1 Kings 11:9 which reads, “And the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD the God of Israel.” When did that turning begin? Was everything just fine until the multiplication of wives and women in 11:1?  When did that multiplication begin?  Was it chronologically with where 11:1 stands in the book, or is it just then reported at that time? Was Solomon completely devoted to the Lord and then one day wake up and decide he now wants more wives and women?  No, rather the author of 1 Kings has given various hints, suggestions, and indications before that point that, though Solomon mainly served God, some things were amiss.  Now in this passage we read of Solomon not giving the Hiram desirable cities. Of him having people in the land who were supposed to be devoted to destruction.  He can't (or won't) remove them, but Pharaoh is able to come in and conquer a town in Israel.  The story is not all one-sided though, for Solomon faithfully served God in his worship.  The passage serves as a warning to fight the temptation to little compromises now before it is too late.

  Many believe that “God is in Control” is the Gospel truth. “Brother Rodriguez, that is what the Bible says!” Is it? If it is, then we are stuck with it. Maybe we should look at that idea a little closer before coming to a conclusion. Following is a verse interpreted to uphold the theology that God ultimately controls all leaders in human government. The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water; he turns it wherever he wants (Proverbs 21:1 NET). Many assume that verse means that all rulers are like puppets on a string, and God is the master puppeteer. That was never a Biblical view but one that originated in the beliefs about mythical gods and their treatment of mankind. Among these mythical gods, humans were like pawns in a game of otherworldly chess played by them. The gods set human fate according to their will. That same thinking infiltrated Christianity beginning in the second century. We could go into a lengthy discussion of how Greek pagan thought supplanted Jewish Messianic Biblical thought of the 1st century church in Jerusalem. I will spare you the details, but ideas prevalent in paganism about their mythological gods and their relationship with humanity had a deep impact on Christian Biblical interpretation as the church moved further west into pagan territory. Historically, the church to the west by the 3rd and 4th century would have been almost unrecognizable to Jesus, the apostles, and the churches that sprang up among the Jewish believers around Jerusalem and its vicinity. Anybody that has done research into the history of the church between the 1st and 4th century knows this to be true. (1) The idea that God is like a master puppeteer or a divine chess master in control of all human actions, and that all humans must bow to His will, was a part of heathen or pagan mythology. Pagan gods could force their will upon humans at their every whim. It did not matter if their will was immoral or unrighteous. Human beings had no choice in their fate. Whatever the gods willed was to be done even by unwilling humanity. That posited idea takes away from human beings all powers of decision and makes them automatons that are forcibly subject to the divine will. If God could do that with kings and government leaders, or any human being for that matter, why not do that with the unsaved on planet earth? Why not force everyone to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, and mandate that everyone to go to heaven? We could start the Millennium tomorrow and get on with eternity if that were the case! That is not the case because human beings can choose their eternal destiny, and they have a choice in this life to serve or disobey God. The right to choose From the beginning, God gave people the right to choose, and it has never been rescinded. He commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that IF they did eat of the forbidden tree, then they would die (Genesis 2:17). God gave them a choice, but they chose the wrong thing and suffered the consequences. It was not God’s plan that they chose evil, but they did, and God respected their choice. If God was sovereign as people think, as in full control of all circumstances, why not rebuke the devil and stop sin in the garden? Why not stop the many millennia of the rule of darkness that perverted His creation and brought it a devastating curse? Many think that God created man to fail and sin. They believe that God in His sovereignty had some purpose in all this damnation and planetary misery. Really? Step back from religion and theology and hear that nonsense for what it is. “Sovereignty” and “God is in control” as taught in much of Christendom is a perverted and twisted traditional religious idea that makes God into an indiscriminate murderer and destroyer that somehow favors evils to strike mankind for some mysterious purposes. Those ideas make human beings into robotic servants subject to the “control” of the “programmer” (God). Let us get specific. Those that think that because of God’s sovereignty, He is control of all human actions, what then do you do with Hitler, Stalin, Mao, ISIS, and all the evil rulers, empires, and terrorist organizations that have plagued the planet? God would have to be worse than all of them if this human cesspool of evil and bondage were of His design and under His total control. The idea is so ludicrous and preposterous that only in churches will people believe that nonsense and utter stupidity. I do not have any nice words to describe the foolishness of the “God is in control of everything” crowd. God sent Jesus. Those that trust and follow Him (believe) will be saved, and those that do not will be damned (John 3:15-18, 36; 