Thank you.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Every life
our hope is
sudden when love
shines in
love will
teach us how
to breathe
love will drive
a new movie
turn our darkness
into day
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
all
the heart is
strong to see
when love shines
in
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
joy
and peace
others
when love
shines in
once again
how the world will
go in
beauty
when love
shines in
and the heart
rejoices in
beauty when love
shines in
joy
and the soul
in peace of
life life will
all be glorified
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
how the
heart is
strong to see
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
joy
and peace
others
when love
shines in
how our
sorrow will
ride through when love
shines in
and the
heaviest
spur that lighter
when love
shines in
is the glory
that will
grow by the
snow in fair
to go
through the heart
of letting go
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
how the
heart is
strong to see
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
joy and
peace
others
when love
shines
on that
deep
heaven
meaning
splendor
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
when
love
shines in
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
how the
heart is
strong to see
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
when love
shines in
joy and
peace
others
when love
shines in
Good morning
everybody welcome to Verity Baptist
Church take out your bullets in here today
and
our verse of the week is Proverbs 30 verse 5
the Bible reads
every word of God is pure he is a shield unto them
that put their trust in him that's a great verse there
we are a family integrated church meaning children and
infants are welcome during the services
we do have a mother baby room back there for your convenience
as well as the ladies comfort room
the men's comfort room is up here in front
remember no eating during the service
maintain a professional atmosphere and
keep the children from running and making noise during the
church service on the next page our service
time is listed first service is at 10 am
short break in our 1130 service
Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 pm
soul winning time is listed there we do have soul winning
now updated to 4 pm
on Wednesdays meeting here at the church building
Saturday afternoon soul winnings is in
KESOL Memorial Circle from 10 to 12
lunch provided by church and then
afternoon 2 to 4 as well
we do have soul winning of course today
after our lunch fellowship at 2.15 pm
and so our salvations are listed
there as well as baptisms, Bible study fellowships
updates on the birthdays
and anniversaries for May so
also not just my son was born
but congratulations to brother winter and sister
Mario for getting married it was the same day that her son
was born but you know congratulations
to them so that is added to the bulletin here
on the next page our Bible
memorization challenge and so
we do have prizes back there if you're able
to complete this upcoming activities
so we do have our prayer meeting today after
soul winning then men's choir practice
starts next week we do have men's
choir on the 19th that is Father's
Day so on Father's Day we're
kind of doing a men's activity
and ladies activity double because we did not do
the Mother's Day activity so basically the ladies
will have the tea party here at the church
building and the guys are going to go somewhere
to do the men's activity now
what I'm planning to do with our kids
I'm planning to bring my son not
Ezra but Zeph
for the men's activity because obviously if it's
Father's Day it doesn't make sense to not let
your kids come with you right
but obviously we're celebrating Mother's Day
as well so I'm planning to bring Zeph
and leave the other kids here
we're not planning to do a singles activity
so the single ladies can stay here at the church
the single guys can go to the men's activity
but we're planning to do that in three
weeks so I encourage you to be here for that
it's going to be a lot of fun
and so let's see we are in the book of Daniel
and this will be the last
sermon on kind of the first half
for the political aspect of the book of Daniel
before we get to prophetical and we are
starting the Song of Solomon here today
so that's exciting
and so we have information on a group chat
and then other than that there's just
place for notes on the back of
your bulletin so I believe that's it for announcements
while Brother Marlon leads us in another song
The next song is starting in number
178
in number 178
In the Bible I see
This is the
dearest that Jesus loves me
I am so
glad that Jesus
loves me
Jesus loves me
I am so glad that
Jesus loves me
Oh I forget
him and wonder
still he don't love me
whenever I say
come to his
fair loving hearts
would I be
when I remember that Jesus
loves me
I am so glad that
Jesus loves me
I am so glad
that Jesus loves me
Jesus loves
even me
I'll ask
if there's only one song
I can sing
when in this beauty I
see the great green
I'll show my soul
in his early divvy
Oh what a
wonder that Jesus
loves me
I am so glad that
Jesus loves me
I am so glad that
Jesus loves me
Jesus loves even
me
Let's take our offering
Amen.
For scripture reading, please open your
Bibles to the book of 1 Kings
1 Kings
chapter 3
verse 1
verse 2
verse 3
verse 4
verse 5
verse 6
verse 7
verse 8
verse 9
1 Kings chapter 3
and as our custom we'll be
reading the entire chapter
1 Kings 3, please say Amen if you're there.
Amen.
1 Kings 3
verse 1
and Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king
of 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
and the wall of Jerusalem round about
only the people were sacrificed
in high places because there was
no house built into the name of the Lord
until those days
and Solomon loved the Lord
walking in the statutes of David his father
only he sacrificed and burned incense
in high places and the king
went to Gibeon to sacrifice there
for that was the great high place
a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon
offer upon that altar. In Gibeon
the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night
and God said
ask what I shall give thee
and Solomon said
thou is showed unto thy servant David my father
great mercy according as he has
walked before thee in truth and in
righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee
and thou is kept for him this great
kindness that thou has given him a son
to sit on his throne as it is
in his day and
now Lord my God thou has
made thy servant king instead of David my father
and I am but a little child
I know not how to go out or
come in and thy servant is
in the midst of thy people which thou has chosen
a great people that cannot be numbered
nor counted for more the truth
give therefore thy servant
an understanding heart to judge
thy people that I may discern
between good and bad for who is able
to judge this thy so great
a people and his speech
pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing
and God said unto him
because thou has asked this thing and has not
asked for thyself long life
neither has asked riches for thyself
nor has asked the life of thine enemies
but has asked for thyself
understanding to discern judgment
the old I have done according to thy words
though I have given thee a wise and
understanding heart that there was none
like thee before thee neither after
thee shall any arise like unto thee
and I have also given thee thou
that which thou has not asked both
riches and honor so that there shall not
be any among the kings like unto thee all
thy days and if thou wilt walk in
my ways to keep my statutes and my commandments
as thy father David did
walk then I will lengthen thy
days and Solomon
awoke and behold it was a dream
and I came to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the
Covenant of the Lord and offered up
burnt offerings and offered peace offerings
and made a feast to all his servants
then came there two women that
were harlots unto the king
and stood before him
