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Speaker 1: Let us pray. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon. Forasmuch

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Speaker 1: as this is done of THEE, and thou hast not

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Speaker 1: kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded Thee,

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Speaker 1: I will surely rend the kingdom from THEE and will

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Speaker 1: give it to thy servant first Kings. Eleven eleven, Heavenly Father,

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Speaker 1: with every new breath that I take, and as I

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Speaker 1: watch you bring goodness and increase into my life, help

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Speaker 1: me not to forget that apart from you, in your presence,

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Speaker 1: there is no true life. I will not forget that

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Speaker 1: it is in you that I live, I breathe, and

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Speaker 1: I have my being. So when temptations and the pleasures

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Speaker 1: of this world try to lure me from your path

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Speaker 1: of godliness, I will hold fast and combat the lie

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Speaker 1: that life is better without you. I will reject the

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Speaker 1: many I that will try to divide me from your divinity.

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Speaker 1: Like Solomon in his latter years, I will speak to

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Speaker 1: my mind and heart and command it to remember the

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Speaker 1: God of your youth, the God who has always been

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Speaker 1: their guiding, loving, protecting me on the way to my

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Speaker 1: design destiny. I confess that my future is secure as

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Speaker 1: long as I secure myself in your ways. God, Thank

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Speaker 1: you for preserving me and protecting me and drifting away

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Speaker 1: from my spiritual foundation. You Lord in Jesus Name, Amen.

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Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.

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Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year, brought to you by Bible in a

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Speaker 1: Year dot com. Solomon's Fall from God. In our last story,

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Speaker 1: the Temple of God was finally built. David's dream to

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Speaker 1: see God's home amongst the people of Israel had finally

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Speaker 1: been fulfilled through his son Solomon. King Solomon dedicated the

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Speaker 1: Temple to God and a new age of peace fell

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Speaker 1: upon the Hebrews for the first time in their history.

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Speaker 1: And this story, Solomon meets the Queen of Sheba and

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Speaker 1: slowly begins to fall from God. Solomon will seek to

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Speaker 1: fill a hole in his heart with women as his

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Speaker 1: final years bring war to the land of Israel. Inspired

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Speaker 1: by the books of First Kings and Second Chronicles. Hi,

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Speaker 1: this is Pastor Jack Graham with the day's episode of

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Speaker 1: the Bible in a Year podcast. In our last so,

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Speaker 1: we heard how Solomon built the Temple for the Lord,

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Speaker 1: a glorious temple Israel was in a time of unprecedented

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Speaker 1: prosperity and peace, and the people gathered to worship God

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Speaker 1: in this magnificent temple that Solomon had built, the place

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Speaker 1: where God's presence would dwell among them. But as we

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Speaker 1: will here today, as Solomon's fame grew, bringing wise men

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Speaker 1: and royals from far and wide to seek his counsel,

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Speaker 1: he became distracted by things other than God. It would

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Speaker 1: spell the end of peace for Israel and mar his

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Speaker 1: legacy forever. So let's listen now to today's reading from

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Speaker 1: God's Word. Under the rule of Solomon, Israel became the

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Speaker 1: crown jewel of the Eastern world. Kings and queens of

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Speaker 1: all nations would visit Israel to marvel at Solomon's temple, libraries, architecture, gardens,

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Speaker 1: and fields. Solomon's fame spread across the deserts, forests and rangers.

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Speaker 1: Wise men and women would travel far and wide to

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Speaker 1: seek his counsel. He was the heralded philosopher king, and

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Speaker 1: all adored his kind and wise nature. One day a

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Speaker 1: caravan emerged from the south. A sea of camels, jewels, spices,

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Speaker 1: and gold paraded into the city streets. At the top

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Speaker 1: of her carriage pulled by prized camels. The Queen of

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Speaker 1: Sheba sat lounging in the mild Israeli son. She had

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Speaker 1: heard of Solomon's great wisdom and sought to ask him

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Speaker 1: questions of ethics, politics, philosophy, and theology. Solomon watched as

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Speaker 1: the Queen's caravan filled Jerusalem like a golden river. He

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Speaker 1: beckoned her into his palace, and the two spoke of

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Speaker 1: deep things among his gardens. The queen had profound questions

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Speaker 1: and challenging problems that needed solving. However, nothing was too

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Speaker 1: hard for the king. Gently and kindly, Solomon walked the

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Speaker 1: queen through every issue. She was amazed at his wisdom.