12:48; Mark 16:16, etc.). The choice between life and death, blessing or curses, love and hatred, and obedience or disobedience has always been among men. God has never taken it away, and never will! I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV- See also Jeremiah 21:8 and ff., and Amos 5:14) Who has the choice to make? God? God is in control of whether we have life or death, blessing or cursing? No, human beings must choose. What is the problem? Many want it to be God's choice, but God has left it up to us as to what we choose. He does tell us to choose life because He wants us to live, but the ultimate choice is left to us as long as we are on the earth. Granted, once you leave your body, your final fate is set. Eternal life to those that know Jesus and serve God, and eternal damnation for those that rejected the Lord and doing what was right according to His Word. (See Romans 1:16-32 through 2:1-11 for Paul's teaching on the subject.)  And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15 NKJV) God does not choose for you whom you will serve? The choice is left up to YOU and ME! I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. (Psalms 119:30 NKJV) The Psalmist said he chose the way of truth. God did not choose it for him.  Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. (Proverbs 1:29 NKJV) Who makes the choice here? The person rejecting the knowledge (knowing and doing the Word) of the Lord. Choosing to fear (honor and respect) the Lord is in human hands. It is not in God's hands. It's our choice of whether we revere the Lord or not.  Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. (Isaiah 7:15 NKJV) For fun, think about it. Who chose for you that you should eat corn flakes or eggs and biscuits this morning? Was it God? No, you chose what to eat. He calls upon us to fast at times, but it is our choice whether to obey or disobey His instruction. In the same way, we choose between good and evil. God desires we reject the evil and choose the good, but whether we do or not is in our hands.  No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24 NKJV) Whom we will serve is in our hands. God does not make that choice for us.  So that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:10 NET). You decide what is best! Yes, we follow the leading of the Lord and what His Word says to make the right choices, but no one can take away your right to choose. Even martyrs chose Jesus and refused to deny their faith regardless of the deadly end results.  Here is one more portion of Scripture that blows wrong theology about the life and death of a believer completely out the door.  But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith. (Philippians 1:22-25 NKJV) What do you think of that? Do you mean to tell me that Paul had a choice in the matter whether to die and be with the Lord or to stay in the body because the Philippians needed to get more from his ministry? Do mean to tell me we can have a choice? YES! We can do things to extend our days upon the earth. We can also do things to cut our days short upon the earth. Anyone that has read the first three chapters of the book of Proverbs should know that. See Proverbs 1:32-33; 2:20-22; 3:1-2, 7-8, 13-18, and I dare anyone to refute the clear teaching of the Scripture! A part of God's divine protection is that we be satisfied with a long life (Psalms 91:16). Who or what do you believe? Do you believe God or the traditional idiocy of many sectors of Christendom that think all matters of life and death are in God's hands? The Scriptures above prove the massive errors believed in these areas of choice, even in the areas of life and death.   How about this often half-quoted verse? These verses tell us one way to extend our days upon the earth. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:2, 3; Paul is quoting from Exodus 20:12 -NKJV) Don't quote the first part without also quoting the second part about living long on the earth. Here is another portion of Scripture that tells us how we can extend our life upon the earth. The apostle Peter quoted it.  10 It is written in the psalms, If you love life and want to live a good, long time, then be careful what you say. Don’t tell lies or spread gossip or talk about improper things. 11 Walk away from the evil things in the world—just leave them behind, and do what is right, and always seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the Lord watches over the righteous, and His ears are attuned to their prayers. But His face is set against His enemies; He will punish evildoers. (1Peter 3:10-12 -The Voice translation- a quotation from Psalms 34:12-16) Let’s get our theology straight! The ONLY way to straighten up our ideas is by looking at Scripture after Scripture like we are doing here, but there are many more that prove the point.  Again, and for the record, it is an impossibility to trust and obey the Lord or to distrust and disobey Him unless you have a choice, a right to decide. Believing or unbelief is a human choice. God will not force “faith” (faithfulness, trust, obedience) on you any more than He will force unbelief on you. Does God control all government leaders? “But isn’t the obvious meaning of Proverbs 21:1 that, because of His sovereignty, He can control everyone whenever He wishes?” No, it does not mean that at all once you take into consideration Hosea 8:4 and Nehemiah 9:17 and a truckload of other verses! They enthroned kings without my consent! They appointed princes without my approval (Hosea 8:4a NET)! They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt (Nehemiah 9:17a NKJV). Some kings and princes (leaders of some country) disobeyed God and refused to do what He said. Have you read the extensive list of kings that disobeyed God in the Old