and the one woman said oh my Lord
I and this woman dwell in one house and I was delivered
of a child with her in the house
and I came to pass the third day after that I was
delivered that this woman
was delivered also and we
were together there was no
stranger with us in the house save
we too in the house and
this woman's child died in the night because she
overlaid it and she rose at
midnight and took my son from beside me
while thine handmaids
slept and laid it in her bosom
and laid her dead child in my
bosom and when
I arose in the morning to give my child suck
behold it was dead
but when I had considered it in the morning
behold it was not my son which I did
bear and the other woman
said nay but the living is my
son and the dead is thy son
and this said no but the dead is
thy son and the living is my son
thus they spake before the king
then said the king that
one saith it is my son that
liveth and thy son is the dead
and the other saith nay but thy son
is the dead and my son is living
and the king said bring me
a sword and they brought a sword before
the king and the king said
divide the living child in two
and give half to the one and half to the other
then spake the woman who the living child
was unto the king for her bowels
yearned upon her son and she said
oh my lord give her the living child
and in no wise lay it
but the others said let it be neither mine
nor thine but divide it
then the king answered and said
give her the living child and in no wise
lay it she is the mother thereof
and all Israel heard of the judgment
was the king had judged and they feared
the king for they saw that the wisdom of God was in
him to do judgment
blessed be God's word let us
Lord God in heaven we thank you Lord for
the states you've given to us and we pray that you would bless the preacher
and the preacher you go over and go to state
please give us a good sweater for our soul winning later on
in Jesus name we pray, amen
Alright we are in 1 Kings
and we're starting a new
verse by verse series through the Song of Solomon
you say well why are we in 1 Kings? Well today's
sermon is an introduction to the book
and so I personally
I like sermons that are verse by verse because
you get to learn kind of everything in the Bible we don't
try to avoid anything it's a great way to
to learn the Bible as opposed to the topical
so both the sermons are going to be verse by
verse here today but this is going to be an
introduction to the topic of the Song of Solomon
and the first thing I want to talk about is
who are the people in the
Song of Solomon? So there is a great
debate by people of who are the main
characters in the book the Song of
Solomon and I'm assuming that everybody
in this room is at least somewhat familiar with that
book it's a
song or a poem between a husband
and wife that are in love with each other
it doesn't directly tell you the name
of the woman in the book though
so when you're trying to figure out who the people
or persons are you've got to look at some
other things to figure that out
and so my opinion is the
two main characters are
Solomon and Pharaoh's
daughter which we do not have her name
okay? Notice what it says in
1 Kings chapter 3
verse 1
1 Kings chapter 3 verse 1 why do I believe that
Solomon's daughter is the woman? Well notice what it says in 1 Kings 3 verse 1
and Solomon
made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt
and took Pharaoh's daughter
and brought her into the city of David
until he had made an end to building his own house
in the house of the Lord and the wall of Jerusalem
round about. Now look of course if you're
familiar with Solomon one thing he is
very famous for is marrying
a lot of women, a lot of wives
a lot of concubines. Now
I do not believe though that as a young
man he just immediately started marrying
a bunch of women. I believe that in
the Song of Solomon he's married to one woman
and he's happy and then over
time that ends up changing
okay? But the first woman that you
see mentioned in the life of Solomon is
Pharaoh's daughter here in chapter 3
verse 1. Go to chapter 7
1 Kings chapter 7
And look it's not like you
know the names of most of the wives of Solomon
we know more the names of the wives of David's
wives than Solomon even though
Solomon married a lot more women so the fact
that Pharaoh's daughter is mentioned specifically
is actually pretty significant
okay? 1 Kings 7 verse 8
And his house where he had dwelt
had another core within
the porch which was of the like work
Solomon made also in house
for Pharaoh's daughter whom
he had taken to wife like onto this
porch. Go to chapter 9
chapter 9
1 Kings chapter 9
verse 16 the Bible reads
1 Kings 9 verse 16
For Pharaoh king of Egypt
had gone up and taken Geezer and burned
it with fire and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in
the city and given it for a present
unto his daughter Solomon's
wife. So once again we're looking at
Pharaoh's daughter mentioned in
chapter 9 verse 16
look at verse number 24
verse 24
But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the
city of David under a house which Solomon had built
for her then did he build Melo
and if you're reading through 1 Kings at this
point it's not mentioning any other
women in the life of
Solomon it's Pharaoh's daughter
Pharaoh's daughter Pharaoh's daughter
Pharaoh's daughter so if you're looking at the most significant woman
in the life of Solomon I would say
that it was Pharaoh's daughter that's the woman that he
was married to that's the woman that he loved
that's the woman the Bible speaks about over
and over again. Go to chapter 11
chapter 11
and it says
in chapter 11 verse 1
But king Solomon
loved many strange women
together with the daughter of Pharaoh
women of the Moabites, Ammonites
Edomites, Zydonians and Hittites
so when you're reading that verse it sounds
like Solomon's married to Pharaoh's daughter
but then he gets married to
other women right in 1 Kings chapter
11 verse 1 together with
Pharaoh's daughter okay
now go to Song of Solomon chapter 1
Song of Solomon chapter 1
and in Song of Solomon 1 verse 9
the Bible reads
so that's kind of exterior
evidence outside of the
book of Song of Solomon where I would say
it's Pharaoh's daughter okay
even though it does not specifically state
the name of the woman in Song of Solomon
that's exterior evidence that would
seem to indicate it's Pharaoh's daughter
but what about interior evidence in the
Song of Solomon look at verse number 9
of chapter 1 of Song of Solomon
I have compared
the oh my love to a company of horses
in Pharaoh's chariots
now this is not the only time that
Solomon will reference things
such as locations and stuff that
his wife is obviously going to be familiar with
but here's the thing you're not
going to use an example to compliment your wife
if she does not understand it
he mentions Pharaoh's
chariots and here's the thing
if you mention to me the horses in Pharaoh's
chariots I wouldn't know what you're talking
about I don't know the horses in Pharaoh's
chariots but I believe he mentions
this example because if she is Pharaoh's
daughter she grew up around
the horses of Pharaoh and what
he's basically saying which we'll talk about next week
is basically you're the best
basically the greatest horses in the world
he's saying you're like the best in the world
it's just symbolically
referencing, he's not saying you're like a horse
he's just saying you're the best
but he's using the example
that she would be able to understand
now here's the thing, if this woman
has never met the horses
in Pharaoh's chariots
has never met Pharaoh, doesn't know the
chariots or anything, she's going to be like
what are you talking about?
It's just like
why did you tell me that? Why did you call me a horse?
It's not going to make a whole lot of sense
to her, but I would say interior evidence
in this would suggest that she understands
this, she's familiar with it, so I would suggest
it seems like it's referring to Pharaoh's
daughter, okay? Now that's
who I believe the woman is, what about the man?
