Session #32

I Kings 1-3:10
“David’s Final Kingdom Act” • Autonomy, Authority And The Man Of God, Session #32

Intro.

- David is now very old and very near death. We pick up his final days in the book of I Kings.
• I Kings 1:1,2 : “Now, King David was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. Therefore his servants said to him, ‘Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.’”
- At this point, we’ll point out two things: First, this excuse will not work for you! Don’t bother mentioning it to your wife! Second, it’s obvious that David is not aging gracefully.
- I mention that because his mind is likely on himself and his discomfort. Unfortunately, there are still kingdom issues that need to be resolved, especially the crowning of his successor.
• I Kings 1:5,6 : "Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, 'I will be king'; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, 'Why have you done so?' He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.)"
- Once again, God's word about familial turmoil has been fulfilled and once again, David does not deal with the issue of his son's rebellion.
- Adonijah organizes his rebellion, recruiting David's general Joab and Abiathar, the High Priest. David is once again being conspired against. Fortunately, David gets some timely help.
- Nathan the prophet, along with Bathsheba, put a plan in place that will help David see the need to announce his choice, Solomon, as his successor.
• I Kings 1:33-35 : "The king also said to them, 'Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, 'Long live King Solomon!' Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.'"
- Adonijah hears the bad news of Solomon's reign and scatters along with the members of his rebellion. Adonijah ran to the only place where his life could be spared: The Altar of Sacrifice.
- At that time, Solomon allows him to live. But now, Solomon is faced with what to do as a leader. Add to it that David instructs Solomon to take care of his old debts.
- David charged Solomon to deal with Joab and Shimei, especially, two men who had committed heinous acts against the King.
• I Kings 2:10-12 : "So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established."
- The rest of chapter 2 is Solomon's carrying out of David's wishes and his navigation through some sticky situations. This brings us to chapter 3.
- The Bible tells us that Solomon received a visit from the Lord. The Lord asked Solomon what he could do for him. Solomon's response is very revealing.
• I Kings 3:6-9 : "And Solomon said: 'You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?'"
- I'm pretty sure that it's not about the words, but God is impressed when He hears Solomon.
• I Kings 3:10 : "The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing."
- What is about Solomon's speech that pleased the Lord? I believe that we can see the attitudes behind the words that are pleasing to the Lord in every age.
- Notice these three Solomon's three heart attitudes.

I. Thanksgiving (v.6)
II. Humility (v.7)
III. Dependence (v.8,9)

Text

I. Thanksgiving (v.6)

• I Kings 3:6 : "And Solomon said: 'You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day." : Solomon speaks to the Lord about his faithfulness to his Father David.
- Notice the words "great mercy." How true are those words! David the adulterer. David, the accessory to murder and David, the absent Father. Surely, he was shown great mercy!
- Then notice what comes next: Because he walked before you in truth, righteousness and in uprightness of heart! WHOA! What does this mean?
- It means that he walked in the truth of his relationship to God. He walked generally toward the goal of righteousness in his life. He lived in uprightness of heart. The word can also be translated "integrity," meaning wholeness of character. David was far from perfect, but neither are we!
- David stumbled and fell throughout his life, sometimes in great ways, but he always knew the keys to returning to God. When he sinned, he confessed and returned to the Lord.
- The point is not to ever fall. The point is not to make a practice of it! And when you do fall, after you have gotten up, which way are you going to go!? David walked back toward the Lord!
- The Apostle John dealt with an erroneous view of sin in his day, which may have inferred a state of perfectionism. John dealt with that swiftly.
• I John 1:6-9 : "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
- David was not perfect. We will never be perfect either, but the comforting thing is that we can be righteous and walk toward God's standards. Solomon saw this great mercy and saw that it was extended to him.
- Notice this statement by Solomon. "You have given him a son to sit on his throne." Unlike Absalom and Adonijah, Solomon was not pretentious.
- He did not have a sense of entitlement, as some sons would. He realized that his place before the Lord was given to him, and he was thankful.
- It's sad that we often are guilty of not being thankful. Sometimes it's just because life moves at an incredibly quick pace. Other times, it's because we believe ourselves to be deserving of His mercy. It reminds me of a scripture. Jesus came into a certain village and encountered 10 lepers.
- They cried out to him for mercy and the Lord extended mercy toward them. All ten had gone to confirm their healing with the Priest. Afterward, only one returned to thank the Lord.
• Luke 17:17,18 : "So Jesus answered and said, 'Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?'"
- This is the issue: Have we withheld glory from God by not thanking Him? I pray that we might be like the sole leper and Solomon!

