Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
We tend to watch closely when a person is elevated into a new leadership role with great responsibilities, don’t we? The more influential the role, the larger the number of onlookers and the higher the expectations, do you agree? Yesterday I left you at the death of King David and the ascension, by his son Solomon, to the throne as King over Israel. Today, please join me as we witness one of the most amazing events a new leader has ever experienced. I find the account recorded for us in 2 Chronicles 1 and 1 Kings 3 in the Bible.
Now let’s be honest my friends. I wonder if the four books 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles have been books of the Bible you and I have tended to skip when it comes to our reading the Bible? Bible scholars tell us they were originally combined into 1 book of the Kings and 1 book of the Chronicles, yet they all cover the story of the Kings of Israel from the time of King David, about 1010bc, through the final destruction of the nation of Israel in 586bc.
Similar to how the four Gospels are different from each other yet cover the story of Jesus, so the Kings and Chronicles are different yet covering the same story of the history of Israel in the centuries of the kings. I admit, I used to be one of those people who ignored reading these four books if I could, yet many years ago I became fascinated reading how these various leaders differed so widely in their effectiveness or failure in leading the nation of Israel, God’s people.
Oh, there are so very many lessons to be learned from them which can help us greatly as we try to live God honoring lives in these complex years of the 21st century!
2 Chronicles chapter 1 and 1 Kings 3 both give us the remarkable story of the first very significant thing young Solomon did as king over Israel after his father King David died. Interestingly, 1 Kings 2 records Solomon’s dealing with the unfinished business which his father David had passed to him just before his death. True to David’s request, Solomon dealt with those men using great wisdom, and as his leaders watched Solomon’s handling of these complex issues, their respect for Solomon rose quickly.
Yet Solomon knew the challenges he would face, the leadership load he would carry, would be far greater than what he could handle effectively. He felt so inadequate to the task of the kingship before him. So Solomon gathered a large group of his key leaders and they left Jerusalem, heading for the town of Gibeon, about 5 miles to the north. Why? 2 Chronicles 1:3 says: “Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God’s Tent of Meeting was there, which Moses the LORD’s servant had made in the desert.” There’s the answer!
We can assume Solomon had been a student of the history of Israel as recorded especially in the books of Moses, the first five books of the Bible. With his dying words David his father had challenged Solomon to be a man faithful to God and well versed in the Scriptures which they had at that time, which would have been Genesis – 2 Samuel and the Psalms David had written.
Solomon would therefore have understood the important role the leader of Israel had historically in seeking to discern guidance from God for leading God’s people. The Tabernacle, or “Tent of Meeting” as Moses called it, had been constructed by Moses and a group of skilled craftsmen and women while they were at Mount Sinai about 500 years before Solomon ascended to the throne. This “Tent of Meeting” was designed by God for the very purpose of God meeting with the leaders of His people Israel.
So, Solomon evidently made his first major expedition as King away from Jerusalem, by leading a large entourage of the top officials of Israel to Gibeon for the purpose of doing what Moses and Joshua and Samuel and David had done before him… inquire of the LORD God regarding how to lead Israel! I applaud Solomon for this and if you are in any leadership role, including parenting, I urge us all to make this a very regular habit… seek God’s guidance for fulfilling whatever your responsibilities are!
The record continues: “So Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the LORD at the Tent of Meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.” (2 Chronicles 1:4-6) I assume this required a great many people working all day and maybe several days, to accomplish this huge feat of sacrifice and worship. What happened next is shocking: “That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” (2 Chron. 1:7)
If you like to mark your Bible, I’d urge you to circle that verse. Never before in recorded history had this ever happened, where God appeared to a person and invited them to request ANYTHING from God!? It never happened with Noah or Abraham or Isaac or Jacob or Moses or Joshua or Samuel or David!! What would you do if this happened to you my friends?
I don’t know how long Solomon pondered the opportunity God had placed before him, but the author of 1 Kings 3 gives us a more detailed account of Solomon’s response, so let’s look at that: “Solomon answered: ‘You have shown great kindness to Your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to You and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this kindness to him and given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and I do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So, give Your servant a discerning heart to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:6-9)
Now pause for a moment and consider all the significant leaders you know anywhere in the world. Business leaders, Community leaders, Education leaders, Health Care leaders, Political leaders, Judges and Law Enforcement leaders, religious leaders. Who of them do you know, or believe, have this deep desire for seeking God’s guidance as they attempt to fulfill the mandate of leadership entrusted to them? What actions, either public or private, are you aware of, which have been similar to what Solomon was doing, as he sought God’s guidance at the beginning of his reign?
I do not know if Solomon’s response to God was audible, out loud enough for all the crowd of leaders he had brought with him to hear, but I am amazed at Solomon’s carefully chosen words which describe his understanding of his father David’s legacy; David’s relationship with God; the selection God had made for Solomon to be king; and Solomon’s sense of total inadequacy to fulfill the leadership role he now held.
God’s response to Solomon is nothing short of stunning: “The LORD was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So, God said to Solomon: Since you have asked for this and NOT for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have you asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for – both riches and honor – so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in My ways and obey My statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (1 Kings 3:10-14) Never before or since has a human being heard words like this from God! The verses which follow tell us Solomon returned to Jerusalem with his leadership entourage and went to the tent where his father David had placed the Ark of the Covenant of God and Solomon worshiped there. Then, after all this worship and seeking wisdom from God, Solomon was finally prepared to sit on his throne and begin his leadership of the people of Israel. And his royal officials who had witnessed all this were ready to support King Solomon in his leadership.
Now let’s pause here my friends and consider what we have witnessed today, and I urge us to pray about what it means for you and me and the normal, everyday challenges we face and the guidance from God we need. Are you and I seeking that guidance with the same fervor that Solomon sought God’s guidance? Here’s a new worship song. It’s Psalm 139 put to music. A wonderful expression of God’s full knowledge of us and His readiness to guide us in life!
Today’s Scripture: 1 Kings 3 & 2 Chronicles 1.
Choose below to read or listen.
1 Kings 3
 |  |
2 Chronicles 1
| |
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).
Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.