seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Kings 3:1 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord. 3 Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” 15 Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.
He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.
Here's the link to the commentary I use.But I am a little child: Solomon was not really the age of a child. He came to God in great humility, especially considering the job in front of him.
“The statement is actually Solomon’s poetic way of expressing his inadequacies as he faced the awesome tasks of leadership.” (Dilday)
Solomon didn’t have the false humility that said, “I can’t do this, so I won’t even try.” His attitude was, “The job is so much bigger than me; I must rely on God.”
Give to Your servant an understanding heart: Solomon asked for more than great knowledge; he wanted understanding, and he wanted it in his heart, not merely in his head. Actually, the ancient Hebrew word translated understanding is literally, “hearing.” Solomon wanted a hearing heart, one that would listen to God.
To judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil: Solomon already understood that a key component of leadership is wise and just discernment. Many leaders do not have this discernment or the courage to use it.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I've read this story so many times. I remember, in one of the Sunday School books for the second graders titled the story "How Solomon got so smart!".
It's the "worship in high places" that got my attention this morning.
This is from "got questions".
The text is clear that the reason Solomon worshiped at this high place was that the tabernacle (also called the tent of meeting) was located there. This was the same tabernacle that the children of Israel, under Moses’ leadership, had constructed in the wilderness many years previously. Prior to the construction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, the tabernacle was the place God had chosen for worship.
Solomon told God "I'm just a child!". There were child kings. Generally, when a child was sitting on the throne, the mother was ruling the land. In this case, if Solomon was really a child, Bathsheba would be the one running things. According to the bing search, Solomon was about 20 years old when he had this dream. Considering Jewish men were ready for adulthood by puberty, Solomon was no child. He was old enough to have several wives and several sons by the time David had him anointed king. He had been "a man" for about seven years by the time he became king.
Solomon was also man enough to know where the "church" was. In the days when Solomon first took the throne, there was no magnificent temple in Jerusalem. The Arc of the Covenant wasn't readily available in town. There were no steeples on every corner. The best place to worship was at one of the "high places" outside of town.
According to "got questions" the Moabites used "high places" to worship their idols. Solomon went to the high places to worship his God. It's interesting that Solomon's great grandmom, Ruth, was a Moabite. She worshiped God just as Naomi and Boaz did. So, the "church" in the high places was where Solomon grew up going to "church".
Solomon would build the temple. God would encourage him. But for now, Solomon is worshiping in the "high places" and his favorite spot was where the Arc was kept. It was his "home church".
The Bible says Solomon asked for wisdom. Solomon wanted to "make the right decisions for the people". God as so impressed, He also gifted Solomon with riches and fame.