Well, verse number one
it says
Song of Solomon 1 verse 1
the song of songs which is Solomon's
and so, I mean the Bible's very clear
in the Song of Solomon, Solomon's mentioned
over and over and over again, he is the man
the primary character, now
I think it's pretty obvious that there's two
characters, two main characters
but there are people that
put a lot of weird interpretations
in the Song of Solomon, they turn it into
a love triangle and add all these
extra characters and things like that
but this is just a song
between a husband and a wife who love each other
okay? Now
turn in your Bible to Song of Solomon 3
verse 11, Song of Solomon chapter 3
verse 11
Song of Solomon chapter 3 verse 11
So I believe that this is a husband
and a wife that are married
and happy but obviously
eventually that did not last
I mean it didn't last forever because obviously Solomon
married multiple women, right?
Song of Solomon chapter 3 verse 11
it says
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold
King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him
in the day of his espousals
and in the day of the gladness of his heart
now espousal is basically a
marriage ceremony, okay?
and so what he's saying here
in the day of the gladness of his heart
he's saying he was glad when he got married
and throughout this book he'll say, my sister, my spouse
spouse, a reference to
his wife
so this is not two people that are dating
this is not girlfriend and boyfriend
the Bible's very very very clear
that it's husband
and wife and that is a very
important thing to understand because
if you think these are two people that are dating
then the Bible's saying it's okay to kiss
somebody you're not dating and be physically
involved well obviously that's not
the case, right?
but the Bible's very clear in this book
it is husband
and wife and to understand this book you need
to realize it is husband
and wife in the day of his espousals
in the day of the gladness of his heart
the day he got married
now there is a lot
of debate about who the woman
is in this story now you say
why is there debate? well I'll show
you here in a second but one thing we also have to keep
in mind is that when this was
written to get a time frame
Solomon is already the king
okay? it's not just the fact
that his husband and wife we need to realize
Solomon is the king
he is already the king when this book is being written
notice what it says in verse 9
verse 9
King Solomon made himself a chariot
of the wood of Lebanon
okay? so he's already the king
verse 11
so it's very obvious he's already the king
unless you believe something weird like this
poem was written over like 20 years
or something like that he's already the king
they're already husband and wife
they love each other, okay?
now go to 1 Kings chapter 11
1 Kings 11
1 Kings chapter 11
now the reality is that
based on what I've shown you so far
if that's all the Bible ever mentioned
everybody would probably agree it's Pharaoh's daughter
but there is a reason
why there's a big question mark
and I do believe it's Pharaoh's daughter but I also
understand why there's a big question mark so I want to show
this to you and what you need to understand
is this sermon is an introduction
and it doesn't really change
the words found in Song of Solomon
whatever your interpretation is
even if you disagree with me who the main characters are
it doesn't change the fact
this is a book between a husband and a wife
and it teaches us how to have a good marriage
we have practical wisdom
on how to be a good husband, how to be a good wife
regardless of who you think the characters are
okay?
now remember, Song of Solomon
was written when Solomon was already the king
notice what it says in 1 Kings 11 verse 42
and the time that Solomon reigned
in Jerusalem over all Israel
was 40 years
okay? so he reigned for 40 years
according to this verse
and he is already the king
when Song of Solomon is written
now go to 1 Kings 14
1 Kings 14
verse 21
1 Kings 14 verse 21
and it says
in 1 Kings 14 verse 21
and Rehoboam, the son of Solomon
reigned in Judah
Rehoboam was 40 and 1 years old
when he began to reign
and he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem
the city which the Lord did choose
out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there
and his mother's name was Naaman and Ammonitis
and so if the 40 years is accurate
and you got 41 years
this would suggest that
Rehoboam was born
one year before Solomon became the king
well that kind of changes the perspective
quite a bit, right?
because what I said is I believe that Pharaoh's daughter
was his first wife and that's who he was happy with
and then eventually he married other women
and that is what I believe, you say well
what's your interpretation? and as I said
you know what, honestly there could be a lot of different opinions on this
and honestly this is probably
the least preached book in the Bible
so it's not like a lot of people have really talked about this
you know, there could be different opinions
but I think
I think he actually reigned for more than 40 years
I don't think the 40 years is a reference
to his entire reign from beginning to end
like you would think
I would say maybe it's a reference to the fact that
it took 11 and a half years
approximately to build the house of the Lord
so 40 plus 11 and a half would give
over 50 years
but I'm also not dogmatic about this
and it's not going to change
the overall view of Song of Solomon
I'll give you all the different possibilities
and things that I've heard
for me this one actually makes the most sense
or it could be possible the 40 years is a reference to
he's the king
and at some point because he got into sin
even though he's still kind of reign
it's like God had kind of rejected him
so there could be added time
that's my opinion, but I'm not dogmatic about that
but let me give you some of the other opinions
that people could have
one is that Song of Solomon
was written to Naamah
that's an obvious possibility that people bring up
and I would say that's a possibility
that it's written to Naamah
the only thing I would say is
the Song of Solomon is like the greatest
love story ever
there's no indication
that Solomon really loved Naamah
so much more than any other woman
in his life, the woman that's really mentioned
is Pharaoh's daughter
Pharaoh's daughter
Pharaoh's daughter, there's also no interior
evidence that I'm aware of in the Song of Solomon
that would suggest it is Naamah
but I'm not saying it's impossible
it would just seem strange to me
that it mentions Pharaoh's daughter all the time
and yet the love story is between
Naamah and Solomon
now once again
if that is the truth
it doesn't change the book itself
because it's still the words of God
and we learn the exact same things from it
but I would say that's why I would have trouble with that
the other thing is
if it's referring to Naamah
he didn't really stay happy with her
for that long because he gets married
Pharaoh's daughter shortly after he becomes the king
and so basically that happy marriage
really lasted a couple years
and it's already over
and look, that's possible
but I would find that kind of hard to believe
especially as Pharaoh's daughter's mentioned
as if she's the only woman
in the life of Solomon
for him to have multiple wives at that time
doesn't really seem to fit to me
one possibility people say
is maybe he had multiple wives
when the Song of Solomon was written
the big problem I'd have with that
is throughout the book it says
my beloved is mine and I am his
as if they only have each other
there's no indication of him having multiple wives
once again, if that's the truth
it doesn't change the book itself
I would just say it doesn't seem to really fit with me
another possibility mentioned
is that
Naamah, maybe she died
during labor
maybe Solomon was married to Naamah
and she gave birth to Rehoboam
she died during labor and then after that
he marries Pharaoh's daughter
well, I mean, that's a possibility
and then he wouldn't be married to multiple women
I would just say that if that's true
which it's possible, there's nothing in the Bible
that really indicates that
it's just trying to fit that 40 year timeframe
with that situation
it's possible
and maybe Solomon never brings up Naamah
