First Kings 3:6-9 record for us the response of Solomon at the invitation of God, who offered to give him whatever he would request. Though young, he was sensible. So he did not abuse God’s gracious offer. Instead of releasing a whole list of things for personal aggrandizement, he began gratefully by acknowledging God’s faithfulness. He recalled how God had shown great lovingkindness to David, his father, who had walked before Him in integrity. The late king had purported to be faithful to the covenant duties expected of him. He was considered to have lived a life of truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward God.
How
so? For all the mistakes David had committed, four things made him worthy of
the description of him in verse 6. Firstly, he had a heart after God. The Bible
explicitly said so. David was passionate about the things of God. This can be
seen in many of the Psalms he had written. They reflected how deeply he yearned
for God. Secondly, he was a fervent worshipper of God. Exuberantly and
with great energy, he would express his unrestraint worship toward God.
Thirdly, he was quick to repent when shown his sin. David was not afraid to
face the consequences of his sins before God, regardless of the depth of the
pain he would have to face. Psalms 32 and 51 reflect how deeply he repented and
acknowledged his failures, and how grateful he was to God for His forgiveness. Fourthly,
David had never at any given time turned to idols for solutions to the problems
he encountered. In good time or in bad, in sunshine or in rain, David never
pivoted to other gods. No matter what happened to him, he would always
turn to Yahweh, His God.
Continuing,
Solomon then saw his meteoric rise to the throne as God’s faithfulness to His covenant
with David. He acknowledged that he was on the throne because God was
fulfilling His covenant promise to David. He had promised David to always put
one of his descendants on the throne. Solomon knew that he became king because
it was in God’s plan. So in humility, he admitted his inexperience and
inadequacy to rule. He confessed that the task was too overwhelming. Thus he
humbly asked for a discerning heart to understand the people he had to rule. He
wanted to be able to distinguish between right and wrong. He knew that unless
he had a listening and obedient heart, he would not be able to judiciously
administer justice.
Two
lessons cannot be ignored in our reflection of these verses. The first lesson
teaches us to be faithful to God by walking before him wholeheartedly,
truthfully, righteously, and uprightly. We learn from the examples of David to
set our heart on God. We must love Him wholeheartedly, worship Him fervently,
repent when we fail him, and stay faithful to Him, never pivoting to serve gods
of our own making. Then we must also seek to have a discerning heart. We not
only want to be able to discern between what is right and what is wrong, but
also between what is right and what is almost right. That is true discernment.
Discernment is cultivated when we actively listen to His instructions and
obediently act on them. Make time to nurture our relationship with God! It
is so very vital!
No comments:
Post a Comment