Soloman's Greatest Decision

2 Chronicles 1. Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

Soloman's approach to begin leadership of the people of Israel is revealed in 2 Chronicles chapter 1. Soloman led commanders and leaders, heads of families and the whole assembly to the place where the tent tabernacle that Moses had used in the desert was kept at Gibeon. There was also the bronze altar there and Soloman, along with all of the leaders, offered 1,000 burnt offerings to the Lord.

He did not begin by trying to demonstrate his power or superiority to his new subjects, he began by leading them to be submissive to the Lord.

After watching a year of supposedly future leaders campaigning for president, the message seems to be that in order to lead, you must overpower your adversaries and make sure that everyone believes that you have all the answers. This was not Soloman's approach. He believed the God's power is needed to achieve greatness.

God came to Soloman and told him to ask for his heart's desire and the God would grant it. As most of you know, Soloman didn't ask for wealth or power, but for wisdom to lead God's people. God gave him great wisdom and insight and in addition blessed him with power and wealth that still has not been matched today. In today's money, Soloman's personal wealth was twice that of the next-wealthiest person in history. According to www.wealthresult.com which gives the top 10 - wealthiest people of all time,

number 4 was Andrew Carnegie whose personal worth was $300 Billion dollars (Carnegie Libraries all over the country and more),

number 3 was Mansa Musa I $400Billion Malian Empire 1280-1337 made a pilgrimage to Mecca with 12,000 slaves each of whom carried a 4 lb gold bar. He gave great gifts to each town along the way so much that he destroyed the economy of each area he passed through.

(Bill Gates was not mentioned, but I believe he stood at 450 billion dollars at one time)

Number 2 was John D. Rockefeller founder of Standard Oil Company worth $664 Billion dollars. He retired 40 years before he died and spent the time setting up foundations to fight diseases and was instrumental in the eradication of hookworm and yellow fever.

Number 1 was King Soloman whose worth was estimated at 2.1 trillion dollars in modern money. He received 25 tons of gold every year for the 40 years of his reign. Everything from cups and utensils to his Throne and footstool were made of solid gold. The throne had 6 stairs and 12 lion statues of solid gold and were inlaid with ivory. This wealth does not include the money made from business ventures, trade or the tribute paid to him by the princes of Arabia. There was no one as wealthy as he was.

When you make plans for success, begin by submitting yourself to God, not asking God to help you in your plans, but totally submitting to God's plan and he will overwhelm you with blessings beyond compare suited specifically to you.  It will be the wisest decision you can make.