Incumbent upon every leader is the responsibility of preparing for his departure. He can rest assured that there will come a time that he will no longer be able to lead in the capacity which he at present is enjoying. All men are mortal beings whose earthly lives, at least the present one, one day will end; thus, a good leader must invest and instruct another to serve in his stead. Reading 1 Chronicles 28-29 reminded me of the necessity as a leader in my home and church to be proactive preparing for my departure. Is that soon? Well hopefully not :) However, I hold that leaders must be visionaries which leads to proactive preparation. Furthermore as a father my children will one day leave my home to build a home of their own. In 1 Chronicles 28-29 the reader encounters King David's "Swan Song." David recognizes that his time as King is coming to an end, thus he prepares Solomon to reign in his stead. Therefore, he instructs Solomon to "know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches the heart and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek, He will be found by you; but, if you forsake Him, He will forsake you forever." David in so many words reminds Solomon of the primary Law, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (Duet. 6:5). David desired Solomon to know that all decisions have consequences: the decision to love and obey God have fruitful consequences and the decision to disregard and disobey God has destructive consequences. King David had experienced both in a major way during his reign. He desired better for Solomon, thus he instructed him to love and obey God.
After having instructed him to "love and obey God," David instructed the arising new King to courageously do what God placed in his heart to do - build the Temple. David had planned to build the temple, yet God revealed that Solomon was destined to perform this task. Therefore, knowing what God desired Solomon to perform, David exhorted Solomon to courageously accomplish the task of building the Temple, reminding him that God would be with him. Solomon's courage would arise from the presence and power of God, not Solomon's position. David desired Solomon to know that godly leadership which sought to fulfill God's mission rested on the presence and power of the Lord and not the mere political position of king.
David proactively prepared Solomon to reign in his stead. David instructed him to "love and obey God," as well as, "rest in His power and presence" in order to accomplish His mission for the King. What conclusion can we draw? How can we learn from this text? 1) Kingdom leadership involves proactively preparing others to carry on obedient kingdom leadership upon our departure. 2) Kingdom leadership always, always, always is founded upon obedience to the Lord and His abiding presence and power.
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