1 Kings 3:1-28

God’s lessons from history

1 Kings

Philip Smith

Chapter 3

God speaks to Solomon

v1 Solomon made an agreement with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter. Solomon brought her to live in David’s city. She lived there until he finished the construction of his palace. He also wanted to finish the *temple of the *Lord and the wall round Jerusalem.

v2 The people still made *sacrifices at different *altars on the mountains. This was because he had not yet built a *temple for the *Lord. v3 Solomon loved the *Lord and he obeyed the commands of his father David. However, he *sacrificed animals and he burned *incense on different *altars. v4 The king went to Gibeon to *sacrifice. That was the most important place for *worship. Solomon offered 1000 *burnt offerings upon the *altar.

Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter. This was probably a political arrangement. Solomon was a skilled politician. The Pharaohs were the most powerful kings in the region. This marriage meant that *Israel would be at peace with Egypt. However, it was against God’s law for Solomon to marry a foreigner. In the end, Solomon would suffer many troubles because of such marriages.

Pharaoh gave the town called Gezer to Solomon. (see chapter 1 Kings 9:16.) This gave Solomon control of some routes for trade. This would help him to get the materials that he needed for the new buildings in Jerusalem. The princess lived in the old city at Jerusalem. Solomon built her palace 20 years later.

There ought to have been only one place where people went to offer *sacrifices (Leviticus 17:3-4). However, Solomon and other people offered *sacrifices on high hills. Many of these places were where people had *sacrificed to other gods. This was wrong. Solomon did not always obey the commands in the Book of Deuteronomy. The tent of meeting that Moses had made was at Gibeon. God allowed Solomon to *worship there. Solomon showed his love for God by means of a special, large *sacrifice.

v5 At Gibeon, the *Lord spoke to Solomon during the night, by means of a dream. ‘What would you like me to give you?’ he asked.

v6 Solomon gave this answer. ‘You were very kind to your servant my father David. He was loyal to you; and he was good and honourable. You continued this kindness. You have given him a son who today rules in his place. v7 Now *Lord, my God, you have made me, your servant, king instead of my father David. However, I am very young and I do not know how to rule. v8 I, your servant, am here among the people that you have chosen. There are so many people that nobody can count them. v9 Please give me, your servant, the wisdom to rule your people. Help me to know the difference between right things and wrong things. Otherwise, I will never be able to rule your great people.’

After Solomon had given honour to God, God spoke to him in a dream. In reply, Solomon reminded God of his kindness to David and to himself. He recognised that he did not have much experience. (He was probably about 20 years old.) He knew that *Israel was a large nation. He therefore asked God to give him wisdom. Then he would make the right decisions when he ruled the nation.

Solomon was already a wise man (chapter 1 Kings 2:9). And he was a skilled politician (verse 1). That is, he had both human wisdom and political wisdom. But here, he was asking God for something more. He did not want his decisions to be merely the result of his natural wisdom. He wanted to have *spiritual wisdom. Our translation says ‘wisdom’ in verse 9. In the original language, the words are ‘a heart that hears’. Solomon wanted to hear from God. Then, like David his father, Solomon would do what God wanted him to do.

v10 The *Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. v11 So God said to him, ‘You have asked for wisdom to rule in a fair way. You have not asked for long life or wealth or the death of your enemies. v12 So I will do what you have asked. I will give you more wisdom than anyone has ever had before you. Nobody will ever have so much wisdom again. v13 I will also give you what you have not asked for. You will have wealth and honour, more than that of any other king. v14 Obey me. And obey my laws like your father David did. If you do, I will give you a long life.’

v15 Then Solomon woke up. He realised that it had been a dream. He went back to Jerusalem and he stood in front of the *Lord’s *Covenant Box. He offered *burnt offerings and *fellowship offerings to the *Lord. Then he gave a large meal for all his officials.

God was pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom rather than wealth. Because of that, God knew that he could trust Solomon with wealth as well. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, ‘Search for God’s *kingdom. Learn what he wants you to do. He will provide you with all the other things.’

God gave Solomon wisdom because he asked for it. He gave him wealth because he did not ask for it. God promised Solomon a long life if he obeyed God’s commands. But Solomon did not do this. As a result, he died when he was only 60 years old.

After his dream, Solomon went back to Jerusalem and he gave honour to God. He also *celebrated with his officials.

