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South Bay SDA Church

Jeremy Arnall

A Sacred Trust: Character

That as we bow before you, as we seek to see your face, Lord, help us to comprehend the magnitude of the moment that we share here in this sacred place.

Help us to comprehend your holiness, to realize our need, and to respond to the invitation to be embraced, to be made clean.

I pray, Lord, that you'll Give me tact and skill and wisdom for Lord, when we talk about our children, we talk about something very dear and very sensitive to each heart.

I pray Lord that you would remove barriers, that you would remove prejudice or sensitivity that would preclude us from receiving instruction from you.

Lord, we want to be in the heaven someday with our children.

And whether our children are grown or in the womb, Lord, please speak to each 1.

I invite you to open your Bibles this morning to 2 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles chapter 10.

Isn't it good to be in the house of the Lord?

Good to see you all looking down and opening your Bibles.

Second Chronicles, we don't often preach from Chronicles, but I believe this is where it's also the story is also found in 1 Corinthians, or 1 Kings chapter 12, but I think we'll pick it up from Chronicles today.

And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.

When Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, heard it, he was in Egypt where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon, that Jeroboam returned from Egypt.

And then they sent for him and called him.

And Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, your father made our yoke heavy.

Now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.' So he said to them, Come back to me after 3 days.

Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived saying, how do you advise me to answer these people?

And they spoke to him saying, if you are kind to these people and you please them and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever.

But He rejected the advice that the elders had given him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him who stood before him.

And he said to them, what advice do you give?

How should we answer this people who have spoken to me saying, lighten the yoke which your father put on us?

Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him saying, thus you should speak to the people who have spoken to you saying, your father made our yoke heavy, but you made it lighter on us.

Thus you shall say to them, my little finger shall be thicker than my father's waist.

And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke.

My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges." So, Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had directed saying come back to me the third day.

King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men saying my father made your yoke heavy but I will add to it my father chastised you with whips but I will chastise you with scourges so the king did not listen to the people, for the turn of events was from God that the Lord might fulfill his word which he had spoken by the hand of Ahijah, the Shilonite, to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.

Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king saying, what share have we in David?

We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.

But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah." How sad that the kingdom could come to this.

To understand Rehoboam and the crisis we see here, we have to go back to his upbringing or shall we say lack thereof.

Solomon wrote many proverbs in his earlier years.

In his younger years, he wrote what often today people read as a daily reading, 1 chapter for each day of the month, Proverbs.

He had a lot to say in these Proverbs about parenting itself.

He said in chapter 13 verse 24, he that spareth his rod, hateth his son.

But he that loveth him, chasteneth him betimes or early.

Proverbs 19, 18, chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

Proverbs 22, 15, foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." Or there's Proverbs 23, 13 to 14, withhold not correction from the child.

For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

Thou shalt beat him with the rod and shalt deliver his soul from hell." Proverbs 29, 15 and 17 also reads like this, the rod and reproof give wisdom.

Can I just say, let us all remember that I'm reading from Holy Scripture?

The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest, yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul." Yes, Solomon had received wisdom from God early in his reign.

Solomon had the instruction, but sadly he didn't practice what he preached.

He received much, Solomon did, in the way of praise and flattery due to the blessings that God had bestowed upon him and the kingdom itself.

But inspiration states that Because he was constantly extolled by men of the world, he was at length unable to withstand the flattery offered him.

The wisdom entrusted to him that he might glorify the giver filled him with pride.

In fact, he finally permitted men to speak of him as the 1 most worthy of praise.

In fact, while Solomon in speaking of the temple stated, the house which I built is called by thy name, became known instead of, instead as Solomon's temple rather than Jehovah's temple.

Instead of a missionary zeal, a spirit of commercialism now reigned in the kingdom.

He sought to protect his interest and in time came to heavenly tax people to add to his splendor and to add to his comfort and luxury.

He had brought before him beautiful women from the surrounding areas.

In fact, he added to himself 700 wives and 300 concubines.

Solomon would later write that, whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them.

How often do you think, you know, if I could just secure a little extra cash, I could buy that?

Or If my circumstances were just a little bit more like his or hers, I'd be happy.

But how often are those thoughts fleeting or perhaps even more settled in our minds?

Indeed, a corruption and selfishness came to be the identifying characteristics of his reign And thus his subjects became discontent as they realized, as they caught on, that he cared more for himself than he did for them.

But later in life, God awakened Solomon from his selfish stupor with a message from a prophet in 1 Kings 11, 11 to 12, where he was warned that his kingdom would be divided.

We are told that Long had Solomon been harassed by the fear of utter ruin because of inability to turn from falling.

But now he discerned in the message given him a ray of hope." God is good at doing that, isn't He?

At granting us hope amidst the mess that we make for ourselves.

So in gratitude, Solomon acknowledged the power and loving kindness of the 1 who is higher than the highest.

While Solomon couldn't undo the terrible results of his sins, he sought to dissuade others from following a similar course.

You know, I was encouraged, my boys were talking at home the other day, and 1 of them told me, I won't mention her name, but she's a member in our congregation here, a young lady, a very young lady, And she told the boys, she says, you know, I think 1 of my favorite books is the book of Ecclesiastes.

Because if you could find a book, if you could pick a book that is specifically targeted for our youth, it's this book.

Ecclesiastes needs to be read again and again.

Yes, we all would do well to read it, but especially those who are young in years.

Again, inspiration says, the true penitent does not put his, hear this carefully, he does not put his past sins from his remembrance.

He does not, as soon as he has attained peace, grow unconcerned in regards to the mistakes he has made.

And so Solomon, he offers what wisdom remains and seeks to guide especially the youth with his message in the book of Ecclesiastes.

He seeks to encourage them away from following a similar pattern.

Prophets and Kings says that with touching pathos, he wrote concerning the privileges and responsibilities before the youth in God's service, end quote.

So yes, Ecclesiastes is a treatise, treatise, yeah that, for our youth today.

A plea to gain perspective that only God can grant.

Solomon had all the wealth at his disposal.

He makes Bill Gates, he makes, I don't remember who the richest 1 is right now, Jeff Bezos or whoever, he makes them look like child's play.

And not only that, if you thought a woman could make you happy, he had plenty of opportunity.

A Sacred Trust: Character

Transcript

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