(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . End of story there. Look at verse number 13. Or I'm sorry, verse number 12. I mean, I really enjoy reading at least the beginning part. Up to close to the end where he starts marrying all these wives. But the beginning part of when Solomon takes over the kingdom is just a fascinating time. Because it's a time of peace. And he's got all this great wisdom. And you get to kind of see how he executes that wisdom. And some of the rulings that he puts forth. And there's just so much to learn. It's just amazing. It's an exciting time. Hopefully you're excited about it as much as I am. So we're going to start this off here, okay? We're going to start the hit list, basically. It's going to start here with Adonijah. Verse 13. Look what it says. And Adonijah the son of Hagath came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, And he said, Now look at this here in verse 14. Okay? So he says, He said, I have somewhat to say unto thee. Okay? So he's like, I've got something to say to you. Okay? Who's ever had that said to them? Hey, I've got something to say to you. Right? What happens inside when someone says that? You're like, oh, great. Start running your mouth here in verse 15. And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me that I should reign. Now there's some truth to that. He actually had a lot of people thinking, well, he is the eldest of the kids. Obviously, yeah, maybe that's what it's going to be. It's going to be Adonijah. So he had people following to the point where Nathan the prophet was like, hey, we need to stop this. This is getting out of hand. We got to go do something about this. Talked about that last week. But look at what he's saying to Bathsheba. Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine. So it's like he's taking a little nap here again. Right? He's like, no, it was mine. Right? He's trying to guilt trip Solomon's mother, the mother of the king of Israel. You knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me that I should reign, howbeit the kingdom has turned about and has become my brothers. Think about these words here. He's like, it was mine, but because of circumstances, now it's my brothers. Right? And then we'll come back to this here, but this is going to be very important, for it was his from the Lord. Okay? We'll come back and talk about that. Let that sink in. Okay? Because look, it almost seems like he just went there to ask. You know, I've heard people recap this story, you know, you ever watch a new evangelical kind of tell some of these Old Testament stories? They literally, they leave out a lot of details, and they'll say things like, oh, you know, he just went to ask, you know, his stepmom. They'll say that. He went to ask his stepmom. That's not even what's going on here. Okay? I don't even have time to get into that. But they'll say, well, you know, Adonai just went to ask his stepmom, and this is where Solomon's saying he got jealous, and he whacked him. There are people out there that will say stuff like that. They'll say, hey, I've got something to say to you. Right? He tries to guilt trip her. He says, hey, this kingdom was mine, but now my brother's got it. And, oh, by the way, I want something from you. Okay? Which look at verse 16. And now I ask one petition of thee. He's trying to manipulate her. This is what narcissists do. Understand that. Like, remember what Paul said about the Old Testament. These things that were written aforetime to how these people talk. Pay attention to how they conduct themselves, and it will teach you a lot in life. This is what manipulators do. They will try to put you on an emotional roller coaster. In fact, let me rephrase that. They will put you on an emotional roller coaster. They're always going to have some problem. They're always going to have some reason to basically, if you leave me, or if you don't do this for me, then this is going to happen, and you're going to be responsible for my downfall. And then they're going to back off when they see that you bit off on that. And they're going to be like, okay, I got them now. Then they might reward you a little bit. And then they'll come back and be like, hey, I got something to say to you. And they just play with you like this, up and down. That's how he tried to steal the kingdom by going around and finding people that were not necessarily loyal or people that just had no idea what was going on. Okay? Again, this is what narcs do, and I believe he is definitely in that category. So he says, I ask now one petition of thee, verse 16, to deny me not, and she said unto him, say on. Now, any time the kids come up, and they're like, can I ask you a question? And you're like, maybe, right? Is that what we simply say, maybe? Okay, well, don't say no. Can I have five cookies? You can have two, right? But if you agree, okay, I won't say no, and they say, can I have 10 cookies? Can I have five cookies? And you're like, now you're on the hook and this guy is childish here. This guy is immature. He's like, don't say no, okay? You can't say no because you need to feel sorry for me because I was supposed to be king and my brother stole it. Verse 17, and he said, speak I pray thee unto Solomon the king, for he will not say thee nay that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. And Bathsheba