Hope From the Word

Guest (Male): Some prayers are self-centered, others are not. To contrast the two, here’s Pastor Bill Luebkemann.

Bill Luebkemann: Nothing in here is self-centered. If you turned on a certain TV station in Philadelphia and watched the TV preachers, they’d be talking about getting a bigger car and a bigger house and a swimming pool. God wants you to have more money in your bank account, and he wants us to have more money in our bank account, which is why you’re going to send it to us and all this other kind of stuff. You don’t see anything here that is self-centered.

Another Calvary pastor sent out an email recently saying, "Could anyone comment on when the Bible refers to the flesh, or when we refer to the flesh, the acts of the flesh? Could anyone comment on what that meant?" Somebody wrote back, "Yes, you spell that S-E-L-F. Self." The acts of the flesh revolve around yourself.

Guest (Male): Too many prayers focus on the physical and temporal rather than the spiritual, the eternal, and the glory of God. That wasn’t the case for Solomon when he began his reign as king. Welcome to Hope From the Word with Bill Luebkemann. Bill is the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Marlton.

We begin the Old Testament book of Second Chronicles today. We’ll soon see how the Lord established Solomon, the son of David, and we’ll look at Solomon’s prayer as well. Let’s join Bill as he begins today’s teaching. Again, we’re in Second Chronicles chapter one.

Bill Luebkemann: If you’ll open up to Second Chronicles chapter one, you’ll remember that when we finished off First Chronicles, David was wrapping up his kingdom and turning the reins over to his son Solomon. David’s other son, Adonijah, had attempted to usurp the throne, and David saw to it that Solomon was declared the king. Everybody knew that Solomon was the guy that the Lord had called to be the king.

Second Chronicles begins with the account of what goes on in Solomon’s life. You’ll remember that Chronicles was written after the time of the exile when the Jews were coming back to the land. So these books are written many years after these events happened. If you compare them to the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings, you’ll see some of the events were left out of here.

It seems like the chronicler wrote the things that he felt were more important for the people who were returning to the land to know. With Solomon, the big deal was building the temple. We’re going to get into that very quickly. Solomon did lots of other good things, but a lot of them are not mentioned here. The people who were returning to the land had to restore the temple and the wall around Jerusalem.

They had to do a lot of things that paralleled this. The chronicler wanted them to see that if it was done before, it can be done again. "Solomon, son of David, established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great." This is Second Chronicles 1:1. Then Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in Israel.

Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God’s tent of meeting was there, which Moses, the Lord’s servant, had made in the desert. That was the tabernacle. A few chapters ago in chapter 28 of First Chronicles, it was David who was speaking to the leaders. He told them how Solomon was going to build the house and be the king.

Now we see Solomon speaking to perhaps many of the same leaders, saying we’re going to Gibeon to God’s tent of meeting. This was an old tent, maybe 500 years old. You know the ark of the covenant used to be in the tabernacle, but they foolishly brought it to a battle, thinking superstitiously that if they had the ark, they’d win. It got captured by the Philistines and went from town to town.

Everywhere it went, the people got sick. Dagon kept falling over because they put the ark in the temple of Dagon. The Lord said, "I’m in charge here, buddy. Get out of the way." The Philistines finally sent it back. It was a number of years before David finally brought it to Jerusalem. The ark was now in Jerusalem under the tent David pitched for it, but the tabernacle was still over in Gibeon.

Solomon knew that the tabernacle was God’s tent of meeting where you could meet with God. Some people today go to church to meet with each other. Their church is a social club. It’s good to have friends at church and have fellowship, but the primary reason we get together should be to worship God and have an encounter with Him. "Tent of meeting" is talking about meeting with God.

Now, David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place he had prepared for it, but the bronze altar that Bezalel had made was in Gibeon in front of the tabernacle. So Solomon and the assembly inquired of the Lord there. In Exodus chapter 36, you can see how that altar was made by Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given skill and ability.

Now, some 500 years later, Solomon is taking the people there to inquire of God. It’s never really recorded that David took the people there to inquire of God, although David certainly inquired plenty. Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. One of the first things he did in his reign was to go before the Lord and seek Him.

It’s very important to see what he did here. It’s also very sad to see what happened at the end of his reign when he seemed to be doing everything but seeking the Lord. "Solomon, son of David, established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great." He was established because of the Lord, but also because of his father David.

