- KINGS 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Our scripture this morning begins telling us about the great king David’s death and the ascension of Solomon to the throne. Solomon is young and unexperienced, and he knows he does have what it takes to be a good king as his father was. Solomon knew the shoes he must wear were way too big and he was worried. Through the history of kings in Israel his father David is the measure… and example of a good King. The Bible does not tell Solomon’s age when he became king. However, most of the scholars suggest that Solomon was likely around 20 years old when he began his reign.
At this time in his life, he does not have the great wisdom for which he was to be known later. Therefore, I believe we can say that he was worried about how to carry out his duties as king. Maybe that night described in chapter 3 of First Kings, he could not sleep thinking how he was going to govern this great people, too numerous to count or number, and I believe God was looking at him and God remembered the promise he made to David his servant. Moved by that promise made to David, the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” And we know what he answered: Give me wisdom, Solomon said. Solomon’s answer has been used by generations as an example of what a prayer should be. As an example of how a true leader interested in being a good servant of God and his people should pray for.
The text we read this morning reveals Solomon’s desire to be a man who wanted to be used by God to rule his people fairly. At this point in his life, he was free from selfishness, distractions, and the unlimited power he accomplished later. The prayer he prayed shows a young man concern with faithfulness, obedience, and fellowship with God. It reveals a young person concerned with serving his people. At this -we can call innocent time in Solomon’s life-, he was inviting the Almighty to rule over him. Later in his life Solomon lost sight of God and begun to worship foreign gods. Here, at the beginning of his leadership, he was still accountable to the true God.
Regardless of what happened later, his request for wisdom and the rest of his prayer are examples worthy of following and repeating. Let’s examine Solomon’s prayer and see what we can learn.
First, he began his Prayer with praises
In his prayer Solomon praises the graciousness and kindness of a loving God. “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David.” Besides his praises, Solomon places himself as part of a historical relationship between God and his father David. He knows that he is taking Israel’s throne as the result of the great kindness God has shown to David; he is in Israel’s throne because God made a promise to his father David. Solomon’s prayer was not in a vacuum, it was part of a covenant. He could trust God because God promises, and God fulfills.
The same way, we are here because God was faithful to someone who was praying for us. Maybe our mother, or grandmother, a friend or a family member; we are here because someone took time to invite us to come to church. We are the result of a covenant God had with a faithful one. David wanted Solomon to be king and God answered David’s prayer.
To us this is a reminder of how important is to pray for our kids, their future and well being and prepare them to walk with God. In the previous chapter David told Solomon, “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.” Brothers and sisters, let us not get tired of praying for our loved ones. God listens and he will fulfill his promises in their lives.
This is a Prayer of Submission (3:7)
“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.” When Solomon refers to him as a little child who does not know how to carry out his duties as king, he acknowledges his own limitations. He expresses his dependence on God for guidance and wisdom to lead the people of Israel effectively.
This humility and recognition of his need for divine assistance demonstrate Solomon’s submission to God’s authority and his reliance on God’s wisdom to govern the kingdom. This is a powerful example of seeking God’s help we should follow.
When we submit our life to God, we give him the freedom to lead us and help us to take good decisions. In Galatians 2:20, Paul describes how he summited his life to Jesus. He said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” When we submit our life to God as Paul did, we are obedient to Jesus’ invitation to take our cross and follow him and allow him to live and do his will in us and with us.
Three, Solomon’ prayer is a Prayer of Concern for his people (3:9)
“So, give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who can govern this great people of yours?”
Notice that in his prayer, Solomon accepted that the real King of Israel was God. “Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people… For who can govern this great people of yours?” In his prayer he was telling God I am only a regent king, a steward of your vineyard. The real King over Israel and me is you.
To us this is a reminder of who we are, we are stewards, servants of God’s vineyard. Everything on this earth belongs to God. Psalm 24:1 reminds us that, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it…”
And finally, in this prayer we can see that God gives us more that we ask for (3:10-13)
“Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 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. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—
God answered Solomon in a way that far exceeded his hopes or dreams. God’s answer surpasses the minimal heart requests and gives the young king that for which he did not ask—riches and honor. In the Sermon on the mountain Jesus said to his hearers, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” When Jesus said this, maybe he had Solomon in mind. NIV translate John 1:16, “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.” Other translations say, we all have received blessing upon blessing.
When we submit ourselves in faith and obedience, God will provide blessings for us beyond anything we anticipate. Next time we pray let us include praises, submission, concern for others and let us expect God’s grace to overflow our cup.