1 Kings 1-3
PassageAs David is about to die, he instructs Solomon to follow God, keeping His statutes as written in the law of Moses. He asked Solomon to keep God in everything. However, David also had some additional requests that did not sound like it was from God.He asked Solomon to avenge some of the people who did him wrong.
After David died and Solomon took over, the first four years were a bit of a power grab. Solomon killed those who challenged his and his father David’s authority. He married outside the tribes of Israel and made alliances that were not as God had instructed the people as they came out of Egypt.
All this misdirection and we still see that God was with Solomon. In chapter 3 we read that God came to Solomon and asks how he can help him. Solomon’s response was not “What’s in it for me?”, but he acknowledged that he could not do it all on his own, and in this process realized he was like a little child before God. He humbled himself as asked God for the understanding between good and evil, so he could lead the people as God wanted.
Jesus reminds us in Luke 18:17 that we need to receive the Kingdom as a child, humbling ourselves, so we can be effective in leading others.