Sermon series on Old Testament Heroes: Solomon
========================
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING
========================
I. Having it all.
II. Solomon as a tragic figure.
III. Solomon’s early life is generally positive.
A. Idealization seen most clearly in his choice of wisdom. 3:9
B. His political prominence shows his success as a ruler. 4:1-28
C. His piety emerges from his building of the Temple. 5-7
D. His prosperity is revealed when Queen of Sheba visits. 10:1-13
IV. With so much going for him, why did Solomon fail?
A. His many wives, a perversion of intimacy of married love. 11:3
B. His marriage of foreign women, violating God’s commands. 11:1-2
C. His sacrifice of the pure worship of God to idolatry. 11:4-8
V. These are not instantaneous choices, but evolved over his lifetime.
VI. At the end, Solomon learned his lesson. (Ecclesiastes)
A. Ecclesiastes is a hard book and often misunderstood.
B. Contrast is the key.
C. Life “under the sun.”
D. Life under God.
E. Basic theme: Earthly values that lead to futility, or God’s
values that lead to happiness and contentment.
VII. How much do we want to have?
A. Life is not measured by our accomplishments and acquisitions.
B. “Having it all” can mean ending up with nothing.
C. God wants us to have everything we need.