God gives His child anything ...
1 Kings 3:4-15
One fact about the covenant God made with David is that the relationship was to be closer between them than average. God promised David that he would have a son to sit on the throne and that David’s son would be like a son to God. In fact, some of the Psalms seem to have been written for the coronation of kings and in them and the king is referenced as being like a son to God. This is not the same as Jesus’ who was God’s Son in the ultimate sense, it is an adoptive relationship. It is interesting, because we too are offered the chance to be God’s children, when we follow His Son Jesus. We too are adopted into God’s family, just like David and the line of kings that followed him. This line, of course, includes Solomon.
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. 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."
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.
"Now, O 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. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 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?"
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 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, 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. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life." 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. 1 Kings 3:4-15 (NIV)
In Moses’ law, there was no early restriction on where a person could worship or offer sacrifices. The only rule was that the altar had to be made of earth or uncut stones. Since traditionally the people associated God’s presence with mountains, family or community altars were often built on mountains or hills all over the nation. Both Pagans and worshipers of the One True God built their altars there and because of the elevation and the exalted purpose of their function, they were called High Places.
After the Temple was built, a restriction was enacted that allowed only one central altar in the country, the one in Jerusalem, and the High Places became obsolete. But Solomon built the Temple and this dream happened before that time. He was worshiping at one of the country’s most prestigious sanctuaries. We don’t know why this one was so important, just that it was. Jewish tradition says that though the Ark of the Covenant had been brought to Jerusalem, the Tabernacle’s original altar was at Gibeon. We have no reason to doubt this tradition and that altar would have given the location special importance.
The language of this passage suggests that this was a customary activity of Solomon’s. He did not just come here once to offer 1000 sacrifices, he did so repeatedly. These were probably whole burnt offerings, in which nothing was left for anyone to eat. They were burnt completely as an offering to God.
This story is astounding, because God invites Solomon to ask for anything he wants, carte blanche. Solomon is young and idealistic. He has come to the throne, a younger son, after a struggle with his oldest living brother. David has fought the battles that have brought him the stability that is in the land at this time, so his name is appropriate. It means "peace."
He is so typified by peace that he does not consider himself a warrior. When he says, "I don’t know how to come out or go in," this is a reference to battle.
I don’t know how to go out to war, or how to bring the troops back in victoriously.
His declaration of God’s loyalty to David is something to be remarked upon. Remember that Saul, David’s predecessor did not leave the throne to his family, but David was anointed and took the throne by God’s design. So, apart from God, the succession of the throne to David’s son was not a certainty.
• So the short history of the throne did not indicate that David’s son would necessarily sit there
• Besides that, Solomon was not the oldest son, so he was not the natural choice
• Besides that, Solomon was not a warrior, and would probably not have been anyone’s first candidate for the throne
He is humbled by his position and for good reason. It is almost as if Solomon is shaking his head and trying to figure out how things finally worked out the way they did. The odds were against him, and he is humbled by the way God worked things out.
And then God makes him this offer:
Ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you.
Solomon, humbled and honest about his own ability to rule asks for something quite selfless:
give your servant a discerning mind so he can make judicial decisions for your people
We associate the heart with the seat of emotion, but in biblical language it symbolizes thought and the will. Solomon was submitting his own wisdom to God’s.
And of course, the account bears out how pleased God was with this request. He was pleased that Solomon did not ask for:
• long life
• riches
• military strength
He was so pleased that he gave Solomon all he asked and more. Solomon’s wisdom was to be greater than any man who had ever lived before and would ever live after him.
Beyond that the Bible says that the LORD gave him what he did not ask for. He gave him two unconditional gifts:
• riches
• greatness among his contemporary rulers
With obedience, God also promised him long life.
Rightfully we see Solomon responding to this promise of God with great celebration and worship.
By all evidence, God was as good as His word. The wisdom that he was promised was put immediately to the test in the famous incident involving two mothers and one baby. For more information, take a look at the next part of the chapter. Of course we also know that he wrote three of the books that we call Wisdom literature:
• Proverbs (a book of wise sayings)
• Song of Solomon (or the Song of Songs, a romantic song)
• Ecclesiastes (a philosophical biography in the tradition of what we now call "confessions")
Solomon’s riches are legendary. Archeologists are still finding the sources of his wealth. He had gold mines, turquoise mines, copper mines and the many buildings that he constructed.
His fame spread so much that kings and queens sent delegations or traveled themselves to hear his wisdom. One queen traveled all the way from Eastern Africa, south of Egypt to hear him.
We don’t know how long he lived, but he reigned as long as his father, which, since David began his reign young and died old, probably means that Solomon was not quite as old as his father when he died, likely a relatively old man.
The key to Solomon’s greatness was in his unselfishness.