said, well, I will speak unto, I will speak for thee unto the king, and then verse 19 says, Bathsheba therefore went unto the king, unto King Solomon to speak unto him for Adonijah, and the king rose up to meet her and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand. Now that's interesting, man. Sat on his right hand. There's some symbology here. There's some picture here. Now obviously this is a good Mother's Day type sermon. You could always come back to this neighborhood here. He loves his mom. He's got respect for his mom even though he's the king, and he's like, sure, what do you want? You know, so Adonijah, he read that right, okay, but what he didn't read right was what's about to be said here, what's about to happen. Verse 20, then she said, I desire one small petition of thee. I pray thee, say me not nay. Again, there it is, right? And the king said unto her, ask on my mother, for I will not say thee nay. Okay, now pay attention to this. Verse 21, and she said, let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah, thy brother to wife. Okay, and then she stops, and Solomon's going to start talking here. Why is that important? Okay, why is that important? Because think about it. Think about what Adonijah said to her. He's manipulating her. He's trying to guilt trip her. He said, hey, you know the kingdom was mine, okay, but now it's gone to my brother, and it was so from the Lord. Okay, but she doesn't say all that in this quick exchange here, does she? Why? Because he played on her emotions. She doesn't want any trouble. She wants him to be happy for what it is. She doesn't want any trouble for her son. And she thinks that, okay, well if I just just go with what he says here, and just go to my son, and you know, he already promised he wouldn't say no, maybe all will be well. Okay, but it's actually wrong. And I'm bringing this up here because people that are narcs, people that are narcissists, what they say to you, and, I mean, I'm telling you right now, when you identify somebody as a narcissist, you need to be careful. You need to be very careful in talking with them, and accepting anything from them, whether it be verbal or physical. Because it can affect you this quickly here. She's already being, you know, I mean, the signs are there. She's already been played. Look at verse 22. So remember, you know, Solomon is a very wise man here. Now he hasn't had the dream yet. He hasn't had you know, passed the test of God yet, but he's still very wise. He still has a lot of wisdom from God, and he can see right through this. He knows his mother. Think about that. You know, he knows his mom. He knows it. The only reason she's putting the conversation the way that she is, is because he has got to her. He doesn't even care to go find out exactly what's said. He knows there's evil intent here. Okay? I mean, they just got done, basically having this little family ordeal with Adonijah, trying to steal the kingdom. He knows that he was trying to do that, and he can see right through what's going on here. Okay? Yes, I'm sure Adonijah wants Abishag. Sure, you know, it says she's a fair woman, whatever, but there's more to it than that. He's trying to get in to Solomon's head, and Solomon's not having any of it. He understands, okay, you know what? This needs to be dealt with here, and understand this also, David didn't say anything about this. He makes this decision on his own. Because obviously, no father wants to see their kids fight, you know? Even if there's, you know, a blended family situation, you know, we still would want peace in that situation, but there can't be. Look at verse 24, it says, Now therefore, as the Lord liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me in house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. So, let's recap three things really quickly here, okay? Look at verse number 15. First thing here. Well, okay, here's just three quick things about Adonijah. Number one is the obvious. He tried to usurp the kingdom. He literally tried to steal the kingdom. That's, I mean, that's the reality, okay? He didn't want to go through the proper channels. He didn't want to face reality. He tried to steal the kingdom. He thought he saw a vacuum. He thought he saw a hole in the system, and he thought he could pull it off. He was wrong. But look at verse 15 again, because I said we'd come back to this. Look at this here, this hidden little gem in this conversation between Adonijah and Bathsheba. And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign, howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and become my brothers, don't miss this, for it was from the Lord. What does that tell you? He knew it was from the Lord, but he still tried to usurp the kingdom. Okay? Meaning he is already violated in his mind, his conscience. He has already pushed through the barrier of his conscience. Once you do that, you become more susceptible to doing things like this, and what it all boils down to is rebellion. Okay? It's rebellion. Any time there is a new leader in charge of anything, whether it be a country, a state, a church, an organization of any kind, there will always be people in the, you know, just in line, ready to test. And Solomon knows that. He's considered these, and there's more. We just don't have time to get into them. Okay? There's more, but this is why