Original Broadcast: October 2009
Monthly Theme: King Solomon
[Solomon prayed to God:] "Give Your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern Your people,
that I may discern between good and evil,
for who is able to govern this Your great people?"
(1 Kings 3:9)
Solomon has become King of Israel. What was he going to do now? God appears to him in a dream and tells Solomon, "Ask what I shall give you" (v5). All these things could have gone through Solomon's mind. One thing that made its way through the fog of everything else: "I am but a little child" (v7). How can someone so small do such a great task?
Solomon's humility "please the Lord" (v10) so much that He said, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies ... I give you a wise and discerning mind ... I give you also what you have not asked" (vv11-13). God gave Solomon everything he could dream of. Wisdom, riches, long life, peace throughout his reign. All these gifts were his.
Solomon, in his youth, understood that he could not govern the people by himself. He needed God's help. As he grew older, he stopped trusting in God for help and relied on himself and his wisdom. This is the tendency of people. Jesus often set a child in the midst of His disciples and lauded the child for his or her faith: "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it" (Mark 10:15). As we grow older, we tend to leave that childlike faith for a more rational understanding. But God calls us back to that simple, childlike faith. The same faith Solomon had which acknowledged his own frailty and need for God.
You need God just as much in your daily life. No matter your age, you still need to rely upon God. That's the epitome of the First Commandment where we learn "We should fear, love and trust in God above all things." Amen.
