12/12/2010 8:38:40 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: The worshiper Pt. 2
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 1Kings 3:6-9
Message of the verses: The next sub-title in Dr. Wiersbe’s
commentary is entitled “Petition” and it covers verses six through nine. These verses cover the prayer that Solomon
prays to God in answer to what the Lord had spoken to him about in a dream
asking Solomon to ask whatever he desired and the Lord would give it to
him. This answer back to God is very
deep and meaningful as I have pondered over this part of yesterday trying to
understand all that Solomon was praying to the Lord what it was that he
wanted. It must be remembered that many
scholars believe that Solomon was only twenty years old when he became king,
which is very young to have such responsibility. I would think that David has spent much time
with Solomon talking to him about the things of the Lord and telling him that
it was the Lord who had picked Solomon to be the next king in order to build
the temple of God and to lead Israel.
There is some of these conversations recorded in Scripture to be read,
but it only makes sense that David had spent much time preparing Solomon for
this important job and now Solomon has this wonderful opportunity to speak to
the Lord and tell Him what his heart desires.
I truly believe that in this early part of Solomon’s life that he was
very dedicated to the Lord and to leading Israel in a godly direction, but
later on when he became so very rich, perhaps richer than any man in the
history of the world, that he had forgotten where these riches came from and
cared more about the gifts that God had given to him than the giver of those
gifts, something that is hard to remember for sure.
“6 Then Solomon said, "You have shown great
lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before
You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You
have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son
to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7
"Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my
father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come
in. 8 "Your servant is in the midst
of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be
numbered or counted. 9 ‘So give Your servant an understanding heart
to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge
this great people of Yours?’
Dr.
Wiersbe breaks this short prayer into three parts of which the first part talks
about the past in verse six. Solomon
prays to the Lord about his father David and remembers how the Lord has told
him that his family would be a dynasty in Israel and out of this dynasty would
come the Messiah, and Solomon was in this line to Messiah and so he remembers
this grace that the Lord had given to David and to Solomon also.
The
second part of Solomon speaks of the present and this is found in verse
seven. In humility Solomon tells the
Lord that he is but a little child and does not know how to go in or to come
out, which refers to giving leadership to the nation, something that has been
seen earlier in the Old Testament.
Solomon speaks of the greatness of the nation of Israel and the
smallness of who he was in verse eight.
Israel was then and is now a great nation who had many responsibilities
to which the Word of God and God’s Messiah came through Israel. Solomon recognized how great Israel was in
the plan of God and also recognized that he was very small.
“The
king concluded his prayer by anticipating the future and asking the Lord for
wisdom needed to rule the nation (verse nine).” This is the part that I have had the most
trouble understanding, for it speaks of the wisdom that Solomon asked for, and
this is one thing that I truly believe that I lack as can be seen in my track
record of life, and that makes me very embarrassed and greatly disappointed.
Solomon
was asking for wisdom for himself in order to rule Israel in a way that was
right and would bring glory to the Lord, he was not asking for wisdom for his
advisors or others. “In that day, the
wise person was one who was skillful in the management of life. It meant much more than the ability to make a
living; it meant the ability to make a life and make the most out of what life
might bring. True wisdom involves skill
in human relationships as well as the ability to understand and cooperate with
the basic laws God has built into creation.
Wise people not only have knowledge of human nature and of the created
world, but they know how to use the knowledge in the right way at the right
time. Wisdom isn’t a theoretical idea or
an abstract commodity; it’s very practical and personal. There are many people who are smart enough to
make a good living but they aren’t wise enough to make a good life, a life of
fulfillment that honors the Lord.”
In
verse nine Solomon asks for an understanding heart “because no matter how smart
the mind may be, if the heart is wrong, all of life will be wrong. ‘Keep your heart with diligence, for out of
it spring the issues of life.’”
“True
understanding comes from hearing what God has to say, and to the Old Testament
Jew, ‘hearing’ meant ‘obeying.’ When the
Lord speaks to us, it’s not that we might study and pass judgment on what He
said, but that we might obey it. And
understanding heart has insight and exercises discernment. It is able to distinguish the things that differ
(Phil. 1:9-11). It knows what is real
and what is artificial, what is temporal and what is eternal. This kind of understanding is described in
Isaiah 11:1-5, a prophecy concerning the Messiah. Believers today can claim the promise of
James 1:5. “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to
all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him..’”
I
now want to include a note that is and endnote from this chapter in Dr.
Wiersbe’s book. “Two different Hebrew
words are translated ‘understanding’ in this passage. In verse 9, the word shama means ‘to hear, listen, obey.’ The Hebrew daily confession of
faith is called ‘the Shema,’ and begins ‘Hear, O Israel…(Der. 6:4-5). The word used in verses 11-12 is bin and means ‘to distinguish, to
discern, to separate.’ Together, the
words mean ‘to hear with the intention to obey, and to exercise discernment so
as to understand.’”
Well
this seems to be the end of this part of my SD, as it has taken me parts of
three days to complete it, and I believe the reason is that I fall so very
short of what this prayer of Solomon is, that is being a wise believer, one
that the Lord can use, and one who stops making such blunders that I have made
in the past. I hope that I will be able
to get my arms around this truth about God’s wisdom and begin to display it in
my life to the glory of the Lord.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: As I wrote above this prayer that Solomon
prayed to the Lord in answer to what God had told him is something that I have
always seemed to lack, and even though I have prayed for wisdom like James
commands in his letter, it seems that great mistakes have been happening in my
life. I think that I knew in my heart
that I should have gone to seen Dr. Morris to take care of my kidney stones,
and yet because I was pressed for time I chose an inexperienced DR. who made a
shambles of the operation, and it was only the grace of God that lead Dr.
Morris to my bedside the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I truly believe that this was in the plan of
the Lord for me to see him, and yet it still bothers me that I did not go to
him in the first place, which seems to me as one of the many cases of me
lacking wisdom.
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Give myself to the Lord for worship and service
today.
2.
Trust the Lord to direct my path.
3.
Trust the Lord to give me wisdom over things that I
need to have wisdom about.
4.
Remember that I am in a battle and it seems like the
enemy is winning at this time, thus I need the spiritual armor in place.
12/13/2010 10:57:26 AM
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