Adonijah has to be removed. He has to be taken out. Because he's already been spared. Right? He was, I mean, what did he do in chapter 1? He grabbed hold of the horns of the altar and said, You can't get me now. Right? This is base. And Solomon said, Hey, everything's cool. Just behave yourself. Go to your house and live your life. Okay? What does he do? He starts to stir up trouble with his own mom. Okay? Not a very wise thing to do. So, enter the assassin. Look at verse 25. It says this. And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and he fell upon him that he died. Okay? That language there doesn't mean that he tripped on him. Doesn't mean that he fell off a table onto Adonijah. It means he fell on him. He came upon him, whether it was himself or his guys. Either way you look at it, he killed him. Keep your place there. 2 Samuel, chapter number 8. Go to 2 Samuel, chapter number 8. What I want to do now is I want to go through some quick attributes about Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who we're calling the assassin. What was his creed? What was the code of conduct that he lived by? Not a whole lot written in the Bible about him, but everything that's written about Benaiah is just, just good to go, just amazing. This guy here is a model Christian. You know, a true disciple, a true loyal friend, and somebody that you want to have on your side. So, 2 Samuel, chapter 8, look at verse 18. The Bible says this. Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over both the Cherithites and the Pelethites, and David's sons were chief rulers. Okay? Now, we don't have time to get into it, but as you read this chapter here, and as you study chapter 9, and you kind of go on throughout, you'll realize that Benaiah here, he's over the Cherithites and the Pelethites. Okay? Now, why is that important? Well, Benaiah's a mighty man. He's a great warrior. He's a great fighter. He's a great asset to the kingdom of God. He's loyal, you know, and here he is ruling over some foreigners. Okay? The Cherithites and the Pelethites, they were people from the region of south Philist, south of the Philistine territory. We talked about that in the past. We don't have time to get into it, but the point is, it would be easy for him, having his talents, having his abilities, to allow pride to set in and be like, you know what? I should be over more than the foreigners. Why do I get foreigner duty? But he doesn't do that. He's content. And that's the first thing that I want to bring up. Okay? The Assassin's Creed. You know, how are we assassins today? Well, we're supposed to pick up our cross daily and follow the Lord. We're supposed to die to self. We're supposed to contend with the old man. We're supposed to assassinate false doctrine. We're supposed to spiritually assassinate all the lies and things that are wrong and things that hold us down and things that plague us. Right? And you know what? We need to be content with that. Okay? We are assassins and we have a creed and the first part of that is being content. Be content with such things as you have because it's the Lord ultimately that has given you those things. And here we see the Benaiah is definitely content with his responsibility. He enjoys it. He embraces it. Go to 2 Samuel chapter number 20. 2 Samuel chapter number 20. You know, when you can learn to be content with the things that you have and the situations that you're in, you're really going to start to see the Lord bless you. I mean, that is woven throughout the entire Bible as well. But let's look at this. Let's look at the next one here. 2 Samuel chapter 20. Look at verse 23. So given a quick recap here, it says, Now Joab was over all the host of Israel. Okay? So he's, you know, obviously the general. He's the top dog there. And look what it says next. In Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherithites and over the Pelethites. Okay? What does this mean? Well, not only was Benaiah content with his job, with his responsibilities, but this is several years later that this is being written down for us and we see that he's consistent. He hasn't given up. Right? That's what the kingdom of God needs today. We need people that are content, but we also need people that are consistent. Okay? People that aren't just double-minded and so on and so forth, but consistently enduring, consistently loyal, consistent with the battle. Go to 2 Samuel chapter 23 now. And I'll give you the last one. Okay? So again, I mean, the Bible, again, the Bible puts these little things in there for a reason. You know, and it's easy. I do it all the time when I'm reading through and I'll overlook these things. It's often not until I come back to study them that I start to see these things. But let's take a look at the last one here. What is the Assassin's Creed? Well, so far we've seen that it's contentment. It's being content with such things as you have. He was content with his responsibilities, his ability. And by the way, he wasn't even the mightiest of the mighty. You know, there were people that were mightier than him. We don't have time to get into it and he was still content with that. Right? He wasn't like, oh man, I really need to find the nearest EPO store and inject some stuff so I can get buffer and stronger. Right? He wasn't like that. He was consistent. He was content. Let's look at the last one here. This will be a definite favorite for a lot of you. Look at verse 20. 