INTRODUCTION: Ever wonder what you would do if you were granted any request you might make? This lesson shows what Solomon did with just such a request. But also observe how God responded to Solomon’s request and see what we can learn from this.
- SOLOMONS AFFINITY WITH EGYPT (1 Kings 3:1-3)
- His Affinity with Pharaoh (1 Kings 3:1; cp. Isaiah 31:1)
- By marriage to Pharaohs daughter
- By bringing her to the city of David
- The Worship of the People (1 Kings 3:2)
- They sacrificed in high places.
- They had no house of God until those days.
- The sin of the people
- They were to sacrifice at the tabernacle only (Leviticus 17:3-6).
- They continued to sacrifice in high places even after the building of the temple (1 Kings 22:43; 2 Chronicles 33:17).
- The Worship of Solomon (1 Kings 3:3)
- He loved the Lord.
- He walked in the statutes of David, but he sacrificed in high places.
- SOLOMONS SACRIFICE IN GIBEON (1 Kings 3:4-15)
- Solomon Went to Gibeon to Sacrifice (1 Kings 3:4).
- Gibeon was the home of the Gibeonites who had deceived Joshua and convinced Israel to make a covenant with them (Joshua 9:3-15).
- Solomon offered 1,000 burnt offerings there.
- The Lord Asked to Know Solomons Request (1 Kings 3:5-9).
- The Lord appeared to Solomon (1 Kings 3:5).
- He appeared in a dream by night; compare the dream of Jacob (Genesis 28:10-16).
- He offered to grant Solomons request Ask what I shall give thee (Psalm 37:4; Matthew 7:7-8; John 14:13-14).
- Solomon presented his need (1 Kings 3:6-8).
- The Lord showed great mercy to David (1 Kings 3:6).
- The Lord put Solomon in Davids place (1 Kings 3:6-7).
- As a kindness to David (1 Kings 3:6)
- To sit on his throne (1 Kings 3:6-7)
- But Solomon had a great need (1 Kings 3:7-8).
- He was but a little child (1 Kings 3:7; Jeremiah 1:6).
- He knew not how to go out or come in (1 Kings 3:7).
- He stood in the midst of this people (1 Kings 3:8).
- Solomon made his request (1 Kings 3:9).
- For an understanding heart
- For discernment to judge this people
- The Lord Responded to Solomons Request (1 Kings 3:10-14).
- The Lord was pleased with the request (1 Kings 3:10-11).
- In the thing that Solomon asked (1 Kings 3:10)
- Because of what he did not request (1 Kings 3:11) long life, riches and the life of his enemies
- Because of what he did ask understanding and discernment
- The Lord granted his request (1 Kings 3:12).
- He gave him a wise and discerning heart.
- He made him the wisest man who ever lived.
- The Lord gave him more than he requested (1 Kings 3:13-14; Jeremiah 33:3; Ephesians 3:20).
- He gave him riches (1 Kings 3:13).
- He gave him honour (1 Kings 3:13).
- He exalted him above the kings of his day (1 Kings 3:13).
- He gave him length of days if he would be obedient (1 Kings 3:14).
- Solomon Woke Up from his Dream (1 Kings 3:15).
- He returned to Jerusalem.
- He stood before the ark of the covenant.
- He made sacrifices there.
- He made a feast for his servants.
- SOLOMONS JUDGMENT OF THE WOMEN (1 Kings 3:16-28)
- The Case Was Presented to Solomon (1 Kings 3:16-22).
- The nature of the women they were both harlots (1 Kings 3:16)
- The first woman spoke (1 Kings 3:17-21).
- She explained that both lived together in one house (1 Kings 3:17).
- She stated that they were both delivered of a child (1 Kings 3:17-18).
- She stated that one of the children died overnight (1 Kings 3:19).
- She claimed that the children were switched (1 Kings 3:20-21).
- The second woman spoke (1 Kings 3:22).
- She stated that the living child was hers.
- She claimed that the dead child was the other womans.
- Solomon Made His Judgment on the Case (1 Kings 3:23-25).
- He summed up the case (1 Kings 3:23).
- He had a sword brought (1 Kings 3:24).
- He commanded to divide the living child (1 Kings 3:25).
- Solomon Determined the True Mother (1 Kings 3:26-28).
- The women responded (1 Kings 3:26).
- The true mother yearned for her son.
- She offered to give him away to save him.
- The false mother encouraged the childs death.
- Solomon spared the child and gave it to the true mother (1 Kings 3:27).
- All Israel heard of the judgment of Solomon (1 Kings 3:28).
- They feared the king.
- They saw Gods wisdom in him.
- SOLOMONS REIGN IN PEACE AND PROSPERITY (1 Kings 4:20-28)
- The Prosperity of the Kingdom (1 Kings 4:20-21)
- Judah and Israel were great in number (1 Kings 4:20).
- The nation ate, drank, and made merry (1 Kings 4:20).
- The surrounding kingdoms served Solomon (1 Kings 4:21).
- The Provision for Solomons Court (1 Kings 4:22-23)
- The Peace of the Kingdom (1 Kings 4:24-25)
- Dominion over this side of the river (1 Kings 4:24); refers to the west side of the Jordan
- Peace on all sides round about (1 Kings 4:24)
- Judah and Israel dwelled safely (1 Kings 4:25).
- Every man under his vine and under his fig tree (cp. Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10).
- From Dan unto Beersheba (cp. Judges 20:1; 2 Chronicles 30:5; the phrase is used nine times in the Bible)
- All the days of Solomon
- The Provision for Solomons Officers (1 Kings 4:26-28)
- For his chariots (1 Kings 4:26); NOTE: though he was not to trust in horses and chariots (Psalm 20:7; Isaiah 36:9)
- Forty thousand stalls of horses; NOTE: though he was not to multiply horses (Deuteronomy 17:16)
- Twelve thousand horsemen
- From his officers (1 Kings 4:27-28)
- All that came to Solomons table (1 Kings 4:27)
- Provision for the animals (1 Kings 4:28)
- Every man according to his charge (1 Kings 4:28); this high rate of taxes led to later complaints and finally to the division of the kingdom under Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:4).
- SOLOMONS EXCELLENCE IN WISDOM (1 Kings 4:29-34)
- The Wisdom of Solomon (1 Kings 4:29-31)
- Given from the Lord (1 Kings 4:29)
- Wisdom
- Understanding
- Largeness of heart (Psalm 119:32; 2 Corinthians 6:11)
- Greater than that of others (1 Kings 4:30-31)
- Than the children of the east country (1 Kings 4:30)
- Than all the wisdom of Egypt (1 Kings 4:30)
- Than the wise men of the day (1 Kings 4:31)
- A fame that spread to all nations (1 Kings 4:31)
- The Works of Solomon (1 Kings 4:32-34)
- He spoke 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32); NOTE: Solomon wrote the first twenty-nine chapters of Proverbs. If we consider each verse as a separate proverb (though much of the first nine chapters are not individual proverbs), this would add up to 851, which is only about a fourth of the total number.
- He wrote 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32).
- He spoke of the wonders of nature (1 Kings 4:33).
- Of trees and plants
- Of animals
- He spoke to all who came to hear him (1 Kings 4:34).
CONCLUSION: Solomon sought wisdom for the right reasons and God granted his request. He delighted himself in the Lord and God gave him the desires of his heart (see Psalm 37:4). But the Lord also gave him much more than he asked (Jeremiah 33:3; Ephesians 3:20). What a wonderful Lord!