1 Kings 11

Solomon was a glorious king, but he was not the Messiah. He married many foreign women who were not dedicated to the Lord. Eventually these wives turned away the king's heart form the Lord.

Israel was never to be a place of religious diversity. The land was to serve the world as a picture of the clarity of the perfect worship of heaven. There could be no monuments or shrines to false gods in Immanuel's country. Yet Solomon set up high places where his wives could worship their own gods. The Lord was not pleased.

God spoke to Solomon about the consequences for His disobedience, consequences that would come in the next generation. There would division and trouble in the land.

Nonetheless, the promises of God would stand. The glorious Messiah King that Solomon had displayed for us in earlier days would one day come with the fullness of His heavenly blessings.

We long for that good King. He will be utterly faithful to the glory of God forever. And we long for a kingdom that can never be divided from within or destroyed from outside forces.

God's eternal purpose will come to pass. He is far more dedicated to His own Word than we are. Jesus gave His blood in order to secure the glory that will one day be revealed from heaven. He will bless us with peace forever.

The Father of glory has been true to His own Name and to the perfect Son of David. The line of the promised King would come through the tribe of Judah which would soon be separated from the other tribes to the north. Through the coming Immanuel, God with us, the gracious purposes of God would be extended far beyond the borders of Israel.