Wednesday, 8th September 2021
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-13 The Manifestation of God’s Power
The Queen of Sheba lived very far away, but she heard about God because Solomon was blessed. She decided to go see for herself. V4-5 “And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.” Why was she astonished by Solomon’s offering? In regards to the alter, it was first mentioned in Genesis 8:20, “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”
For the Queen of Sheba, even though she did not know God, but she was able to see God’s blessings and favour for Solomon. V9 “Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” But did Solomon really please God? We all want to finish well, but it’s always easy to make a start but a challenge to complete it. Solomon had a good start, everyone saw God’s blessings for him. God has blessed us and wants us to stand before the people to share testimonies for Him.
But Solomon didn’t finish well, he left God later on and God’s blessings also left him. Solomon did everything to try to please the Queen of Sheba, but was it what God wanted him to do? Solomon focused more on what he wanted to do instead what pleased God.
Section Two V14-25 God’s Blessing Overflows
In I Kings 3:14 God said to Solomon “And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.” What God promised to Solomon, he really fulfilled it. Solomon had so much gold that he used it to make shields as decorations!
V19-20 “The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.” Solomon showed his power over the twelves tribes as represented by the lions under his throne. But he somehow didn’t recognise all this wealth was from God!
People came to listen to the wisdom of Solomon given by God. We like to follow the richness and lifestyle of the world. But do we really respond to God with truth and spirit? Don’t be rebellious like Solomon.
Section Three V26-29 Solomon’s Ungratefulness
God promised Solomon abundance and He fulfilled this promise. But Solomon only saw the wealth and the richness he had instead of the love of God for him. Deuteronomy 17:16 says “But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’” God told the Israelites not to go back to Egypt and not to rely on the apparent wealth and richness. God does not want us to go back to our old lifestyle, if we have decided to follow God then we must not go back to the world! Live in the lifestyle of the Tree of Life and believe God can always provide for us. We should never need to fight for ourselves because God will fight for us.
V28-29 “Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.” Solomon allowed people to go back to Egypt, against what God instructed the Israelites. He didn’t realise that everything he had was God’s blessings. He took his abundance for granted.