Testament? Most of the kings of Israel and Judah disobeyed and rebelled against the Lord. Most of these rebellious kings usually died off quickly and were replaced by another that would do worse. There is no way to read First and Second Chronicles and be oblivious to the fact that most kings did not have their hearts in the hand of the Lord. If God could have turned any of the hearts of these kings whenever He wanted, why didn’t He turn any of the hearts of the evil kings? Obviously, something is wrong with the way we have understood Proverbs 21:1 and many other verses that would seem at first glance to imply that “God is in control” of all human affairs and events. If God is completely in control of human events, then how do we account for the death and destruction flooding this planet over millennia? How can we say God is in control of everything with a straight face and see the evil at work on this planet? Is God in control when women are raped, children are sold into slavery, young women are forced to be sex slaves, and Islamic terrorist organizations murder, rape, maim, behead, and knife to death men, women, and children? Only idiotic, ignoramus, anti-Biblical, religious, traditional BUNK could blind a person to believe that God is in control of all that bad stuff. He is not! I know I am repeating myself, and maybe belaboring the point though using different words, but this subject of sovereignty and “God’s control” are too important to give a lightweight answer. In the sense that God’s prophetic words concerning our planet will happen, yes, He is in control of that! The promised return of Jesus to rule and reign on the earth will occur no matter what anybody decides or chooses against it. The Book of Revelation will happen regardless of who is in government and who is not! Some events will transpire no matter what anybody believes or does because God said it, and His Word will accomplish what He wants (Isaiah 55:11). He is sovereign and in control where these events are concerned, but He is not ruling over the human will when people decide to disobey and rebel against Him and follow the devil. As far as humanity and their right to choose, God is not in control of their wrong choices or their corrupt activities. Jesus said that the thief is the one that comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). To believe that evil comes because God is in control means that you believe that God is the thief! Yes, God does allow a lot of evil stuff because many human beings have rejected Him, embraced the darkness and false religions, and they are in Satan’s territory as the “destroyer.” People choose darkness, and they reap destruction and death. The wages of sin are still death (Romans 6:23). When people choose evil and disobedience against God and His holy commandments, He turns them over to their enemies. As one example among many, read Judges 2:7-23. This truth is taught excessively in the Bible from cover to cover! There were kings and princes ordained by people that were never in God’s plan. They were NOT God's will! People voted them in” without God approval. We have some kings in Scripture that lived during a time in history where God had His Word on the line concerning His people. Sometimes God put a “decision” in their hearts to do something in line with His will and they obeyed. Other times, judgment came against some of them until they obeyed. He can do that whenever necessary! One prominent example was Nebuchadnezzar. He disobeyed the Lord and was severely judged to wander the earth for seven years with the mind of an animal. When He recognized God and was willing to obey Him, the kingdom was restored to him, and he was reinstated as King of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was a part of a greater plan that had to do with God’s people. Because of their sin, God turned over the nation of Israel to Nebuchadnezzar. (See the book of Jeremiah.) He took thousands into captivity, and they were to remain in that land for a minimum of seventy years. The prophet Jeremiah spoke the Word of the Lord concerning Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon, and the exile of the sons of Israel. There was a divine Word in place, and events had to line up to fulfill the Word of the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar was a key player in these developments. Pharaoh continued to oppose the Word of the Lord that Moses proclaimed concerning the release of Israel from Egyptian bondage. He hardened his heart and God agreed, in turn, allowing the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. Through ten judgments, Pharaoh complied with the Word of the Lord. Again, a Word was spoken to Abraham and his descendants, and it was necessary for the Lord to bring it to pass (Genesis 15:13, 14). There are occasions like those, but those are not the usual succession of events in the earth. Kings and all government leaders have a choice to make whether they will serve the Lord, and whether they will be a force for good or evil. If Proverbs 21:1 were taken to refer to kings in the same predicament as Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, I could agree on one level. However, this verse makes no mention of supernatural events changing the heart of a king. Supernatural events could be what are necessary to turn the heart and force a leader to obey the Lord. Did it happen often? No. It seems to have been relegated to special events surrounding the deliverance of His people. Other than at those times, nothing happened except the decisions of the inividual, either for good or for evil.  