2 Chron 9-12 Leadership and identifying real problems

May 13th, 2 Chronicles 9-12

       The Queen of Sheba comes to check out the rumors about King Solomon. the thing that really blows my mind about Solomon is the constant bringing of large extravagant gifts to him. I suppose it is for the sake of currying favor, but if you ever wanted an example of the rich getting richer, Solomon is your guy.
       As far as the spiritual implications, it also makes me wonder how much we would offer God if we really knew him. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the greatness of Solomon they throw gold at him. God is still infinitely greater and worthy of everything we could offer Him. I see a worship-like response to the person of Solomon and long to give that kind of steady response to this great God I am coming to know.
       For the change of pace, chapter 12:1, the next king in line Rehoboam. "When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him."
        The story that caught my attention was the one about the shields. Solomon had three hundred shields made out of gold. At some point the Egyptians plundered Israel and took those shields. In a case  of misunderstanding the root of the problem, Rehoboam had the shields replaced with bronze shields.
        Rehoboam wanted to fix the problem of the missing shields. However the heart of the problem was the verse above. The missing gold shields are the least of his problems, but saving face has it's need as well. The problems is bronze is not a real replacement for gold and everyone standing around with their new replacement shield has formed an opinion on the matter.
       Part of good leadership is the ability to identify the real problem, a great need in our day. May God raise us up to be great leaders who live with the Spirit inside of us. May our leadership be a testimony of Christ alive in us.