Take a look at his process. He was in an attitude of extended, intense and extravagant worship. When given the opportunity to ask for anything he wanted he did three things:
• He acknowledged his own inadequacy
• He acknowledged God’s goodness
• He asked for something that would benefit others rather than something to satisfy himself
And God gave it to him. All the wisdom in the world as well as riches, fame and long life.
At this stage many of us are thinking that this was quite a lottery pool for Solomon. He was given the opportunity to ask for anything. We probably instinctively know that we would have scratched the wrong dot. We would have asked for the riches or the fame (since riches often go with fame anyway). Some of our older folks may have asked for long life. Some of our younger folks are pretty sure they are going to live forever anyway. Some of us have enemies that we might have asked for victory over.
We might have gotten it wrong, but Solomon asked for wisdom.
Do you realize that disciples of Christ, as God’s children, you have the same opportunity that Solomon had?
Jesus said:
You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:14 (NIV)
Compare this to the offer God made to Solomon:
Ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you.
Jesus actually repeated this offer in several ways at different times. But the essential truth is here in a nutshell.
• Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find
• If two or three of you agree on anything, ask of my father and it will be given to you
• Ask and you shall receive that your joy may be full
• If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, ask anything and it will be done for you
Repeatedly Jesus makes this offer. All we have to do is ask and it is ours. Too good to be true? I think not. Because as with Solomon, this is not a lottery ticket. It is an offer made to a specific group of people. Jesus clarifies in this way, but keep in mind that what He is clarifying is that we should be in the same position as Solomon and the offer is ours:
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
John 15:7 (NIV)
Remember where Solomon was and what he was doing when God made the offer:
He was in extended, intense, extravagant worship.
This is not a lottery freebee that God holds out to just anyone. Jesus articulated it to his disciples as they sat at the Lord’s Supper. These are people who have left everything to follow Him. They are folks who eventually gave their lives for Him.
• This is not God holding out a blank check to anyone who wants it
• This is God holding out a blank check to anyone who has already spent themselves on Him
Note the conversation between the Apostles and Jesus:
Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”
Luke 18:28-30 (NIV)
There is that promise again. The promise to receive liberally from God’s hands, held out to those who have given up everything.
It’s a radical idea, and we might not be prepared to believe it. But we should notice what James says to those who follow in Solomon’s footsteps:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 (NIV)
• If we invest ourselves in Christ
• We can ask whatever we want
• Especially if we ask for the same thing Solomon asked for
• We are guaranteed to get it
It is a biblical promise
But notice that God is still not pleased with certain kinds of requests:
You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:2-3 (NIV)
To begin with God does not approve of the world’s way of gaining what we want
• dishonesty
• fighting
• envy
• taking from another’s livelihood
The way to get what we want is to ask Him. The way to not get what we want is to ask for things that are solely meant to satisfy ourselves
Just like with Solomon. God offered him anything he wanted. He was pleased when Solomon did not ask for selfish fulfillment. Instead, when he asked for wisdom the LORD gave liberally. So just as we would expect, God is giving us carte blanche, but it is conditional
• Solomon was involved in extended, intense and extravagant worship
• God made him an extravagant offer
• Ask for anything you want
• Solomon asked for wisdom to benefit others
• God gave it and more
Here is our situation
• If we give ourselves totally over to Him, to worship Him with our whole lives and our whole substance
• Jesus makes us an extravagant offer
• Ask for anything you want
• He promises wisdom to anyone who asks
• God will give us all this and all we gave up for Him
Of course, the first protest is, that’s no fun. That’s not carte blanche. You expected the God of the Universe to offer you His help to be selfish and sinful?
No
• You give yourself totally to Him
• He will give you everything you want
• Wisdom is the natural first choice
• Other things can and will go along with it
You have the same offer that Solomon had, and look what he got out of it.
Look at the essence of Solomon’s prayer
God, I’m a nobody, but you have proven yourself faithful. I have nothing that says I deserve all of what you have done for me and offered me. Please give me wisdom so I can be of benefit to your people.
• So here is how to get your hands on Solomon’s offer
• Extended, intense and extravagant worship
• Solomon gave 1000 burnt offerings
• Paul says to present our bodies a living sacrifice and to renew our minds.
Here is an attitude and a prayer that covers it. Of course if it is not lived it is meaningless.
God, everything I am, body, spirit, and mind is yours. I give it all to you
• All I am
• All my money
• All my family
• All my property
• All my life
Today, repeatedly and forever, I give it to you.
Do this daily for the next month. And live it. This is not just a rote prayer formula. It must be spoken with intent to follow through, just as the Apostles left everything to follow Jesus. Every day, you should be able to point to something intentional and demonstrable that shows you that you have given yourself as a sacrifice to God that day.
Jesus does not make empty promises. We are offered anything we ask for, if we give Him everything He demands. And that is everything.
