A Best of Times
As we
open up 2 Chronicles, Solomon is in control.
He establishes himself in the kingdom.
The Lord makes it all possible.
I think
each of these points is worth drawing out a little more. First, Solomon establishes himself. Organizations need strong leaders, especially
as they grow large. Small organizations –
the kind where everyone knows everyone else – can survive on communal
leadership. But large organizations
survive off of a common set of values.
Common sets of values are a culture.
It is commonly known that leadership defines culture. Thus, why is it important for Solomon to
establish himself early? Leadership
defines culture. As Solomon leads, so
shall the people go.
However,
Solomon doesn’t lead on his own strength.
He leads as the Lord gives him strength.
It is the Lord that makes him great.
Solomon’s greatness does not come from his own ability or his own
charisma. Solomon’s greatness comes from
his God. As Solomon leans upon the Lord,
God makes him great. This is a
significant point as we go forward and look upon Solomon and his life.
Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom
After
Solomon goes to worship, the Lord appears to Solomon and asks what it is that
Solomon would receive. Of course,
Solomon is still young and experienced at this point. The great chink in his armor is his lack of
wisdom and ability to lead a nation. In
a very deft move, Solomon asks God for the wisdom to lead the nation. Solomon recognizes that he has no chance of
actually leading so many people without the help of the Lord.
As we
begin Solomon’s story, I find this to be a position of great humbleness. After all, Solomon could have asked for
anything: wealth, prosperity, fame, long-life, etc. Above all of these things Solomon asks for
the ability to govern God’s people. He
asks for the wisdom to be able to lead as the people need to be led.
However,
I think that this is a very rational request.
As much as it does come from a position of humbleness, it also comes
from a position of logic. Solomon has
one purpose in his life: to reign over the Hebrew people. As young as he is, he really has no idea what
he is doing. I can imagine just how much
Solomon felt the burden of leadership.
The course of the people would come from him. The culture would be shaped by him. Leadership defines culture. How could he possibly not feel the weight of
this? I think Solomon’s asking for
wisdom is rooted very much in a real need and the weight that comes with
leadership.
God’s Response
God is
pleased. There can be absolutely no
doubt that God is pleased by Solomon’s request.
God tells Solomon that because he spent his “wish” on other people and
the things of God, that God will not only grant him the wish but also grant him
things for which he did not wish.
Solomon
finds his wealth and general prosperity increasing. Chariots increase. Horses increase. Gold and silver become as common as stone in
Jerusalem. Solomon really does find his
prosperity growing as a result of the favor of the Lord.
Solomon’s Folly
However,
as Solomon’s wealth grows, we find that he may well be in conflict with the
ways of the Lord. Read Deuteronomy
17:16-17. In those verses we find God indicating
that the Hebrew people should not collect horses or wives. The reason for this is that collecting such
things leads a person to lean upon their own strength and their own power to
bear fruit.
We know
that as Solomon’s wealth increases so does his harem. As Solomon’s harem increases, so does the
amount of worship of false gods that happens in the Promised Land. God blesses Solomon profoundly, but that
doesn’t mean that Solomon handles it well.
In fact, it doesn’t mean that Solomon handles it at all. 1 Kings 11 gives us reason to consider that
Solomon may have been the wealthiest and wisest king of the Hebrew people, but
that doesn’t mean that he handled it with grace and faithfulness to God.
It starts
with wealth. With Solomon it then leads
to horses. Then it leads to foreign
wives. Soon Solomon is so swollen with
the manner of his blessing that the blessing becomes more important than the
God who blessed him. Once this happens,
we know that Solomon builds places of worship for the false gods of his wives. God’s blessing is good. But the blessing should never become more
important than the one who blesses.
God’s
grace abounds all around us. Like Solomon,
God is more gracious to each of us than we truly deserve. But we need to make sure that we handle God’s
blessing in an appropriate manner. Life
is about God, our relationship with Him, and helping others find a relationship
with Him. When life becomes about the
stuff, we are in danger. Solomon starts
out with such great promise. That is to
be commended. Unfortunately he doesn’t
end as well as he starts.
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