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“And if thou wilt walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days” (1 Kings 3:14).
We noticed yesterday that when the Lord asked Solomon what he wanted, he asked for wisdom to rule well. As a reward to Solomon for asking for this, the Lord promised him riches and honor as well. However, we see by our verse for today that He promised him something else, but there was a condition attached. If Solomon walked in obedience, the Lord would lengthen his days. That is, he could count on a long life. This was one of the blessings promised in the Old Testament, for obedience.
Did Solomon live a long life? Was he obedient to the Lord? It seems that he lived for the Lord during the first half of his reign, but later, as we will see tomorrow, he married many foreign women who turned his heart away from the Lord.
We saw yesterday that Solomon was probably not yet twenty years old when he became king. He reigned forty years, so that he died when he was not even sixty. David lived to be seventy, but sadly, Solomon’s days were not lengthened, because of his disobedience.
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