or the Bible never does because I would suppose
if your wife died giving labor
it'd be a painful memory
that I would lean towards
you say, well, what if Naamah is Pharaoh's daughter
you say, well, how would that be possible
well, Naamah is an Ammonitess
but what if Pharaoh had a relationship with a woman
from Ammon and it calls Naamah
an Ammonitess even though
her father is Pharaoh
okay
now, that would be a possibility
I suppose, but you know
the problem is
that really doesn't fit with the timeframe
because if the 40 years
is just like 40 years
he has the child before he becomes the king
and he marries Pharaoh's daughter after he becomes the king
so you'd really be messing with the time
quite a bit, so I really don't think that would fit
go to Song of Solomon chapter 6
Song of Solomon chapter 6
and as I said, it really doesn't matter
who you think the two people are in the book
if you think it's Solomon and Naamah
or Solomon and Pharaoh's daughter
it doesn't change the fact the book is written
to give us wisdom on how to have a good marriage
okay
some people say, well maybe it's Abishug the Shunammite
you say, well why would they say Abishug the Shunammite
and Abishug the Shunammite
if you're familiar with 1 Kings
basically it was the woman that was given
to David as he became old
and he didn't actually lie with her
but it's kind of given to him
you know, expected to be his wife or whatever
but notice what it says in Song of Solomon 6
verse 13
return return O Shulammite
return return that we may look upon thee
what will you see in the Shulammite
as it were the company of two armies
and it'll say maybe it's Abishug the Shunammite
because Shulammite is spelled
very similarly to Shunammite
okay
so Shulammite, Shunammite
yeah but they're not spelled the exact same
I mean it's spelled similarly
but the reference to a Shulammite
seems to be a reference to a woman
from Shulam
just because they're spelled similarly
that doesn't mean it's the same
there's many words
that are very similar
and completely different from one another
the other thing is
the big problem with that interpretation
is that would be perverse
it was a woman that was basically given to David
and then Solomon marries her
that's ridiculous
I'm okay with you saying maybe it's Nama
I'm not okay with you saying it's Abishug
I think that's ridiculous
some people say the Queen of Sheba
that also doesn't fit with the time frame
I would completely disagree but these are some of the things people say
now the really strange interpretation
though is that there's this
love triangle in the book
okay now go to 1 Kings 11
1 Kings 11
now look if this whole book
and look there is a lot of symbolism in the Song of Solomon
obviously it's poetical
there's a lot of things that can be interpreted
different ways
but here's the thing
if the whole book is just this symbolism
and not reality which is what some people say
because they don't really understand the book
or they don't understand certain verses
then it would completely change
the entire book itself of what it's about
and various people will say that this book
is about God's love for Israel
or it's about something political
a lot of weird things
here's one of the big interpretations people give though
and they say well here's a different story
to the Song of Solomon
a young beautiful Shulamite farm girl
is betrothed through a sweetheart who is a shepherd
because it mentions
Solomon being a shepherd in the book
one day the king travels by with his retina
and eyes this young beauty referring to
King Solomon
he orders her to be taken into his harem
so according to their interpretation
basically here's a woman
who's going to marry another guy
Solomon sees her and he's like she's my next wife
okay that's how some people interpret this book
and then it says she is taken
against her will to the harem of Solomon's
wives and concubines
she is desperate not to be violated and to escape
so that she can return to her betrothed
she manages to escape and asks
the night watchmen if they have seen her betrothed
looking for her before she can successfully
return she is recaptured
but this time kept under lock and key
Solomon makes his inevitable
advances but she diplomatically resists him
despite his offers of wealth
power and fame
after a possible period of years
she is allowed to return to home where her
brothers come out to meet her and question whether
she has remained faithful to her betrothed
she tells them that despite the time she has been away
she has indeed remained faithful to the covenant
with her betrothed
and thus ends a beautiful illustration
of faithfulness which indicts
Israel for its unfaithfulness towards God
look I'm sorry but if that was
the interpretation of the book it's like
well Solomon's a psychopath
right I mean obviously Solomon was a sinner
obviously it was wrong for him to marry a lot of women
there's a lot of things you could say against him
but he also wrote Ecclesiastes
he also wrote Proverbs
he also wrote the Song of Solomon
and basically that is
a psychopath serial rapist
if that's the interpretation
I'm sorry but that's just out there
okay and once again our verse of the week
is every word of God is pure
I don't believe that the Bible would be giving like
some horror story in detail
or whatever I mean that to me
is a little bit ridiculous
now 1 Kings 11 verse 1
let me show you a couple reasons
you know once again why I believe it's Pharaoh's daughter
and also maybe
a possibility of why Solomon
ended up marrying multiple women in the future
1 Kings 11 verse 1
but King Solomon
loved many strange women
together with the daughter of Pharaoh
women of the Moabites
Ammonites, Edomites,
Zydonians and Hittites
so it seems to indicate
Solomon's first wife is Pharaoh's daughter
but notice it also mentions together with that
the Ammonites, women of the Ammonites
well Naamah was an Ammonitess
and so it seems to indicate
that Pharaoh's daughter was his first wife
and then maybe Naamah is one of the women
mentioned later and the only reason
why she's really mentioned in the Bible
is not necessarily because she's super significant
except because her son ends up
becoming the king
now go to 1 Kings chapter 4
1 Kings 4
1 Kings chapter 4
and let me give you
a possible reason
why Solomon ended up no longer being
satisfying with the person he was married to
and look, I will say this that
the polygamy has always been considered wrong in the Bible
but you do see a lot of God's
people married to multiple women
and to be completely honest
I believe God looks down more on
fornication than he does polygamy
now polygamy is a sin, the Bible says
do not multiply wives unto yourself
but you have to admit that God is more merciful to being a polygamist
than to committing fornication
outside of our marriage
in our modern day, people look at it as the opposite
if you were to ask people
if they would marry multiple women
they would be horrified saying, that's terrible
and look, I agree, that's a sin
because to me, I didn't grow up in a culture
I didn't grow up Mormon, I didn't grow up Muslim
to me, that's crazy
but here's the thing
in our modern day, people live together
before they're married and think nothing of it
and it's like, fornication
is actually very looked down on
in the Bible
now, notice what it says in 1 Kings 4 verse 11
the son of Abinadab
and all the region of Dor
which had Tafeth, the daughter of Solomon
to wife
this does not mean that he married her in this verse
but that's who he eventually married
the daughter of Solomon to wife
go to verse 15
Ahima, as was in Naphtali, he also took
Basmuth, the daughter of Solomon, to wife
so once again it mentions the daughter of Solomon
now remember, he met Pharaoh's daughter
1 Kings 3 is when she first gets mentioned
so I believe this is Pharaoh's
daughter's
daughters, okay
so Pharaoh's granddaughters, I should say
to make it easier
but here's the thing, it doesn't mention him having a son
now, I don't know
this for sure, but it's possible
that, you know what, because he didn't have a son
with Pharaoh's daughter, maybe he sought
love somewhere else because he wanted to have a son
and, you know, historically speaking
that has happened with
one of the most famous kings in history
King Henry VIII
why did he marry all kinds of different women?
