Good or Bad?
5 min read
9 “So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.
— 1 Kings 3:9-10
From a human perspective, Solomon was acting as a king should. He formed an alliance with Egypt through marriage and led his people in worshiping God.
Spiritually speaking, however, signs of his vulnerability were being revealed. First, he disobeyed the word of God by marrying a foreign woman. In the end, his many foreign wives and concubines would be his downfall. Second, he disobeyed the word of God by offering sacrifices in the “high places.” Offering sacrifices to God was not the problem. The problem was that he did it in places that God had not authorized.
And because we see signs of Solomon’s sins, this passage is confusing because it seems to paint Solomon in a positive light. We don’t see God holding Solomon to account for his bad choices. Instead, we see that God is pleased with Solomon for seeking wisdom and discernment to lead God’s people.
In that light, we see God’s patience toward immature believers. Solomon is still growing and learning. And maybe more significant is Solomon’s self-awareness, which leads him to ask God for wisdom.
We also see God’s faithfulness to His covenant promise. God’s plan has always been to redeem the world through His Son, Jesus Christ, who would sit on David’s eternal throne through Solomon. And God’s covenant promise in Christ Jesus is continuing to unfold through the Church, the body of Christ.
In God’s plan of salvation for the world in Christ Jesus, sin must (and will) run its course. No amount of human wisdom and glory can change that. And so in a broken world where sin will run its course, it is God’s patience, mercy, and faithfulness that must (and will) prevail above all sin—especially in the Church.
However, this truth does not give me an excuse to (1) give in to my own sinful desires or (2) give up on seeking God’s kingdom or (3) give out on pursuing holiness.
The Spirit of God has made me self-aware of my shortcomings and my sin. The Spirit of God has also made me aware of God’s faithfulness and mercy. In light of this awareness that comes from the Holy Spirit, I will pursue God’s holiness with the unlimited grace He offers to me—because of God’s faithfulness and my faith.
Father, it is Your faithfulness that matters in my life above all. But let me be found faithful too. I know that I am a sinner, and I will always fall short of Your glory. But may my life be pleasing to You. I ask for wisdom and discernment and strength to lead a holy life, to do Your will, and to bear witness to Your love, mercy, and grace. In Jesus’s name. Amen.