Introduction | Change is Coming

There will come a point in our lives, or in the life of something we are part of, something we belong to, when everything will change. All that was beautiful about the familiarity, routine, and consistency of that space will, at some point, be confronted by change. Everything changes; we have seen it over the summer months as one Government has made way for another, as Premier League managers have retired after nearly a decade of leading a team through one of their most successful periods, or as people have seen their lives transformed by success at the Olympics or infamy in their breakdancer performances.

Change is part of life, and when it comes, it confronts what was comfortable, expected and normal in a moment and leaves us feeling like we are swimming up a waterfall as we try to navigate change as it unfolds and figure out what is going to be normal again. But remember, change is part of life and is difficult no matter if we know it’s coming, if it surprises us at the moment or if it has been unfolding slowly before our eyes and we have been swimming without even realising it. Our faith can be a guiding light in these turbulent times.

When Change Has Come

Imagine what it would have been like In Jerusalem in the days of David for those who lived long enough to remember the Chaos of Saul’s reign, his pursuit of David, and the beginning of King David. When he reigned in Hebron Judah for a year and a half before taking Jersulam and uniting the kingdoms, he reigned for 33 years, establishing his Kingdom and then the right worship of the Lord. For 33 years, David reigned, and there was generally peace and prosperity in the land. Yes, there were moments when wars were fought, rebellions were crushed, and bad decisions were made – yet what was clear for the people was that the Lord was with David because David was with the Lord. It would have been a wonderful time to be alive! To Witness! Yet, there must have been that nagging feeling that the longer David reigned and the older he got, the more change was coming, and without uncomfortably, chaos and potentially seismic shifts for the nation of Israel. It must have been a lingering thought because, for so long, there was no clear sign as to who would inherit the throne, and there were so many potential rivals. We can learn from these historical parallels and apply them to our lives.

Our passage today marks the moment when the change the world had been waiting for begins. We glimpse how the person (Solomon) at the centre navigates. The author of King gently captures the end of King David’s life and the moment that power transfers to his Son: ” Then David Slept with his ancestors…So Solomon sat on the throne of his Father David, and his Kingdom was firmly established.”

1 Like Father: Like Son, After the Lord’s Own Heart (3-9)

At the beginning of this Chapter, we learn about the complexity of the world that Solomon has inherited and the weight that has now been placed on his shoulders as the age of King David has passed and the people wait to see what sort of leader Solomon will be and what living under his rule will look like. There must have been so much pressure in those initial moments to do something, pressure to lead and to look like a leader!

Think about those moments when a new Government comes into power and wants to do something that sets it apart from the previous regime and makes it look more competent: in the last six weeks, Keir Stammer has settled Pay disputes with Junior Doctors, trained drivers and Civil Servant and removed the winter fuel allowance form Pensioners all in the name of what needs to be done, and all because the previous regime where afraid to do it (so we are told!) Yet, it is also because people want to see action; when leaders change, we want to know that the new leaders will lead. It is not something that has changed in 3000 years of human history. What is Solomon’s first recorded act after being named King? Does he enact significant civil reform? Bring in New Tax laws or create a new wave of social security? No, he goes to Gideon to make sacrifices there. A place about 5 miles Northwest outside the walls of the Capital city, a place that had been marked by troubled history in the life of this Kingdom¹, but a place that had now become important in the worshipping life of God as we are told in verse four that Gibeon was the most important of all the places to offer Sacrifice to the Lord (4).

What was Solomon’s first act as King amid all the change that was going on? He wanted to continue doing what he had been doing before, trusting the Lord, worshipping him, and being faithful to God. Regardless of his status or position, Solomon had a clear sense of power and the Glory of God and knew that it was by Yahweh’s hand that everything would fall into place, so that is where he turned. In his first movement as King amid all the change of the day, Solomon made clear what was the bedrock of his life and what would be the bedrock of his rule – The Goodness and faithfulness of God.. That is why verse 3 describes him as someone who Loves the Lord and walked in the statues of his father, as Eugene Peterson phrases it: “Solomon loved GOD and continued to live in the God-honouring ways of his Father.“

It is the most profound picture of a heart that truly knows God and what it means to worship him because even when everything changes for Solomon when he increases in power and Stature, he does not forget the one who has been faithful to him all his life. Regardless of the season or situation, Solomon’s first act reminds us how we are to navigate everything we face – by God and with God. In a changing world, whether we find ourselves on the mountaintops or in the depths of the pit – God is there. In a turbulent world, if our health has decayed, or we are worried about what tomorrow will bring or the people we love – God is more significant. And, as a Church family, whatever the challenge of mission, renewal, buildings, discipleship and worship is before us, we know that as long as we look to the faithful one, he will guide us through it to the Glory of Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Whatever may come our way, we can join with the old hymns and say: God is good, and the same is faithful yesterday, today, and forever. Thus, because he is unchanging, we are reminded with assurance that while things around us may come and go, as long as our eyes are focused on God and our hearts are given to him, then it does not matter what shape our discipleship takes, what stumbles we may have along the way, or how we worship – it only matters Who we worship if we approach God with a heart that knows his limitless and our limitations. A wisdom Solomon displays as the Lord appears to him.

