1 Kings 15:1-24

1 Kings 15:1-24 picks up the story with Abijam who took over for Rehoboam as king.  Not much changed as “he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God”.  Abijam is a bad dude.  He doesn’t walk with God.  But scripture gives us a glimpse at the power of legacy here.  Two generations removed, David is still having a significant impact.  His life and walk with God continues to make a difference.  If you don’t think it matters how we live, hear what God says about David:

“Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, 5 because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite”.  Abijam is not living in obedience, but God gives credit to David who had been dead for a couple generations.  Solomon and Rehoboam had both walked away from God.  And now, Abijam is doing the same.  But the power of legacy is strong and God continues to bless His people because of the relationship He had with David many years prior.

Then comes a bright spot in all this.  “Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done”.  Back to the roots of a few generations earlier, Asa walks with God again.  He cleans out sin and gets rid of all the idols that had been made by prior kings.  Asa is on a course to set things right with God.  In fact, he takes some very bold steps.  “He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother”.  Talk about guts.  Asa kicks his mother off the throne.  He is all in for God.

That is the lesson here.  He finds God and his legacy and returns to walking with God.  Check out what scripture tells us about him.  “The heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days”.  Asa wasn’t sort of bought into obedience.  He was ‘wholly true’ to God.  He wasn’t partially committed.  He followed ‘all his days’.  That is the picture of faithfulness that God desires from us.  He wants to have Christ Followers who follow.  He wants men and women who have a heart of obedience.  Does that describe you?  If not, a change can yield some amazing results.  God blesses obedience!

Psalm 72

Psalm 72 is a prayer for the king.  It begins with requests for what the king should do:

-       “defend the cause of the poor

-       give deliverance to the children of the needy

-       crush the oppressor delivers the needy

-       pity on the weak

-       saves the lives of the needy

-       redeems their life”

Pretty strong stuff.  The king is to take action to protect those less fortunate. He is to intervene.

The prayer goes on to describe what will happen from those in his patch:

-       “fear you while the sun endures

-       may the righteous flourish

-       peace abound

-       dominion from sea to sea

-       desert tribes bow down before him

-       his enemies lick the dust

-       render him tribute

-       bring gifts

-       kings fall down before him

-       all nations serve him”

When we pray, it is not just for what we want God to do in us, but to those in our patch.

And the psalmist wraps up the chapter with there requests about how the king will be viewed and treated:

-       “his name endure forever

-       his fame continue

-       people be blessed in him

-       call him blessed”

God is all about having us in the details of life.  Whether we are praying for things we do, outcomes we desire, or treatment we would like to receive, God hears them all.  He is waiting to come alongside us and answer our prayer!

1 Kings 2

1 Kings 2 has the transition of power from David to Solomon as David breathes his last breath.  Before he goes though, David gives Solomon these last words to heed:  “Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses”.  Some pretty strong and direct instruction from dad to son.  He got very granular in his direction.  I love how he started out with the verb ‘be’.

One thing that has struck me is that we often don’t use ‘be’ because it means we have to do something to fulfill whatever follows that word.  My life goal is to be a difference.  Many would say make a difference, but the reality is that I can make a difference without doing anything myself.  I can leverage others to do great things.  But when I say my goal is to ‘be a difference’ that makes it very personal.  That is what David does here. He puts the responsibility squarely on Solomon to be.  And then he backs that up wit the reason why: “that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke”.  Short interpretation – be and do to achieve God’s plan.

David dies after 40 years as ruler of the kingdom.  His kingdom was “firmly established” at this point, but it certainly has had its ups and downs.  Lots of days when David was on the run or challenged for his leadership, often by those closest to him.  But now he passes the torch to Solomon after giving his last words.  And Solomon wastes no time cleaning up daddy’s messes.  He kills his brother Adijonah who had attempted to steal the throne from him just a bit before David passes it to him.  Adijonah came to Solomon’s mother to try and get the king to allow “Abishag the Shunammite” to be his wife.  That didn’t go his way and soon Solomon sends “Benaiah the son of Jehoiada”, his appointed hatchet man, to kill him.

