‘And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you for ever. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.’
1 Chronicles 28:9-10 (NIV)
In this post we return to David and Solomon. This time we look at the advice and counsel David gave Solomon as recorded in 1 Chronicles 28. In the last post we saw that David gave his son sound human advice, but also told Solomon to observe God’s law.
In the verses from 1 Chronicles David elaborates on his advice to Solomon. The question is why? Surely having told Solomon to follow God would be enough? I think the reason David spoke to Solomon so forthrightly about God was that he knew that just because he himself had followed God was no guarantee that his son would. We have discussed this before in our posts – that being brought up in a godly home does not necessarily mean children will follow God. The books of Chronicles and Kings clearly demonstrate that some later kings followed God, while others chose an evil path.
David knew Solomon would have to make a personal choice – to serve God or to reject him. David asks Solomon to:
… serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought
David reminds Solomon that God knows what is in the heart. God understands when our motives are correct and when we are doing his will, not for outward recognition and glory but, because he has called us to serve him and we willingly follow.
Remember that as a Christian ‘… the Lord has chosen you …’. Are you willing to follow his will wherever it leads and whatever he asks you to do?
Every blessing
No Condemnation 