Solomon’s wisdom

v16 One day, two prostitutes came to see the king. (Prostitutes are people who offer themselves for sex with someone in return for money.) These two women stood in front of the king. v17 One of them said, ‘Your *Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. v18 Two days after my child was born she also gave birth to a boy. Only two of us were in the house. There was nobody else. v19 During the night, this woman’s baby died because she lay on him. v20 So she got up during the night while I was asleep. She took my son from my side and she put him by her breast. Then she put her dead son by my breast. v21 The next morning, I got up to feed my baby and I found him dead. But I looked more closely. Then I saw that he was not my child.’

v22 The other woman said ‘No. The child who is alive is my son. The dead child is your son.’ The first woman answered, ‘No. The dead one is your son. The one who is alive is my son.’

So they argued in front of the king.

v23 The king said, ‘This woman says, “My son is alive and yours is dead.” That one says, “No. Your son is dead and my son is alive.” v24 Then the king said, ‘Bring me a sword.’ So they brought a sword for the king. v25 Then the king gave an order. ‘Cut the child who is alive in two. Give each woman half of it.’

v26 The woman whose son was alive was full of love for him. She said to the king, ‘Please, your *Majesty, do not kill the child. Give her the baby.’

But the other woman said, ‘Do not give him to either of us. Cut him in two.’

v27 Then Solomon said, ‘Do not kill the child. Give him to the first woman. She is his real mother.’

v28 When all the *Israelites heard King Solomon’s decision, they respected him. They saw that God had given him wisdom. He would be a good judge.

This story gives an example of Solomon’s wisdom. It is evidence that God answered Solomon’s prayer. Solomon does not merely show human wisdom here. It seemed impossible to decide who was the real mother. Both women seemed to be arguing the same thing. But God showed Solomon what to do. So Solomon knew that the real mother would love the child. She would not want to see someone kill it. She would rather let the other mother have it. This event shows that God was directing Solomon’s judgements.

This judgement impressed the whole nation. They saw that God had given wisdom to their king.

Paul prayed that God might give the Christians at Ephesus the *spirit of wisdom (Ephesians 1:17). James said, ‘Anyone who does not have wisdom should ask God.’ He also said, ‘The wisdom that comes from heaven is in the first place pure. It loves *peace. It is gentle and friendly. It cares about other people. It does good actions’ (James 1:5; James 3:17).

temple ~ the central place of worship that Solomon built in Jerusalem; or, a place where people worship a false god.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God; to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Lord ~ the name of God. It can translate either of two words in Hebrew, which is the original language of this book. The word ‘Yahweh’ is God’s most holy name, and means ‘God always’. The word ‘Adonai’ means ‘master’.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people offered to a god.
altar ~ a table on which people offer or burn gifts or sacrifices to a god.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people offered to a god.
incense ~ a substance that people use in religious celebrations. It has a pleasant smell.
religious ~ about religion.

celebrate/celebration ~ to praise a person and to give honour to that person. Or, to show great happiness at a special event.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God; to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Israel ~ the country or nation of people who are descendants of Jacob; the northern part of that country after it divided.
descendants ~ people in your family who live after you.
spiritual ~ about man’s spirit or soul, not physical things.
spirit ~ the part of a person that is alive, which we cannot see. Also, there are spirits that we cannot see; such spirits can be good or bad. The word may also refer to God’s Holy Spirit.
soul ~ the spiritual part of a person that exists after death.
holy ~ morally good; something people consider very important in their religion.
covenant ~ an agreement between two people or groups. Or, especially, the agreement between God and his people. The ‘Covenant Box’ was the most sacred object in the temple.
temple ~ the central place of worship that Solomon built in Jerusalem; or, a place where people worship a false god.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God; to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or a queen rules.'celebrate/celebration ~ to praise a person and to give honour to that person. Or, to show great happiness at a special event.
majesty ~ a word that people use in order to give great honour to a king.
Israelite ~ someone who lives in Israel; or, a descendant of Jacob.
Israel ~ the country or nation of people who are descendants of Jacob; the northern part of that country after it divided.
descendants ~ people in your family who live after you.
spirit ~ the part of a person that is alive, which we cannot see. Also, there are spirits that we cannot see; such spirits can be good or bad. The word may also refer to God’s Holy Spirit.
holy ~ morally good; something people consider very important in their religion.
peace ~ the absence of war; friendship between people and groups.