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Man Up
Jon Burgess“When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’” 1 Kings 2:1-4 NIV
David is telling his son Solomon who will soon become King to "man up". Instead of just giving him a testosterone infused hoo-rah he provides the method to man up!
Hold Your Ground In God- the strength he needs to complete the task before him can only be obtained and sustained through a daily pursuit of God. Move away from Him and you will move away from your source of strength and your moral compass. It's not about daily emotions but daily devotions. It's about daily obedience through relationship with God. David knew that all too well. When you stop seeking, you stop fighting, you stop standing and you end up losing the ground God entrusted to you.
Hide in Gods Promise- David reminds his son of the past promise and the future reward. This is a conditional promise. It's not carte blanche. It's an if/then reality. God will sustain the throne with the bloodline of David IF the generations continue to seek Him. There's no entitlement allowed here. He can't hide under his Dad's reputation. Solomon must hide in the promise of God. He can't hide in His Dad's relationship with God. He must pursue God personally.
Help is on the way- 1 Chronicles 29 shows David speaking to the leaders, officers, commanders and officials on behalf of his son: "My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is hound and inexperienced. The task is great...who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?" David could not help his son become the man of God he was meant to be on his own. He brought in the big guns to help guide and support Solomon in ways David could not.
In a day and age when our current culture is trying to effectively erase the very definition of what it means to be a man, this message from David to Solomon could not be more timely. There is an overt agenda that's getting a lot of support right now on the national scene to make gender a fluid reality rather then a static one. So, how do I raise my five boys to take a stand as men of God when the world in which they live has just deemed the fixed floor to be a flowing river without any banks or boundaries? David has just shown me how. Next week I'm inviting a few men from Aden's life that he looks up to for a "Man Up" gathering. Along with some good food and conversation around an outdoor fire these men will come around him in covenant support to see him become the man of God he's called to be. They will share three things written in a letter that they will read and then give to him: 1. This is how I see God at work in you. 2. This is what it means to be a man of God. 3. This is what I wish someone had told me when I was 13. This Rite of Passage takes seriously that 13 is the age of accountability. This is an outright acknowledgment that I don't have what it takes to give my son everything he needs to be successful in his God given endeavors and identity. I need help.
I pray this scripture over my sons today and all the young men who are seeking to stand as men of God in a fallen world: 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12
