Young Men Will Be Swept Away Without This
1 Kings 3:1–14
Christian man, do you want to sidestep failure and succeed in life? In the next 25 minutes, I want to load you down with as many Bible success secrets as I can from our text in 1 Kings 3. Keep listening if you want to hear God’s ways of success in God’s world.
But Christian brother, maybe you’re dealing with nagging doubts. Am I allowed to want to succeed? Dare I even wish for abundance in this life? I’ve just finished the first podcast series talking about Jacob and his father and grandfather — and wow, they were very, very rich and prosperous people indeed. Riches and godliness are by no means mutually exclusive, if those riches be sought God’s way and will only come in God’s time.
I’m Nathan Conkey with God’s World, God’s Way. My mission is to apply God’s ways to God’s world so that God’s men might know God’s blessing. Sponsored by CR101Radio.com, in association with Grace Community School and Nicene Covenant Church. Visit CR101Radio.com where you’ll find free Christian audiobooks, ebooks, and podcasts for the Christian who won’t accept the easy answers.
Abraham, the man of God, father of the faithful, was very rich in silver and in gold and in cattle, as Genesis 13:2 tells us. God-given abundance — the kind of riches that come from God’s blessing, which add no sorrow, as Proverbs 10:22 says — must be sought God’s way and will only come in God’s appointed time and according to his good pleasure.
But why should you trust me? I am not rich — but by God’s grace and putting into practice God’s ways of doing things, I earn more now than I have ever done before, by at least a factor of three. But that’s not why you should listen to me. Listen to me because the man I’m going to talk about was the richest man the world has ever known. He was richer than any of the patriarchs, who were very, very rich indeed. He was richer even than Job, who was the richest man in the East — and even after God doubled his wealth and blessing, Solomon was richer by a huge margin.
But you say: that was a long time ago, and Solomon was a special man. Unlike me — I’m only ordinary. Well, as ordinary as I am, or you might be, brother, the one who richly blessed Solomon has not changed. He is able to bless today and change the course of your life from one day to the next, if we are willing to take on board the precepts and practices contained in this and other Bible passages.
But you say: the Bible is a spiritual book. We shouldn’t look for worldly matters in the Bible. That’s breaking the rules. Well, Christian brother, I have great news for you. The word of God is the only rule for faith and life — not just for faith, but for our life too. Praise God for that. God gives us his word so that we might succeed — not simply that we might go to heaven when we die.
Without further ado, let’s turn to our passage.
1 Kings 3:1–14
Verse 1 says: Then Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David, until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.
Solomon was already engaged in the business of being a king — and being a king was Solomon’s business. But what does that mean for me? Well, brother, if you want to succeed, you have to succeed at something. Winning the lottery and getting lots of money in your account isn’t success — it’s a leaky bathtub. Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it, says Proverbs 13:11.
No, success has to be on God’s terms — fulfilling God’s purposes for the world and for your own particular corner of it. God was later able to grant Solomon success because Solomon had made a start doing what he was born to do: to rule God’s people. And if we want to know God’s blessings, we had better make sure we have our nose to the grindstone and our shoulder to the wheel, labouring in our calling.
You might wish that you too were a king. That sounds like an easy life. But Solomon knew better. He knew that kingship was far from easy — his own father David had risked his life every time he went out to war, and his own son Absalom tried to usurp his throne. Solomon could have said: I won’t follow my assigned calling. It’s too hard. I’ll do something easier. No — Solomon never complained. He made a start. And that’s what we have to do too.
But what if you don’t know what your calling is? That’s a genuine question. But here’s the thing: if you’re anything like me, you have always known what your calling was. It’s just that you’d rather run to the hills than follow in your father’s footsteps. Kingship is the ultimate responsibility — the buck, quite literally, stops with you. There are no holidays, no days off. And maybe the calling set before you is just as hard in your eyes.
But God does not make mistakes. I’m preaching to myself here. Whatever you’re called to do, it isn’t meant to be easy. But you can be assured that your God-given calling has been given by a God who equips his servants and gives them everything they need, when they need it, if they seek grace from him to do it.
Walking in the Statutes
The people were still sacrificing in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.
Christian brother, if you want to walk God’s way of sorrow-free success, there is only one way — and that is the right way. The right way is mapped out for us in God’s law, the statutes of David. If we sincerely want God’s blessing in our life and work, we must first be students of God’s law: his measure of right and wrong, especially as it applies to our life and work.
