God backed up David’s decision, blessed Solomon as king, and allowed Solomon’s kingdom to be established (See 1Kings 2:12). After Solomon became the king, the Lord appeared to him in a dream. His encounter with the Lord reveals the heart of a man who desired to do right in ruling God’s people.
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
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?” 1 Kings 3:5-9
Solomon acknowledged that he was immature and did not know how to lead a nation. He recognized that he had to look to the Lord for he what did not have in himself. The scripture tells us a lot about David’s struggles that became his training ground in shaping him to be a king, but Solomon did not have the struggles that his father experienced. He came to the position by virtue of the fact that he was David’s son. He needed God’s wisdom to take on this great responsibility as he could not rely on his past experiences.
Sometimes we come to a position after much processing by God. In those cases, we come equipped with the leadership skills that God developed in the secret place, and then God exposes them to others. David and Joseph experienced this type of training. On the other hand, there are those who were placed in a leadership position by God’s and/or man’s favor, but they are not seasoned in leadership. They come with the raw material, and it takes years for them to develop to become a skilled leader. Solomon had the humility to admit his lack of knowledge and depended on the Lord to develop him.
In addition, Solomon asked for an understanding heart to judge people adequately because these people belonged to the Lord! Solomon understood the immensity of his role, and he knew that it was a huge task to take on ruling and judging God’s people. Israel was God’s prized possession, and stewarding God’s people is no small task. Solomon earnestly desired to get it right because God’s people were very valuable.
We also need to consider the weight of leadership when we lead God’s people in whatever capacity He has given us. Sometimes we can be too easily influenced by our preferences or by people’s personalities. God is looking for impartial leaders who judge people with a heart of understanding and discern good and evil according to God’s standard of right or wrong. God’s people are His bride. We should highly value them but recognize that they do not belong to us. We just get to have the privilege of stewarding them for a season. Therefore, we should have a holy fear in dealing with His bride appropriately for we will give an account someday.
Our culture heavily values leadership and that value system has infiltrated the church as well. Many people wish, seek, or strive to be in leadership roles, but don’t consider the consequence of being an unprepared leader who may not be ready to do justly and treat God’s people with care and equity.
If you desire to be in a leadership position would you be able to pass the above criteria in leading God’s people? If you are in a leadership role, it is a good time to evaluate yourself and see if you are hitting the mark in leading God’s people. We all have the opportunity to repent, seek forgiveness, and adjust where change is required.
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.
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