2 Samuel 23. Look at verse number 20. It says, In Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabziel, who had done many acts. Now don't miss this. He slew two lion-like men of Moab. Okay? So obviously, if you think about it here, these two lion-like men have been given probably, you know, just trolling people, just causing torments, causing trouble, a lot of people afraid of them. He went down there and took out both of these people. Look what it says next. He went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow. Why is that in there? Why is this in the Bible? Okay? Why are we reading about him in Kings? Why are these little, just one or two liners written about Benaiah? It's to show us something. It's to show us how, you know, why was he chosen for the job by Solomon? Solomon is a very wise person. He knows that Benaiah is content. He knows Benaiah is consistent, but he also knows his history, that he's courageous. It takes courage to do something like this. Look, if I heard there was a mountain lion, even in Mountain Home, I'm like, I'm not going there. I'm like, I'm not going outside, you know. There's all these little, you know, videos all over the place of people's, like, ring doorbells picking up mountain lions just walking around, you know, at night. And it's like, oh boy, that's scary. This guy's like, where's he at? And to make matters worse, it says he slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow. You want to talk about adversity. Okay, first you have the lion, which is obviously very ferocious, doesn't care, will take you out, is known for destroying people, for killing, you know, anything it gets its claws on, but he has to go into the midst. Right, it's not like he went out to the front of the pit there and was like, you know, maybe knocked on it so the thing came out. You know, it's not like he put a stake on the outside and brought it out. He went into the problem. He went into the pit, and he fought the beast. He slew him in the pit, and to make matters worse, it says in the time of snow. Like, when it snows here, we're like, oh, look how pretty it is, and we're all chilling out, you know, and it's warm, and you have hot cocoa and all the drinks next door. They had none of that. They didn't have air conditioning. They didn't have a furnace. You know, if you wanted to stay warm, you either worked, got under a blanket, or built a fire. Okay? I mean, think about that. It took massive courage for Benaiah to even do these types of things, and all it says is just this quick little verse about him. Yeah, he killed two lion-like guys, and he slew a lion in the midst of a pit in the time of snow. Okay, go back to 1 Kings. Back to 1 Kings. So, again, the Assassin's Creed, I would say, I would put it like this. If you remember one thing from this chapter, remember your three C's. Content, consistency, and courage. Okay? Just remember those three things. Those three things there are definitely some great markers for us to strive for, for us to constantly, you know, adhere to, because what those three things will do is make sure that over time, God can promote you. You know, the Bible says very clearly that promotion, it comes from God. You know, it doesn't come from the East. It doesn't come from the West. It doesn't come from us showing off and running our mouths and blah, blah, blah, and putting a resume out there. No, it comes from God, okay? It comes from the Lord, and you're going to see that here in a moment. Look at verse 26. So, obviously, Benaiah takes out Adonijah. That's his first hit, and let me just stop right here. Did Benaiah murder Adonijah? No, he killed him. Completely legal. Completely sanctioned by the government. It was a kill. It was not a murder. Let's move on. Verse 26. At this time put thee to death because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord that he might fulfill the word of the Lord, which he spake concerning the house of Eli and Shiloh. Don't have time, unfortunately, to get into that, but that was a prophecy that we read about in 1 Samuel, okay? So, what's the case here? What's going on? Well, obviously, Abiathar is not to be trusted, okay? He's already proven that he's got wickedness in his heart. He's bitter about stuff. So, Solomon, you know, just basically says, get back inside. Go to your house and just leave us alone here. Let's see here. Verse 28 says this. Then, so here's number two, okay? Here's the next hit. Then tidings came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom, okay? And Joab fled into the tabernacle of the Lord and caught hold on the horns of the altar, and it was told King Solomon that Joab was fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, go fall upon him. And we'll talk about that here at the end of the sermon, like I said, the significance. Was it biblical? Was it not biblical about the whole altar there? But the point is, Joab here is like, great, the guy who I put my trust in, the guy who I thought was going to be king unfortunately had to wake up from his dream and is now dead, right? So Joab knows that he's next. He knows that Solomon is coming for him. Verse 30 Then Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay, but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. Stop right there, okay? Understand