Take your Bibles with me and turn to 1 Kings 2. I Kings 2. This is a chapter about the death of David and the establishment of Solomon's kingdom. It's quite a long chapter, and it isn't easy reading. I actually want to start tonight in the end.
So are you in 1 Kings 2? Let's read verse 46.
[!bible] 1 Kings 2:46 - KJV 46. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
I want you to ignore the first half of this verse for now. We will cover it. I want to focus on that last phrase "the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon."
So we’ve talked a lot about David’s reign. Look at verses 10-12
[!bible] 1 Kings 2:10-12 - KJV 10. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 11. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. 12. Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.
David reigned for forty years as king. 7 years as just the king of Judah, and 33 years as king over the combined Judah and Israel. 40 years.
Solomon, would also reign 40 years. If you were to look at chapter 11 verse 42, it says this:
[!bible] 1 Kings 11:42 - KJV 42. And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
So father and son, they both had the same length of reign. But their reigns couldn’t have been more different.
Every time David turned around, he was fighting for his kingdom. Fighting with Ishbosheth and Israel for the first seven years of his kingdom. Then, he had to fight with Absalom and Sheba and even at the end of his reign, his own son Adonijah was trying to take over. His reign was marked by constant internal unrest and instability.
But Solomon never had that. At the very end of Solomon’s reign, he had some problems - but nothing even close to the level of David’s reign. If David’s reign was marked by instability, Solomon’s reign was marked by peace and prosperity.
Under Solomon, the kingdom grew and grew. Under Solomon, the Temple was built. Under Solomon, Israel was kind of a world superpower.
And if I’m reading chapter 2 of 1 Kings right, I think this chapter is supposed to give us some of the secrets to that long and prosperous reign.
So, with that in mind, let’s pray and then I’ll give you the four secrets to success we learn from king Solomon.
The first secret of Solomon’s reign was...
Secret 1 - Personal character (2)
At the beginning of this chapter, David and Solomon are kind of co-reigning. They are sharing the throne. But David is on his death bed, and so he brings Solomon in for some final words of wisdom. He starts by saying
[!bible] 1 Kings 2:2 - KJV 2. I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
Solomon needed strength. I don’t think this “be thou strong” had anything to do with how much Solomon could dead lift. I think we all know that David was telling him that he would need strength of character. He would need to be a strong person mentally and spiritually to get through this life.
And I think it is true for us today, that if we are going to live the life God wants us to, we are going to need strength. Not physical strength, but mental and emotional and spiritual strength. We have to show ourselves a man.
This reminds me of what John said in 1 John 2:14:
[!bible] 1 John 2:14 - KJV 14. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
We need strength.
[!bible] Ephesians 6:10 - KJV 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
[!bible] 2 Timothy 2:1 - KJV
- Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
It is not God’s will for us to go through life like a bunch of reeds, just blown around wherever the wind blows us - God wants us to be strong, planted, resilient.
I think about my friend Amine we met in South Africa. He is what? Maybe 22 years old. He was engaged. A few weeks away from his wedding date. And his beautiful fiancé goes to the grocery store, just like she had thousands of times in her life, and someone randomly opens fire on the store and she’s killed.
And Amine has remained positive, and he’s remained faithful.
How do you deal with that? We need strength. And can I tell you - we have a source of strength. We can be “strong in the Lord.” We can (as Paul said in another passage) “Do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.”
Solomon would not have had such a peaceful and prosperous reign without some strength, without some personal character.
But there is a second thing Solomon needed to establish His kingdom, and it is...
Secret 2 - Divine guidance (3)
Look at verse 3:
[!bible] 1 Kings 2:3 - KJV 3. And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:
Some of David’s last words were to give Solomon the key to prosperity, the key to success - and it is this “walk in God’s ways, keep the charge of the Lord thy God, keep his statutes.”
Solomon had to walk with the Lord and walk in God’s word. That was the secret to his prosperity.
David wrote about this in probably my favorite Psalm:
[!bible] Psalms 1:1-3 - KJV
- Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
- But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
- And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
This isn’t the only place we see this promise.
[!bible] Joshua 1:7-8 - KJV 7. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
I’m no prosperity preacher. I’m no health and wealth huckster. But I do believe this promise: that if you walk with God, and you walk in the word, God will bless your ways.
That blessing may not be financial. But it will come nonetheless.
But we have too walk with God and walk in the word.
If we do that, God can touch our life like Joseph, who God blessed wherever he went, or like Daniel, who God blessed in Babylon.
But we have to love the word and love the one who wrote it.
