Word of Encouragement (12/11/2024)
And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, and have made me king in his place. 9 O Lord God, let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” (2 Chron. 1:8–10)
Solomon made this petition when God said to him, “Ask what I shall give you” (v. 7). God said this when He appeared to Solomon after he offered a thousand burnt offerings at “the high place that was at Gibeon” where the ark of the covenant was (v. 3). But before Solomon replied to God’s offer, he gave thanks to God for what He had already done for him. He began his thanksgiving by properly acknowledging that whatever blessing he had received from God had to be traced back to his father, David: “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, and have made me king in his place” (v. 8). Solomon was aware of God’s covenant with David. David would not have kept this a secret, especially from Solomon, his crown prince.
So, what does he ask for? “Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great” (v. 10)? He asks for “wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people”: he asks for what he needs the most to carry out his calling. John Gill points out that the expression, “to go out and come in,” alludes to the activity of shepherds, taking the sheep out and bringing them back into the fold. It must have been ingrained deep in the culture of Israel to view its kings as the shepherds of its people. What a beautiful picture of kingship! We can see what God expected the kings to do in His rebuke of the false shepherds of His people:
“Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them” (Ezek. 34:2-4).
Unlike the kings of Gentile nations, the kings of Israel were supposed to take care of the people as the shepherds took care of their sheep. They were not to use and abuse the people to amass wealth for themselves, fulfill their worldly ambitions, or satisfy their sinful pleasures. Israel was God’s kingdom, and the people of Israel were His sheep. The kings were merely God’s vicegerents, His under-shepherds. Their primary goal was to honor and glorify God through their humble and willing obedience to God’s law. It was in obedience to God, who commanded them to take care of His people, whom He loved, that they were supposed to love and take care of them.
Solomon started well, but he failed miserably toward the end of his reign. But we have a King who is David’s greater Son, greater than Solomon. He was faithful to His Father to the very last breath of His life on earth. And He laid down His life for His sheep that they might receive God’s forgiveness and eternal life. Now that we have received all things in Christ (1 Cor. 2:21), what should we ask for? Should we not ask for wisdom and knowledge to do His work for His glory?