Fast Track Chapter 3: The Monarchs

Ruler Saul was broken by jealousy

There were two tipping points in Saul‟s faith collapse. First, he refused to wait on God for a military battle by offering a sacrifice himself – an act that only a priest or prophet was permitted to perform. Saul was basically saying, “I can‟t wait on God. I know better than Him. I will approach God on my own terms.” The prophet Samuel warned Saul of his rebellion and pride, and spelled out the next assignment very clearly. Saul was to capture an evil Philistine city and NOT take the animals as booty.

Samuel arrived after the battle to find an overjoyed Saul, bragging about his obedience. Samuel quickly saw through the lie, hearing “the bleating of sheep” -- proof that Saul had taken the forbidden spoils of war. The King had decided that he could “bend God‟s law” to suit him, rather than “bending His heart toward God.” Saul was a rule bender. Saul refused to fully admit he was wrong and find God‟s forgiveness. Instead, he became angry, vengeful, and furious at Samuel, God, or anyone in his path. He began to lose his mind. He decided to take out his anger on a soldier in his army who was gaining lots of popularity: a man named David.

David stole a spear and jug from the King

This final straw of disobedience prompted Samuel to tell Saul that God was giving the Kingdom to a new leader named David. Saul was so filled with envy and rage against the young and popular upstart, that he started hunting David. During a music concert, David was playing music for Saul to help calm him down after a depression had overcome him. Saul jealously threw a spear, and David dove out of the way, barely escaping death. Saul‟s son, Jonathan, and daughter, Michal, sided with David and helped him escape. Saul hunted him for years; but David continued to offer the king forgiveness and asked his father-in-law to “stop running and return to God.”

Traveling covertly across the countryside, David infiltrated Saul's camp from a nearby cave and "stole" the king's spear and water jug. The next morning David revealed that he had taken the royal belongings. David reminded Saul that he could have killed the sleepy Saul while taking his spear, but chose to spare him. David hoped that this act of grace would transform the king's heart. Saul was contrite for a while; but his jealousy quickly returned.

Saul began hanging out with witches

Saul's life continued to spiral out of control. Later in his life, the prophet Samuel died. Saul desperately wanted to contact Samuel's spirit to hear from God. God forbade speaking to witches, astrologers, and others who claim to speak with the dead. And Saul had even outlawed these superstitious practices in his early days as king. But now, with his moral compass broken, he sought counsel from a witch living on the outskirts of town. God warned Saul that through this final act of rebellion he and his sons would be in danger the next day. Just as God predicted, Saul was killed in battle, completing the sad, downward spiral born from jealousy.

David would be the next king of Israel. He had grown up with many older, powerful brothers who served in the war under King Saul. David was a shepherd who took care of the family flock. He spent his time alone in the fields with the sheep, writing songs to God and fighting off lions and bears. He played the harp and perfected the use of a slingshot protecting his animals. One day the prophet Samuel arrived to anoint one of "Jesse's boys" as the next king. David was such a runt that his father didn't even invite him to the ceremony. Samuel sensed that God wanted David to be the next king, because "God doesn't look at the outward appearance, but at the heart." The runt was anointed the heir to the throne, and returned to the fields until time to reign. Sometime later, Jesse sent David to visit his brothers at the front with some provisions.

David’s “Rock & Roll” Slingshot

David found his brothers cowering – along with King Saul – under the threats of the Philistine champion Goliath. King Saul was so distant from God at this point that he couldn‟t summon the courage to fight. The young shepherd offered to go after Goliath with his slingshot. His brothers and the king mocked his confidence. Eventually, though, the king decided to let him try, and David picked up some stones and ran to meet Goliath in battle. This was the first recorded instance of “rock and roll”: one rock rolled the giant and he had to Go-li-eth- down, forever. Goliath was killed, and the people of God were victorious. This was the beginning of David‟s successful and popular career. David became the court musician. He married the king‟s daughter, but eventually drew his father-in- law‟s jealous rage.

Years later after Saul was killed, David took the throne and began a marvelous reign. He expanded the military might of Israel and moved the capital city to Jerusalem. He reunited the twelve tribes who had become scattered and divided over the years. David brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city as a symbol of God's presence and call to worship. David became king and led his people back to God. He battled evil in the world and taught people to love, worship, pray, and sing to God. In fact, David wrote a book of songs, called Psalms, that is used to teach people how to pray during good times, bad times, or times when you need to return to God. Many of his songs made predictions about the coming Messiah. As a king, David never claimed to be the people‟s rescuer or solution to their problems. Instead, he continually pointed the people to God, His law, and His coming Final Forgiver.

Temptation bubbled over with Bath-sheba

Later in his life, David became complacent. Instead of going out to war with his men, he stayed home. He saw a woman in a BATH one night as he strolled the royal balcony. Interestingly, the woman was named Bath-sheba. David investigated and found that she was married. Despite this, he seduced her and slept with her anyway. King David discovered that her husband Uriah was one of his soldiers out fighting in the battlefield. David continued the affair with her, had Uriah killed, and lied about it for many months. Nathan the prophet showed up to confront David, telling the disobedient king to return to God. David stopped running and asked God for forgiveness. He apologized publicly and wrote a psalm that said, "Create in me a clean heart, oh God. Renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, oh Lord." God forgave David but reminded him that the consequences of rebellion would ripple through his family for the next generation. The next half of David's life was filled with pain and sorrow. He also rebelled against God's command to have only one wife, following the patterns of other nations who married many different women. These poor choices produced layers of family problems for the King.