Solomon thought his wealth could protect his kingdom, but he didn’t know that at the end his kingdom was divided. Do we also know in our heart that whatever we have now is from God. It’s only by God’s grace we can we where we are today. Give thanks to God and see His love for us.
Worship: 10,000 Reasons https://youtu.be/0KeII3R5fks
Prayer & Pursuit
Can we see how truthful our God is? Stop complaining to God and to others, but see God’s blessings are with us abundantly. We can be where we are today because of the Grace of God. Let us examine ourselves, and see how God has blessed us.
Lord, we thank You for the abundant blessings and grace for us. Lord Your love for us never change, thank You for bringing us to this land and to this church. It’s Your blessings that we are able to hear Your Word today. Lord forgive us for not seeing Your countless blessings but wanted to walk in our own ways. Lord let us focus on You, hold onto the promises You have given to us. Amen.
2021年9月8日 星期三
潘锡安牧师
“敬畏耶和华是智慧的开端， 认识至圣者就是聪明”（箴言9:10）这句经文是所罗门写的，然而他做的事跟他讲的话是矛盾的。正如使徒保罗说的，我们心里愿意，但我们里面软弱了，行不出来。从列王纪上第9章我们看到神是信实的，而人是诡诈的。人从亚当夏娃的时候就叛逆了，不仅不听神的话，在犯了罪后还不愿意承认，把责任推到他人身上。认罪悔改是谦卑承认神的主权，当我们愿意如此行的时候，神的祝福就会临到我们。
一、神能力的彰显 V1-13
V1 示巴是在阿拉伯南边的一个国家，离以色列遥远，但那里的女王风闻所罗门因耶和华的名得到祝福，就特地来以色列拜访。
V4-5 示巴女王看到在所罗门王的宫殿和臣仆，甚至看到“他上耶和华殿的台阶”- 圣经原文第一次提到“台阶”是在创世纪8:20 讲到的挪亚在大洪水之后向神“燔祭”，第二次是在创世纪22章亚伯拉罕将儿子献为燔祭；列王纪上也提到所罗门一天三次献祭给神（9章25节）。示巴女王看到这一切都“诧异得神不守舍”。
V6-9 示巴女王发出赞叹，一个外邦人竟然说出“耶和华你的神是应当称颂的！他喜悦你，使你坐以色列的国位。因为他永远爱以色列，所以立你做王，使你秉公行义”。示巴女王虽然不信神，但也能讲出一些先知性的话语。“秉公行义”这句话非常讽刺 – 所罗门一开始做得很好，但没有办法finish well (有始有终)。示巴女王看见神给所罗门的使命才祝福他。如今我们若想要神的祝福，我们要做的是在众人面前为主作见证，不仅是嘴巴讲的，更是能活出来。
V12 “檀香木”是用在神的殿中的木材。所罗门的国并非一直兴旺，到后来“再没有这样的檀香木进国来，也没有人看见过，直到如今”，因为所罗门渐渐离开神。
V13 所罗门给示巴女王的多过她所求所想，用尽自己的资源去做他自己想做的事，想要得到示巴女王而不是神的喜悦。
二、神的祝福满满 V14-25
V14-18 在列王纪上3:13 神对所罗门说“你所没有求的，我也赐给你，就是富足、尊荣，使你在世的日子，列王中没有一个能比你的”。神按照应许，真的赐给所罗门一切的丰盛。所罗门每一年从各国和本国十二支派收到很多金子，这些金子甚至被拿来做成挡牌。金子本身是软的，所以做成挡牌就只是装饰而已，可想而知当时所罗门拥有多少黄金。
V19-20 十二个狮子代表十二支派，所罗门每一次上宝座的时候，这十二支派都在他脚下仰望他，以此彰显所罗门自己的权力。可惜在所罗门晚年之后，十个支派都离开他。
V22-24 神说要赐给所罗门富足就赐给他，各国的王都来所罗门这里“要听神赐给他智慧的话”，因为他们知道所罗门自己是说不出那些有智慧的话的。神是真实的，按照应许他会给我们祝福，但我们要如何来回应神呢？我们若用心灵诚实来敬拜他，就祝福满满。我们不要像所罗门那样叛逆。
三、忘恩负义的所罗门 V26-29
所罗门只看到表面的东西，没有看见神对他的爱、怜悯和包容。在申命记17:16里神对摩西曾说：“只是王不可为自己加添马匹，也不可使百姓回埃及去，为要加添他的马匹，因耶和华曾吩咐你们说：‘不可再回那条路去。’ ”。神嘱咐以色列人不要回去埃及，那里表面繁荣，却让人成为奴仆。我们跟从神，是否还想“回那条路去”？我们要走神的路，让神的教导和生命树的气息活在我们里面。“加添马匹”是为了预备打仗，然而争战得胜在乎耶和华。“敬畏耶和华是智慧的开端，认识至圣者就是聪明”，我们自己的小聪明只会让自己走回世界的路。神不要我们倚靠自己，要知道给予的是耶和华，收取的也是耶和华。然而所罗门没有听从神的话，反而大量“聚集战车马兵”。他不像大卫，所罗门不是带兵打仗的战士，他如此囤积军事力量，最后把整个国家都拖垮了。
“所罗门的马是从埃及带来的”（V28） – 所罗门这样做等于让人回埃及，一错再错。神给所罗门如此多的恩惠祝福，但所罗门没有感恩，只觉得这是神答应他父亲的，所以理所应当，没有珍惜。他以为自己的财富可以保护他的国，结果劳民伤财，最后整个以色列都分裂了。我们是否看到神给我们的祝福是很大的恩典，是否有感恩的心？我们在这里所拥有的一切，我们能走到如今，都是神的恩典。
*追求和回应：
我们是否看到耶和华祝福满满，是否看到耶和华的真实，还是整天在怨天忧人？我们是否愿意看见，我们能够走到如今都是神的恩典，还是只看到那些不好的地方，看到我们得不到的东西？当我们自省的时候，让我们看到神给我们的祝福，耶和华给我们的恩典直到如今。当我们面对不好的事情时，我们是否看到，神没有离开我们，他仍然在保守我们。让我们带着敬畏神的心去数算神对我们直到如今的恩典。
谢谢主带我们离开埃及，来到这流奶与蜜的应许之地。谢谢主带领我们来到新西兰，来到南奥克兰灵粮堂这个大家庭，让我们拥有生活所需的一切，谢谢主每天賜下话语，谢谢主爱我们直到如今。求主赦免我们不知感恩、怨天尤人、互相比较的心。求主帮助我们珍惜主的祝福，不留恋世界，单单倚靠神！奉耶稣基督的名祷告，阿门！