When the Lord started showing me that the Scripture had much to say on this subject of good or evil human government, this verse in Proverbs 21:1 stared back into my face. At face value, one could hardly help giving it the standard interpretation of “God makes kings obey His will whether they want to or not because God is in control of their hearts.” Something was wrong with that interpretation when I compared this verse with other verses on the same subject. Thank God that the entrance of His Word brings LIGHT. (Psalms 119:130 NKJV) Stick to the Word and light will come regardless of how ignorant (simple) we are.  The king in Proverbs 21:1 First, who is the king in Proverbs 21:1? If we can get that question answered, then we can start to unravel this verse in our thinking. Was Solomon speaking of a specific king, or was his statement a reference to all world leaders? People want to make this verse applicable to all kings, presidents, and prime ministers. I believe that is a mistake. Who was this king mentioned by Solomon? I am convinced Solomon was speaking of himself as the king whose heart was in the hand of the Lord. Solomon gave his heart over to the Lord as a young man. He asked God to give him a wise and discerning heart so he could judge the people of Israel in righteousness. God granted his request in a powerful way. “Therefore, give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: “…see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you” (See 1 Kings 3:9-12 NKJV abbreviated). Solomon’s heart was in the hand of the Lord as the channels of water because he submitted his heart to the Lord and received a wise and discerning heart from Him. The phrase “heart in the hand of the Lord” speaks of someone who submits his or her life to God to do His will and carry out His plan. Though Solomon deviated from the Lord later in life, for many years, he served the Lord and did His will. Solomon’s heart (life) was in the hands of the Lord, and God could lead him as He wanted. Often Proverbs gives us “stand-alone” pithy sayings that were spoken in the wisdom of God. Other times we see a few verses discussing the same subject before the subject matter changes. Sometimes certain subjects are grouped together. Proverbs 21:1 has been pulled from its context. It is not referring to a wicked king’s heart as being in the hands of the Lord. This verse speaks of a righteous king as the one whose heart in the hand of the Lord. Let me give you a few verses before and after Proverbs 21:1 to put it in context. Proverbs Chapter 20 - A king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters all evil with his eyes. V.8- A wise king sifts out the wicked and brings the threshing wheel over them. V. 26- The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart. V. 27- Mercy and truth preserve the king, and by lovingkindness he upholds his throne. The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray head. Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart. V. 28-30 Proverbs Chapter 21- The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. V.1- Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts. V.2- To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. V.3 Again, Solomon's subject king in Proverbs 21:1 is a righteous king. Only a righteous king can have his heart in the hand of the Lord. Unrighteous kings had hearts that were far from the Lord. The exceptions to that are kings that did not know God, but they were willing to obey the Lord in whatever He wanted for His people. Good examples are Cyrus and Artaxerxes (Ezra 1 and Nehemiah 2). Look at some of these references in connection with the preceding statements: Ezra 6:22, 1 Kings 11:2-9, 15:3, 2 Kings 10:31, see 2 Chron. 6:38, 12:14, 15:12-15, 19:9, 26:16, 32:25, 26, 34:27, 31, 36:13. NOTES: (1) If you want a book that explores these truths in much more detail with references for further study, I suggest  you read the book by Marvin Wilson: Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith. You can get it from christianbook.com  and other booksellers. If you want to delve even deeper in historical truth, get the scholarly and classic study published originally in 1960, Hebrew Thought Compared With Greek, by Thorlief Boman. It is very informative at 208 pages plus the bibliography, but I warn you, drink coffee before you read it, or you may snooze. Maybe it was just me when I read it for my university studies back many moons ago. Get it on Amazon.  I trust that this article has helped you understand a controversial subject. Be blessed in your study of the Word with me in the following podcast: Repentance Part 8!

Welcome to our third episode discussing the theme of Wisdom in the bible. In this episode, Tim and Jon zoom in on the character Solomon. Was Solomon really the wisest person who ever lived? In part 1 (0-8:30), Tim and Jon quickly recap the conversation so far. Tim explains how the English word “help” is inadequate when used to describe Eve’s or woman’s role in relationship to Adam. Instead of an unnecessary addition, it’s more of an essential completion, even a “saving” role that the woman fills. Tim also explains that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil isn’t the perfect translation in the Hebrew. More accurately, it’s “the knowledge of the tree of good and bad.” In part 2 (8:30-19:20), Tim begins to trace the human story after Adam and Eve, through Abraham and arriving at Solomon. Tim says that God promises to restore the blessing of Eden to all humanity through the family of Abraham. Here is God’s promise to Abraham: Genesis 12:1-3 “And I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you,
and make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and him who curses you I will curse;
and in you will be blessed all the families of the earth.” Genesis 12:7 “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your seed I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.” 
