Good morning. I would like you to turn to 2
Chronicles chapter 8 and keep your finger there, and then turn
back to 1 Kings chapter 9. 1 Kings 9, I want to read one verse,
the 24th verse. But Pharaoh's daughter came up
out of the city of David unto her house, which Solomon had
built for her. Then did he build Milo. Pharaoh's daughter, Solomon's
wife, had to be removed. Now look in 2 Chronicles 8, verse
11. And Solomon brought up the daughter
of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he
built for her. For he said, my wife shall not
dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, because the places
are holy. Where into the ark of the Lord
hath come. When the ark of the Lord was
there, he had to remove her because she was unclean. Let's pray. Lord, we come into your presence
in Christ's name and Lord, we're so. Grateful for the grace that's
in my son. We're so thankful for the salvation
that's in him. We're so thankful for the revelation
of his per person. We're so thankful for the preciousness
of his blood that makes us clean before you, Lord. We, we give
thanks. We ask that you not unite our
hearts together to fear your name. We pray that your gospel
would be preached in the power of your spirit, and that we might
be enabled to worship. Lord, we confess our sins and
pray for forgiveness and cleansing. Bless us for the Lord's sake.
Be with all your people wherever they meet together. In Christ's
name we pray, amen. Now you'll notice that verse
24 begins with a but. And that means it has something
to do with what had been said previously But Solomon, we know
from reading 2 Chronicles 8, 11, knew that she couldn't be
there because she was considered unclean. And he had to move his
wife because she was viewed as unclean. Now, we touched on this
last week, but Solomon was the wisest man to ever live. Scripture
points that out. And yet he conducts himself as
the biggest fool to ever live. We know that from the end of
his life. And I think in that sense, he
is a type of Christ. Now, listen to me. How can he
be a type of Christ like that? Well, Christ is the wisest man
to ever live, infinitely so. And yet the scripture says he
made himself of no reputation. He made himself vanity. Solomon was wise, yet he acted
in such a vain way. And Christ, the wisdom of God,
made himself vanity on the cross. He made himself of no reputation. That's what the scripture says
in Philippians chapter 2. But at any rate, turn to 1 Kings
chapter 3. This is where all of Solomon's
problems began. Verse one, and Solomon made affinity,
1 Kings chapter three, and Solomon made affinity, made an agreement
with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Now he was forbidden to do this.
He didn't need to do this, but he did it. He made affinity with
king of Egypt and Egypt represents bondage, doesn't it? Bondage. He made an affinity with Egypt
and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of
David until he had made an end of building his own house and
the house of the Lord in the wall of Jerusalem round about.
Now, the scriptures commanded him not to do that. Do not make
affinity with any of the other nations. And you see how this
was politically advantageous. Well, if we want to get along
with Egypt and unite our powers together, not hurt each other,
I'll marry Pharaoh's daughter, and that'll bring us into good
standing with each other. That's the way the world works.
And at this time, Solomon is acting just like the world, isn't
he? He makes affinity, and this is where all of his problems
come from. Now, this ended up, well, turn to 1 Kings 11. This
is how this ended up. But King Solomon loved many strange
women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Zedians, Hittites, of the nations concerning
which the Lord had said in the children of Israel, you shall
not go into them, neither shall they come into you, for surely
they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon clave
unto these in love, and he had 700 wives, princesses, and 300
concubines, And his wives turned away his heart. For it came to
pass when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart
after other gods. And his heart was not perfect
with the Lord, his God, as was the heart of David, his father.
For Solomon went after Asitroth, the goddess of the Zidians and
after Milcom, the abomination for the Ammonites. And Solomon
did evil in the sight of the Lord and went not fully after
the Lord as did David, his father. Then did Solomon build an high
place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hills before
Jerusalem, and for Moloch, the abomination of the children of
Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which
burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the Lord
was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the
Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and
had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not
go after other gods. But he kept not that which the
Lord commanded. Wherefore, the Lord said unto
Solomon, for as much as this is done of thee, and thou hast
not kept my covenant, my statutes, which I've commanded thee, I
will surely rend the kingdom from thee and will give it to
thy servant. Now here's what is taking place.
