The Word of God Is Living and Powerful (Hebrews 4:12) – A Glimpse of Jesus’ Wisdom Through Solomon

Hebrews 4:12 says, "The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Solomon is one of the clearest types of Christ in the Old Testament. Speaking of the whole earth coming to hear Solomon’s wisdom, Jesus said, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42). We receive a wonderful glimpse of his wisdom through Solomon's. https://youtu.be/GrCtYeEJd_Q Hebrews 4:12 says, "The word of god is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword." Solomon is one of the clearest types of Christ in the Old Testament. Table of ContentsSermon Lessons for The Word of God Is Living and PowerfulFamily Worship Guide for The Word of God Is Living and PowerfulSermon Notes for The Word of God Is Living and PowerfulLesson one: cling to the sword when you need wisdom.Lesson two: the Word is a sword that cuts to the heart.Lesson three: anyone can approach Jesus’ throne. Sermon Lessons for The Word of God Is Living and Powerful Lesson 1: Cling to ______ __________ when you need wisdom (1 Kings 3:24, Psalm 119:105, Ephesians 6:17, Revelation 19:15, 21; 2 Samuel 23:9-10). Lesson 2: The Word is a sword that ________ to the __________ (1 Kings 3:26; Hebrews 4:12-13; Proverbs 20:5). Lesson 3: Anyone can approach ____________ ______ (1 Kings 3:16; Luke 15:1; Hebrews 4:16). Family Worship Guide for The Word of God Is Living and Powerful Day 1: Read 1 Kings 3:24, Psalm 119:105, Ephesians 6:17, Revelation 19:15, 21; 2 Samuel 23:9-10, and discuss: In what ways does Solomon serve as a type of Christ? How does God’s Word serve as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path? Why do you think the Word is compared with a sword? Can you think of other types or pictures of the Word in Scripture? How can we become proficient with the Word? Day 2: Read 1 Kings 3:26; Hebrews 4:12-13; Proverbs 20:5, and discuss: Do you think Hebrews 4:12 is referring to Scripture or Jesus Christ? And why? How was Solomon able to look past the women’s words to their hearts? How can this be applied to our counseling and dealing with people? Day 3: Read 1 Kings 3:16; Luke 15:1; Hebrews 4:16, and discuss: Why did God have harlots, of all people, approach Solomon’s throne? What does this teach us? Why can we have confidence to approach the throne? Why does God make mercy and grace available to us in our time of need? What application should this have for our lives? How is Jesus greater than Solomon? Sermon Notes for The Word of God Is Living and Powerful You know I like types, and Solomon is one of the clearest types of Christ in the Old Testament. The glory of the kingdom Solomon rules over prefigures or foreshadows the glory of the kingdom that Jesus rules over. We are going to be in 1 Kings 3, but briefly look at 1 Kings 10:23. Jesus said the Old Testament is about Him. As we read these three verses look for Jesus in them… 1 Kings 10:23 Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 25 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. It looks like the world is worshiping him: The whole earth seeks his presence Everyone wants to hear his wisdom Although he’s already unimaginable wealthy, people still brings him gifts and offerings So although the verses are about Solomon, they prefigure Jesus reigning over his kingdom. Speaking of the whole earth coming to hear Solomon’s wisdom, Jesus said… Matthew 12:42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Jesus condemned the generation in His day by pointing out that His wisdom is greater than Solomon’s, so if the Queen of Sheba wanted to listen to Solomon, how much more should they want to listen to Him? In this morning’s verses in 1 Kings 3 we’ll see a demonstration of Solomon’s wisdom that prefigures the greater wisdom of Christ. I’ve told you before that trials are tests, and tests are trials. God gives us wisdom so we can navigate trials, or pass the tests we face. In our last sermon on the first half of 1 Kings 3 we saw Solomon ask for wisdom and receive it. In this morning’s sermon we will see him apply his new wisdom to pass the test he’s facing. Look with me at 1 Kings 3:16… 1 Kings 3:16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. 19 And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king. They lived in the same brothel with other harlots, became pregnant around the same time, and their lives created messy situations for them… Without husbands around there were no witnesses to what took place. It was simply one woman’s word against the other which made it seem impossible to resolve. This prevented the situation from being tried in courts the normal way. More than likely this is why it reached Solomon. So let’s see what Solomon does… 1 Kings 3:23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” Although this sounds outrageous to us, there was precedent for something like this in the law… Exodus 21:35 “When one man's ox butts another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share…or cut it in half. So they would hear Solomon and think, “Wow, he’s doing w/ the baby what they would do w/ animals!” Since this situation seemed unresolvable, Solomon needed wisdom. He set a great example for us when he said, “Bring me a sword.” And this brings us to Lesson 1… Lesson one: cling to the sword when you need wisdom. We’ve talked about types many times before. Typically we’re talking about types of Christ, but there are types of other things as well. For example, leprosy and leaven are types – or pictures – of sin. There are also types – or pictures – of the Word of God… Psalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. A lamp is a picture of the Word. A sword is probably the most common type – or picture – of the Word… Ephesians 6:17 The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Jesus strikes down His enemies w/ a sword that proceeds from His mouth, … Revelation 19:15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron…21 The rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse. He doesn’t literally have a sword coming out of His mouth, but it’s a picture of the Word of God. When Solomon needed wisdom he looked for a sword and we should do the same. We shouldn’t expect God to speak to us audibly like He did w/ people before the Word of God was completed. Instead we should expect God to speak to us – or direct us – through His Word. Generally when we’re trying to figure out what to do in our lives, if we will spend the necessary time in God’s Word we’ll find the wisdom needed to make the right decision. Let me give you another illustration I like that I hope you’ll take with you… When one of David’s Mighty Men when was fighting… 2 Samuel 23:9 Among the three mighty men was Eleazar…He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and HIS HAND CLUNG TO THE SWORD. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day. God was able to bring about a great victory through Eleazar b/c he clung on to his sword so long his hand stuck to it. This is a great picture of what our relationships to the Word should be like. We aren’t fighting physical battles, but we are fighting spiritual battles and we should cling to the Word of God like Eleazar clung to his sword. Eleazar – like the rest of David’s Mighty Men knew how to use their swords – or they wouldn’t have been too mighty. The same thing can be said of us. We won’t be too mighty if we aren’t skilled w/ our swords. How do we develop this skill? It takes things: First, it takes practice. We must spend time reading and studying our Bibles. Second, it takes experience. They used their swords regularly throughout their lives…and it’s the same w/ us. We need to use our Bibles and apply what we read and study....