Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Challenge
- Challenge: God does not merely wish us to be in relationship with Him as we are. He challenges us to grow, stretch, and transform as we take on the mantle of being His representatives to this world.
As David
finishes his preparations for the shift in leadership to his son, Solomon,
David gathers all the Hebrew people together.
What David is doing is making sure that before he transitions and before
he offers up challenge he has some accountability. David speaks his words before a congregation
of people to make sure that everyone who is important knows the
expectations. Where this is accountability,
success is more likely to follow.
Within
this arena of accountability, David turns to the people. He lifts up his challenge to the people. Yes, Solomon is charged to build the
temple. However, Solomon cannot build it
himself. He will need the help of the
people. It is Solomon’s task, but the
people will need to follow. How will
they follow? Listen to the challenge
that David gives. They are to seek the
Lord in obedience to His commandments.
David’s challenge is to live according to God’s ways, not the ways of
the world.
Then we
turn to Solomon. David offers a personal
challenge to his son. Solomon is charged
with leading the people. He is charged
with the specific plans of the temple complex.
How is Solomon to complete this challenge? Look at the heart of David’s challenge to his
son. David tells Solomon to be
courageous. David reminds Solomon that
God is always with him.
But I
truly think that the heart of David’s challenge – and spiritual challenge for
each of us – is where David begins.
David tells Solomon that if we seek God, He will always be found by
us. But if we forsake Him, He will
forsake us forever. That’s the real
challenge right there. Seek God every
day. Look for God’s ways every day. Do that, and we have His promise to always be
with us.
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