Riches and Honor

 

1 Chronicles ends with David’s death and Solomon taking the throne.

We’re told that he prospered and that all of Israel obeyed him. God made him great in the eyes of all.

Why?

One, it served God’s purposes at the time. Two, it honored David, whom the Lord wanted to honor. David, himself, dies, we’re told, full of days, riches, and honor.

The Lord exalted David because David exalted the Lord, and so the Lord exalted David’s son.

All that blessing becomes a burden to Solomon, and he’s trapped by what all the riches bring him.

God prospered David because he worshiped the Lord in Spirit and in truth. Solomon benefited from that.

Psalm 1 says that the upright man who meditates on God’s word will prosper in everything he does. And we can pass our prosperity onto our kids.

This doesn’t mean we’re rich in the world’s eyes. It means we’re rich in the life God has chosen for us. The prophets were rejected by the world. They had hard lives, but the Lord prospered them. The Lord delivered them from their many troubles and provided for their every need.

And though we pass on a legacy, we are each accountable individually before the Lord. Solomon will have to account for his taking in foreign wives and following after their gods.

My kids will have to walk with Jesus themselves and persevere through their own sanctification process.

The Lord’s prosperity is a blessing. Of course it’s a blessing. He gives good gifts. But we need to teach our kids to take them all and offer them right back to God. We can’t carry the burden of blessing any more than we can carry the burden of troubles. We need the Lord to do it all. We need the Lord to take our lives.

Give Him your blessings and prosperity and honor. They are all from Him and for Him.