Day Twenty-Four -- Power and wisdom: Are they enough?
2 Samuel 22:19 to 1 Kings 7:37
While I read the opening chapters of the First Book of Kings I couldn't help but hear the theme from The Godfather playing in the background. Don Corleone - oops, I mean king David - has grown old and is soon to transfer the family business to his son Solomon. There are old scores to be settled and enemies to be eliminated, but that must not happen until David has died. The king provides the scorecard and marching orders which will consolidate power in the chosen heir. All Solomon has to do is follow the game plan, which he does with quick efficiency.
Acquiring power and having the wisdom to rule are two different things, however. So one of the first things Solomon does is to ask the LORD to grant him "a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong." He not only begins to rule with great wisdom, but he moves to build the Temple, a proper dwelling place for the LORD. It looks as if he is doing his daddy proud and the future of the kingdom is secured. The question is: How long will it all last?
While I read the opening chapters of the First Book of Kings I couldn't help but hear the theme from The Godfather playing in the background. Don Corleone - oops, I mean king David - has grown old and is soon to transfer the family business to his son Solomon. There are old scores to be settled and enemies to be eliminated, but that must not happen until David has died. The king provides the scorecard and marching orders which will consolidate power in the chosen heir. All Solomon has to do is follow the game plan, which he does with quick efficiency.
Acquiring power and having the wisdom to rule are two different things, however. So one of the first things Solomon does is to ask the LORD to grant him "a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong." He not only begins to rule with great wisdom, but he moves to build the Temple, a proper dwelling place for the LORD. It looks as if he is doing his daddy proud and the future of the kingdom is secured. The question is: How long will it all last?
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