Jessica Albritton, Children and Family Connections Minister, LHBC
1 Kings 3:3-9
3 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David, my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
The other week I had the opportunity to hang with our preteens at Midweek. We got to talking about anxiety and worry, something that we can all relate to. We opened our Bibles and started going over, verse by verse, Matthew chapter 6. When we got to verse 29, “yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these,” I asked the question, now who was Solomon? I wanted the kids to get a clear picture of what Jesus was saying in the book of Matthew so we flipped back to 1 Kings chapter 3 to refresh minds and see who Solomon was and why Jesus would refer to him in a passage on worry and anxiety all those years later. We talked about Solomon being appointed King after his father David and how the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream granting him a wish. Anything Solomon wanted God was offering here. Solomon’s request? It wasn’t gold or riches or land, it wasn’t health or wives or submissive servants, Solomon asked for wisdom. I asked the kids, “Now why do you think he asked for wisdom and not money?” Their answer, “Because he loved God more than all that stuff.” I then went on to ask, “Now why do you think he loved God so much?” I was expecting them to say something along the lines of God was faithful to him, he had been blessed by God before, etc. But what the kids responded with caught me off guard. They told me, “Because his daddy David loved God!” Wow… I just sat there for a minute and took in the answer. They were absolutely correct. Solomon loved God so much because he had a daddy that was so in love with God and modeled a God honoring lifestyle! David passed on his love for God to his son Solomon and taught him to love God too. And when Solomon grew up to be king himself his life and the decisions he made reflected that deep love!
Scripture is very clear in how we are to love God and teach it to our children. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” In Matthew 19:14, Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Deuteronomy 5:29 states, “Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!” Children are not born knowing God and His goodness, they must be taught, and as Christ following adults it is our responsibility to teach them. What about your own family? Are you teaching your kids to love the Lord? Are you passing on a legacy of faith to your children? Moms and dads, teach the good news to your kids! And those of you, like myself, that don’t have children of their own, you are not void of this responsibility. We all have a part to play in sharing the good news of the gospel! Let’s go and be like David, men and women after God’s heart that love Him so much, and pass that legacy of faith on to the next generation!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Heavenly Father, make me more like You! Help me to live a life like David, so in love with You and eager to pass on that love to others! Give me opportunities to speak truth to those that don’t yet know You and opportunities to walk alongside and disciple younger Christians in order to teach and lead them to You! In Jesus name, amen!
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”