1 Kings 3[i]
David was
king over Israel for years. At the end
of forty years, David made his son Solomon king in his place. There were a few challenges to Solomon’s
authority at the beginning, but he quickly overcame those challenges and was
soon firmly established as king over all Israel.
This brings
us to 1 Kings 3. Solomon is around 20
years old and he is king.
1 Kings 3
starts out:
Solomon made an alliance with
Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. (v. 1)
This is an
interesting fact to begin this chapter with.
Later on in Solomon’s life, this is going to play a very significant
role. This verse gives us a glimpse of
Solomon’s character as he starts out as a very young king. God had said, “The king must not take many
wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 17:17) However, Solomon either did not know this or
ignored it.
This world
offers three things to draw our hearts away from the Lord. These are:
1) the lust of the flesh 2) the lust of the eyes and 3) the boastful
pride of life. (1 John 2:16)
Solomon was
raised in David’s household. David had
many wives and concubines, and Solomon followed David’s example. Solomon eventually would have many more wives
than David ever did. This behavior could
be tied to the lust of the flesh, but because of the political aspect, it could
also be tied to the boastful pride of life.
Having many wives was what kings did, and the Lord warned against being
like other kings.
As 1 Kings
3 continues to describe the foundations of Solomon’s reign, it says:
Solomon loved the Lord, walking in
the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the
high places. (v. 3, ESV)[ii]
With this
verse, the Lord is giving us more background information. Solomon loved the Lord. However, the word “only” in the ESV text is
pointing out an exception. He followed
the statutes or ways of David, “except” on this one point.
Here again,
let me take you to Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy
12:1-14, God clearly instructs the Israelites on the location where they are to
worship. There is much good instruction
there, but let me just show you verses 13 and 14.
Take care that you do not offer
your burnt offerings at any place that you see, but at the place that the LORD
will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings,
and there you shall do all that I am commanding you. ESV
The first
and greatest commandment according to the Lord Jesus is to love the Lord our
God with our whole heart. Solomon loved
the Lord God. However, as 1 Kings 3:3
tells us, his love of God was tainted with a little bit of self-will. 1 Kings 3:3 seems to imply that David did not
worship at the high places. During the
time of the judges, one of the problems that Israel repeatedly faced was that
they did not entirely destroy the high places where the Canaanites who had been
in the land before them had worshiped. As
a result, they were often led astray and worshiped the gods of the Canaanites.
If the
world has three things to offer to draw us away from God, our enemy appeals to
our spiritual pride to get us to be unfaithful to the Lord. This is what Colossians 2:18 is talking about
when it says, "Their sinful minds have made them proud." False spirituality appeals to our flesh. This is why Jesus said the Father is looking
for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Not one of
us is perfect in our worship, and Solomon is a case in point. If we had to be perfect before God would
answer our prayers, our prayers would never be answered.
Solomon
went to the most important high place in Israel. There he sacrificed 1000 burnt
offerings.
The Lord is
not impressed with the size of our offerings.
Later on in the history of Israel, the Lord rebukes his people for
offering meaningless sacrifices because their hearts were not right in their
worship. Therefore, we can assume that
what got God's attention was the fact that Solomon was seeking God.
1 Kings 3:5
says:
That night the LORD appeared to
Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
Solomon
seems to have been seeking the Lord with a purpose. Being young and inexperienced, he quite
possibly was overwhelmed with his new job.
So, he said:
O LORD my God, you have made me
king instead of my father David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know
his way around. And here I am in the
midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be
counted! Give me an understanding heart
so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and
wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” (2 Kings 3:7-9)
This
request pleased the Lord.
The Lord is
pleased when we call on him for help.
Psalm 50:15 says, “Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will
rescue you, and you will give me glory."
This and many passages like it encourage us to call on the name of the
Lord.
What was particularly
pleasing in Solomon's request was the fact that he asked for wisdom to judge
God's people rightly rather than asking for anything for himself.
Solomon had
a big job before him. His kingdom had
enemies. He could have asked for
security or strength to defeat his enemies.
He could have asked for economic security for his country. However, at this point his main concern was
for the people of God.
This is
consistent with the second greatest commandment, to love our neighbor as
ourselves. Ephesians 6:18 says, "Praying
at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance,
making supplication for all the saints.”
(ESV) This and many texts like it tell us to pray for others. God is interested in our attitude toward
others, and wants us to consider others as more important than ourselves. Solomon’s request demonstrates this selfless
consideration of others.
God
answered Solomon by giving him wisdom greater than any other person has ever
had. He also gave him the riches and
security he did not ask for.
God has not
promised us that we will all be rich.
However, he does say:
Seek the Kingdom of God above all
else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33)
The last
part of chapter 3 of 1 Kings gives an illustration of how God made Solomon
wise. It tells the story of two women
both claiming one baby as their own. The
women were arguing back and forth before the King, "The baby is
mine." In an age where DNA tests were
not possible, this seemed like an impossible problem. However, King Solomon called for a sword, and
ordered that the baby be split in two and given to both women. The real mother said, "No don't kill the
baby, let her have him."
Solomon’s
ability to quickly discern the hearts and motives of these two mothers and
resolve the issue demonstrated to the nation that they had a wise king who
would rule with justice.
Throughout
his life, Solomon was known for and sought for his great wisdom. Kings and queens from other nations traveled
to Israel just to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
1 Kings 4:29-32 tells us of Solomon’s wisdom:
God gave Solomon very great wisdom
and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the
wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else,
including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda.
His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote
1,005 songs. He could speak with
authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the
tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about
animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. And kings from every nation sent their
ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.
Solomon with
all his wisdom was not able to free himself from the sins of the flesh. Later in life, the multiple wives and the
high places prove to be his downfall.
However, with his wisdom, Solomon was able to sort through all that life
has to offer and determine what really matters.
He offered a conclusion. It is
found in Ecclesiastes 12:13. He says:
That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and
obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.
This is
similar to the command that Jesus gives:
Seek the Kingdom of God above all
else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33)
[i]
Unless otherwise noted Scripture
quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House
Foundation. Used by permission of
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
[ii]
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please Share thoughts comments or questions.