God has told us how he wants things done — whether we are carpenters or accountants, social media managers or secretaries. God brought me all the way to a Baptist church in Edinburgh, far from my then home near the Deer Park in Ripon, North Yorkshire, to give me my life verse: Ezra 7:10 — For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.
Studying God’s law requires hard work — preparing your heart, the core of your being, your inner man, to seek the law of the Lord. If you will walk in God’s statutes, you can’t do it without a renewed heart first of all, and then a prepared heart. If you want to walk the noble and narrow path of godly success, the transformation starts from within, whilst you’re doing the work — like Solomon.
A Flaw Need Not Stop You
Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
Solomon had a flaw — he burned incense on the high places — and yet God still blessed him richly, despite that flaw. Brother, maybe you have flaws too. I’m not talking about open rebellion against God. I’m not talking about hard-hearted disobedience that will kill you if not repented of. But you have flaws, and you know them, and can list them off in great detail. That does not mean you can’t seek God and his blessing. Don’t listen to the lie of the flesh and the devil that says you have to be flawless in every way, like an Instagram post, before you can be blessed by the Lord. Don’t rob yourself — or God, for God is glorified and pleased when you succeed in your God-given calling.
The Burnt Offering
The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
From the list of possible burnt offerings in Leviticus 1:3–17, a king would not dare offer a peasant’s offering. It would have been a thousand bulls that Solomon offered. Given David’s precedent of purchasing the threshing floor of Araunah with his own money for the site of the temple, these thousand bulls would have been purchased out of Solomon’s own pocket — before the Lord had blessed him with great wealth. That’s at the very least two million dollars’ worth of beasts, and the figure is probably closer to six million dollars.
This cost the king a great deal of his own money. I can guarantee you that you will never arrive at godly success in your life without first preparing your heart, then engaging your mind to study God’s law, and then day by day putting it into practice in your life and calling. And if you’re not willing to put your hands in your pockets, what chance do you think you stand of prospering?
Someone once said: there’s nothing so commonplace as the desire to be exceptional. But we’ve got to go beyond desire and engage heart, brain, and debit card on this lifelong godly success journey. Every success coach will tell you that you’ll have to invest in courses and counselling and mentoring to succeed — and that’s true. In the multitude of counsellors there is safety, says Proverbs 11:14. But we’re talking about something alien to the world. We’re talking about burnt offerings to God.
Solomon was showing his complete consecration to God for his life and his term as king. As a sincere and costly symbol of his wholehearted love for his Lord, he dug deep, deep, deep into his pocket, lit it all on the altar, and watched it all go up in smoke. This is the way.
Now, we are no longer required to sacrifice animals — but the word of God never fails. Burnt offerings are very much a New Testament thing, because they’re a God thing. Romans 12:1 says: Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Just like Isaac, all Jehovah-worshippers must put themselves on the altar every day. It is our reasonable service. Putting ourselves on the altar means complete consecration to God — dying to what we want to do with our resources, with our time, with the sweat of our brow.
What might you have to put on the altar? You might have to put years and decades on the altar, learning your trade, developing your character. Maybe your calling isn’t glamorous — you’re a scrap metal man or an arable farmer. Maybe you’re tempted by something more respectable. Trust God and throw that respectability on the altar, and watch it burn to a crisp. Maybe your calling will mean a life in the shadows, working in obscurity. Throw it on the altar, knowing that God sees us always.
Brother, dedicate it to the Lord and his kingdom, and watch it all go up in smoke — knowing that it is a sweet savour to God, that it smells delightful to him. Know that God is no man’s debtor. We can’t force God to give us anything, but we know that the Lord loves a cheerful giver, and that the Lord is no man’s debtor. So let us give of ourselves as a living sacrifice — not dourly, gloomily, but expectantly, like Isaac offering himself on Mount Moriah, confident that he would be raised to life, not left in death.
Ask What You Wish
In Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night, and God said: Ask what you wish me to give you.
We could never imagine demanding that God do what we like or grant us a wish. We can’t oblige God to do anything for us, whether we sacrifice one bull, ten bulls, or ten thousand. But God does bind himself to us by covenant. He gives us sure and certain promises — and one such promise is Psalm 145:19: He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him. Proverbs 10:24 says: The desire of the righteous shall be granted.
By walking in the statutes of his father David, Solomon showed that he knew and obeyed the law of God. By giving of himself a whole burnt offering, he demonstrated clearly that his inner man, his heart, belonged to God. And the Lord, in his infinite grace, mercy, and power, lowered himself to speak with Solomon and offer him whatever Solomon wished.
