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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter one,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the New Living Translation. Solomon's
Speaker 1: son of David, took firm control of his kingdom, for
Speaker 1: the Lord his God was with him and made him
Speaker 1: very powerful. Solomon called together all the leaders of Israel,
Speaker 1: the generals and captains of the army, the judges, and
Speaker 1: all the political and clan leaders. Then he led the
Speaker 1: entire assembly to the place of worship in Gibeon, for
Speaker 1: God's tabernacle was located there. This was the tabernacle that Moses,
Speaker 1: the Lord's servant, had made in the wilderness. David had
Speaker 1: already moved the Ark of God from Kiriath Jerream to
Speaker 1: the ti he had prepared for it in Jerusalem. But
Speaker 1: the bronze altar made by Besilel, son of Uri and
Speaker 1: grandson of Her was there at Gibeon in front of
Speaker 1: the tabernacle of the Lord. So Solomon and the people
Speaker 1: gathered in front of it to consult the Lord. There
Speaker 1: in front of the tabernacle, Solomon went up to the
Speaker 1: bronze altar in the Lord's presence and sacrificed one thousand
Speaker 1: burnt offerings on it. That night, God appeared to Solomon
Speaker 1: and said, what do you want? Ask and I will
Speaker 1: give it to you. Solomon replied to God, you showed
Speaker 1: great and faithful love to David my father, and now
Speaker 1: you have made me king in his place. O Lord God,
Speaker 1: please continue to keep your promise to David my father,
Speaker 1: for you have made me king over a people as
Speaker 1: numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me the
Speaker 1: wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly. For who could
Speaker 1: possibly govern this great people of yours? God said to Solomon,
Speaker 1: because your greatest desire is to help your people, and
Speaker 1: you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even
Speaker 1: the death of your enemies or a long life, but
Speaker 1: rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern
Speaker 1: my people. I will certainly give you the wisdom and
Speaker 1: knowledge you requested, but I will also give you wealth, riches,
Speaker 1: and fame such as no other king has had before
Speaker 1: you or will ever have in the future. Then Solomon
Speaker 1: returned to Jerusalem from the tabernacle at the place of
Speaker 1: worship in Gibeon, and he reigned over Israel. Solomon built
Speaker 1: up a huge force of chariots and horses. He had
Speaker 1: one four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He stationed
Speaker 1: some of them in the chariot cities and some near
Speaker 1: him in Jerusalem. The king made silver and gold as
Speaker 1: plentiful in Jerusalem as stone and valuable. Cedar timber was
Speaker 1: as common as the sycamore fig trees that grow in
Speaker 1: the foothills of Judah. Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt
Speaker 1: and from Silicia. The king's traders acquired them from Silicia
Speaker 1: at the standard price at that time. Chariots from Egypt
Speaker 1: could be purchased for six hundred pieces of silver, and
Speaker 1: horses for one hundred and fifty pieces of silver. They
Speaker 1: were then exported to the kings of the Hittites and
Speaker 1: the kings of Aram. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you
Speaker 1: for your word and for the privilege of being able
Speaker 1: to look at it together today. And Lord, as we
Speaker 1: look at this portion of scripture, we see Solomon being
Speaker 1: raised up as king over Israel. And Lord, he was
Speaker 1: presented the kind of question by you that would be
Speaker 1: interesting for any of us to be presented. You told
Speaker 1: him to simply ask you for whatever he wanted, and
Speaker 1: you impressed upon his heart to ask you for wisdom,
Speaker 1: and then you blessed him with all the other things
Speaker 1: he could have asked you for. Instead, Lord, we pray
Speaker 1: that in like fashion, that we would come before you,
Speaker 1: not just focused on our creature, comforts, or the things
Speaker 1: that we think we need in this world to get ahead,
Speaker 1: but that simply we would come before you as men
Speaker 1: and women who are grateful for who you are, as
Speaker 1: men and women who are grateful for the salvation that
Speaker 1: we have been given through faith in your son, Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: and that we would ask you for wisdom, That we
Speaker 1: would ask you for the wisdom to be able to
Speaker 1: live in this world in such a way that we
Speaker 1: reflect the heart and the character of Christ who lives
Speaker 1: within us. Lord, we know that you can foster that,
Speaker 1: and we know that that's a request that you delight
Speaker 1: to answer. And so Lord, that's our request to you today,
Speaker 1: that you would grant us your wisdom, that we would
Speaker 1: honor you with our lives, and that we would serve
Speaker 1: others for your glory. We thank you, Lord for your
Speaker 1: presence with us, We thank you for your love, and
Speaker 1: we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,