The request of Solomon

Sunday 6 June 2021

The request of Solomon

Give therefore to your servant a heart that is fit to listen to judge your people, to distinguish good from evil ! Indeed, who would be able to judge your people, this people so important ? 1 Kings 3: 9

The King Solomon succeeds his father David to the throne of Israel. He worshipeth the Lord and offers him burnt offerings. It is then that the Lord appears to him in a dream and asks him what he wishes to receive from him. His answer reveals Solomon good state of mind. He realizes that his capacities are insufficient to meet his royal responsibility and that he first needs to have a listening heart, that is, a will subject to the instructions of the Lord. Indeed, no man can do anything good unless, first, he is not attentive to the will of God. It is his love for God and the deep desire to honor him that enables a person to listen and listen to him. What God then grants is the wisdom to discern between good and evil.

This request of Solomon, should not each one formulate it for himself ? Paul, who prayed a lot for the saints, addresses to God an identical request for the Philippians : What I ask in my prayers is that your love abounds still more and more in knowledge and all understanding, so that you discern the excellent things, that you may be clean and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness, which is through Jesus Christ, to the glory and to the praise of God (Philippians 1:9-11). It is again love which is at the base of the good behavior of a believer : love for the Lord and for all who belong to him, a love which grows in the knowledge of God and in the understanding of his. thoughts.

Wisdom, which was essential for Solomon to rule his people, is also necessary for every believer. We need to discern what is important in the kingdom of God and what is secondary, to nurture right relationships with our brothers and sisters. Quality fellowship relationships should enable each believer to assume their place within the body of Christ, with joy and dedication, for the glory of the Lord Jesus.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)