Solomon married Pharaoh and in order to get along with her,
he was going to have to compromise. And we read where he had 700
wives and 300 concubines. In order to get along with them,
he was going to have to compromise. He was going to have to tolerate
their gods. He couldn't get along with them if he didn't. And this
is why we have these commandments concerning other nations. He had to compromise. Now, compromise,
what does that mean? Compromise is making concessions
to reach an agreement. It's that simple. It's making
concessions to reach an agreement. It's acceptance of lower standards
which make vulnerable. That's what happens when we compromise. Now why were the children of
Israel, and we see that Solomon was wrong in marrying this woman,
and we see where it led. We just read where his heart
was turned out after other gods. Why were the children of Israel
commanded to wipe out all other nations? And they were. It was
an ongoing thing. Don't spare them. Don't spare
their gods. Don't spare their idols. Wipe
them out there in 1 Samuel 15. Kill all the women, the children,
the animals, everything that has breath. Because if you don't,
you'll go after their gods. Now turn with me for a moment
to Deuteronomy 9. Somebody says, well, God told
them to wipe out those other nations because Israel was so
much better than them. No. Israel was just as bad. Look in verses 4 and 5. Speak not thou in thine heart
after the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying,
for my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess
this land. But for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth
drive them out from before thee, not for thy righteousness or
thy uprightness of thine heart, Dost thou go to possess the land,
but for the wickedness of these nations, the Lord thy God doth
drive them out from before thee that he may perform the word,
which the Lord swear unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. Now, when God drives these other peoples out, it's not because
Israel deserved them. It's because of the wickedness
of these nations. That was his purpose in doing
this. They were, you know, those, the,
um, the, Moloch, for instance, you read, you heard where I read
that Solomon had actually worshiped the God Moloch. That God was
the God who had you sacrifice your children. They burned their
children alive and sacrificed to this God. I mean, the wickedness
of these nations was terrible. And God drives them out and gives
Israel their homes. Now look in Exodus chapter 34. You know, most people, when they
read the Old Testament, they think, well, that God was a violent
God, and the God of the New Testament's better. He's gentler and kinder,
and the God of the Old Testament would just tell you to wipe everybody
out, but the God of the New Testament's not like that. And that's just
a complete misunderstanding of the scriptures. Look in Exodus
chapter 34, beginning in verse 11, or verse 10. This is after
he had proclaimed his name to Moses. And he said, behold, I
make a covenant before all thy people. I will do marvels such
as has not been done in all the earth or in any nation and all
the people among which thou art shalt see the work of the Lord.
For it's a terrible thing that I'll do with thee. Observe thou
that which I command thee this day, because I drive out before
thee the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite
and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest I
make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, whether thou goest,
lest there be for a snare in the midst of thee. but you should
destroy their altars, break down their images, and cut down their
groves. For thou shalt worship no other God for the Lord whose
name is jealous." What a name. is a jealous God. He's intolerant
of rivals. Lest thou make a covenant with
the inhabitants of the land, and they go a-whoring after their
gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods. And one call thee, and
thou eat of his sacrifice, which is exactly what Solomon did.
And thou shalt take of their daughters unto thy sons, and
their daughters go a-whoring after their gods, and make thy
sons go a-whoring after their gods. Thou shalt make thee no
molten gods. Now we see why God told them
to wipe out these nations. Because if you don't, you will
go whoring after their gods. Now, God realized that this would,
God realized, I hate saying something like that. That's not even a
good way to talk of the Lord. But God knew that if they followed
other gods, they would compromise the gospel. Compromise. In human relationships,
there will always be compromise. If you're somebody that can't
compromise, you're somebody that'll never have any friends. In human
relationships, compromise is necessary. If you can't compromise, you won't stay married. You won't. If you can't compromise, Nobody
will like you. These people who they have to
have their way, my way or the highway. I know I'm a little
bit like that, so you all forget that part of it. But these people
that can't compromise are never going to be able to have a relationship
with anybody. That's just the way it is. Compromise
is a good thing in that sense, isn't it? Compromise is a good
thing. You don't have to have your way. If you're one of these
unyielding, unbending persons who can't compromise with anybody,
that's not good. That's a lack of character on
your part. There's nothing commendable about
that. In that sense, compromise is
good. Be a compromiser. Don't be somebody
that has to have your way. Bend toward other people. Now
that being said, in the gospel, God does not compromise. God does not negotiate with sinners
and try to reach a place where we can both be in agreement.
God does not compromise. And his truth is not to be compromised
for the sake of getting along. We do not make concessions for
any reason regarding his truth. God's gospel is not to be compromised. Now, Solomon had 700 wives and
300 concubines. He was compromised for having
them in the first place. You know, the Bible says don't
have many wives. It was adultery. It was sexual
sin. It says don't go into people of other nations. He did it anyway. God told him what would take
place. And we read of the end of his life. What a horrible
position that brought him into. Now, the gospel is not to be
compromised. Who is, and I've mentioned this,
Wednesday night on the message on false prophets from 1 John
chapter 4, who is the arch false prophet of the Old Testament?