here, Benaiah knows something's not right, right? He's been sent to do a job by his boss, said, Hey, go fall upon him. I heard he's down there holding on to the horns of the altar, or he's in the tabernacle. Just go get him, right? Benaiah gets, and he actually sees what Joab's doing, and he's like, I got them horns. You can't touch me here. He's like, I'll die here. Right? He says that because he thinks that Benaiah is just gonna be like, okay, well, I'll just call it off. Solomon will call it off till you come out. Obviously, that's not gonna happen. But what's the application here? What can we learn from this situation here? He doesn't understand something, so he asks for clarification. Are you sure, Solomon, you really want me to do this, okay? He doesn't usurp authority. He doesn't start running his mouth. He just asks for clarification. Look at verse 31. And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him, that thou mayst take away the innocent blood which Joab shed for me from the house of my father. Verse 32. And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David, not knowing thereof, to wit Abner, the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa, the son of Jethro, captain of the host of Judah. Okay? So let's talk about Joab. So what do we say about Adonijah? Try to usurp the kingdom, right? He knew that the Lord had told Solomon through the prophets, you're it, you're next in line, and he still tried to do it anyways. And ultimately, he rebelled. After Solomon said, hey, get back in your house, be cool, don't cause trouble, he rebels and says, you know what, I'm gonna start messing with your mom. Okay? Well, what about Joab? Now, we could spend all night talking about Joab. There's a lot written in the Bible about him. Okay? But both David and Solomon talk about two guys. Abner, the son of Ner, and again, we don't have time to get into that, but Abner was killed, why was Abner killed? Anybody remember? Because Abner, in self-defense, killed Joab's brother Asahel. See, Asahel, the Bible says, was light on his foot. He was just a good runner, a good warrior. I mean, this is a family of fighters here. And he kept pursuing Abner. And this was during the time that the kingdom was about to be unified under David. Okay? Things were starting to turn around. They were gonna get better. And Abner's like, hey, I don't want anything to do with you, Asahel. Turn around and just leave right now. Okay? Asahel wouldn't do it. He kept pursuing Abner. Abner smote him under the fifth rib with his weapon. And Joab's like, you know, for a minute, he plays it cool. And then what does he do? He goes out and actually murders Abner. That was not a sanctioned kill. He kills Abner. And of course, David was upset about it. But David didn't do anything about it. Okay? And that's where David went wrong. And fast forward to the time period where Absalom, David's own son, is trying to steal the kingdom. You know, story of their lives. There's a lot of stuff going on here. You know, Joab sanctions the murder of Absalom because David clearly said, do not kill my son. I want to talk to him. I want to straighten this out. Joab's like, strike him through with a dart. You know, just smoke him right there. Well, of course, David's hurt. He's upset. So what does he do? He appoints Amasa as captain of the host. And Amasa doesn't really do a very good job. Joab realizes that. And Joab kills Amasa. And then number three, I already mentioned Joab killed and is responsible for the killing of Absalom. Again, what does that all mean? What does that point to? Rebellion. Okay? So notice this threat here. Rebellion. Okay? We're going to talk about that again here in a moment. But look at verse 33. He says, their blood shall, therefore, return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his seed forever. But upon David and upon his seed and upon his house and upon his throne shall there be peace forever from the Lord. Verse 34. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell upon him and slew him. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host. And Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar. So now Benaiah is not just over the Pelethites. He's not just over the Pelethites. He was consistent. Right? He was content and he was courageous. And what was the result? The result was his promotion. Okay? Now he is in the position that Joab was once in. And he did it the right way. He did it by being content with his job. He did it by being consistent. And he did it by being courageous. You master those three C's, you'll be successful in your family. You'll be successful in church. You'll be successful at everything that you do. Verse 36. So let's move on here. It says in verse 36 And the king sent and called for Shemiai, and said unto him, Build thee in house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth hence any wither. For it shall be that on the day that thou goest out, and passeth over the brook Kydron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die, thy blood shall be upon thine own head. This is very smart. Have him build a house in the busiest city in Israel. Right? Because any time he leaves, people talk. It's gonna get back to Solomon. Right? You know, they didn't have facial recognition cameras. They didn't have the 1984 setup that we've got now. You know, they