Solomon strips Abiathar from his role as priest, and then turns Benaiah loose to get rid of Joab who had not been loyal as leader of the army.  Joab runs to hide in the tent of meeting, but Solomon is not deterred by that move, and sends the hatchet man in to kill Joab.  Benaiah becomes the new leader of the army.  And he gives one more command  that Shimei not leave Jerusalem or face death.  Three years in, some of Shimei’s slaves ran away and he chased after them.  But upon arrival back, he too is killed because of violating the agreement.  Solomon takes control and acts quickly.  “So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon”.  It didn’t take long for Solomon to put his fingerprints on the kingdom he had just inherited from King David.

1 Kings 1

1 Kings 1 has some family action going on as King David is ready to pass on.  Scripture tells us “King David was old and advanced in years….he could not get warm”.  He is on his deathbed.  His second son, Adonijah, decides to make a run for the throne.  He rallied a couple of the powerful men and hired 50 men to run before him and decided to throw a party to announce what he was doing.  Not sanctioned, this is a pure power grab since David was pretty well out of commission at this point.

So Adonijah “sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened cattle by the Serpent’s Stone….and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah”.  He assembled a pretty impressive guest list, and it looks like things are progressing well.   “But he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother”.  He knew these men would not support his hostile takeover of the throne, so he just didn’t invite them to the party.  He left them out and hoped he could pull it off without anyone crying foul.

He might have gotten away with it except that Nathan the priest was paying attention.  He intervenes and asks Bathsheba to go to David and tell him of the activity.  He then follows and verifies that David’s plan to anoint Solomon as king was being hijacked by his son Adonijah.  So David calls in the men who were not invited to the party, and asks them to anoint Solomon king.  David said “I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah”.  David had a succession plan, and he asked his loyal men to carry that out.  It almost slipped away, and had he not been surrounded by men who were alert and loyal to his wishes, it might have slipped away from Solomon.

So they do exactly as David asked and anoint Solomon king.  “Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, long live King Solomon”.  Of course that noise was heard at the impostor party down the road, and they quickly got word that King David had anointed Solomon as king.  Oh how quickly the folks at Adonijah’s party fled.  They knew they had tied their chariot to the wrong horse.  King David had wise men serving him, and they took action when his wishes were being thwarted.  It is important that we surround ourselves with people who are committed to helping us achieve our plans.  That is what saved the kingdom for Solomon this day.

1 Chronicles 29

1 Chronicles 29 is the last hurrah for King David.  He finally passes the torch officially and completely, as Solomon takes the throne.  David had led the kingdom for 40 years, and scripture tells us “he died at a good age, full of days, riches, and honor”.  Not a bad description of a life well lived.  It certainly was not a perfect life.  He made some major mistakes during his life.  It wasn’t an easy life – he spent a lot of it on the run from King Saul and his enemies.  It wasn’t a life filled with pleasure as he lived in caves and the wilderness for a lot of time.  But it was a good life in that he walked with God a good portion of the time and finished strong.  God blessed him, and his people, and will now do the same for his son.

A big part of the final transition is speaking to the people.  “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God…. Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision”.  David doesn’t just ride off into the sunset and leave Solomon to pick up the pieces.  He is honest with the people – he’s handing the reins to a young man who isn’t really experienced.  But he asks the people to follow – he sets Solomon up for success as a leader and uses his influence and history to pass that leadership as effectively as he can.  David has spent a lot of time in the background getting the structure for success in place.  But there also has to be a very visible passing of leadership where David asks the people to step up and follow God’s chosen successor.

A big part of this transition is a major project that they are going to undertake – building God’s house of worship.  It will be Solomon’s first task, and David sets the tone for that.  “I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able”.  David has been stockpiling things they have captured as they conquered other people for some time, and now that is being committed to the project.  But “in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God”.  David goes way beyond just giving the kingdom treasures, he gives his own.  Scripture lists the amount and it is significant.  David hands off his personal fortune to the project.  Then he really sets things up for success.  He asks the rest of leadership to follow his example and commit.  “Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the Lord”?  He could have easily just stopped with the kingdom and himself, and left Solomon to do the rest.  But he knew that he had the relationship with these guys and he does the hard work of getting them committed.  “The leaders of fathers’ houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king’s work”.  His leadership team stepped up and gave much.  It was great to have the assets in hand, but the real win was that “the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord”.  That is the power of giving.  It puts your heart right with God!

David wraps his leadership with a final blessing of the Lord.  He never forgot who was in charge, and his final words are powerful.  We need to ponder and meditate on them.  “David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly….”Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name”.  Not much else needs to be said about how we should see and relate to God.  He is our everything.  He owns it all.  God is the great I AM!