David had put out the word that Solomon was king. He had established peace in all the land and set everything up so his son could take over. Solomon was inheriting a dynasty. He took a lot of his father’s advice and training and put it into practice. In First Kings chapter two, you’ll see how he spent time dealing with the leftovers from his father’s kingdom that he had to execute or get rid of.

Adonijah made another attempt to get authority, and Solomon had him executed. Joab, the commander of the army under King David who had done a number of things wrong, was executed as well. Solomon basically cleaned out the closets of his father’s kingdom. There was Shimei, whom Solomon said he would let live if he stayed in town and didn't leave Jerusalem.

Later, some of Shimei's slaves ran away, and he went off to find them. Solomon said, "Hey, I thought I told you not to leave Jerusalem." Shimei made excuses, but he got executed. By looking at First Kings chapters one and two, we see that Solomon did a number of things to establish himself firmly. What might have taken a few years to accomplish is summed up in half a sentence here.

He had the assets of his father and the steps he took at his father's advice. But the bottom line is that the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great. He took the actions, but the Lord was doing the work. When we pray for things, we take actions, but the Lord does the work. If you’re praying for a job, you take the action of sending out resumes.

When you get the job, you give credit to God. You do what you have to do, and God provides. You can send out a thousand resumes, and when you get the right job, be certain that you give credit to God. It would be a mistake to say, "Thanks, Lord, but I got one from my resumes, so I don’t need your help anymore." Or if you're praying for healing and take antibiotics, it's still God who does the work.

The Lord was with Solomon, an asset that was unequal and unparalleled. We could never hope for more than having the Lord with us. The sad thing is to see how he squandered it in the end by worshiping other gods. But here, Solomon and the assembly went to Gibeon to God’s tent of meeting. That night, God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

That is an open door. He’s a new, young king with a kingdom of peace and prosperity. David had conquered everybody on every side. Here is God saying, "What do you want me to do for you?" He didn't ask for a million dollars, victory over his enemies, or long life without sickness. This young guy had something going for him.

Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

Nothing in here is self-centered. If you turned on a certain TV station in Philadelphia and watched the TV preachers, they’d be talking about getting a bigger car and a bigger house. They'd say God wants you to have more money so that you'll send it to them. You don’t see anything here that is self-centered. The acts of the flesh revolve around "me, myself, and I."

Solomon didn't even answer the question right away. The first thing he did was comment on the graciousness of God to his father. He’s giving God the credit, remembering first who God is and what He has done. He doesn't just pull out a laundry list. He recognizes that only if God was great and the maker of all things could He show such kindness to David.

Solomon acknowledged the gift that came from God. He asked for the promise made to David to be confirmed, which was that David's descendants would always rule as long as they sought the Lord. He acknowledged that God's promise to Abraham had come true. Then he asked for wisdom and knowledge, not to acquire more goods, but so that he could govern God's people.

He said in all humility, "I can’t do this myself. I can’t lead this people without You and Your wisdom." We too need the Lord to fulfill our calling. What an exciting truth that God will enable those who ask Him. Be encouraged to pray and believe that God will grant you these same answers for His glory.

Guest (Male): Pastor Bill Luebkemann will offer more hope from the Word from Second Chronicles tomorrow. We’ll see you then. You can hear this message or more Hope From the Word with Pastor Bill Luebkemann by going to ccmarlton.org. Pastor Bill’s messages can also be found by downloading the Hope FM app on your smartphone or tablet.

If you prefer to listen via podcast, you can find Hope From the Word wherever you find your podcasts. We’d love to have you join us at Calvary Chapel of Marlton, either in person or online. Our Sunday service begins at 10:00 AM, and there’s a Wednesday evening service at 7:00. To catch us online, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel at Calvary Chapel of Marlton or just go to our website for the link, ccmarlton.org.

And if you’d like to take a moment to write to Pastor Bill, it would be such a blessing to us. We’re thankful each and every time we hear what God is doing through our listeners' lives, and we want to pray for you too. Either email us through the website at ccmarlton.org or call 856-983-1662. Once again, here’s Pastor Bill.

Bill Luebkemann: Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed. I’m on the throne. Continue to work out that promise in me and in my descendants. For you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?