had to rely on word of mouth. And Solomon knows that. Look at verse 38. It says, And Shemiai said unto the king, The saying is good, as my lord the king has said, so will thy servant do. And Shemiai dwelt in Jerusalem many days. Okay? So again, this kind of goes back to what I've talked about in the past. How do we avoid being doormats for people? How do we avoid being trampled on? We forgive, but we don't necessarily forget, depending on what was going on here. What Shemiai did to David was a grievous, grievous thing. And we're gonna look at it here in a moment, but let's move on to verse 39. It says, And it came to pass at the end of three years. Right? So again, a three year span after the first two hits, the first two um, removals, if you will, three years go by, says that two of the servants of Shemiai ran away unto Achish, son of uh, Machah, king of Gath, and they told Shemiai, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. Verse 40, And Shemiai rose and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants. And Shemiai went and brought his servants from Gath. So here Shemiai is like, ah, I know I'm not supposed to leave, you know, whatever, you know, this ought to be quick. It's been three years, right? Surely the bitterness of death has passed. I should be okay to just go get what's mine back. Verse 41, And it was told Solomon that Shemiai had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and was coming in. I actually heard a guy say this. I heard a guy say this. He said Solomon actually went around, if you read the writings of some of the people that were alive back in that time, and actually paid his servants to leave so he could kill them. Just letting you know, that theory is out there. Okay? And the Bible doesn't teach that. So you're getting that from somewhere else. It just says that they fled. We don't know why. Okay? So just be aware. Always pay attention to these types of things. So verse 42, And the king sent and called for Shemiai and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the Lord and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad any weather that thou shalt surely die? And now said unto me, The word that I have heard is good. Again, he goes back over the contract. He goes back over the agreement with Shemiai in verse 43. Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I have charged thee with? Verse 44 doesn't even tell us a response. You know? Because Solomon's not interested in a response. He set the commandment. He set the standard. Shemiai broke it, and he's going to die. Okay? What's that a picture of? Well, the Bible's full of commandments. Okay? Full of thou and every single human being alive has broken those and instantly become worthy of death. That's the application. Now, unfortunately, there ain't nobody to save Shemiai because, well, you'll see why here in a minute. But that's that's that's the spiritual application that we need to read into this here. Verse 44. Then the king said moreover to Shemiai thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to that thou didst to David my father. Therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head. Okay? Pause right there, but just for time's sake, we're getting close to being done, but go to 2 Samuel chapter number 16. And let's just read a couple of statements about Shemiai just so we can get the full value in our heads before we read the assassin's next hit. Benaiah the hit man, the Baptist hit man. I was telling people if Benaiah was alive today and just walked into church, I don't know, man. It'd be crazy. Actually, you know what would be crazy is the sons of Zariya came back, you know, and we're around today and there was a protest. That would be interesting. Ah, a guy can dream a little bit, but look at 2 Samuel 16. Look at verse 7. Look what it says. So obviously David on the run from his own son here, okay, on the run here, down and out, you know, just everything's going bad for him. And here comes this clown. Look what it says in verse 7. Now it's true that David was a bloody man because God even said that. But to call him a man of Belial, he's basically saying you're a devil. You're not saved. It's like, wait a second. You know, David was a lot of things, but he was also above all that, a man after God's own heart. Look at verse 13. So jump down to verse 13. And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hills over against him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and cast dust. You know, this guy is a typical protester right here. Are you protesting? You know, he's just not going to leave these guys alone. You're going to throw dust, throw stones, and just keep just barking like a dog. Now go over to chapter 19 real quick. Last verse and we'll talk about Shimei before we read the actual hit. 2 Samuel 19, look at verse 16. It says, And Shimei the son of Gera, or 2 Samuel 1916 says, And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahuram, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet the king David. Okay? You say, well, wait a second. Why'd you read that? Well, what do we see first of all? Well, we see first of all, he's a railer, right? He's a railer. He's lying about David saying, hey, you're a man of Belial. Second of all, he's throwing stones at the at the king, the nation's head. Okay? So he's obviously in rebellion, but