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Speaker 1: She had not realized just how knowledgeable the king truly was,

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Speaker 1: nor did she expect the riches of Israel to be

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Speaker 1: so vast and immaculate. She watched the way Solomon's servants

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Speaker 1: worked diligently and with joy. She awed at the warship

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Speaker 1: in the temple, and she could not understand the depth

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Speaker 1: of Solomon's kindness despite his riches. I had heard much

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Speaker 1: about your country and its achievements, the queen said, However,

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Speaker 1: it has exceeded my wildest dreams. A smile came across

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Speaker 1: her face. How happy your people must be to live here,

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Speaker 1: and how happy your officials must be to learn under you.

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Speaker 1: Praise your God for what has happened here. Then she

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Speaker 1: gave Solomon a gift of nine thousand pounds of gold,

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Speaker 1: along with spices and precious jewels. After saying goodbyes, the

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Speaker 1: queen departed, determined to bring similar wisdom and joy to

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Speaker 1: her land. Solomon was gifted with great wisdom and riches,

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Speaker 1: yet even his intellect and wealth could not protect him

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Speaker 1: from the darkness within his own heart. Solomon slowly began

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Speaker 1: to search for meaning in things other than God. His

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Speaker 1: heart often wandered aimlessly, seeking satisfaction and carnal activities. Solomon

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Speaker 1: had a love for foreign women. What started as marriages

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Speaker 1: to form alliances quickly turned into a sick addition to

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Speaker 1: new women and new pleasures. Besides his first wife from Egypt,

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Speaker 1: Solomon married women from mohab Aman, Edom, Sidon, and Hittite.

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Speaker 1: He immersed himself in the strange sexual practices of other cultures.

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Speaker 1: Soon his mind began to wander into the dark recesses

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Speaker 1: of other religions. This is why the Lord had strictly

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Speaker 1: warned the people of Israel to not marry those with

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Speaker 1: other gods. Solomon was reaping the terrible consequences of his actions.

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Speaker 1: Solomon amassed a harem of seven hundred wives and three

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Speaker 1: hundred concubines. Continually wanting to satisfy himself with the new women,

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Speaker 1: he began to forget what it meant to love faithfully.

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Speaker 1: Solomon's heart began to fall from God. Solomon had built

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Speaker 1: the Temple of God for this. He would be remembered

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Speaker 1: forever for his faithfulness. However, his union with many different

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Speaker 1: cultures and nations also led him to build shrines and

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Speaker 1: altars to false gods. With each passing year, Solomon would

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Speaker 1: give a peace of his soul over to a new God.

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Speaker 1: This caused a deep anger in God, he had gently

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Speaker 1: warned Solomon many times. However, his heart was corrupted, just

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Speaker 1: as his ancestors in the wilderness. God's wrath burned against Solomon,

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Speaker 1: and he decided to divide his kingdom among his descendants.

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Speaker 1: As Solomon engaged in his sexual idol worship, rebels and

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Speaker 1: adversaries began to emerge from the depths of Israel, giving

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Speaker 1: Solomon and his first taste of war. Rebellion from the

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Speaker 1: east and south began to emerge, and Solomon was finally

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Speaker 1: called to war. His era of peace had been interrupted

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Speaker 1: by doubt, bloodshake, and conflict. This was a representation of

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Speaker 1: Solomon's heart. For the last years of Solomon's life, he

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Speaker 1: warred against rebellion and felt no peace. For forty years,

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Speaker 1: Solomon ruled over Israel. He brought the nation into an

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Speaker 1: unprecedented era of peace. His heart to worship God reflected

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Speaker 1: his father's, and his wisdom gave him more riches than

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Speaker 1: he could ever have imagined. However, the last few years

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Speaker 1: of his rule was marked with woe. Towards the end

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Speaker 1: of his life, Solomon's writings became contemplative and sorrowful. He

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Speaker 1: reflected on the meaningless pursuit of knowledge, riches, and success.

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Speaker 1: As his eyes began to dim and his bones grow brittle,

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Speaker 1: Solomon finally came to the understanding that there is no

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Speaker 1: meaning in life apart from God's presence. With his dying breath,

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Speaker 1: he praised God and his son Rhaboam took his place

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Speaker 1: as king. As we begin today's passage, Solomon has become

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Speaker 1: a man of great renown, not only in Israel, but

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Speaker 1: all around the world. Word of his wisdom and kindness

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Speaker 1: spread far and wide to kings and queens and sages

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Speaker 1: from distant lands, just as God had promised him. Solomon's

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Speaker 1: wisdom was matched by no one, but his wealth and

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Speaker 1: prosperity was also without equal. It was an opportunity for

