“And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I [am but] a little child: I know not [how] to go out or come in.” (1Ki 3:7 AV)
This struck me as a perfect prayer for the second-generation Christian. David learned much in the school of hard knocks. He went from a Shepard boy to a victorious king by way of very difficult experiences. His wisdom came by sword and by swagger. David learned much the hard way. His experiences from nothing to something were the greatest asset he had. Solomon, on the other hand, grew up in the palace of a king. By the time Solomon was grown into adulthood, the vast majority of Israel’s enemies were conquered. There were not too many battles left. David cleaned up a mess left by Saul and disobedient Israel. He established Israel as the major kingdom of the middle east. This was no small feat. From the killing of a lion and bear to save his flock, to Goliath, to the Philistines; David fought many battles so Solomon did not have to. This is the wisdom behind Solomon’s prayer. He knew he never had the experiences of his father nor would he ever have them. He would never know what it was like to personally wield a sword at the enemy. He would never know what it was like to flee from your enemy and hide in caves. He would never know the weariness of a battle too big for anyone but God. He grew up protected from the world, and because of it, he lacked much experience. This gives explanation to his view that he is but a little child.
It takes a great deal of maturity and humility to see one’s own weaknesses. The pride of our youthful hearts demand we learn the same lessons our parents learned in much the same manner as they did. This often results in greater consequences than our parents suffered. It is God’s design to use the experiences and knowledge of former generations to teach the newer generations. The plethora of knowledge should increase. But that is not always the case. The more we learn the less we know. How else do we explain great wars of each generation? We simply do not learn the lessons our forefathers learned. We don’t accept their wisdom and guidance so that we can be further ahead than they were. Solomon looked at his father. He saw a great man whom God used. He knew his father had made some serious mistakes. He knew he didn’t want to make the same ones. So, he asked for the wisdom of his forefathers. This is great, but for one unfortunate truth.
For all of Solomon’s wisdom, he committed two serious errors that began the downfall of Israel. He married non-Jewish wives for the sake of diplomacy. He also established extra-temple worship on the high places. It would be the Egyptian wives and wives from pagan nations that would steer Solomon’s heart from God to false gods. His reluctance from the sword and attraction toward diplomacy is what drove him. He learned much. The book of proverbs is a testament to the wisdom God granted. But he also ignored much. The second-generation Christian who knows the testimony of his parents will do well to learn the lessons their bruises teach. David had many battle scars. Each one told a story. Each one was a lesson for Solomon to learn. The scars of the first-generation Christ often run deep. But praise be to God that we can pass those experiences on to a generation that wishes to learn.
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