David’s apathy tore apart his house

David‟s family portrait was ripped down the middle in the latter years of his life. Many of the problems were traced to an incident with his son Amnon, who lusted after his half-sister Tamar. He tricked David into sending Tamar to nurse him to health when he was sick. Amnon raped Tamar, and David was too hurt and embarrassed to intervene. Tamar‟s other brother Absalom was so disgusted with David‟s inaction that he killed his sibling and fled. Absalom eventually tried to overthrow his father, but David‟s general, Joab, killed him. Meanwhile, David‟s younger son Solomon was observing the family dysfunction from the shadows. God was calling out to all of them, “Return to Me!” On David's death bed, he anointed his son Solomon as the next king. He told his heir that God wanted Him to build a temple for worship. David laid out the plans, raised the money, and told Solomon to lead God's people back to God's grace, wisdom, and commandments.

Solomon was a “gifted” leader blessed by God

As the new king, Solomon, like his father, led the people back toward trust – initially. God appeared to Solomon one night and offered him an amazing gift saying, “Anything you want I‟ll give you.” Solomon had lived through the family pain of his father, brothers, and sister. He didn‟t ask for money, status, or love. He grew up with wealth, power, and status, but saw his family experience deep, heart-breaking pain. Instead, Solomon asked for God‟s wisdom to live his life. God was so pleased by the request that He gave the king not only wisdom, but money and influence too. One of the most famous examples of Solomon's wisdom occurred when two women came to him arguing over who was the “real mother” of a disputed child. Solomon proposed solving the problem by cutting the baby in half. One mother quickly offered to “give” the child away rather than have him killed. Solomon discerned wisely that this must be the real mother. The child was given to her unharmed. The king‟s wisdom became legendary around the known world.

The pinnacle of Solomon‟s leadership was the glorious temple‟s construction. Based on David‟s plans, Solomon‟s temple was the most amazing worship center in Jerusalem‟s history, drawing people in droves to receive forgiveness and guidance from God.

Solomon shared his wisdom in 3 great books

During his reign, Solomon wrote three books of the Bible. He recorded much of his wisdom in a book called Proverbs. This book shares the importance of God's guidance and philsophies on a variety of subjects. He warns us of the pain that can be caused in your relationships by lust and adultery. He warns us of the temptations of gossip. He teaches us about Godonomics: how our Father wants us to view money, generosity, and work. He teaches his children how to produce, profit, save, and invest. Solomon challenges us to be radically generous with our money, and entreats people to express love to God by giving Him the first part of every paycheck rather than just the leftovers. Solomon teaches us how to be good parents and train up our children in God‟s truth.

Solomon wrote a diary during the courtship of his wife called the Song of Solomon. This intimacy manual encourages chastity before marriage, telling us not to "awaken love until its time." God's view of intimacy and sexuality is so high, so pure, and so sacred, that it must be expressed in the context of a long-term loving marriage covenant. Solomon teaches how to overcome disagreements in marriage, giving examples from his own relationship on how to communicate effectively in the bedroom. He gave us God's wisdom for making the second half of a marriage stronger than the first. In contrast to many people's belief that God is prudish about sex, the Song of Solomon paints a visual, passionate, and loving portrait of intimacy in marriage. This book, a poem, was written by both Solomon and his wife in the format of an ancient play.

Later in his life, Solomon wrote another book called Ecclesiastes -- detailing the thoughts and yearnings of a mid-life crisis. In the book, Solomon reflected on how meaningless everything seems without God. Solomon ignored his own wise Proverbs and tried to fill the God-shaped hole in his heart with pleasure, status, beauty, and money. He accumulated everything. He consumed everything. He tried everything. He found that his soul was unsatisfied by all the trappings of success, pleasure, and status. He came to the conclusion that "God placed eternity in our hearts," meaning we have a longing for something everlasting to satisfy us. He learned that putting God first is the only way to give us lasting peace and real significance. He realized that “running from God” -- and engaging in distractions, even good ones -- never fully satisfy. We were created to thrive in relationship with our Heavenly Father. The human soul runs on God‟s love like a car runs on gasoline.

Solomon’s heart was divided by treaties and women

Solomon built a great kingdom; but God warned him of two things: “First, don‟t make treaties with nations that are running from Me. Second, don‟t marry more than one woman.” God gave Solomon this wisdom, because he wanted his life to be filled with joy. Solomon showed his love by daily seeking his Lord‟s wisdom for building the kingdom. He was so filled with thanksgiving to God that he built the Temple, a magnificent tribute. Yet Solomon too eventually ran from God.

In that time, it was common practice for a king to marry the daughters of neighboring monarchs as protection from attack. Ignoring God‟s advice, Solomon decided to engage this practice at a rampant pace, marrying multiple wives and taking concubines by the hundreds. Each of these wives came from a culture with differing religions and gods. The wives eventually convinced Solomon to worship their gods too, and the ruler‟s heart was divided. It was no longer aligned and in love with the God who gave Him everything. Instead, Solomon was double-minded, allowing women and treaties to divide his heart. After years of warnings, grace, and mercy, Solomon's kingdom was divided in two. The themes flowing from God's heart continued. He whispered, "Trust Me" throughout the years of rebellion. He warns and longs for every one of us to "stop running and return to Him."

Watch "The Monarchs"

Watch Pastor Chad Hovind present the third part of the Fast Track series, "The Monarchs."

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