Words to Solomon
We are quickly ending our study of David. What a wonderful study it has been. I am thankful for the new insight into not only the life of David, but the many reminders of the attributes of our heavenly Father. Next week will be our last week studying David. I would love for each of you to take a moment and post something that you have learned or appreciated about David to the blog. I think it would be fun to see what each one says. Or you can just share it in class next week, so be thinking.
This week is about David's charge or words to Solomon before he dies. It has made me think of what I would want to say to my kids if I knew I was dying. Chris always hates these "death" questions I like to ask from time to time.
Tomorrow Chris and I will be attending my cousins memorial service. I've wondered what did he say to his kids before he died?
So, yep you guessed it!
Question of the Day: What is one thing, the most important thing you would say to your kids if you knew you were dying?
READ: 1 Kings 2:1-4
David’s Charge to Solomon
2 When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.
2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “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.’
What does David tell him?
1. Be strong
2. Act like a man
3. Observe what the Lord requires
4. Walk in obedience to Him (then he describes what that means.)
I think it is important for us to take a look in 1 Chronicles where David is also recorded saying something to Solomon. These words are said to Solomon at the end of a speech that David gives to his people asking them to work with Solomon to carefully build the temple. It is a coming together, impassioned speech. He then turns to Solomon the king and says this, “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”
1 Chronicles 28:9-10
In this section David says to Solomon
1. Acknowledge the God of your father.
2. Serve Him with wholehearted devotion and willing mind.
3. Be strong and do the work
A few verses later in 1 Chronicles 28 David once again speaks to Solomon.
20 David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished. 21 The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your every command.” 1 Chronicles 28:20-21
1. Be strong and courageous, and do the work.
2. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God is with you.
Putting these three passages together this is what the list looks like.
1. Be strong
2. Act like a man
3. Observe what the Lord requires
4. Walk in obedience to Him (then he describes what that means.)
1. Acknowledge the God of your father.
2. Serve Him with wholehearted devotion and willing mind.
3. Be strong and do the work
1. Be strong and courageous, and do the work.
2. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God is with you.
Obviously there is some duplication. So let's put them together.
1. Be strong and courageous, and do the work. (3)
This one he mentions 3 times. Obviously an important point to make. Why was this so important? Why do you think it gets three mentions?
I have been struggling since October with my weight creeping back up. Oh I have lots of reasons. The stress we have been under. Age. Eating too much. Etc. Etc. I will say, facing it, acknowledging it even here, takes courage. Facing our struggles, facing our failures, facing the stresses we are going through in life, isn't easy.
Is there something in your life you have been too afraid to face. Something that you need courage and strength to get through? Is there a work that you know God is asking you to do?
I love that David adds "do the work" to "be strong and courageous". I think sometimes we forget that part! They do go together. It is the manifestation of strength and courage. If we have courage and strength we will DO THE WORK!
2. Be a man
Oh how I wish he had gone into more detail here! Wouldn't it have been fascinating to here Davids definition of being a man. What lessons did he learn?
What do you think it means to be a man?
What do you think it means to be a woman?
There is a lot we can take from this statement. This statement for me encouraged me to be ME! God created me for a purpose! I need to be willing to be ME! Not wishing to be like anyone else, just content in me! Be who God created me to be!
Who did God create you to be? Are you living that?
3. Observe what He wants.
Observe what God wants! What an important charge! These past several months Chris and I have been embroiled in this journey of going over and over what we think He might be wanting for us. What move to make or not make. All we think about is, "What does He want?" However I can remember many times in our lives when we weren't asking that question on a daily or even yearly basis. There have been times when everything was humming along and it wasn't front and center. Now those almost seem like wasted times.
Do we ask enough?
Do we really want to know?
Are we seeking with a surrendered heart His will?
That leads into the next one.
4. Serve Him with wholehearted devotion and willing mind.
This could be divided into two points. They are connected but not always in our lives. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we need to be serving Him!
Serve Him.
How is God calling you to serve Him?
I want to make it perfectly clear that this is not saying that you need to be doing more in your church. It maybe, but God calls each of us to serve in different ways at different times. Sometimes Chris and I have been heavily involved in church volunteer work and other times it we have pulled away because we knew God was calling us to serve in other ways. The point is that we need to be willing to serve Him wherever that might be!
The second part. Oh wow. I think I need to write this on my mirror at home, in my bible, on my hand... everywhere. Oh I serve Him, but is it really with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind? Here David is challenging his son to make sure his heart is right! You can do right and not have the heart and mind right and it ISN'T good. God asks us to be ALL in!
Are you wholehearted and of willing mind?
What does it mean to not be wholehearted and of willing mind?
For me...
1. NOT GRUMBLING!
2. BEING WILLING TO SACRIFICE WHEN ASKED.
What would you add to this list....
5. Acknowledge the God of your father.
This should in many ways be the first one in this list. NONE of the other ones mean anything if we don't first Acknowledge GOD.
How do we acknowledge God?
What does that really mean?
