Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
1 KINGS 3
Solomon Asks for Wisdom
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.
A Wise Ruling
16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.
19 “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”
22 The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”
But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.
23 The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’ ”
24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
26 The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”
But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”
27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”
28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.
Application Notes
3:1 Marriage between royal families was a common practice in the ancient Middle East because it secured peace between people groups. Although Solomon's marital alliances built friendships with surrounding nations, they were also the beginning of his downfall. These relationships became inroads for idolatrous ideas and practices. Solomon's foreign wives brought their gods to Jerusalem and eventually lured him into worshiping false gods (11:1-6).
It is easy to minimize religious differences in order to encourage the development of a friendship or relationship. What can seem small while dating, however, will have an enormous impact upon a marriage. The early stages of falling in love easily lead to idealism, and it can be easy in this season to minimize religious differences as something that can be "worked out" later. The reality, however, is that God gives us standards to follow for all of our relationships, including marriage, for our own good. If we follow God's will, we will not be lured away from our true focus. You must be compatible in a relationship in what you and the other person believe and also in how you both practice those beliefs. If not, compromising your own relationship with God is inevitable.
3:2-5 God's laws 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 in. But many Israelites, including Solomon, made sacrifices at the surrounding hills. Solomon loved God, but this act was sinful. It also 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 at night, not during the sacrifice. God honored his prayer but did not condone his sacrifice.
3:5-9 When given the chance to have anything in the world, Solomon asked for wisdom—“a discerning heart”—in order to lead well and to make right decisions. According to the New Testament, we can ask God for this same wisdom (James 1:5). Notice that Solomon asked for discernment 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.
3:11-14 Solomon asked for wisdom discernment), not wealth, but God gave him riches, fame, and long life as well. While God does not promise riches or fame 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 wealth and possessions will only leave you dissatisfied 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 because he knows just what they are.
3:12 Solomon received “a wise and discerning 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).
3:16-28 Solomon's settlement of this dispute is a classic example of his wisdom. This wise ruling was verification that God had answered Solomon's prayer and given him a discerning heart. We have God's wisdom available to us as we pray and request it. But, like Solomon, we must put it into action. Only then will the benefits of wisdom bear fruit in the lives of others.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)