why did he have them killed and divorced
because of the fact he wasn't
able to have a son and he blamed
his wife? now in our modern day
we realize actually the gender of the baby
is determined on the father
not the mother, but King Henry VIII was not aware
of that, okay
now I don't know this for sure
you know, I'm just kind of giving you my opinion
because I believe the Bible is relatively silent
on, you know, exactly what caused
the downfall of Solomon
obviously he basically
sought after God, but also sought after the lust
of his own heart, but it doesn't really get into
specifics and ecclesiastes or anything like that
but it is a possibility
I believe that these daughters mentioned are from Pharaoh's daughter
but it doesn't mention him having a son
and maybe he never did have a son
with Pharaoh's daughter, and then he had
Rehoboam with Nahima
and, you know, maybe that's the reason why
but turn in your Bible
to Psalm 12
Psalm 12, Psalm chapter 12
Psalm chapter 12
that's just kind of a bit in depth
kind of a Bible study, you're welcome to
study it out, it's not going to change the
book itself though, okay, I just wanted to kind of give
an overall foundation because
you know, if I'm going to say it's Pharaoh's daughter, I do realize
there's a situation of Rehoboam being 41
I don't want to just be silent
and then all of a sudden you see that one day and it's like
oh, Brother Stuckey is ignorant, it's like, well I'm aware of the fact
Rehoboam was 41 when he becomes
king, and so maybe it's Nahima
I believe it's Pharaoh's daughter though
point number one, we saw the people in the Song of Solomon
point number two though, let me
talk about this, the purity
of the Song of Solomon
the purity of the
book, the Song of Solomon
Psalm 12 verse 6
the Bible says that God's words
are pure words
not just some of His words
all of His words
that includes the verses
in Leviticus that nobody likes in
2022, it also includes
every verse in the Song of Solomon
right, you can't sit here and say
well I believe this part of the Bible
but this part, you know, I don't know
that's kind of risque, right
that's kind of like PG-13
it's like, it's okay to talk about it
but not if there's kids, that's why we have Sunday school
right, it's like, well I don't believe that
I mean, I preached the same sermon yesterday
and all my kids were in the church
I don't have a problem with going through the Song of Solomon
with my kids there, because I believe God's
words are pure words
I mean, every word of God is
pure, okay
turn to Proverbs 30
your turn to Proverbs 30
also read to you the Bible says, thy word is very pure
therefore thy servant loveth it
thy word is very pure
there is nothing perverse
in the Song of Solomon
Proverbs 30 verse 5
this is our text verse for the week
every
word of God is pure
now does that say some of
God's words are pure
or does it say every word of God is pure
every word of God is pure
and then notice this, he is a shield
unto them that put their trust in him
shield is a protection, right
so when you trust in God's word
God will help shield you by trusting in
His word, well here's the thing
this is a book on how to have a good
marriage and if you put your
trust in this book and listen to the
advice from it, it will protect you
from problems in your marriage
that is how you apply this verse to the Song of Solomon
it's pure words
it's about having a good marriage
and if you put your trust in it, it would actually shield
or protect you from problems
that would arise in your marriage
and look, you know, you're in this room right now
you say, Brother Stuckey, you're preaching about a book
where you know, it's husband and wife
you're not married, so how does that apply to me?
Well, I mean, you're not married now
but I'm assuming most people
have a goal to eventually be married
and you know what, here's the thing
it's better to have the practical wisdom now
before you're married
than when you are married
imagine starting a new job where you're on
Microsoft Excel all day long
and you know nothing about computers
and you're expecting the first day
print out these reports, do these calculations
you're going to have a pretty stressful first month
just pretend you lied on your job resume
it's like, I'm an expert
at all these computer programs
you get there on the first day
and you're expected to know it
you're going to be pretty stressed
for a couple months hoping that it doesn't get found out
that you don't know what you're doing
right? Wouldn't it be better just to know that stuff
ahead of time?
Well, it's kind of the same exact thing in marriage
because instead of being married
and then all of a sudden
well, how do I become a good husband?
Wouldn't it be better to know that before you're married?
Wouldn't it be better to know that before
you're a wife, before you're a husband
actually no practical wisdom
on being married? The other thing is this
when it comes to the Song of Solomon
Solomon is already the king
when this is written, but let me give you more
on the time frame
one thing that is noticeably absent from the Song of Solomon
is what? Children.
You say, what does that mean?
It means they're newlyweds.
This is a book between a husband and wife
who are newly married. You say, why?
Because when you're married with kids
your life revolves around your kids.
The kids would be brought up in every single
chapter of the Song of Solomon very clearly.
Right? I mean, look, all of us
that are married with kids
I mean, it changes everything, doesn't it?
It's like if you're writing a book
about being married and a husband and a wife
you know what, it's going to factor in the kids
if they have kids
they're newlyweds, okay?
Or they're married before they actually have children.
Now here's the thing, you say, well I'm not married now
but you know what, you might only be like
one year away from the point
we're at the point that Solomon was.
So it's not really that far away.
Now for us that are married with kids
here's what happens when you have kids.
A lot of things you're aware of
and a lot of things you realize, you kind of just let slip
as you have kids and kind of put it on the back burner.
It's kind of like, well, you know
my relationship with my spouse
I'll just think about it later
and just, I'm too busy, too stressed out
A lot of the stuff that you're going to see in the Song of Solomon
is very, very obvious.
But it's kind of stuff that you know what
you kind of just let slip
because you know what, you have kids
and it gets kind of more difficult to do things.
And look, let me just confess my faults one to another.
Okay, because my son reminded me
of this the last couple days, you know.
On Friday we were going to have our family time
and go out to a restaurant and my wife and I are like
man, we got our newborn
it's going to be hard, it's going to be more difficult
we just ordered food and ate at home
and our son the last couple days is like
when are we going to the restaurant?
He's like, Daddy, he's like, tomorrow
I'm going to church tomorrow, son
he's like, when you come home then we'll go to the restaurant, right?