1 Chronicles 28

1 Chronicles 28 has David assembling all the leaders as he announces the official transition to Solomon:

-       “all the officials of Israel

-       the officials of the tribes

-       the officers of the divisions

-       the commanders of thousands

-       the commanders of hundreds

-       the stewards of all the property and livestock

-       the palace officials

-       the mighty men

-       all the seasoned warriors”

David has all those he has just appointed to every key role gather as he passes the torch.

He lays out the plan for Solomon to follow.  David had a plan, but God had a different one.  “I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant….I made preparations for building….God said to me, ‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood”.  David had a plan, but God gave different instructions.  David was not to build the temple.  That was to be Solomon’s job.  God had “chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel”.  He was to be the builder.

So how does Solomon get selected.  God chose him.  “It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him….I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today”. David had lots of sons to pick from, but God did the picking and chose Solomon.  Why?  Because Solomon was walking with God.  And now he is charged to “observe and seek out all the commandments….know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind….if you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever”.  Solomon has control of his own destiny with God.  We do as well.  If we choose to obey and walk with God, He will be with us and found by us.  If we don’t it will get lonely really quickly.

“David gave Solomon his son the plan”.  God had revealed the plans for the tabernacle clearly to David.  Now it was time to pass them on to Solomon.  David is clear that “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, all the work to be done according to the plan”.  This was straight from God.  There was to be no deviation or interpretation – just obedience.  It was time to use the Nike plan and just do it.  “Be strong and courageous and do it….God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you”.  David passes the plans and encourages Solomon with the specifics around how to succeed.  It is about obedience.  It is about doing things God’s way.  He has the plan.  We just need to obey!

1 Chronicles 25

1 Chronicles 25 has David again getting ready to transition leadership to his son Solomon.  He brings together the “chiefs of the service” to help him assign the musicians to their roles in the house of the Lord.  There were 288 skilled folks who could sing and play the ‘harps and lyres and cymbals”.  David involves those who will be leading in the process – it wasn’t just a top down decision – the leaders were part of helping get everyone assigned to their place.

God had provided some big families that were talented.  Heman has 14 sons and three daughters.  And they “were all under the direction of their father in the music in the house of the Lord”.  Now that is a family singing unit.  Scritpure records many other listed families “all who were skillful”.  So David has a large pool of folks who are all talented and how he leads through this transition is pretty important.  He can’t leave it to chance and hope they will figure it out on their own.

So he cast lots.  “They cast lots for their duties, small and great, teacher and pupil alike”.  There were not favorites.  David used the accepted system of the day to treat everyone the same and put people in their place of service.  He put them into 24 different spots in order with very clear lines of authority.  One to twenty four – twelve in a group – with one leader and typically their family members.  David wisely again takes responsibility for making sure the details are in place for Solomon.  He wanted the house of worship to be set.

You have to give David kudos for taking the responsibility for preparing to pass the torch effectively.  It wasn’t going to be his problem.  He was handing off and riding off into the sunset.  Many leaders don’t prepare the next one for success.  They throw the torch over the fence and wish them well.  They don’t put the time, effort or energy into the preparation process.  David did it well and he did it right.  He is doing all he can to set Solomon up for success.  Great job David!

1 Chronicles 23

1 Chronicles 23 has David passing the torch.  “When David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel”.  David didn’t wait until death to make the transition.  He did it while he was still alive.  He may have been old and full of days, but he was still breathing and was fully in charge.  He had selected the person who would step in and take his place.  This was not some random decision left to chance.  It was a decision he made and had obviously been preparing for.

So what does David do?  Scripture says he did a few things:

1. 1.     “David assembled the leaders….the priests….the Levites
2. 2.     David organized them in divisions
3. 3.     David said….by the last words of David….”

Three very intentional things were key in setting up Solomon for success.  David’s transition plan was not just an attempt to dump the responsibility.  It was rather a strategy to make sure the things were defined and in order.  He got things in place so Solomon could truly step in a succeed.

David began by getting the leaders together.  Let’s face it – transition of power during this time was not necessarily a smooth process.  It often involved death or conquering.  Sometimes it involved a lot of family conflict.  Often there were a lot of people who thought they should get the job.  David calls the people together and tells them how it will be.  This was not only the political leaders, but the spiritual leaders as well.  He made his wishes, and the plan, very clear to everyone who was anyone.  Communication of the plan is a very key first step.