Solomon’s prayer is therefore of absolutely critical importance and relevance to us. If we don’t ask correctly, we will receive nothing — like those Corinthians who asked, but asked for all the wrong reasons.
Solomon’s Prayer
Then Solomon said: You have shown great lovingkindness to your servant David my father, according as he walked before you in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward you. And you have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
You, your, you, your, you, your. Six times Solomon says you or your. Solomon’s overwhelming concern is with his covenant Lord. And if we want success in our endeavours, if we desire the kind of riches that bring no sorrow, we must receive it from God’s hand — and our first obsession should be with what the Lord wants, in our particular field, calling, and work. Long before we think of the cars, the houses, the watches, or anything else we might desire.
What we see here is extreme humility. Solomon was king of God’s chosen people Israel. He had every reason to feel proud — but not before God. He acknowledged that his being king was never of his own doing. It was entirely out of his hands. It was God’s doing, but also his father’s doing. God made Solomon king because of who King David was and what he did.
And we too must honour our father and mother and acknowledge — as is my case — that our talents come largely from our father, and everything comes from the Lord. God gives grace to the humble, but resists the proud. Humility is another clear prerequisite to success in life. Pride will kill success.
Solomon is showing that he knows how life in God’s world works. He says: God, you did this because you loved my father. But it wasn’t reckless, random love — it was covenant love. You have shown great lovingkindness to your servant David my father, according as he walked before you. It was a love that corresponded to David’s inner life and actions. And what marked David’s inner life and actions? Truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart.
Solomon knew that God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God, who rewards those who do what God tells them to do. My brother, we must come to know and love God’s covenant. God does not change. He is still a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. He is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him. And the way to earnestly seek God is through his covenant.
The Right Request
Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. Yet I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. Your servant is in the midst of your people which you have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.
Solomon continues with his intense focus on the Lord. But this isn’t just about Solomon’s feelings — it’s about stewardship. God made Solomon’s father king. God gave Solomon the throne. And it’s not just Solomon and David who are chosen — everyone in his kingdom is chosen by God. He’s a king, but he’s also God’s servant, a steward.
Your calling might be great or it might be very humble — but whatever you’re called to, you’re a steward. You can’t see your job, your business, your calling as something separate from God. Whatever your legitimate occupation, you are a steward. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. In our striving for success, we must strive lawfully — or all our striving will be for nothing, or worse, we will gain ungodly riches with sorrow attached.
We’re 113 words into Solomon’s response to the Lord — and he hasn’t asked for a single thing yet. God had offered to fulfil his desire. What was his desire? Psalm 37:4 says: Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Out of the millions of foolish ways to answer God’s open invitation, Solomon chose the one right answer from his heart:
So give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, to discern between good and evil — for who is able to judge this great people of yours?
Solomon asked God for all that he needed to do his job. He didn’t ask for anything for himself. His supreme task as king was administering justice. He had already copied out his own copy of the law, and had doubtless been meditating on it day and night, as the righteous man does. And we too should do all we can to understand the rights and wrongs of our own calling.
Every legitimate calling — farming or forestry, hatmaking or hotel ownership — relies on you being just and righteous: keeping your word, turning up on time, not stealing, and a hundred other ethical requirements. But Solomon felt the need for special grace to exercise his calling. He pleaded for an understanding heart to judge God’s people, so that he could do his duties to the people he was to serve by administering God’s justice.
Will God hear us if we pray for an understanding heart to do what he has called us to do? Of course he will. This is what the righteous desire. The desire of the godly man, brother, is not even most clearly expressed when he is singing worship songs or hymns. A godly man’s life finds its focus in his dominion labour for his Lord — his work, his job, his business. If our heart’s desire is for more grace for that work, this is the point where we can meet God and know his richest blessings.
God proceeded to give Solomon wisdom — more wisdom than anyone before or since — and riches and honour. This is the route to riches and honour: through your God-appointed labour, through the covenant of God, by which God blesses his faithful workers in their respective fields.
But if we make honour and riches the goal we strive for, they will forever elude us. If, however, we give whole burnt offering devotion to God above and godly service to our clients and customers here below — God may well be pleased to grant us both riches and honour.
I hope you enjoyed this first lesson in the second series of God’s World, God’s Way. This has been Nathan F. Conkey. If you have any questions, you can email me at questions@godsworldgodsway.com. See you next week.