And it's like, alright, we're going to go on Monday.
Okay, even though it's easier
for my wife and I just to order the food
it's just kind of like, you know
having kids will change everything
and here's the thing, once you have kids you can kind of forget
about some of these basic things between your spouse
that were the things you thought about
when you first got married.
Honestly, this series is really like a resetting
for those of us that have kids
back to things we should already know
but to those that are not married
it kind of prepares you for that step
there's a lot of practical wisdom.
I would say this as well, because I believe there's
117 verses in the Song of Solomon
I believe there's probably more
practical wisdom that is life changing
in these 117 verses
than any set of 117 verses
in the Bible, any book.
And it's very basic stuff
but you kind of just read over it
and do not think about it.
And you're like, oh, it's a cool love story
and you don't actually pay attention
what is being said in this verse?
What can you apply from this verse?
It's not that the book's complicated
because prophetic books
like next week when we start Daniel 7
it's like, man, this is complicated.
With Song of Solomon it's not complicated
but it's like people just kind of read over it
and then don't apply it to their lives.
What you should do
in this room, whether you're a husband
or a wife or not married yet
is not think about, man,
I'm happy for this series because
my husband really needs this.
Or my wife really needs this.
What you should do
is actually apply it to yourself
like any sermon and ask yourself
what can I do to make changes?
And look, I don't believe there's a couple
in our church, if you're honest with yourself
can say that you're doing every bit
of wisdom that's actually found in the Song of Solomon.
I can say that when I'm
re-studying this after having studied it
before, I'm like, man, there's a lot of things.
I need to make some changes.
Just basic stuff, but sometimes it's hard to do
what the Bible actually tells us to do.
Now go to Revelation 22.
Revelation 22.
Revelation chapter 22.
And what I'm planning to do for this book
actually is at the end of Song of Solomon
when we finish it, I'm planning to give everybody
a handout with here's what can be
learned about this topic, this topic, this
topic with the verses just kind of organized.
Because I think it's a good thing honestly
to just kind of laminate,
put here in the front of your Bible and you can kind of just
pull it off from time to time, get reminded of these
basic things on marriage.
Say, why is that so important? The Bible speaks about
when you're married to be heirs together
of the grace of life.
And often times that is just not
the way it works in marriage.
Often times people kind of just forget
about their spouse and try to do things on their own,
but that's not the way that God
actually intended it. And when you read the
Bible, you see godly person
after godly person having terrible
marriage. Terrible marriage.
I mean even Solomon eventually.
Terrible marriage. You know what?
Honestly, it's just like just because you're in
a good church, just because you read the Bible,
you have to actually make an effort to have a good marriage.
Okay? It's very important to actually
apply the wisdom found in this book.
Revelation 22 verse 18.
For I testify unto every man
that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book,
if any man shall add unto these things,
God shall add unto them the plagues that are written
in this book. And if any man shall take away from the
words of this book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part out of the
book of life, out of the holy city, and from the
things which are written in this book. Now,
this is a warning on people that would
add or remove from God's Word.
And I'm not saying people are directly doing
exactly like this, but you know, there's a lot
of churches, Baptist churches,
that would take the mindset,
well, we can't preach from the Song of
Solomon. It's not appropriate.
And what they're basically doing is censoring
the Word of God and basically saying God's
Word is impure. I don't believe
that. I believe every
Word of God is pure.
I mean, the Song of Solomon is a
pure book. I mean, if it's not a pure book,
why is it found in the Bible?
Right? It is one of the 66
books in the Bible, and here's what you need to realize.
Books are written for different reasons.
The book of John, so people
might get saved. Right?
1 John, so that you might have joy.
Right? You know, Galatians, for
people that are mixed up on salvation but already
saved. You know, books have different purposes.
Well, if you're looking for a book
on marriage, what
would be the book?
Song of Solomon. It's not that this is
the only place in the Bible that talks about it,
but you know, if this is important to have a good marriage,
you know, you ought to take heed to what this book says.
For me personally,
before I got married, I started memorizing
the Song of Solomon, and I finished it
shortly after we got married, but I was like,
you know what? I'm about to be married. I need to know
what I'm doing. Right? So I read the
Song of Solomon, and you know what? It
gives you a lot of wisdom, and a lot of choices
I made that I would have never thought of,
I was like, well, this is what we see
in the Song of Solomon. Okay?
There's a lot of great wisdom in this book.
Go to 2 Timothy 3.
2 Timothy chapter 3.
Like I said, I don't want you to get bogged down
with the first point about the people in the Song of Solomon.
Honestly, I don't care whether you think it's
Pharaoh's daughter or Naamah. It really doesn't
change the point in the
purpose of this book. Okay? I think it's
interesting. I want to look at everything that's found
in the Bible, but you know what? This book is
about having a good marriage. Okay?
2 Timothy 3 verse 16.
All scripture. You know what that means?
Song of Solomon is profitable for
doctrine. All scripture is profitable
for what? For reproof. Song of Solomon
is profitable for reproof.
All scripture is profitable for correction, for
instruction in righteousness. And so
look, all of God's word is helpful
for these things. So look, I don't think
we should skip over any part of the Bible.
Whether it's
Leviticus, whether it's Ezekiel, whether
it's Solomon, I believe we should read
every bit of the Bible, preach from every
bit of the Bible, and not leave
anything out, because there's wisdom found in
every book of the Bible, including Song of Solomon.
Go to Hebrews 13.
Hebrews 13.
Now,
here's the thing. Some people don't preach in the Song
of Solomon. Some people because
maybe they think there's other books that are more
important, and I understand that because
we've been around for three and a half years. I haven't
really talked about the Song of Solomon much, but I
decided to now. So there's
lots of things to preach in the Bible. I understand
that. But some people don't preach
from it because they don't really
understand it. It's poetical, and
I like poetry. Anybody that knows
me knows I like to write poems, so
for me, I find that interesting.
And here's the thing with poetry. When
you're writing poetry, everything is not
meant to be taken literally.
A lot of stuff's symbolic,
and here's the thing. Statements can be
taken a lot of different ways, and people take
certain statements in the Song of Solomon, and
they turn it into something really perverted.
Well, here's the thing. The Bible
says that unto the pure,
all things are pure. And
so if you have a pure mind, you don't come up
with something dirty when you're reading the Bible.
You understand God's word is pure.
You have a pure mind, so when you
read it, even if you don't understand it, you
don't come up with some perverse, disgusting
thing that should not be talked about.
And some people do that with the Song of Solomon.
They'll say, well, this verse is referencing
this, and it's like, what is wrong with you?