In Genesis 16, God promises Abraham and Sarah seed and land to be a blessing to the nations. But when they’re unable to have a child, they turn to their own wisdom and power. This is a clear design pattern from the fall narrative of Genesis 3. See below the breakdown of this passage and it’s reflection of the the Eden story. Genesis 16:1-2 tells us, “Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar.” So Sarai says to Abram, “Go now into my female servant, perhaps I will be built up from her.” (This language of being “built” from Hagar suspiciously reminds us of Genesis 2:22, “and Yahweh God built the side which he took from the human into a woman, and he brought her to the man.”) 
Genesis 16:2b “…and Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.” (In Genesis 3:17, God says to Adam, “Because you listened to the voice of your wife…”) 
Genesis 16:3-4 “Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar the Egyptian her female slave… and she gave her to Abram her husband as a wife (Gen. 3:6, “and she gave also to her husband with her”). And he went into her and she became pregnant and she saw that (ותרא כי) she was pregnant, and her mistress became less in her eyes” (Gen. 3:6, “When the woman saw that [ותרא] the tree was good…”). 
Genesis 16:6 “And Abram said to Sarai, ‘Look, your female slave is in your hand. Do to her what is good in your eyes (טוב בעיניך).’ (Gen. 3:6, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes…”). 
Genesis 16:6b-7 “So Sarah oppressed her, and Hagar fled from before her. And the angel of Yahweh found her by a spring of waters in the wilderness.” (Gen. 3:24, “So [God] drove the man out….”) In Genesis 22, when God provides a son from Sarah, God demands his life. God does not take lightly to the oppression of Egyptian slaves (the entire Exodus slavery is an inverted consequence for this sin). Also because of this sin, Ishmael is cast out from Abraham’s family, which grieves God, so he demands that Abraham give Isaac back to him. God is looking for people who will trust Yahweh’s word and command over their own wisdom, that will reverse the folly and fear of Adam and Eve. The first character to demonstrate this Abraham in Genesis 22:4-6: “And Abraham lifted his eyes (עיניו) and he saw (וירא)… and he took (ויקח) in his hand the fire and the knife/eater(מאכלת), and the two of them (שניהם) walked on together (יחדו).” This releases the blessing of Eden through Abraham’s fear of Yahweh out into the nations. 
Genesis 22:15-18
"Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have listened My voice.” The point is this: When humans don’t live by their own wisdom regarding good and bad, but instead trust God’s wisdom and obey his commands (the fear of the Lord), it leads to blessing and life. This is true wisdom: to live in the fear of the Lord. In part 3 (19:20-36:45), Tim begins to outline the story of Solomon. Tim says Solomon is presented as a new Adam. He has an opportunity to rule the world, and he actually asks God to give him wisdom to rule. Solomon is a complex character, depicted as both a new, ideal Adam—but also as a failed, foolish Adam. In one narrative thread, he is depicted as a new Adam/Abraham, meeting God in a new high-place, and living by God’s wisdom/Torah. 1 Kings 3:3-15 “Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David... The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, ‘Ask what you wish me to give you.’ “Then Solomon said, ‘You have shown great covenant love to Your servant David my father...You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know to go out or come in.
 “‘Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. So give Your servant a heart that listens in order to govern Your people, in order to discern between good (Heb. tov) and bad (Heb. ra’). For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?’” 
“It was good (tov) in the eyes of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to hear justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a heart of wisdom and discernment, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.’ Then Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream.” Tim shows how Solomon was blessed after he began to walk in the fear of the lord. 1 Kings 4:20-21, 25, 29-34
“Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing. Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life….” 
“So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.” 
“Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was known in all the surrounding nations. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of beasts and birds and creepers and fish (do you hear Genesis 1 in there?). Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom." Solomon is portrayed as a new Adam, wisely ruling a garden with trees for everyone, fruitful and multiplying, boundaries expanded to Eden-like proportions. He knows the plants, beasts, birds, and creepers. He is more wise than “all the sons of the East” (link to the book of Job). He spoke thousands of proverbs (link to the book of Proverbs). He wrote over a thousand songs (link to Song of Songs).
