1 Kings 11-5.11.22

Scripture

1 Kings 11:12-13

12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

Observation-What does it say?

God was not pleased with King Solomon towards the end of his life because his wives had “turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been (verse 4).”

However, God did not take Solomon’s position away from him during his lifetime. God said he would take it from Solomon’s son, but even then, He would still show mercy by giving him a portion of the Kingdom. Why? Because of his father and God’s servant, King David.

Understanding-What does it mean?

David’s choice to be fully devoted to God until the end, led to God showing mercy towards his son, Solomon.

Imagine for a second, God mentioning your name to your offspring as the reason He shows mercy to them, because you were a faithful servant to Him.

The legacy we leave behind matters.  Although He remembers our sin no more when we give our lives to Him, something He doesn’t forget is if we were a man or woman after His own heart. King David already received his reward by being in Heaven with Jesus, but God still honored him in front of his son on earth by allowing Solomon to continue to rule. That actually makes me tear up.

Life Application

Being honored by the Lord is the greatest honor any of us could receive, to the point of it affecting the next generations after us.

I pray that we would be men and women after God’s own heart, like King David was, and as a result, God would show mercy to our children and grandchildren after us.

-Michelle Gaddi