Ask, and You Shall Receive

It is the most profound moment, as Yahweh appears to Solomon in a dream in such a way that he is immediately recognised, and to the new King of his chosen people, he offers him whatever he wants. Six words in English that offer Solomon whatever he wants: Ask What I shall give you. These are powerful words that draw us into the fullness of the work of God; they are not just blank promises that God offers to every person who might sight on the throne of David. Instead, they identify the importance of Solomon’s rule and his way.

In Pslam 2, God’s chosen King speaks of the special relationship he has with Yahweh when he writes:

I will declare the LORD’s decree. He said, “You are my Son; today, I have become your Father. [8] Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession. (Psalm 2:7-8 CSB)

Thus, in offering this gift to Solomon, the Lord clarifies that Solomon is his chosen King; Solomon is like a son to Him. This fatherly relationship with the Kings of Isreal will come to its full expression in the person of Jesus Christ, to Who God gives all authority in heaven and earth. By whom, if we trust in Him, we will be called son and daughter of the highest so that Jesus says to us: “Ask, and it will be given to you.” (Matthew 7:7). What we are offered today by faith in Christ, Solomon experiences a glimpse as God approaches him, and how Solomon responds reminds us today of what it means to humble ourselves before God and to trust him.

Give me Wisdom!

Solomon knows his limitations; he knows that the task he has been called to is impossible on his strength and without the help of the Lord. Thus, we see three dimensions of Solomon’s answer to the Lord’s question. Firstly, he recognises God’s mercy and Goodness: He recognises how faithful God has been to his father and by correlation to him. His recognition of the Steadfast love of the Lord (Psalm 23) had been a bedrock of David’s life. God was faithful, and His faithfulness allowed his father to walk faithfully and see his son now on the throne. Solomon knew that it was by God’s hand that he was on the throne and that there was nothing else “ son to sit on his throne this day.” Secondly, Solomon recognised his weakness; Solomon knew that he could not do it on his own as he recognised his inexperience – “A small child” – and that he did not have a clue what to do: “I do not know how to come out or go in,” as well as recognising the sheer task before him as he is now amid a multitude of people. In recognising his limitations, Solomon is displaying to us what a humble and contrite heart looks like. He is here the model of what it means to approach Jesus and to live for Jesus, thinking less of ourselves and our ideas and looking only to God. Finally, Solomon knows what he needs from God. In his lostness, he knew that there was only one place he could look for guidance, help, and support. Thus, in his request, he acknowledges that he needs to hear profoundly and asks that the Lord might enable his heart to do so. A mind that can determine good and evil flows from a heart that listens to what the Lord is speaking.

2 | We Can All Relate

Confronted with his new situation, Solomon felt overwhelmed and underprepared. He did not want to face what was now his responsibility alone, and thankfully, he did not have to! This is something that every one of us can relate to: that feeling of unpreparedness and not being ready or worthy to confront the change, task, or challenge before us. Whether it is a family situation, a new job, or something else, we can all join Solomon in saying: “I have not got a clue what I am meant to do!” No new minister who ever moves to a new Church thinks, “I have it! This is precisely what we are going to do.

We should all join Solomon in responding to the situation before him, worshipping the Lord, humbling himself before Him, and seeking God’s blessing, protection, and guidance before all and through all. We can all relate to Solomon; by God’s grace, we should also respond like Solomon. Yet, perhaps we need to remember Solomon when we look to the leaders who God has called to lead us in the Church and Civil world, remembering the excellent task before them and joining with them in helping them look to God rather than adding to their burden. We can all relate to Solomon, and by the Holy Spirit’s help as we walk with Christ, our call is to model Solomon in how we Worship, see and live for the Lord.

3 | The Faithfulness of God (10-14)

So how does the Lord respond to Solomon’s request? We already had a hint at what Solomons’s reign would look like at the end of Chapter 2 when the written hinted with those Subtle words: “and his kingdom was firmly established.” It hints at what God will do through Solomon, yet Solomon must still trust the Lord in that process, and by his answer of desiring wisdom , he has shown such trust. Think about it: he could have asked for power or more terrority, he could have asked for all the wealth in the world, and the Lord would have given it to him, yet what he asked for was a heart that was after the Lord and a heart that was dependent on God. Hence, we are told that Solomon’s request pleased the Lord because his request was based on who God was and who Solomon had known him to be in his family’s life.

