KING OF KINGS!
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Opening Prayer
Almighty God, thank you for choosing me to be your child, for calling me to serve you, for giving me the privilege to proclaim the wonder of your Son wherever you lead me.
Read 1 CHRONICLES 29:21–30
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Solomon Acknowledged as King
21 The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day.
Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.
25 The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.
The Death of David
26 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. 27 He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.
29 As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, 30 together with the details of his reign and power, and the circumstances that surrounded him and Israel and the kingdoms of all the other lands.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Take your power, O Lord, and reign!
What an epilogue! What joy is expressed here! The sacrifices, the eating and drinking in God’s presence, the hope of a glorious future. Everyone lived happily ever after? No! In the account of David’s last days in 1 Kings 1 and 2, we see an old man who couldn’t get warm, a revolt by his son Adonijah who wanted the throne, a rather hasty coronation of Solomon, some sinister advice concerning Joab—and later we read of Solomon’s failures to follow the Lord faithfully. Once again, the chronicler is painting a much happier version by simply omitting the nasty stuff. Why?
He wants his readers to remember David as he was at the assembly, without clouding the issue. All along, the chronicler had been concerned to focus on the fact that Israel’s king ruled under God. Here, Solomon was anointed ‘before the Lord’ and ‘sat on the throne of the Lord’ (vv. 22, 23). Remember what David has just prayed in verse 11: ‘Yours, Lord, is the kingdom.’ It is God’s throne. He is the High King over all. That truth hadn’t changed several centuries later. Even in the chronicler’s time, when God’s people seemed of small account, their God still reigned.1
Do we sometimes forget that when we look at the news? Perhaps this truth—that God still reigns supreme in his world—is the most important thing we can take away with us from these readings. Whatever is happening, however grim things may seem, either internationally, nationally, or in our personal lives, we can hold onto the fact that God is working his purpose out. One day our King will come back and claim his own. I am eagerly awaiting that day!
Apply
Reflect on God’s kingship over your own life. Confess where you have failed to allow him to reign. Worship him as the King of Kings. Cry ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’2
Closing prayer
As I wait for your return, Lord Jesus, whatever the circumstances, help me to remember who I am in you. Help me live victoriously because the battle over sin is already won; you reign—now and forever.
1 Michael Wilcock, The Message of Chronicles (IVP, 1987), 118 2 Rev 22:20
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