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As a Little Child, July 2
1 Kings 3:4-15
I am but a little child.... Give therefore thy servant an understanding
heart to judge thy people.
1 Kings 3:7, 9
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The language used by Solomon while praying to God before the ancient
altar at Gibeon reveals his humility and his strong desire to honor God. He
realized that without divine aid he was as helpless as a little child to fulfill the
responsibilities resting on him. He knew that he lacked discernment, and it was
a sense of his great need that led him to seek God for wisdom. In his heart there
was no selfish aspiration for a knowledge that would exalt him above others. He
desired to discharge faithfully the duties devolving upon him, and he chose the
gift that would be the means of causing his reign to bring glory to God. Solomon
was never so rich or so wise or so truly great as when he confessed, “I am but a
little child: I know not how to go out or come in.”
Those who today occupy positions of trust should seek to learn the lesson
taught by Solomon’s prayer. The higher the position a man occupies, the greater
the responsibility that he has to bear, the wider will be the influence that he
exerts and the greater his need of dependence on God. Ever should he remember
that with the call to work comes the call to walk circumspectly before his fellow
men. He is to stand before God in the attitude of a learner. Position does not
give holiness of character. It is by honoring God and obeying His commands
that a man is made truly great
Our petitions to God should not proceed from hearts that are filled with
selfish aspirations. God exhorts us to choose those gifts that will redound to His
glory. He would have us choose the heavenly instead of the earthly. He throws
open before us the possibilities and advantages of a heavenly commerce. He
gives encouragement to our loftiest aims, security to our choicest treasure. When
the worldly possession is swept away, the believer will rejoice in his heavenly
treasure, the riches that cannot be lost in any earthly disaster
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6
Prophets and Kings, 30, 31
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7
The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 2:1026
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