1 Kings 11:13, However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen." 
	In our reading together of the Bible as a fellowship of the Lord’s people, we have that sad chapter before us of the apostasy of King Solomon. This was the wisest man that the world has ever seen, and yet he was foolish in the manner in which he viewed the commandments and the testimony of The Lord. He was not wise enough to hold fully to Jehovah as had his father. 
	Yes, King David had his issues and his disobedience, but he always returned to the heart after God with which he was characterized throughout the scripture, as we will see. God saw in David’s heart, a desire to fully honor The Lord with every fiber of his essence. When he did screw things up in his sinful lust and pride, David was brought to the humbleness and contriteness of heart to seek the forgiveness of God in the confession of his sinful ways. He sincerely and earnestly sought to maintain that relationship with Jehovah that meant everything to him. 
	Solomon, on the other hand, wise in the ways of this earth as he was, did not seemingly manifest that heart after God like his father. He was led astray and did the most egregious actions against the testimony of Jehovah in direct and obstinate disobedience to the Law of The Lord and to the place that God should have held in his heart. 
I couch this with the verbiage of what seems to be apparent, because in the Proverbs and in the Song of Solomon, attributed to this king, there are those passages which would indicate that a change of heart and attitude were in evidence. Maybe this accounts for part of the reason that the kingdom was not immediately ripped out of his hands by God.
	However, the example that he set before the nation and before his sons was evidently not that of a man whose everything was centered in the way in which God would be honored and blessed by the course of a godly walk on this earth. There were those seeds of dissension and idolatry and apostasy that were put into place which would tear the very fabric of the nation apart as surely as was the new robe worn by the prophet Ahijah in his visual presentation of the Word of God to Jeroboam. 
	Despite this tremendous disrespect shown to Jehovah, by Solomon and his heirs, we would do well to look to the faithfulness of God, to His promise made to David. This is a key aspect which is fundamental to the whole of scripture. 
What God states will be done, even though, at times, it may seem to be but a remnant of the people who are so maintained by that Word. It is still active and it is alive and it is sure! This is unto the manifestation of that Son of David Who would sit upon the throne, not just of Judah, not just of Israel, not just of Christianity, but of the entire creation of His Word! 
God’s might and wisdom and presence flows forth in the promise that He would do all that He said He would accomplish. This is despite the every effort of the power of this age to try to derail or sabotage its fulfillment. That is what we want to see as we spend the time with this reading.
	We go back to the Book of Deuteronomy as the nation of God was entering into the very land of God’s Promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those patriarchs were fully set in the fact that God would completely establish their descendents in the land of His preparation with utmost finality. 
Yet, it was not a matter that the tribes of their heritage were so obedient and upright in their behavior. As God declared to them through the Prophet Moses in Deut 9:5, their entrance and habitation in the Promised Land was because God is always true to His Word! This is despite the disobedience of those whom He delivered from their slavery to Egypt.
	Deut 9:5, It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 
	God was true to what He said He would accomplish in the manifestation of the Holiness and the Righteous fulfillment of His Spoken Word to their fore-fathers. He was also very clearly adamant about how they were to behave in the Land which He gave them. 
They would ask for a king to reign over them, despite the Lordship that He set before them in His loving kindness and tender mercies. However, as they would seek to be like the nations surrounding them, ruled by a human monarch, they would be strongly warned as to the manner in which that king should behave himself. 
The very apostasy that would be practiced by Solomon would be declared centuries earlier in the declaration of exactly what should not be so practiced! Please refer to what God declared in Deut 17:14-20. 
Deut 17:14-20, "When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,' you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, 'You shall never again return that way.' "Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. "Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left; in order that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel. 
	The heart of Solomon was turned away from Jehovah, just was indicated by the prophetic statement concerning what would happen. As well, as that took place, the kingdom itself was broken asunder. The judgment of The Lord was directly evident in the manner in which the people became divided as was declared by the voice of the prophet. This was reinforced in the reading of this morning in verses 12+13. What is also evident is the fact that because of the promise made to David, God would preserve a portion for his heritage going forth.
	1 Kings 11:12+13, Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen." 
	Through it all there was that promise which was overriding that was made by God to David because of the manner in which David kept his heart after the Lord. As we know, he was not perfect, but he did desire to honor Jehovah fully and manifestly. This is traced throughout our reading of this morning such as in verse 32, where God reiterated His promise through the prophet.
