1 Kings 3 - Solomon's Wisdom Series

Passage Read.

Pray

One day, three men were leaving their office to go on a lunch break. They somehow stumbled on a genie who offered them a wish each. The first immediately said, “I wish I was lying on a beach in Bali with a drink in my hand”, and poof, he was there. The second, seeing the first disappear, jumped in and said, “I wish I was skiing on the finest slope in the Alps”, and all of a sudden he was there. The final man, who happened to be the boss of the first two, said, “I want those two back at their desks by the end of lunchtime.”

Now that’s a silly story, but I wonder what you would wish for if you had just one wish. If you’re like me, you’ve probably thought about it. I had a quick look online, and I was surprised to see how many did not ask for unlimited wealth, or power, or riches. Some asked for world peace, some asked for love, others asked for forgiveness, whilst others asked for equality.

We see from the passage that Solomon did not ask for wealth or a long life; those were seen as the great blessings of God in those days. We see it through the old testament, but also into Jesus’ time that the mark of how blessed a man was by God was by how wealthy he was, and how long he lived and how many children he had was, which was a form of wealth.

Instead, Solomon asks for an understanding mind, v, 9 to govern your people and to discern good and evil. It seems like a strange request. At one point in my life I remember distinctly realising that, in my arrogance, I had thought that God had made me the way I am and so he could not take away my intelligence. Yes, I was young and naive, but God showed me that this was very much something God could take away, or at least make my intelligence count for nothing. I actually repeated a year of school. Did you know that? It’s something that always surprises my students, especially since they know that I am often entrusted to teach some of the top mathematicians, and some know that I went to one of the top universities in the world. But yes, God is very much in control of all those things, and woe betide us if we forget it.

Now, this may sound strange, but is Wisdom the wisest thing to be asking for and what other lessons can we learn from Solomon.

I is a rare thing when God says that he is pleased with someone, as humans, we are weak, we fail time and time again and often we not only ignore God’s commands, we willfully disobey Him, and since He is our Father, King, and the Creator God, it is well worth noting when he is pleased. I will talk about whether Wisdom was the best thing for Solomon to have asked, but we note the attitude with which he asked it.

Firstly, Solomon asked God with humility.

We see that Solomon starts by praising and acknowledging God

v. 6 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.

Always a good start. Those of us who learned to pray as little children are often taught the acronym ACTS, that is, Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. We start with adoration, praise of God, and we only ask for things, supplication at the end. We remember God’s greatness at the beginning of our prayer and that helps us to put our request in context. We see that this mixes in Solomon’s words with Thanksgiving, and when trying to hold to that order of prayer, I’ve always struggled to keep those two separate. They flow naturally into one another, don’t they? God, you are the Almighty Creator God, maker of all things, thank you for creating us and everything that sustains us and brings us joy…

When we realise who we are praying to, it puts us in our place, doesn’t it? Who are we to be asking anything?

And we see this in Solomon’s attitude of humility.

V.7 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 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.