Solomon: Courage, Wisdom and Leadership

The Father: David 

 

David was a fighter and a lover. He felt deeply. His emotions were exposed to all.  

 

When David arose in the morning, the day would certainly bring circumstances that would trigger his emotions; deeply. Whether his volatility was engaged by rage, by lust, by tenderness or by humility, he was always apt to engage deeply. 

 

May God do so to my enemies, and more also, if by morning I leave as much as one male of any who belong to him. I Samuel 25:22. David was enraged by the disrespect of Nabal and stormed off to kill the entire household. 

 

And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might … Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord … 2 Samuel 6:14-23 

 

(David) saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance … you know the rest of the story.  

 

Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. 2 Samuel 11:1-12:15 

 

Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You. My heart throbs, my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me. Psalms 38:9-10  

 

My heart is in anguish within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me. Psalms 55:4-5 

 

• David would be the type to throw his golf club. 
• David would be the type to curse out another driver who cut him off. 
• David would be the type to march on the front line of a protest with the biggest sign and the loudest chant.  
• David was the type to over-indulge in wine and laugh and sing until dawn.  

 

David was a fierce fighter and passionate lover all wrapped up in one mysterious enigma. 

 

His emotions seemed to rule his behavior. In most cases, we consider such behavior as ‘unspiritual’ and certainly ‘undisciplined’. At least I personally tend to judge so. My stoic and steady personality scratches my head when I read about the volatility of David. If you were a fly on the wall in my home office, you might hear me whisper, ‘God, you want me to be more like David? Out of all the men in the Bible, You call him out as a special man whose heart is fully Yours? I don’t get it Lord’ 

 

Above and beyond all the emotions and volatility, David was a lover of God and he was much loved by his God. 

 

The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him

as ruler over His people … I Samuel 13:14 

 

I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after His own heart, who will do all my will. Acts

13:22 

 

As I have scratched my head over the years about the volatility of David and the seeming incongruence of his actions and his heart for God, I have come to a conclusion. David’s special-ness before God as a man after his own heart, isn’t because David was sinless and always did the ‘right’ thing. David’s defining characteristic before God was his heart; especially his heart of repentance.

 

David didn’t harbor his sin; he didn’t make excuses; he didn’t justify his mistakes. He owned them. He owned them with deep remorse, humility and repentance. His heart, his tender heart, was the part about him that God loved so much.  

 

The Son: Solomon 

 

Solomon shared His father’s love for God. But not completely.

 

Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statues of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. I Kings 3:3 

 

Solomon was different in many ways. More on Solomon next time. 

 

Father, search me, O God and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Reveal to me any offensive impulse within me and lead me in your everlasting way. Amen!