Word of Encouragement (12/12/2024)
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)
What was the request Solomon made to God? “Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours...” (v. 10). Solomon did not ask for any material blessing for his personal happiness and pleasure. He asked for “wisdom and knowledge.” It was the wisdom he needed to “govern this people of yours.” He wanted this kind of wisdom to carry out his duty as king over God’s people. This shows that his main concern was not his personal well-being and happiness; it was the calling God had extended to him. The LORD must have been very pleased. Not only did God grant this wish but also what he did not ask— “I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like (v. 12).
This interaction reaffirms that meaning is what gives happiness (a sense of well-being), not vice versa. Happiness is not bad. We all desire happiness because our good God wired us that way. The question is where we draw our happiness from. The things that God commended Solomon for not asking are instructive: “possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life” (v. 11). People think that long life will give them happiness. Does it? “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Ps. 90:10). How about possessions and wealth? If we don’t know how to be content, no amount of riches will give us happiness. What about honor? Honor is a good thing, but it doesn’t come easy. Are you willing to put in the work? And how long do you think it will last? What about vengeance? Do you hate someone enough to want him dead? Vengeance may taste sweet at the moment, but vengeance calls for vengeance. Solomon wisely chose meaning over wealth and success.
Let us also notice God’s generosity. Pleased with Solomon’s request, God granted him not only his wish but also other blessings. But what God did for Solomon is only a small fraction of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. We read in Rom. 5:8, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We did not do anything to open God’s heart wide toward us. Yet, He did it out of His gracious mercy. So, we can have this assurance: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things” (Rom. 8:32)? Should we not rejoice in the Lord and seek the wisdom to do what God has called us to do, which He designed for His glory and our neighbors’ good and our joy?