Right? Like that interpretation
that Solomon's a serial rapist, and it's
just like, you know, why would you even come up with
something like that? Right?
And so look, you know what? There's a lot of, I
understand. Some people can get confused, and
there's parts of this that are poetic, and I
don't understand everything in the Song of Solomon.
There's some poetry mentioned
there, some verses, and I don't
really understand the full reference that's being
made, but I can still say that there's a
lot to learn in this book, and
those that would come up with something perverted
from this book, it's because their
mind and conscience is defiled, or they've been
brainwashed by people whose minds have been defiled.
Right. Hebrews 13.
Hebrews 13, verse 4.
The Bible says, marriage is honorable
and all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers
and adulterers God will judge. Now the Bible
says, marriage is honorable and all, and the bed
undefiled. Now here's the thing.
Obviously all of us understand that as a
husband and a wife, there's a certain relationship
you have that is not meant to be
had with anyone before you're married.
But I'm not going to
be talking about the details of that
in a sermon, because that
would be impure. The Bible
does not discuss intimate details
that are left
unsaid. Right? It doesn't do that.
Even in the disgusting stories of the Bible,
the Bible's very discrete would probably be
the word to use, where basically,
you know, you might know something, but
it's like in Genesis 19, it doesn't
go in super graphic detail.
Right? It tells you enough
so it's disgusting and
perverted and you get the picture,
but, you know, it's just like, you know,
you don't need to know graphic details
like a pornography or something like that.
Look, the Song of Solomon is not like that.
It doesn't have graphic details
and intimate details that are inappropriate.
You don't have to worry about,
oh no, the Song of Solomon,
my kids are going to be here at church,
what's Brother Stuckey going to say, because
I'm not going to talk about anything that's inappropriate.
You say, why? Because that's
something that the Bible doesn't address
and it's not something that should be talked about
in a sermon. And the
Song of Solomon doesn't do that either.
Okay? Now, turn in
your Bible to
Deuteronomy 17.
Deuteronomy 17. Deuteronomy
chapter 17.
Now, this ought to be very
obvious that, you know what, the Bible's not going to
talk about something perverse, but, you know what,
there are religions that have no problem with
talking about things that are perverse.
I mean, in Hinduism, there's
a famous Hindu
holy scripture called the Kama Sutra
and the Kama Sutra is
just like, you know,
a pornographic book that goes into
deep detail of the relationship
between a husband and wife or,
I mean, a man and a woman, but not even just a man and a woman.
Men and men, women
and women, bestiality,
it's just like, that's beyond perverse.
Right? You walk into
a Hindu temple and what are you going to see in a lot of them?
Bestiality statues
as you're walking in. Look, that's not the word
of God. Right? The word
of God is pure. You look at a
religion like Mormonism, and in
Mormonism, you got, you know, all this perverse
stuff. Like, they'll say that, you know what, the
virgin birth is a virgin
because Mary did not sleep with a
mortal man. She just slept with God
and that's where Jesus came from.
And that's what Mormonism actually teaches
that God slept with Mary.
It's like, that's perverse.
That's disgusting. Who would even come up with something
like that? Right?
Now, what's funny about this
is the Mormons are complete hypocrites
because this is
what they say about the Song of Solomon in the
Mormon Church. The Song of Solomon
is the only book in the standard works
that is considered uninspired.
When speaking to a group of
Seminary Institute teachers, Elder
Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, I mean, the
Twelve Apostles, that was 2,000 years ago,
right, commented
on each of the books in the Old Testament.
When he came to this book, he said,
the Song of Solomon
is biblical trash.
It is not inspired writing.
So, according to the Mormons, the Song of Solomon
is inappropriate. It's trash.
Well, here's the thing.
Even if they came up with these perverse
interpretations, I really don't
see how they have any grounds to speak
when they supported
polygamy. And here's the thing.
This is how polygamy started
in the Mormon Church.
Joseph Smith was caught committing adultery
with a young girl.
And what he said is,
well, God ordained polygamy.
And basically, I can marry any of these women that I want.
He got caught with either a 13 or 14 year old girl
and he's like, well, God ordained polygamy.
That's how the polygamy doctrine started.
It was basically a defense by Joseph Smith,
caught committing adultery.
I mean, God told me to do it!
Right? It's called, you're a pervert
when you're sleeping with a 13 or 14 year old
and you're a grown man.
Right? And let me just say this on a side point,
that, you know what, because unfortunately,
we've had to deal with something kind of similar
at our church. I'm going to be a lot less lenient
if some pervert at our church
is hitting on a girl half their age
that is like 13 or 14 years old.
If there's any hint of grooming,
it's just like, you're just going to get kicked out of our church.
Let me help you out.
This is how you try to date a girl
at our church if you're interested in someone.
If their parents come to the church or their authority,
you go to the parental authority
and ask for permission.
And if you don't do that,
we're just going to kick you out of church
because I'm not dealing with that garbage again at our church.
It's like grooming,
that's what the Mormons do.
Now that you've got it, go join the Mormons
if you're still looking for a church out there.
But anyways,
talk about hypocrisy though
because here's a religion
that their leader was a pedophile,
married to lots of women,
and then they'll say the Song of Solomon
is inappropriate.
It's like, when that's what he did,
that's what Brigham Young did,
that's ridiculous.
Another example of someone famous who rejected
the Song of Solomon was Martin Luther.
Martin Luther rejected,
but he looked at the Song of Solomon and said,
it's all about politics.
I don't really see
this being about politics.
I mean,
Solomon's the king.
Right? I mean, does that count as being political?
Right? I mean,
is there like symbolism and stuff like that?
Sure. I mean, I've talked about before
the soul-winning symbolism in the Song of Solomon.
Yes, there's symbolism
that doesn't change the direct meaning
about a husband and a wife
just reading it plain for what it is.
Okay?
Well, we're in Deuteronomy 17.
So number one, we looked at the people
in the Song of Solomon.
Number two, we looked at the purity
of the Song of Solomon.
Number three, what's the purpose
of the Song of Solomon?
What is the purpose of this book?
Now, I do want to show you this
on a side point.
I referenced the verse, but notice what it says
And the Bible says
that you're not supposed to multiply wives
unto yourself.
This is true not just for being a king,
but for anybody.
It's wrong to be married to multiple people
because the Bible says when you get married,
two become one. Right?
Leave father and mother and cleave
unto your wife. Right?
You become one. The Bible says one flesh.
You're meant to be married to one person.
Okay? And people look at the Song of Solomon
because look who the author was.
Because even if you're right, brother Stuckey,
let's say he was happy with Pharaoh's daughter
for ten years. It doesn't change the fact
that he ended up marrying multiple women.