Now, if you're familiar with the New Testament, you'll know
only one is mentioned three times. Balaam. Balaam. And you can read about Balaam
in Numbers chapter 22 through 24. And he's mentioned in Peter and
Jude, and he's mentioned by the Lord himself, which you turn
with me to revelation chapter two. Verse 14, this is Christ speaking
to the church of Pergamos, but I have a few things against the.
Because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam,
who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of
Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. Now here we have the doctrine
of Balaam. Now, if you will read Balaam,
I wish everybody here this week would read Numbers chapters 22
through 24 and look at the things Balaam said and everything he
said was spot on. You will not disagree with anything
he says. As a matter of fact, he makes
some glorious statements regarding God. God's not a man that he
should repent. Israel, he hath not beheld iniquity
in Jacob nor perverseness in Israel. Everything he said was
spot on. Yet, God calls him a false prophet. Three times, a man controlled
by covetousness. I think it's interesting, you
read where Balak, the king of the Moabites, came to Balaam
and said, curse Israel for me. And God wouldn't let him do it.
God said, no, you can't curse who I blessed. And Balaam comes
to Balak and says, I can't curse them. God said they're blessed.
But let me go with you and see if he'll say anything else. Because
Balak had promised Balaam great promotion, great riches, if he
would just do this. And so he left the door open.
He didn't just accept what God said. He left the door open.
Let's go see if God says anything else. And you know that When
he went with him, anger of the Lord was kindled with him. That's
when the ass spoke with him and rebuked him for going with the
prophet again. But the point is, he was unable
to curse Israel, so he taught Balak
how to get Israel to compromise. And if they would compromise,
If they would marry, if the Moabites would marry the Israelites and
the Israelites would marry the Moabites, they would get together
and that would cause Israel through these marriages to compromise
the gospel and to tolerate false gods. Now look at Numbers 25. This is after Numbers 22 through
24 when you read about Balaam. Verse 25 of chapter 24, Balaam
rose up and went and returned to his place. And Balak also
went his way. Balaam refused to curse Israel. And Israel bowed and shid him
and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of
Moab. Those were the people of Balak.
And they called the people unto the sacrifice of their gods.
And the people did eat and bowed down to their gods. And Israel
joined himself unto Baal Peor. And the anger of the Lord was
kindled against Israel. Now, we don't read anything about
Balaam here. But when we read that passage
in Revelation chapter 2, it's where Balaam taught them to intermarry
against God's command, intermarry, and they will compromise. And
that's exactly what they did. They compromised the gospel.
The doctrine of Balaam is the doctrine of compromise. It's
the doctrine of toleration. He, everything he said was right,
but it's what he didn't say. And that's how a false prophet
is really seen most clearly. It's not what he says. I mean,
say an Armenian freewheeler works, you know right off the bat what
he's saying. There isn't any question about that. But the one who's
more dangerous is the one who everything he says is right,
but he leaves out that which is most critical. The Lord said
of the Pharisees, you omit, you leave out the weightier matters
of the law. And that's what a false prophet
does. And that's why we need this discernment. We need the Lord
to help us because the false prophet will leave out that which
must be said. That's what Balaam did. It's
the doctrine of compromise is what it is. Now look in Numbers
31. If you would go on reading in
Numbers 25, I want to read this passage from Numbers 31, so stay
there, but you read about Phinehas. And it's a remarkable passage
of scripture because the psalmist in Psalm 106 praises Phinehas
for this. After they had committed this
sacrilege in marrying people from other nations, An Israelite
came in with a Moabitish woman right in front of Moses, in front
of everybody. And Phineas takes a spear and runs at him and thrusts
it through both of them. Now somebody says, what a horrific
act. Well, God commended him as being
zealous for his glory. And he's commended in one Psalm
106 too. That's how the Lord dealt with
this. But look here in Numbers 31, look what Moses says. Beginning in verse 13. And Moses
and Eleazar the priests and all the princes of the congregation
went forth to meet them without the camp. And Moses was wroth
with the officers of the host and with the captains over thousands
and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses
said to them, have you saved all the women alive? Behold,
these cause the children of Israel through the council of Balaam.
to commit trespass unto the Lord in the matter of Peor. And there
was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Now therefore kill
every male among the little ones and kill every woman that hath
no man by line." But here's the point. Who taught them to do
this? Balaam did. And it wasn't because
of anything he said wrong. He simply told them, if you want
God to be against Israel, marry them. They'll end up compromising
and worshipping your gods, just like Solomon did. Now, there
is absolutely no reason to compromise the gospel, is there? And like
I said in everything else, compromise. To get along with people, compromise.
I mean, don't be someone who's unbending and unyielding. Be willing to compromise to keep
the peace. Let yourself things happen that
you don't even agree with in order to keep the peace. Compromise. Compromise. It's a good thing.