he only changes his tune when Absalom's dead. You know, we don't have time to get into the story, but here Absalom's dead, you know, and everybody realizes like, you know, remember we talked about this like several months ago when we went through 2 Samuel after Absalom was dead. Obviously David was distraught, but all the people were like, yeah, time to go back inside, right? There's like nothing to see here and everything just kind of got quiet and, you know, so on and so forth. The only reason Shimei apologized was because he realized he chose the wrong side. Okay? And then of course David told us in the beginning of the chapter, you know, you kind of get this implication that he's like, I probably should have taken him out, but I didn't. You know, I was, I was distraught. He's like, so I'll leave that for you, Solomon. You know, congratulations, son, and here's your inheritance. Go deal with this fool. You know? And Solomon does in great fashion, but go back to 2 Kings chapter 2. We'll finish up here. So what was Shimei guilty of? Okay, well railing, okay, trying to hurt, I mean, you know, assaulting the king, but ultimately what? Rebellion. All three of these guys had what in common? Rebellion. Adonijah, a rebellious guy. Joab, rebelling. Shimei, rebelling. Okay? Obviously, and again, this is like when any new church starts up. If they've got the right Bible and the right gospel, I don't care who it is. Go ask any pastor that has those two things in order and they will tell you when they started their church there were people that were rebellious there. And they need to be dealt with. Now some churches and some pastors are like, I don't have the courage to do that because my numbers won't be big. And they wind up having a lot of issues later on and others are like, oh, it's like, oh, I don't care. Boom, get out. You know, you want to rebel against the Lord? You want to violate the word of God? Bye. There's the door. There's the bell. You can ring on your way out. And if you don't ring it, we'll ring it for you. Okay? And that's just kind of a silly thing we do, but anyways, it all goes back to rebellion. It has no place in the kingdom. Okay? I mean, think about all the rebellious people that are out there trying to associate themselves with the kingdom of God today. Saying what? Oh, you've got to repent of your sins. Thus saith the Lord. Do you know what today hath God actually said? It's salvation? Right? And you keep going around saying stuff like that. These people are rebellious. Now, do we get to have the luxury of sending Benaiah after these people? We don't have that. We have the word of God, though, which is sharper than any two-edged sword and actually cuts them to the heart. And so that's how we battle. That's how we use. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Okay? We talk about that all the time, but I just wanted to highlight the fact that it was rebellion. Right? God doesn't want rebellion in his kingdom. Okay? And so God sanctions these killings. These are not murders. These are killings. Okay? These are removals from the kingdom. Verse 45. We're almost done. Look what it says. And King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever. Verse 46. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Joiada, which went out and fell upon him. That he died, and the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. Real quickly, go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 15. 1 Corinthians chapter number 15. And I'm just going to talk for a minute. Okay? So, let me bring something up. You go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 15. We're almost done here. I just want to make the main application here, what we're going to learn from this chapter. We've learned a lot, but understand something here. David made mistakes. David sinned, even in the transfer of this kingship here. Because David should have dealt with Solomon. David probably should have said, hey, here's what I want for Adonijah, whatever. People are sinners. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But you might be thinking, well, how did Solomon sin in all this? You don't have to turn there, but Exodus 21 14 says, but if a man come presumptuously unto his neighbor to slay him with guile, thou shall take him from mine altar that he may die. What does that mean? Well, that means Solomon sinned when he had Benaiah kill Joab holding onto the horns of the altar. Now, obviously, it didn't affect anything. The kingdom is still established for Solomon greatly. Can you say, well, how can that be? How in the world can that go on if he actually broke the commandment, if he broke law? Well, think about it. We're not saved by our works, are we? How is the kingdom of God established? How does it grow? It grows by his grace, right? For by grace are you saved through faith and that and out of yourselves it is the gift of God, right? So understand the fact that the kingdom, the physical kingdom was established greatly under Solomon was all by God's grace, okay? Through the faith that they had in the word of God. Now, obviously, yeah, they violated Exodus 21. David said, hey, make sure you follow it. They didn't follow it to a T, right? But guess what? Neither do we. Every single day, every single one of us violates something in this book, right? But can we be content, can we be consistent, and can we be courageous, right? We're humans. We mess up. But you know what God still uses? Messed up humans to build his kingdom and to further his kingdom, okay? But the self-righteous, you know, the adenages, the ones that are like, you know the kingdom was mine, but now it belongs to somebody else, you know, and because it was from the Lord, you know. That's how I envision adenage of talking about the kingdom, you know. I mean it almost seems like the guy had no fear of God, right? I mean think about that for a second. But why? Why was the kingdom established even though there was drama, even though there was problems, even though they had all these issues? Well, again, it goes back to God's grace. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, look at verse number 15. So Paul says this, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Okay? Think about this. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. So anytime someone says, I'm going to heaven, or you have to go to heaven based off of what you do in this body, makes no sense because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. So somebody's saying, hey, well, I get to heaven because I've repented of my sins. I've turned from all my sins. You're lying. You're a liar because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. And it furthermore says, well, guess what? It says of, uh, now this I say, then, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. So how do we get to that incorruptible state? Imputation. God imputes his righteousness unto you. It's a free gift. That's what you receive. Look at verse 51. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. Obviously talking about the kingdom of God and the transformation that will take place one day where we will go from here, where we will go to be with the Lord forever. We don't have time to get into that right now, but look down at verse number 55. So he makes this statement here. He says, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Verse 56, the sting of death is sin, and the sting of sin is the law, right? We're all sinners. We've all been stung by the law, but verse 57 is where it's at. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. He goes on to say, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord. So think about that verse. Think about those verses right there when you're reading this chapter here, when you're trying to understand how was the kingdom established under Solomon, even though they had some issues and they didn't do everything perfectly. Well, it was all by grace. That's why, okay? You know, that's what the lesson for this chapter is. It's, you know, humans mess up. But if we can remain consistent, okay, if we can remain content, if we can be courageous and understand that our works belong to the Lord. We were saved unto good works. That means that God wants us to do good works, not to stay saved. Obviously, we talk about that all the time, but he wants us to do those things to further the kingdom because he's establishing the kingdom and he's using people that have problems to do that, right? And when you can realize that, when you can understand that because, you know, Solomon's wise, but he still makes mistakes. David was a man after God's own heart, but obviously he did some crazy stuff, right? And God still used those people. God will still use you because you and I have done similar things. We've done things we haven't told people. We've thought things that we haven't told people. But you know what? You just need to look past that stuff and keep the three C's. Keep that Assassin's Creed. Die daily. You're the assassin. You know what the creed is. Understand it. Receive it. And you know what? You're going to be fine. You're going to be able to have great success. You're going to get that promotion like Benaiah did. That's the result. That is the only outcome that you're going to get. You say, man, sure is a lot of work being a Christian. Sure is a lot of work with these whole three C's. No, it isn't. Benaiah could do it. He was a man. He was a human just like anybody in this room. And the last time I checked, you're saved. You're in dwelt with the Holy Ghost. Something they didn't even have back then. Think about that for a second. We can do great things and we will. Okay? Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, for these great stories and the lessons that you teach us. I just pray that you bless the fellowship after the service, Lord. Please bring us back safely on Wednesday. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Alright, grab your songbooks one more time this evening and turn to song 187. Song number 187. Jesus loves me. On the first. Jesus loves me. This I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Jesus loves me, He who died. Heaven's gate to open wide. He will wash away my sin. Let His little child come in. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Jesus loves me. He will stay close beside me all the way. Thou has bled and died for me. I will henceforth pray for thee. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Amen. Good singing. Brother Victor, would you close the service in a word of prayer, please? Be consistent, courageous, and that courage is to spread our lives so we can refer to the mission, Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.