1 Kings 1-4 : A new king

1 Kings picks up the history where Samuel finishes off - David is an old king - Solomon is the one who God has set up to be the next king and so it happens. Solomon then sets about killing off the first of his opposition - most of it payment God had promised.

Solomon then gets confronted by God who offers him anything ...

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 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?" The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for-both riches and honor-so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life."

1 King 3:5-14 [NIV]

Like all people Solomon's wisdom served him well - for a while - in the end having everything becomes too big a burden and he falls away from God's commandments - Solomon was still a huge king, continuing the promises - building a temple for God as God has promised - yet again, a flawed man - a man marred by sin.

Two weekends ago I was reminded that I just need to accept that I am a sinful man who is need of Grace - suck it up and get on with trusting and serving God - not get down on myself every time I fail - but acknowledge my need to for the grace of God and get back up and stand on that grace and get back into the fray. I still get so down on myself when I fail God - and yet, I will always do it until the day I die - cos I am not perfect - just forgiven and I only get by by the grace of God - not just in the end, but every day - every moment - only by grace.

Lord if you marked out transgressions, who would stand?
But by your grace we are saved by the blood of the lamb

And I need to be showing grace to the people around me - loving, gentle, kind, grace, forgiving them as God has forgiven me.

I will keep on trying and by God's grace I will succeed.