There's nothing wrong with this. You'll never get along with anybody
without it. But in the gospel, there is absolutely no reason
to compromise the truth to get along with anybody. Paul said,
I have kept back nothing that was profitable to you. I've not
shunned to declare to you all the counsel of God. Now, I'm
not, in presenting God's truth, I'm not trying to be relevant.
And we need to be relevant. No, I don't. I don't even care
about being relevant. I want to tell the truth. The
moment a preacher tries to become relevant, he becomes irrelevant.
You can just write that down. I'm not trying to reach the culture.
The gospel is not cultural. It's not, it's just not, it's
God's truth. that is not to be compromised
in any way for any reason. I love what Paul said to Timothy,
preach the word. That's all you got to do. Whatever
God says in his word, preach it. Don't try to make it relevant.
Don't try to make it understandable. Just declare God's word and trust
God the Holy Spirit to do everything else. I can't make you understand
the gospel. I want to preach as clearly as
I can, but I can't understand the gospel unless God reveals
to me the meaning. We're completely dependent upon
the Holy Spirit. Preach the word. Declare God's
absolute sovereignty. It's what the word declares.
Declare God elected a people. Christ, accomplish salvation
for them. Declare men are dead in sins.
I mean, just declare it. Look for God the Holy Spirit
to take care of everything else. I love that. Sometimes I feel
so anxious about preaching the gospel and thinking I'm dreading
misrepresenting the Lord or saying my own words. And I should feel
that way. I should feel that way. But at the end, I don't
have anything to be anxious about because it's the Lord's work.
If I tell the truth, He's going to take care of it. And there
is no reason ever to compromise the truth for the sake of getting
along. I'm not going to do it. As far as that goes, I'm proud
of our gospel. I'm proud of it. It glorifies
God. It's the gospel that saves me. I'm proud of it. And I am
unwilling to compromise any aspect of God's truth to get along with
anybody. The just, the writer to the Hebrews
said in Hebrews 10 38, Shall live by faith. You know what
that means? The gesture live by faith. That's
what it means now by your works. Not by what you do. Looking to
Christ. But if any man draw back. And
that word drawback is the same word poll used in Acts 20 when
he said I've not shunned. I'm not drawn back to declare
into you all the counsel of God. To draw back is to say things
in such a way as to keep from offending. You might say everything true,
but you don't say it in a way that you know somebody will get
offended by it. You tone down, you draw back
on the gospel. God says my soul shall have no
pleasure in that person. No pleasure at all. Now Solomon married this woman. Turn with me for a moment to
Nehemiah. This was hundreds of years later. Nehemiah. That's right before Esther right
before Job. If you hit Job, then go a couple
of books back. Nehemiah. Verse 23. This is hundreds of
years later in the rebuilding of the temple. Nehemiah 13, I'm
sorry. Nehemiah 13. In those days also, I saw Jews that had
married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab. This is when the
temple was being rebuilt and Nehemiah says, I saw some of
our people marrying those of other nations, verse 24, and
their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could
not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language
of each people." They never really learned the language of grace.
This is not just talking about another language. You know, God's people have a
language the world doesn't understand, the language of grace. It's a
special language that only God's elect have, and the world can
never understand it. But he said, because of this compromise, these
people couldn't speak this language, verse 25. And I contended with
them and cursed them and smote certain of them. I think this
is kind of funny. He started hitting some of these people.
He saw me, he smote them. and made them swear and plucked off
their hair. Can you imagine that? These guys
started pulling their hair out. He was so upset over what had taken
place. And made them swear by God saying, you shall not give
your daughters under their sons nor take their daughters under
your sons or of yourselves. Did not Solomon, king of Israel,
sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there
no king like him who was beloved of his God and God made him king
over all of Israel. Nevertheless, even him did outlandish
women cause to sin. Now, the point is, yes, Solomon
was beloved by God. Solomon was saved. Solomon was
a child of God. But look how he compromised the
gospel. Beginning with this one marriage
that ended up so horribly that we read of in First Kings chapter
11. I know that he never dreamed
that when he married Pharaoh's daughter, This act of compromise
would end up in him dying in shame and infamy, but it did. And may the Lord deliver us from
compromise. Oh, may the Lord deliver us from
ever compromising any aspect of his truth in order to get
along with anybody. You see what happened to Solomon.
And what I think of when I think of this, I think of when our
Lord taught us to pray. Lead us not into temptation. Don't
even let us be tempted to do something like that. And deliver
us from evil. Deliver us from this evil, the
evil out there, the evil of compromise. Don't let me be tempted and deliver
me from evil. May God deliver us from compromise. And let me remind you, I like
saying this, God doesn't negotiate. He doesn't negotiate with sinners.
He doesn't have to. Okay.