SETTING UP SOMEONE FOR SUCCESS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then David said, “The house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.

Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel.

David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’”

“Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

“I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”

1 Chronicles 22:1-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Going back to my many years serving in the Navy, I can see a complete change in perspective that occurred between my early years and my later ones.

In my initial years, most of my focus was on doing the things I needed to do to succeed. The Navy was very good about laying out the steps one should take professionally to advance up the ranks and I followed that blueprint to success.

But as I moved up into positions of leadership, I experienced a paradigm shift, especially when I became a Chief Petty Officer. Instead of the focus being on me and my success, the spotlight changed to the people I was tasked with leading and doing everything I could do to help them succeed, to help set them up for success so that someday they could be able get to where I was. And as I reflected, I began to remember leaders who helped me do well and advance, understanding that I now had the opportunity to return the favor to other young, up-and-coming Sailors.

As we look into Chapter 22 of 1 Chronicles, we see David exercising this same principle as he works hard to set up his son Solomon to have success once he assumes the throne.

David surely had many success of his own, beginning as a mere shepherd boy who God selected to be Israel’s second king. He went on to have many conquests and victories, expanding the kingdom of Israel and doing so under the leadership and guidance of the God that his heart was always after. David had nothing else to prove in the latter stages of his life but he could do one more significant thing. He could ensure that his son was set up for success once he took over as king.

For David knew that his son Solomon would follow him and he also knew through the prophet Nathan that God did not want him to build the temple but rather Solomon (1 Chronicles 17:1-15). And so David received God’s will and then did what he could to help ensure that will was done.

After building an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah, appeasing God and saving Israel from a plague and onslaught from an angel of the Lord, David pronounced that the temple would be built at the site of the altar. He then began to set preliminary actions in place so that when the time came, his son Solomon could carry out God’s plan and fulfill His promise.

Now, getting building supplies in the time of David wasn’t like going to Home Dept or Lowes where you could get everything you needed in one place. No, David had to get the materials together from all kinds of different sources as explained in the following from our passage:

1. He appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God.

2. He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings.

3. He provided more bronze than could be weighed.

4. He provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

5. He provided a hundred talents of gold.

6. He provided a million talents of silver.

7. Finally, he lined up additional craftsmen and laborers beyond number like masons, carpenters, and those skilled in every kind of work in gold and silver, bronze and iron.

Indeed, as the scriptures tell us and will continue to tell us through the end of 1 Chronicles, David made extensive preparations for the temple construction before his death to help his soon-to-be-king son Solomon. And as this passage closes, we find David charging his young and inexperienced son to build the temple for the Lord. Look again at David’s words:

“My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’”

“Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

“I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”

Note here one important point before we close this devotion. For David encouraged his son to do much more than just build a temple using all the resources and laborers he had put together. He encouraged Solomon to seek the Lord for discretion and the right perspective. We know this stuck in Solomon’s mind as he wrote the following proverb that would have made his father proud:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

David had learned that the secret to success was obedience to the Lord’s commands and decrees. The only time David got in trouble was when he strayed from these and he longed for Solomon to not repeat the mistakes of the past. Perhaps that was the greatest advice David could have given his son.

Friends, do you know someone who could use mentoring in their lives? Do you see any opportunities to help set others up for success?

If so, then I hope you will remember the actions of David, both physical and spiritual, and how they sought to do two things: allow for his son to have success and for that success to glorify, magnify, and honor the Lord.

Leading someone to any other form of success is missing the mark.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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