Okay? Go to
Song of Solomon chapter 8.
I mean, I get it. It's interesting
that God shows Solomon as the character
when he can't think of anyone who married more women.
But let me just ask you this.
Does anyone here question
the validity of Proverbs 31,
the virtuous woman?
No.
I've never heard anybody question
the validity of that book.
Who wrote that chapter in the Bible
to her son Solomon?
Who is the mother of Solomon?
Bathsheba. The heart of her husband
doth safely trust in her.
I mean, here's the thing. I believe Bathsheba
became a godly woman. I'm not trying to criticize her.
I'm just saying it's not like she'd be the first woman
I would pick to write the chapter
on the virtuous woman.
Because it's not like her entire life
she really lived by that.
But here's the thing. Does that change the words
that are found in that chapter?
It doesn't change them.
And look, I do believe Bathsheba became a godly woman
so I'm not trying to criticize her in this sermon.
I'm just saying that she's not
exactly the first person you pick.
But nobody ever questions Proverbs 31.
But then they question the Song of Solomon.
I mean, that doesn't make any sense.
If you question Song of Solomon because of the author,
well then I guess just throw out Proverbs 31
and let's not stop there
because it's not like all the characters
in the Bible were perfect.
I mean, a lot of them did a lot of wrong.
I mean, don't just throw out Song of Solomon. Throw out all the Ecclesiastes.
We're going to learn wisdom from a guy married to all these women
and Proverbs just throw that out of the Bible.
I mean, it's like, where are you going to stop with that?
Okay.
Look, the bottom line is by faith
we believe these 66 books in the Bible
are perfect and every word
is perfect and you can learn
from every single word in the Bible.
And look, here's the thing.
All of the writers of the Bible
were sinful people.
Every single one. And the other thing is this.
Every single one of them would have been a hypocrite
at various points in their lives.
People say sometimes,
I don't want to go to church because church is filled with hypocrites.
Everybody in the world
is a hypocrite because sometimes you say
one thing and you do another.
Right? None of us are perfect. We're sinners.
And look, here's the thing.
When I'm preaching through the Song of Solomon
I'm not saying I've got a perfect marriage
in every single thing I do perfectly in this book.
It's like, no, you know what?
You preach sermons, it's kind of tough
because you're not always 100% perfect
on everything you're preaching.
But I can say that as I'm going through this book
I want to make changes.
You know, learning from what the Bible says.
Am I going to fail? Am I going to make mistakes?
Of course. But we can still learn from this book.
Song of Solomon, chapter 8, verse 7.
It says,
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it.
If a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
it would utterly be contempt.
This is a pretty famous verse at weddings.
Right?
Many waters cannot quench love.
I mean, it's a great verse in the Bible.
Right? Very, very common.
And look, this is the purpose
of the Song of Solomon.
It's a book to teach you how to have a good marriage.
Look, if you're married,
whether it's at the newlywed stage,
you know, pre-kids,
as I believe Solomon and Pharaoh's daughter
are in this story,
or whether or not it's after kids,
or before you're married,
you can learn from this book.
If you're not married, get the wisdom now.
I mean, learn what you need to do now.
Because the reality is,
let me just be honest with you,
marriage is hard.
Marriage is difficult.
Raising kids is hard.
Raising kids is difficult.
Right? I mean, because people have this idea
before they're married, and probably everybody in this room
felt this way before they were married,
you know, if I just got married, I'd be happy
and my life would be perfect.
And that lasts for about a month, and then you realize,
actually, life is still pretty hard.
It's still not very easy.
It's like, no, marriage is actually difficult.
Now look, marriage is a joy. Marriage is a blessing.
I'm glad to be married. I'm glad to have kids.
But I'm also being honest with you in saying,
raising kids is hard.
Marriage is difficult. These things are not easy.
But, you know, one thing that could help you
is learn the wisdom before you're married.
Now, if you're at that newlywed stage,
well, of course, this directly applies.
I mean, learn it at that stage,
because that is what the Song of Solomon is about.
But here's the thing. If you have kids,
a lot of these things I think we just kind of let slip,
because things kind of get in the way.
Life is busy.
You need to listen to this series
and read this book with an open mind
and have the attitude, you know what,
I'm willing to change if I've allowed things
kind of to slip in my marriage.
I'm willing to go back to that stage
when the day of the gladness of my heart,
when I got married, I was happy,
and then life gets in the way,
and then you kind of forget about these basic things.
You must be willing to change
whenever you hear any sermon, okay?
And look, I'm saying this about myself as well.
As we go through this book,
there's changes I realize I need to make.
I need to become a better husband.
And this is the purpose of the book.
I hope you're excited about it.
This is not a commonly preached book,
so there's probably a lot of stuff you never even thought of before,
never as you're reading through the book.
But look, I would encourage you,
you know what, read the book over these next several weeks,
because if you read it or memorize it
and you hear the sermon, it's really going to kind of click,
oh, that's what the Bible's saying.
That's what I can take away.
And look, remember the Bible says
you're meant to be heirs together of the grace of life.
You are not meant to be like David
who the love with Jonathan, his good friend,
past the love of women.
Well, I mean, that's great that you have a friend,
a buddy that you really love, right,
that you're really close to,
but that's actually not a very good thing,
because actually the person you're married to
you ought to be really close to,
not somebody else above your wife, right?
Let's close in a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father,
thank you for allowing us to be here today
and getting to see your word on this topic,
and I ask you to help us as we study through this book,
help us to be willing to change
if there's areas we need to, God,
including myself and my wife,
help us to strive to have good marriages
and strong marriages at our church,
not just be zealous for soul winning
and Bible reading and doctrine,
but also seek to be great husbands,
great wives, great parents,
and have good marriages, God.
We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen, let's turn to hymn number 16.
Hymn number 16, let's sing some majestic, sweet,
and sweet central.
This is a new song, so let's all learn together
and lift up your voices, sing through the song.
Hymn number 16, majestic, sweet, and sweet central.
Ready on the first, ready, sing.
Majestic, sweet, and sweet central,
Upon the singer's bow,
He stand in vision for Israel,
His lips in grace are closed,
Once again, the mortal hand,
He gave the bear,
Among the sons of men,
We heard Him sing, and all the fair,
O hear the heavenly dream,
He strongly caused it in His past,
And through to my beginning,
To be able for the shameful cross,
And there in all my being,
To be my hope, my life, and there,
In all the joys we have,
He makes me triumph over death,
And takes me from the grave,
And takes me from the grave.
Amen.
Seven, ten minute break.