So we’ve seen the first two secrets to Solomon’s leadership:
- His strength of character
- His walk with God.
But here is where the text gets a little more tricky.
Look at verses 5-6
[!bible] 1 Kings 2:5-6 - KJV 5. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. 6. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.
King David was one of the greatest men who ever lived. The man killed Goliath. The man wrote the Psalms. The man was the king that all other kings were measured against.
So what did David say on his deathbed? What was his last words on this earth? It was this:
- Joab has blood on his hands, don’t let him die in peace.
Basically, David was telling Solomon he had to take care of some of the things that David hadn’t had the strength to take care of.
But notice what David said in verse 6 “Do therefore according to thy wisdom”
So, I think a third secret of Solomon’s success had to be...
Secret 3 - Practical discernment (6)
or put another way - His wisdom. Solomon was very good at making decisions wisely. He may have been the best there ever was, the most wise man that ever lived.
He had this practical wisdom. And if we are going to be successful in this life, successful in our marriage, in our family, in our work, in whatever God has placed before us - boy do we need wisdom.
Life is full of difficult decisions - things that aren’t so easy or so black and white - and we need wisdom.
[!bible] Proverbs 4:7 - KJV 7. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
- Who are you going to marry?
- How are you going to treat people?
- How are you going to spend or save your money?
- Who are you going to work for?
- What kind of employee are you going to be?
- How are you going to raise your kids?
And a million other questions of life all require wisdom.
We need wisdom.
[!bible] James 1:5 - KJV 5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
- So secret #1 - Character.
- Secret # 2 - Walking with God in the word.
- Secret # 3 - Wisdom.
But there is one more thing that Solomon had to do to establish his kingdom and it was the last thing David told him to do, Solomon had to take...
Secret 4 - Difficult action (6-46)
David’s dying wish for Solomon - his last instructions - were to make sure that Joab and Shimei were taken care of.
Remember, Joab was a complicated guy. He was David’s right hand man. He was the talented general who helped David win so many battles. He was fiercely loyal to David even when David lost his kingdom and was on the run.
But he was also a murderer, he murdered Amasa and Abner - two people who were his rivals. He just killed them in cold blood.
David doesn’t mention this, but he also murdered Absalom. And at the end, when David was in bed and couldn’t get warm, Joab was in on the conspiracy to make Adonijah the king.
Then there was Shimei. Shimei was the relative of Sauls that cursed David and threw rocks at him when it looked like he lost his kingdom and he was on the run from Absalom.
As soon as David was back in power, Shimei was there to try to apologize. But he was a snake. David gave him a stay of execution, saying he wouldn’t be killed “this day”, but I think David realized the man needed to be dealt with - he was going to be a problem for Solomon if he didn’t.
As soon as David dies, Adonijah, David’s son and the brother of Solomon who tried to take the throne, he makes this sort of soft play for the throne. He tries to get Bathsheba to get Solomon to give him Abishag - who was David’s wife. And Solomon rightly sees this as a play for the throne, and orders Adonijah executed.
Solomon also had to deal with Abiathar, a priest who had been loyal to David, but joined the conspiracy to elect Adonijah. Solomon didn’t kill him - but he did put him out to pasture as a punishment.
And so Solomon had to start his reign by cleaning house, by enacting justice, by taking care of business - by doing the hard things that David didn’t do.
These weren't acts of revenge or cruelty - they were acts of justice that David had been unable or unwilling to carry out. Solomon's willingness to make these difficult decisions at the start of his reign created the stability that lasted for decades
And so here is the final principle for success. Sometimes we have to do hard things, we have to make difficult decisions, and those decisions prevent problems later.
I don’t think any of these things was easy for Solomon to do. I mean think of it - his first solo act as king was having his brother killed. That’s not easy.
But as they say - if it was easy, everyone would do it. Sometimes we have to do the hard things that others are unwilling to do.
And do you know who was a prince of peace, who walked with the Lord, who had the strongest character of all, and who personified wisdom? The Lord.
And do you know - He did the hardest of things for us. He went to the cross for us - bearing our sins.
That wasn't easy. In the garden He prayed 'if it be possible, let this cup pass from me' - but then He said 'nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.'
He had the strength of character to face the cross. He walked perfectly in His Father's will. He had all wisdom. And He was willing to do the most difficult thing imaginable - die for our sins.
And because He did that hard thing, we can have peace with God. We can have forgiveness. We can have eternal life.
The four secrets we've learned from Solomon - character, walking with God, wisdom, and willingness to do hard things - these aren't just ancient principles. They're timeless truths that can transform our lives today."
