3:1Marriage between royal families was a common practice in the ancient Near East because it secured peace. Although Solomon's maritai alliances built friendships with surrounding nations, they were also the beginning of his downfall. These relationships became inroads for pagan ideas and practices. Solomon's foreign wives brought their gods to Jerusalem and eventually lured him into idolatry (11:1-6). It is easy to minimize religious differences in order to encourage the development of a friendship. What can seem small in a friendship, however, will have an enormous impact upon a marriage. When you're young and in love, you may be idealistic, minimizing religious differences as something you can “work out.” The reality is, however, that God gives us standards to follow for all our relationships, including marriage, for our own good. If we follow God’s will, we will not be lured away from our true focus.
Life Application Study Bible1 KingsChapter 3
1 Kings 3
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 517, 518
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2. Solomon’s wisdom
Solomon Asks for Wisdom
13 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the LORD and the wall around the city. 2At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local places of worship, for a temple honoring the name of the LORD had not yet been built. 3Solomon loved the LORD and followed ail the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. 4The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. 5That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, 6What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” 8Solomon replied, “ You showed faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued your faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. 7“Now, O LORD my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like alittle 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! 9Give 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?” 10The LORD was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. 11So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—1I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other King in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! ¢And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.” 15Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He returned to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant, where he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he invited all his officials to a great banquet.
Solomon Judges Wisely
1616Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. 17“Please, my lord,” one of them began, “this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. 18Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house. 19"But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. 20Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. 21And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.” 22Then the other woman interrupted, “It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine.” ‘; “No,” the first woman said, “the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours.” And so they argued back and forth before the king. 23Then the king said, “Let's get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other. 24All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king. 25Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!” 26Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, my lord! Give her the child—please do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!” 27Then the king said, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!” 28When all Israel heard the king’s decision, the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice.
Life Application Notes 6 notes
3:2,3God’s jaws said that the Israelites could make sacrifices only in specified places (Deuteronomy 12:13, 14). This was to prevent the people from instituting their own methods of worship and allowing pagan practices to creep into their worship. But many Israelites, including Solomon, made sacrifices in the surrounding hills. Solamon loved God, but this act was sin. It took the offerings out of the watchful care of priests and ministers loyal to God and opened the way for false teaching to be tied to these sacrifices. God appeared to Solomon to grant him wisdom, not during the sacrifice, but at night. God honored his prayer but did not condone the sacrifice.
3:6-9When given a chance to have anything in the world, Solomon asked for wisdom—“an understanding heart”—in order to lead well and to make right decisions. We can ask God for this same wisdom (James 1:5). Notice that Solomon asked for understanding to carry out his job; he did not ask God to do the job for him. We should not ask God to do for us what he wants to do through us. Instead, we should ask God to give us the wisdom to know what to do and the courage to follow through on it.
3:11-14Solomon asked for wisdom, not wealth, but God gave him riches and long life as well. While God does not promise riches to those who follow him, he gives us what we need if we put his kingdom, his interests, and his principles first (Matthew 6:31-33). Setting your sights on riches will only leave you dissatistied because even if you get the riches you crave, you will still want something more. But if you put God and his work first, he will satisfy your deepest needs.
3:12Solomon received “a wise and understanding heart” from God, but it was up to Solomon to apply that wisdom to all areas of his life. Solomon was obviously wise in governing the nation, but he was foolish in running his household. Wisdom is both the ability to discern what is best and the strength of character to act upon that knowledge. While Solomon remained wise all his life, he did not always act upon his wisdom (11:6).
3:16-28Solomon's settlement of this dispute was a classic example of his wisdom. This wise ruling was verification that God had answered Solomon's prayer and given him an understanding heart. We have God’s wisdom available to us as we pray and request it. But, like Solomon, we must put it into action. Applying wisdom to life demonstrates our understanding.
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Study feature · page 518
— ns orien SOLOMON’S KINGDOM Solomon's kingdom spread from the Euphrates River in the north to the borders of Egypt. The entire land was at peace under his rule.
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