WWUTT 424 Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom?

Solomon’s Marriage Alliance and the High Places in Israel

Solomon is said to be the wisest king who ever lived, not just in Israel, but on the face of the whole earth. However, the Bible tells us that if we ask God for wisdom, He will give it to us in even greater abundance than Solomon had, when we understand the text.

This is when we understand the text studying God's word to reach all the riches of full assurance in Christ. Thank you for subscribing and if this has ministered to you, please let others know about our program.

Here once again is Pastor Gabe Hughes.

Thank you Becky. We continue our study of first Kings today. First Kings chapter three is where we'll be with Solomon's prayer for wisdom. Now in this story thus far, chapters one and two, we've seen that Solomon is actually quite wise.

Nobody is able to pull a fast one on Solomon. He is able to discern the intentions of the heart of those who are asking for favors from him. And also showing that Solomon is following through with his responsibility as king, whereas in the latter part of David's reign as king, he kind of became aloof to stuff.

He was not fulfilling his responsibilities as king, issuing judgments against certain people of his own kingdom, people in Israel, people of his own household, and everything had kind of come into chaos and turmoil.

Well, Solomon has set the house of David right. And that's what we have seen at the end of chapter two and demonstrated great wisdom, but it's a dubious kind of wisdom. And what do I mean by dubious? Well, it's, it's occasional wisdom.

It doesn't mean that it is exemplified in every aspect of his life. And in fact, a poor decision is made right here at the start of chapter three. So here we are in first Kings chapter three, starting in verse one, Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.

So here's two problems going on here. First of all, that Solomon married someone from Egypt. Remember that God had said that you were not to return to Egypt. Deuteronomy warns against returning to Egypt in Deuteronomy chapter 17.

And here we have a too close relationship with that nation that the Israelites are supposed to have nothing to do with. They were delivered out of Egypt, delivered out of slavery in Egypt. Why are they trying to go back?

When you had the people of Israel who heard the report from from the spies that went into the land of Canaan and they came back and 10 of the spies were saying, oh, boy, these these soldiers out there.

Oh, my goodness. These warriors were like grasshoppers to these guys. Then the philum survived the flood. And there they are in the land of Canaan and ready to wipe us out. And then the people of Israel going, oh, my goodness, we can't go into Canaan.

We'll never survive. But you had Joshua and Caleb who were faithful to the Lord and said, no, God has given them over to into our hands. We can do this. But Israel said, no, we need to raise up new leaders for ourselves who will take us back to Egypt.

And because that was the condition of their hearts, God cursed them. There were a number of them that were swallowed up by the earth where they stood. And then the rest of that generation of Israel was cursed to wander in the desert for 40 years until they died off and their children would be the one to received to receive the promised land.

So when Israel had it in their hearts to want to go back to Egypt, they were cursed by God and destroyed. And here Solomon is making an alliance with this nation that they are not supposed to have anything to do with.

So that's the first great sin that we see being committed here in verse one. In verse two, it says that the people were sacrificing in the high places. What were the high places? These were the altars that had been built to false gods.

And it doesn't matter that they were probably worshiping there to the true God, the God of Israel. They had not torn those places down, which is what God had commanded them to do. And we're still sacrificing there.

There was only supposed to be one place of sacrifice, not multiple places of sacrifice. And so because they were sacrificing here at the high places, it just shows that that Israel's heart is not fully with the Lord and Solomon himself, not worshiping God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength as David commanded Solomon to do.

And as long as Solomon loved God with all of his heart and all of his mind, then there would always be a descendant of Solomon sitting on the throne of Israel. But if his heart strayed from God, his kingdom would be taken from him.

And that is what we will eventually see in the story of Solomon. So now, verse three, Solomon loved the Lord. This is the time when Solomon's heart was with God, but his interests are divided. And because he marries these pagan women like the wife he now has from Egypt, his heart is going to sympathize with them.

That's eventually going to be his downfall. But for the time being, he is obedient to the Lord and to the statutes of David, his father. Only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place.

Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night. And God said, ask what I shall give you. And Solomon said, you have shown great and steadfast love to your servant, David, my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness and in uprightness of heart toward you.

And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David, my father. Although I am but a little child, I do not know how to go out or to come in.

And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil.

For who is able to govern this, your great people? So you see the humility that Solomon has as he comes before the Lord and makes this request that God has said he can make. Ask what you want of me and I will give it to you.

What could Solomon have asked for? Wealth, riches, fame, fortune, power, triumph over his enemies. And yet what he asked for is the wisdom to be able to govern the people of God. And look at the language he uses and the way that he describes himself before God.

I am but a little child. Remember what we talked about last week when we were studying through 1 John, that if you want to enter the kingdom of God, you must come like a little child who is completely dependent upon God for everything.

Our Father, our all-loving, benevolent Father who provides for his children. And so Solomon sees himself that same way in the presence of God, a little child dependent upon his Father. And so because of this humility and this request that Solomon made, verse 10, it pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

And God said to him, because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or life or the life of your enemies, but you have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word, behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.

I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.

Now understand the caveat there. And anytime God makes a covenant with somebody, there is always going to be this qualification that as long as you keep my statutes and my commandments, then I will bless you.

But if you do not obey me and you do not love me with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, you will not receive the blessing of God. And this is the error that is made with many dispense with with a lot of dispensational teaching today that believes that God's blessing and favor is upon Israel, like ethnic Israel specifically I'm talking about.

It's not. And God gave those qualifications in the book of Deuteronomy. If you love me, then you will obey me. If you don't obey me, my blessing will not be upon you. So Israel is not entitled to the blessings of God because they do not love Jesus Christ, his son.

They are of their father, the devil, as Jesus said of them in John chapter eight. And so Solomon will not always keep the statutes of God and obey his commandments. And so, therefore, the length of his days that God has promised him will not will not be his blessing.

Solomon’s Judgment in the Case of the Two Prostitutes

Verse 15 and Solomon awoke and behold, it was a dream. And then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings and made a feast for all his servants.

Then we get to see what Solomon's wisdom was like, Solomon's wisdom in action. In the next part of the story here, verse 16, then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. The one woman said, oh, my Lord, this woman and I live in the same house and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.

Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth and we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house. Only we two were in the house. And this woman's son died in the night because she lay on him.

And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me while your servant slept and laid him at her breast and laid her dead son at my breast. When I woke in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead.

But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had born. But the other woman said, no, the living child is mine and the dead child is yours. The first said, no, the dead child is yours and the living child is mine.

Thus they spoke before the king. Then the king said, the one says, this is my son that is alive and your son is dead. And the other says, no, but your son is dead and my son is the living one. And the king said, bring me a sword.

So a sword was brought before the king and the king said, divide the living child in two and give half to the one and half to the other. Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king because her heart yearned for her son.

Oh my Lord, give her the living child and by no means put him to death. But the other said, he shall be neither mine nor yours divide him. Then the king answered and said, give the living child to the first woman and by no means put him to death.

She is his mother. And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered and they stood in awe of the king because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice. God said, you do not have because you do not ask.

And Jesus said to his disciples, seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you, knock and the door will be opened to you. Jesus said in his, to his disciples at the last supper in the upper room, whatever you ask me in my father's name, I will give it to you.

Whatever you ask for in my name, it will be given to you. And specifically what the scriptures are talking about when it says this is the wisdom of God. We are asking for God's will to be done, not our will, but his will.

And if we ask for wisdom, it will be granted to us. James chapter one says, if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives generously and without reproach. So let us have the humility that Solomon had in this story and ask for the wisdom of God.

And we are promised in the scriptures, it will be given to us. Let us pray and ask for that wisdom. Now, God, I ask for your will to be done in my life. And I ask for your wisdom to understand your word in your scriptures, be able to interpret it in a right way and be able to teach your word to others so that they may know and also have wisdom according to the word of God.

In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So let us grow in Christ all the more and have this wisdom that has been given to us according to your word. And we pray this in Jesus name.

Amen.

This is a production of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. Find us on the web at www .utt .com.