II. Humility (v.7)

• I Kings 3:7 : "Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in." : I heard a story recently of a Pastor who was given a medal by his congregation for his profound humility. He wore it the next Sunday and they took it from him!
- Most people have a strange mentality when it comes to humility. If we were to draw a picture, it would include a poorly dressed person, who never accepted a compliment in his life.
- Humility rightly understood, is to think of yourself in light of God's presence and reality.
- I am not an autonomous being out in the cosmos! I am a creature under the sovereign rule of the creator. I am a subject of the Kingdom of God. I am a servant of the Lord. I am a son, blood related in the name of Jesus!
- Solomon realized and exemplified this in this statement. O Lord my God. He did not say, "O Lord, my Dad's God." He declared himself to be subject to the Lord, calling himself a servant.
- Solomon understood, even though he was now the King of God's people, God was still His authority. This is the height of humility. Whatever authority we might have, we are still subject to Him to exercise that authority as He would.
- You'll notice in the next verse that his humility continues to shine through in that he calls his new subjects, God's people. Solomon was wise not see himself as any bigger than he truly was.
• Romans 12:3 : "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
- I like the way that the New Living Translation says it: Be honest in your estimate of yourself.
- Every man has to deal with this issue in their lives. The issue is in how you see yourself.
- Do you see yourself as a man gifted of the Lord to carry out an assignment for His kingdom?
- Or do you see yourself as a man who has figured it out on his own?
- I can only give you from my experiences. I may have had a good outing, whether in the pulpit, or on the drumkit. My first response is to revel in what I have just done.
- That doesn't get too far, as I then realize that if I had a stroke, I might not be able to speak or to move my limbs as freely as I do. Before I know it, my reveling has gone to a humble recognition of the proper estimate that I should give my talents and abilities.
- If I don't do this, God has a way of humbling me! Usually it's through men like David Jeremiah, who never gives a bad message, or Vinnie Colaiuta, who never drops a stick!
- God calls us, like Solomon, to be men who are humble, considering themselves in the light of God's presence and reality.

III. Dependence (v.8,9)

• I Kings 3:8,9 : "And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?'" : Finally, Solomon recognized that while God had brought him into a position, he would not operate in that position apart from God's gifting.
- Note the sense of awe that Solomon has. His job is enormous, dealing first with God's people. This is a heavy task when you think about it.
- Whose people do you work for and serve? Whose kids are those? Whose woman is that?
- Solomon knew that his job was spiritual in nature first, but add to that the number of the people. Just thinking administratively, this was an amazing job for any man to take on.
- I believe that was already stressed out, which is why God appeared to him in the first place!
- He says because this job is too big for me, a wise admission, "I need something from you."
- I am dependant upon the Lord. Every job, position or spiritual relationship is purposely meant to be overwhelming when we think about it. We carry tremendous responsibility, especially spiritually.
- Solomon asks God to give him an "understanding heart." The word "understanding" is tied to the concept of hearing or listening. Solomon knows that he will have to sit in judgment over a great many affairs, most of which will try his human wisdom.
- He needed to learn to listen to people and listen to the Lord. Then, when it came to deciding, he would need God's power to discern.
- Solomon rightly asks the Lord to be His partner, bringing himself into fellowship with the Lord, because, as he rightly asserts, there is no man that can perform that task without the Lord.
- Have you come to that realization yet? Is your job, relationship or task done with just your recources? If so, you might not have to look far to understand your source of frustration.

Conclusion

- Solomon was thankful for God's mercy, humble in his assessment of himself and dependant upon the Lord to meet his overwhelming need.
- When God sees a heart like this, it pleases Him, as He sees in that man, a rich potential for His own glory. Will you learn to be that man?