Solomon Asks for Wisdom
1 Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the LORD his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.
2 Then Solomon spoke to all Israel—to the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, to the judges and to all the leaders in Israel, the heads of families- 3 and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God’s Tent of Meeting was there, which Moses the LORD’s servant had made in the desert. 4 Now David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 But the bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon in front of the tabernacle of the LORD; so Solomon and the assembly inquired of him there. 6 Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.
7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
8 Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
11 God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”
2 Chronicles 1:1-12
Years ago Sports Illustrated had a feature article on a high school track athlete who seemed destined for stardom and accolades. His specialties were the dashes of 100 and 200 meters. He was phenomenal in the 100 but curiously his performance in the 200 was not extraordinary. He trained very hard but always seemed to die in the last 15 to 20 meters. His form would seem to break up but no additional conditioning seemed to help. An interested party taped him in both races and just as in the past he faltered badly after 180 meters in the 200. It was then that the videographer made an important discovery and offered some simple advice. He asked, “Don’t you think you should take a breath in the 200?”
Most sprinters take no breath during the 100. Everybody takes a breath in the 200. Focusing on the race itself, he had failed to breath for a spance of about 20 seconds. He invariably developed a desperate need for oxygen that he was not meeting.
Most everyone in the secular and theological worlds has heard of Solomon. His name is associated with both brilliance and physical wealth. The Bible clearly acknowledges that both were gifts from God based, it would seem, on his humility when he became King of Israel. All agree that Israel reached its zenith under his continued rule inherited from his father David. Both his fame and power were commiserate with his wealth. He became an international trader, botanist, writer, poet and judge. His touch was truly golden.
But as time passed, the humility of Solomon seemed to be replaced by a sense of pride. He clearly forgot the source of all his good gifts and he mounted and rode the stately steed of pride.
An old proverb states that if you “play with fire, you may well get burned.”
Solomon’s Wives
1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech [a] the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.
1 Kings 11:1-6
He had 700 wives and 300 concubines who were slaves but otherwise had the marital rights of a free woman. The total number reached a 1000. It appears that he had 999 more wives than God intended. Surely the palace was a battle ground of competition and catty remarks. Did he keep them in a harem or did each and their children have separate quarters? Scripture doesn’t say. Why all the wives? It is contended that this was his major foreign policy. A nearby or distant king was unlikely to attack a land wherein his daughter was Queen. The ploy surely worked from one standpoint for Israel experienced national peace even if such was unlikely in the Royal Palace.
God’s response to Solomon’s behavior is contained in 1 Kings 11:9-11. God had become angry at the attitude of Solomon and as a result a portion of his kingdom would be torn from him and given to others.
The basic issue confronting Solomon was his violation of the first of the 10 Commandments. These commandments are so important that they are listed in two places within the Torah, Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.
Humanistic thinking is greatly influenced and affronted by these commandments and has gone to great lengths to keep them out of public view. These commandments are general, broad in their sweep, and concise in their presentation. They begin with a declaration of who the True God is.
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:2-3
At the time of this declaration by God, the world was filled with false worship much as it is now. At the heart of this declaration is understanding that there is only One God, the Great I Am. He has always existed and in His singular nature, He is unwilling to allow honor to be given to anyone but Himself. The problem is not that man doesn’t worship for he always has. The point is that his worship is generally misguided and is devoted to multiple gods or to himself. The latter problem of self worship is the rage at the present time and is the result of modern reasoning. The idea of absolute truth that is eternal and unbending has been replaced by relativism that accepts no certainty or dependable and unswerving truth. This has produced a setting in our time of hyper-individualism so that everyone’s ideas must be honored despite their lack of merit.
God says clearly to all that would listen, the Great Solomon included, that He will tolerate no rivals. He declares that He is the Winner and there are no second or third place finishers. He is solitary and must be worshipped as such.
Despite his wisdom and prosperity, Solomon forgot their source. They were gifts of God based on God’s love and Solomon’s initial attitude of humility. The same basic understanding applies to us. All good gifts come from God. He is the controller of days past, present and all to come. He not only expects worship but demands such. We are free to pick and choose as a portion of our makeup. Our choices do have consequences however.