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Speaker 1: Israel to be a shining witness to the rest of

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Speaker 1: the world, as when the Queen of Sheba came to

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Speaker 1: see Solomon, she was impressed by his great mind and

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Speaker 1: by the wealth that she saw in his country. She

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Speaker 1: even seemed to praise God for what he had done

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Speaker 1: for Israel, But in reality she wasn't interested as much

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Speaker 1: in the giver of blessings as she was in the

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Speaker 1: blessings and all the benefits themselves. Though she had a

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Speaker 1: chance to turn to God, the One True God, and

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Speaker 1: honor him, what she really wanted in the end were

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Speaker 1: the riches. Unfortunately, it wasn't just the Queen of Sheba

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Speaker 1: who missed the point of things. As his fame and

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Speaker 1: influence grew, Solomon's attentions turned away from God and then

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Speaker 1: came the gratifying of the flesh. Like so many before him,

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Speaker 1: Solomon's appetite for sexual pleasure clouded his vision, and being

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Speaker 1: a man of such power and influence, he was able

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Speaker 1: to take many wives for himself. As he would later

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Speaker 1: write in Ecclesiastes, Solomon denied himself nothing he desired. That

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Speaker 1: is a recipe for disaster. He married women from many

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Speaker 1: different countries, women who worshiped other gods. Taking wives from

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Speaker 1: other nations was against God's will, and in First Kings eleven,

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Speaker 1: verse two, we hear why you shall not enter into

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Speaker 1: marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely

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Speaker 1: they will turn away your heart after their gods. But Solomon,

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Speaker 1: for all of his wisdom, ignored God's command, and sure

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Speaker 1: enough his heart became divided. He took more than seven

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Speaker 1: hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and each of these

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Speaker 1: unions chipped away at his relationship with the Lord and

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Speaker 1: his ability to lead. Despite multiple warnings from God, Solomon

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Speaker 1: allowed himself to be corrupted by lust, and eventually God's

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Speaker 1: anger could be held back no more. The peace that

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Speaker 1: Israel had experienced was shattered as wars broke out once more.

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Speaker 1: Not only that, but Solomon's own peace was destroyed and

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Speaker 1: sorrow filled his heart. For much of his latter years.

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Speaker 1: Because of his persistent sin, God would split the kingdom

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Speaker 1: into but this would not happen until his son Raya

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Speaker 1: Boem became king. It is the tragic result of sin

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Speaker 1: and unfaithfulness, and it is a powerful reminder that what

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Speaker 1: Israel needed, what we all need, is a king that

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Speaker 1: was not just wise, but one who is perfectly good

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Speaker 1: and pure. And there is only one king who is

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Speaker 1: above all kings. He would one day rise from the

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Speaker 1: House of David as Savior and Lord and give us

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Speaker 1: the power to defeat sin. Jesus is the King of

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Speaker 1: kings and the Lord of lords. Solomon came to understand

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Speaker 1: at the end of his life what his father knew,

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Speaker 1: that there is nothing that compares to being in God's presence.

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Speaker 1: Solomon repented and praised God once more before he went

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Speaker 1: to his final rest and the kingdom passed into the

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Speaker 1: hands of his son Rehoboam. Would the new king model

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Speaker 1: the wisdom of his father, or was Israel headed for

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Speaker 1: more pain. We'll find out the next time. Dear God,

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Speaker 1: we remember the words of the hymn which says, prone

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Speaker 1: to wander, Lord, I feel it prone to leave the

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Speaker 1: God I love we are all prone to leave the

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Speaker 1: God that we love, just like Solomon. We want to wander.

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Speaker 1: But God, we ask you to move in our hearts

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Speaker 1: to sanctify and purify us. And by your grace and

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Speaker 1: because of your forgiveness, that we would live holy and

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Speaker 1: godly lives. Help us to keep our eyes on you

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Speaker 1: and to worship you and you only. May you be

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Speaker 1: our King and our Lord, forever and ever. Amen. Thank

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Speaker 1: you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 1: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Prey dot

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Speaker 1: com app and make sure that prayer and Bible reading

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Speaker 1: is a priority in your life. If you enjoyed this podcast,

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Speaker 1: let someone else know, share it with someone you love,

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Speaker 1: and let's get the Word of God out to many,

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Speaker 1: many people. And if you want more resources as to

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Speaker 1: how you can learn and live the Christian life, be

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Speaker 1: sure to visit Jack Graham dot org. That's Jack Graham

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Speaker 1: dot org. This episode is sponsored by Medician, an innovative

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Speaker 1: health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing

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