How do we do this on a daily basis.
So yesterday I went shopping with Lensa to find a Junior Senior dress. With dress code restrictions and her likes and dislikes and then a very limited budget I was very concerned. We went to a store that is full of beautiful sparkly dresses and I was shocked! I was shocked at the prices and the inappropriate styles. I very quickly decided that I just needed to focus on finding something that she liked and that would meet dress code. Forget the budget. We took an arm full of expensive dresses back to the dressing rooms and she tried them on. None of them worked. We laughed and had a good time but no success. We left that store and decided to just stop quick into Ross to see if we could find anything there. Ross is one of those stores where sometimes they have lots of options and other times nothing. This was one of those days. We only found 3 dresses in her size that were formal. None of them were excited or what she had wanted but we took all three back to the dressing room. The first one, NOT DRESS CODE. The second, dress code, NOT exciting, or anything she really liked. The third one, (she hadn't even wanted to try on... NOTHING like what she wanted...) was AMAZING!!!! We left Ross with a dress that met dress code, she LOVED, and was inexpensive! Both of us were in tears as we left the store. She was so happy, exclaiming that it was just what she had hoped for, but better. As we left we both started praising God. There was no question HE had been part of this process. This was an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of God! God who cares about the little things, is with us through hard times, times of disappointment, stress, joy, and yes even dress shopping.
Do you acknowledge Him?
6. Don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God is with you.
The above story fits here too! LOL!
Don't be afraid or discouraged! The beauty of this is that we are not promised we will always find the perfect dress! We will not always get the miracles we pray for or the job we hope for or the health we desire! The miracle isn't in the getting but in the walking! The walk, if we desire can ALWAYS be with HIM! It is in that walking that we experience the miracle of being with HIM!
That is the miracle! That is the blessing! That is the joy! GOD IS WITH YOU!!!!!
GOD IS WITH YOU! so you don't need to be afraid!
GOD IS WITH YOU! so you don't need to be discouraged!
GOD IS WITH YOU! so you can be strong and courageous!
GOD IS WITH YOU! so you can trust Him and give Him everything!
GOD IS WITH YOU!!!!!!!!
Yesterday after dress shopping as we drove home, Lensa was sharing all the ways God led in bringing her to the US. How HE has always been with her! She experiences HIS presence. It was an emotional ride! How beautiful to hear a young woman, who at the age of 14 flew across the ocean to a country where she didn't speak the language, all by herself, to a school where she didn't know anyone, exclaim the goodness of our God! She KNOWS GOD IS WITH HER!
Do you know that today?
Let's finish up this last part.
5 “Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. 6 Deal with him according to your wisdom,but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
8 “And remember, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ 9 But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”
What can we takeaway from this section?
What is David doing here?
I'm sure there are many things, but I want to focus on one. It may be little but I think it is extremely important.
"Deal with him according to your wisdom"
"You are a man of wisdom"
This is at the very beginning of Solomon's reign. Solomon hadn't asked for wisdom yet. We see that in the following chapters.
Yet David claimed it!
David said he was a man of wisdom.
What do we say to our kids?
What do we say to our teenagers?
What do we call them? Do we exclaim who we KNOW them to be IN GOD?
What do we say to ourselves?
I have to admit this hit me hard this week!
I know it is part of my struggle with my weight! I have my whole life believed that I was NOT a fit person. That is everyone else, but not me. Reading this, I realized that I have been NOT been claiming health. I need to claim it! I need to state it!
I am a healthful woman!
(OK I put the exclamation point at the end but I'm not sure that matches my enthusiasm. I need to work on the believing enthusiastically part! I will just keep putting the exclamation point on it!)
What do you need to say to your kids?
What do you need to call them?
What do you need to call yourself?
The statements NEED to come before the actualization!
Are you willing to claim it, speak it?
Andrews Sophomore year Chris and I had a very long trip up to Pisgah where we were needed because Andrew was in trouble. We had heard a brief story of what had happened and we were sad and confused. We loved our boy but didn't want to be blind to his short comings. When we arrived, Dean Hector put his arm around me and said, "You have a wonderful boy! He is an amazing guy and a great leader."
What?
At the time Hector was able to see what he was, long before the actualization of it! It was that faith, that knowledge of who God wanted him to be that helped to grow our flawed son. By his senior year he was head RA. Why? How? Because of what God did, because Hector could see beyond his mistakes and his immaturity and he claimed who he was.
We all have a long way to go in our walk with God, but claiming who we are, is an extremely important step.
Are you willing to do that?
I want to wrap up today's lesson with this!
Are we acknowledging God? Are we willing to walk with him, knowing that he has promised to always be there? Are we willing to throw ourselves in all the way, heart and soul, serving Him? I know one thing for sure! You will NEVER regret it. OUR God is the one and only God who loves you so much He was willing to give up everything for you! He has rescued us! He walks with us every moment of everyday! Are you willing to claim who you are because of Christ! Are you willing to tell you children who they are? REALLY ARE?
Go and LOVE WELL!
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