 Tim’s point is that Solomon is beginning to to fulfill the original call of mankind to rule wisely. However, Solomon’s story has another side as well. In part 4 (36:45-52:50), Tim outlines the foolish side of Solomon’s life. Solomon enslaved people to help him build Jerusalem up. He imported and exported arms, chariots and horses to other countries. He had hundreds of wives and concubines. Solomon demonstrates wisdom but isn’t fully committed to following the laws of Yahweh. 1 Kings 5:13-17
“Now King Solomon levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered 30,000 men. He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in relays; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the forced laborers. Now Solomon had 70,000 transporters, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were over the project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work. Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones.” 1 Kings 9:17, 19
“So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower Beth-horon... and all the storage cities which Solomon had, even the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen….” Solomon, for all his wisdom, implemented policies which directly violated the laws of the king as outlined in the Torah. Deuteronomy 17:15-20
“you shall surely set a king over you whom Yahweh your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since Yahweh has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. 
“Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this Torah on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel. Tim has found scholar Daniel Hays to be helpful here: “We as readers are given a tour of a fantastic, spectacular and opulent mansion, the house of Solomon. Everywhere we look we see wealth and abundance. However, without changing the inflection of his voice the tour guide also points out places where the façade has cracked, revealing a very different structure. Continuing with the standard speech which glorifies the building, the guide nonetheless makes frequent side comments (forced labor, store cities, horses from Egypt, foreign marriages) that make clear that his glowing praise for the structure is not really his honest opinion of the facility, and he wants us also to see the truth. Finally, at the end of the tour in chapters 11, he can restrain himself no more, and he tells us plainly that the building is basically a fraud, covered with a thin veneer of glitz and hoopla, and soon will collapse under its own weight. This is the manner in which the narrator of 1 Kings leads us on a tour of the House of Solomon.” (Daniel Hays, “Narrative Subtlety in 1 Kings 1-11: Does the narrative praise or bury Solomon?”) Tim points out that Solomon violates every rule that Israel’s king was supposed to follow. A Bible reader should ask why the narrator is giving us a dual portrait of Solomon? In the New Testament, Jesus says, “something greater than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31). Jesus positioned himself as the true example of the ideal human who learns wisdom correctly by learning from Yahweh God. In part 5 (52:50-end), the guys discuss the seeming asymmetry of male and female portrayals in the Bible. Why is it that a woman is portrayed as a “wise and foolish woman” in Proverbs? Why are women often portrayed with seductive and illicit behavior? Tim points out that throughout history, men have been the ones translating the Bible, so they have default and built-in blind spots to understanding and accurately portraying a better view of man and woman’s portrayal in the original Hebrew context. 
Tim notes that women have been making great strides in contributing to and furthering academic and scholastic work on biblical texts and that their voices need to be heard. Thank you to all our supporters! Show Resources:  • www.thebibleproject.com • J. Daniel Hays, “Narrative Subtlety in 1 Kings 1-11: Does the narrative praise or bury Solomon?” Show Music: • Roads by LiQwyd • Yesterday on Repeat by Vexento • Moon by LeMMino • self reflection by less.people • Defender Instrumental by Tents Some music for this episode brought to you by the generosity of Chill Hop Music. Show Produced by:  Dan Gummel, Jon Collins Powered and distributed by Simplecast

Are ancient Asian dragons actually misinterpreted extraterrestrial spacecraft? Are there ancient alien airports littered across the Earth, part of a vast star-being trade network that brought knowledge advanced technological knowledge to primitive man? Was Solomon’s legendary magic carpet actually an airship given to him by so-called “divine” beings that were simply aliens in disguise? And what of Ezekiel’s infamous interaction with God in a chariot described has having “wheels within wheels” (boys)? Was this yet another example of flesh and blood ET’s posing as the paranormal to manipulate human destiny in the ancient past? We don’t know, but our plucky Ancient Astronaut Theorists are re-hashing about 95% old footage from season 1 episodes in this ep - even down to Robert Clotworthy’s narration volumed down to about a 4/10 compared to his usually 11. Let’s prooooooooooooooooobe (again!) into Alien Transports!

Was Solomon righteous? Dr. Constantinou looks to the Fathers for an answer and then begins a discussion of Kings and Kingdoms.

Was Solomon righteous? Dr. Constantinou looks to the Fathers for an answer and then begins a discussion of Kings and Kingdoms.