	1 Kings 11:32, (but he will have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel)
	And, again, because it was so important in the heart of God, it was restated in the passage of verses 34-36. 1 Kings 11:34-36, 'Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who observed My commandments and My statutes; but I will take the kingdom from his son's hand and give it to you, even ten tribes. 'But to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may have a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. 
	God held true to the promises that were made, as He always and faithfully does! We can count on Him to manifestly honor every promise that is held in scripture. This is whether it is the promise of His blessing or the promise of His judgment, when hearts are turned from Him and He is disobeyed and maligned and relegated to the rank of the other gods of this age. Whatever the course of the people before Him, He will always abide by that which is His spoken Word!
	Consider what we read in the book of 2 Kings, after a number of those kings had so turned away from the Lord and sought after the gods of the nations. They had turned aside from being that people who were to present to the world the honor and the glory of Jehovah, Alone. Despite the turning away by the kings and the nation of The Lord, He was still gracious and honoring to the Word which had been given to the fathers of the tribes of Israel. Look at 2 Kings 13:23.
	2 Kings 13:23, But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them and turned to them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them or cast them from His presence until now.
	Then, despite the graciousness and the compassion of God, they would still not turn from their evil ways. Therefore Jehovah fulfilled the Promise of their banishment from the land, with the tribes of the northern nation of Israel being completely removed from the land and from remembrance. They were taken away and the record of their heritage was removed from the further details of history. This is recounted in 2 Kings 17:14-18.
2 Kings 17:14-18, However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. And they rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them not to do like them. And they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and practiced divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him. So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah. 
	Even in this, the Lord held the tribe of Judah as honoring to David and to the promise of the Messiah to come. There was nothing in Judah that was special in terms of their behavior and their worthiness to be saved. They were just as corrupt and vile in their turning away from God. Yet the promise of the Messiah had to be fulfilled by God, so that tribe of Judah was held forth by The Lord in order to show His faithfulness in the promise that was made.
	This was in evidence as the King of Assyria was gobbling up all those nations of the Middle East for his own possession. His mighty army was seemingly unstoppable as it flowed over the land like water from a rain storm. Yet, when it came to the tiny tribe of Judah, and the city of Jerusalem, God showed His Omnipotence over even the greatest of human skill in battle and determination in conquest. Please move ahead slightly to the account of 2 Kings 19:32-34.
	2 Kings 19:32-34, Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, "He shall not come to this city or shoot an arrow there; neither shall he come before it with a shield, nor throw up a mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come to this city,"' declares the Lord. 'For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David's sake.'" 
	We turn to Psalm 132 as we proceed forward with the continued reaffirmation that what God told David about the prophesied descendent Who would sit on the throne forever and forever was detailed because of the heart that David showed for the glory of God. There was that reality of relationship between Jehovah and this shepherd king which was maintained by the working power of God.
	Ps 132:1-5, Remember, O Lord, on David's behalf, All his affliction; How he swore to the Lord, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, "Surely I will not enter my house, Nor lie on my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes, Or slumber to my eyelids; Until I find a place for the Lord, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob." 
	This cry unto The Lord to hold forth all that was made part of the great pledge of the Promised One to sit on the throne is the thread that holds the whole of scripture together. It all hinges on the coming of the Christ, Our Lord Jesus and all that He would accomplish as the Savior of mankind and the King Who reigns now and evermore on the throne of all that is created! 
	Verses 10-18 contain the heart of God that was expressed to the unqualified guarantee, throughout the history of mankind that the Messiah would come and would make that place of rest for Jehovah in the hearts of a people who would respond fully to His Lordship. They would cherish a living relationship with the Lord God Almighty, The Creator of all that is and ever will be.
	Ps 132:10-18, For the sake of David Thy servant, Do not turn away the face of Thine anointed. The Lord has sworn to David, A truth from which He will not turn back; "Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne. "If your sons will keep My covenant, And My testimony which I will teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever." For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. "This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. "I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her needy with bread. "Her priests also I will clothe with salvation; And her godly ones will sing aloud for joy. "There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed. "His enemies I will clothe with shame; But upon himself his crown shall shine." 
	The heart of God that is evidenced so fully in the accomplishment of His promise of the One to come will be further detailed as we proceed forward in His Word the next time we are together, Lord willing. Thank You Lord that we know that You are faithful and true to every promise that You have ever made as recounted in Your Word! So be it!
	However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen." Amen. 

This morning’s benediction is 2 Tim 1:14. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. Amen.