Secondly, David had a plan for who would do what and exactly what those tasks would be.  Not just a 50K foot view, but he set Solomon up to succeed by making it crystal clear who exactly – down to the individual family and names – was to do what.  Solomon didn’t have to come in and try to tell people what to do as his dad did that as part of the transition.

He wrapped up the transition by sharing some important truth as his last words.  He reminded the people “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever….the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service….they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening”.  God has been good to the children of Israel.  And they needed to be reminded of it.  Life has not been easy or simple for King David.  Yet as he hands off the torch, he looks back and reminds those who follow him that God has been and still is in charge.  He sets the stage for Solomon to step in and have God be God, Solomon to lead, and the rest of the folks to do their assigned tasks and follow.  David has a great transition plan to pass the torch from generation to generation.

1 Chronicles 21

1 Chronicles 21 retells the story of 2 Samuel.  David sins against God by numbering the people.  “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly”.  He has really blown it, and is given three choices to take as a penalty for his sin.  Three years, three months or three days of bad stuff is what God offers as choices.  And David has to pick one – not an easy choice – and he says “I am in great distress”.  He is going to cause a whole lot of pain and suffering because of his sin.

David decides on the three days of pestilence and God turned his angel loose.  “So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell”.  Can you imagine being David and watching that kind of destruction knowing it happened as a result of your sin?  The burden of that has to be overwhelming.  David had pleaded with God to let him fall into God’s hand.  “God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw, and he relented from the calamity”.  That had to be a great relief to David, but he now approaches God to put a stop to it.

Let’s face it, David doesn’t really have much for bargaining chips.  He brought this on.  He is the one who decided what the cost would be.  And now he is standing before God trying to intercede.  He approaches God with all his passion and pleads “Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father’s house. But do not let the plague be on your people”.  If you want a picture of intercession – here it is.  David jumps between God and the people and asks God to bring the punishment on himself and his own family.

God tells him to “raise an altar” to worship Him.  So “David built there an altar to the Lord and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering”.  David obeys and follows God’s direction.  He is putting God back where He belongs, as the One in control, and David’s intercession and obedience to God’s direction work.  God tells the angel to “put his sword back into its sheath” which ends this very painful few days for David.  Sin has a cost – and often it is a big one – that spills well beyond the person who commits it.  In this case it cost 70,000 their lives.  What a painful lesson in the cost of disobedience and sin!

2 Samuel 24

2 Samuel 24 is action packed.  “The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel”.  God is irritated, and He told David to “Go number Israel and Judah….that I may know the number of the people”. God is taking stock and has David get his leaders to count.  It was a big job, and while Joab tried to stop the process, David prevailed.  It took “nine months and twenty days”. There was a lot of counting to do, in fact “in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000”.  Can you imagine counting that many people?  One at a time, all over the land.

But David figures out that God’s anger was his fault.  “David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people”.  He realizes that God has a plan for destruction and wanted David to understand just how much it is going to cost.  Sin always has a great price tag.  We often don’t realize it – we may just ignore that truth – but David comes to his senses and understands that his sins are coming home to roost.   “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly”.  It is a confession of sin.  But here is the sad reality – confession, even turning around and going the other way, does not stop the result of sin.  The cost still happens.

David is left with a choice to make.  God says “Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you”.

-       “three years of famine come to you in your land

-       flee three months before your foes while they pursue you

-       three days’ pestilence in your land”

He has to choose one of these rather bad outcomes to pay the price for his sin.  That is another reality of sin. The cost usually goes far beyond the sinner – it impacts people all over their patch.  It is always so costly to so many.  Sin is really carries a high price.  Death is the final outcome.  But along the way, the damage is unbelievable.

David picks the three days – and “the Lord sent a pestilence….there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men”.  What a price to pay.  God wasn’t done, but “the Lord relented from the calamity….it is enough; now stay your hand”.  David now becomes an intercessor as he puts himself between the people and God.  That is what intercession is all about.  David stands in the gap.  He says “Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house”.  David is willing to take the punishment.  He wants to relieve those who are innocent from the punishment of his deeds.  We see the power of intercession many times in scripture.  And as it has been shown in other cases, God listened, and “the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel”.  This is true leadership in action.  David stands in the gap and prevents far more bloodshed.