The requestion was not one of arrogance, or the desire to beat the best in the Land; instead, it was out of Solomon’s self-awareness of his inadequacy for the role he had been given and his awareness that God had placed him on the throne. By asking, Solomon already showed that he had been granted wisdom beyond those of his peers. God is pleased with Solomon because that which he has asked for is dependent on continuing to depend on who God is and what God has been doing. The Lord responds with abundance – “You might have asked for this… but I am going to give you all of this!” Because God is gracing and overflowing in caring for and providing for his little Children.

The wisdom in Solomons’s response to the Lord’s offering was in as much about what he did not ask for and models for us a heart that truly belongs to God. He did not desire earthly things; instead, he only desired to continue to know God’s goodness in his life, and because of that, he would come to experience the abundant Grace of God for the rest of his life. An Abundance that all of us today can know by faith in the resurrected Messiah who in his dying destroyed our death, and in his rising restored our life, and to whom the Lord said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3) Solomon sought not earthly riches or treasures, instead he sought understanding to fulfil the purposes to which God had called him, and the Lord assured he that he would equip him for the task, ahead as long as he continued to walk with Him.

4 | The Wisdom of Solomon for Living Today

Solomon displays for us today a model of faithful living amid all the chaos of the world. We might find ourselves living some 3000 years later, yet the world is still as tricky, our lives still as Chaotic, and the expectations placed on each of us still much. So what do we do? With wisdom, we look to Solomon, and through Solomon, to the one whom he looked to – Yahweh, for in these moments, Solomon displays to us the challenge of Proverbs 9:10:

The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshipping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence], And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and spiritual insight. (Amplified)

Solomon shows us how to live our lives not just in the mad moments but in the everyday. Firstly, priorities of Worship: Solomon went to high places to seek the Lord and make sacrifices to Him; we live and worship in light of the Ultimate Sacrifice of Jesus, who, in his death and life, offers us eternal life and access to God by faith in his saving work. We do not need to go to Temples or high places to seek the Lord; instead, if we have faith, we are Temples of God through the dwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Yet, we must still make worship a priority; we must choose to seek God and discern from God’s word and way in all the trials and tribulations in life. Secondly, Solomon’s heart: In the face of potentially believing his own hype after rising to the thrown we see the beauty of a humble heart as Solomon knows his own limitation and that has been the power of the Lord who has brought him thus far; thus, we must consider and contest in our own hearts who it is we are living for and what it is we are trusting in. Thirdly, living Solomon’s way: As he humbled himself before God and admitted his limitations, Solomon received from the Lord far more than he could imagine in Wisdom and blessing, yet he was also called to continue to: “walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments. To seek the Lord is to live for the Lord today; trusting God means trusting Jesus with everything in our lives and living. This is still the ethic of the Kingdom today: as we look to the King for assurance and protection from all the trials and tribulations of the world, we live in response to his goodness because trusting God means living for him and making known his goodness in the world. Our worship is not an inactive waiting or a Solemn reverence that does nothing in response to God’s goodness. To honestly know God is to make God known in a way the world can respond to. Finally, I don’t know if you ever picked up on the nature of Solomon’s request; his asking for wisdom has a beautiful outward focus in that he wants to lead the people of God well. It is other-focused! It displays something of what God does in each of us when we come to him, as he gives us a love for others so that they can experience the beauty of life in Christ. Solomon shows a heart that belongs to God because he is conscious of his own limitations and his responsibility to lead others in the way of God. Today, if we are those who live for Jesus, then the natural outworking of our living should cause us to be conscious of those around us, and those who are yet to know Christ. This is why Jesus told the disciples that by how they love one another, the world would know their identity as his disciples. Thus, the challenge for us as individuals and a church – if our hearts and desires are still marked by what we want or think is right, by our own expectations and not simply the desire to see others come to be wise in Christ, and grow in Christlikeness then perhaps they are still beating to the rhythm of the world and self.

Today, we have glimpsed Solomons’s heart, and how it pleased the Lord, we have seen that the people of God had a King who they could look to and trust as they sought to live for God. Yet, even with his wisdom, there would be many moments that Solomon would be unwise; indeed, just before this passage, we get a hint at that as he takes an Egyptian princess to be his wife. Praise God that today we do not need to look to Solomon or earthly leaders today rather than by faith, we can know the King of Kings, the eternal Messiah who the Lord looked at and said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).” Today, let us be wise and discerning and trust not in earthly things but seek first thing Kingdom of God in the knowledge of his Goodness and the assurance of his reign. In the Chaos of the world today, let us stand firm on the certainty of who God is, live wisely in the call of the Kingdom and walk in his ways, and delight in his statutes so that we can experience the joy of true Worship that is our life, and show others what they are yet to grasp – Life begun by God is found in God and is fulfilled in Christ.

A Prayer for Wisdom

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art

Thou my best thought, by day or by night

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord

Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son

Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one

1. See (see 2 Samuel 2:12–32, 2 Samuel 20:8–10, see 2 Samuel 21:1–14 for more ↩