1
Kings 3
Holman
Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The Lord Appears to Solomon
 |
| God Speaks to Solomon in His Sleep |
1 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s
daughter. Solomon brought her to live in the city of David until he finished
building his palace, the Lord’s temple, and the wall surrounding Jerusalem. 2
However, the people were sacrificing on the high places, because until that
time a temple for the Lord’s name had not been built. 3 Solomon loved the Lord
by walking in the statutes of his father David, but he also sacrificed and
burned incense on the high places.
4
The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high
place. He offered 1,000 burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord
appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask. What should I give
you?”
6
And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to Your servant,
my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness,
and integrity. You have continued this great and faithful love for him by
giving him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.
7
“Lord my God, You have now made Your servant king in my father David’s place.
Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership. 8 Your servant is
among Your people You have chosen, a people too numerous to be numbered or
counted. 9 So give Your servant an obedient heart to judge Your people and to
discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of
Yours?”
10
Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this. 11 So God said to him,
“Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life or riches for
yourself, or the death of your enemies, but you asked discernment for
yourself to understand justice, 12 I will therefore do what you have asked. I
will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been
anyone like you before and never will be again. 13 In addition, I will give you
what you did not ask for: both riches and honor, so that no man in any kingdom
will be your equal during your entire life. 14 If you walk in My ways and keep
My statutes and commands just as your father David did, I will give you a long
life.”
15
Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem,
stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and offered burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.
Solomon’s
Wisdom
 |
| King Solomon's Wisdom of the Baby |
16
Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17
One woman said, “Please my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I
had a baby while she was in the house. 18 On the third day after I gave birth,
she also had a baby and we were alone. No one else was with us in the house;
just the two of us were there. 19 During the night this woman’s son died
because she lay on him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my
son from my side while your servant was asleep. She laid him at her breast, and
she put her dead son in my arms. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my
son, I discovered he was dead. That morning, when I looked closely at him I
realized that he was not the son I gave birth to.”
22
“No,” the other woman said. “My son is the living one; your son is the dead
one.”
The
first woman said, “No, your son is the dead one; my son is the living one.” So
they argued before the king.
23
The king replied, “This woman says, ‘This is my son who is alive, and your son
is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead, and my son is alive.’” 24
The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought the sword to the king.
25 Solomon said, “Cut the living boy in two and give half to one and half to
the other.”
26
The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great
compassion for her son. “My lord, give her the living baby,” she said, “but
please don’t have him killed!”
But
the other one said, “He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two!”
27
The king responded, “Give the living baby to the first woman, and don’t kill
him. She is his mother.” 28 All Israel heard about the judgment the king had
given, and they stood in awe of the king because they saw that God’s wisdom was
in him to carry out justice.
Key: Bold - Verse of the Day, Purple - Words of God
Reflection: Solomon could have asked God for anything. He chose to ask for an obedient heart and discernment. Solomon's desire was not to fulfill his own personal desires, but to serve God in the best way he could.
Discussion
Topic: When you approach the throne of God in your time of prayer, do you come with a heart that seeks to fulfill its own desires, or do your requests reflect your desire to please God?
Prayer: Praise you Father. Glory to you Lord God Almighty. I pray that I can come before you with the same heart that King Solomon had when he asked for an obedient heart and discernment. May my prayers and requests be made from a heart that is broken and in full submission to Your will. May Your name be praised forever and ever. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Acknowledgements: Text - BibleGateway.com, Artwork: God Speaks to Solomon in His Sleep - eborg3.com, King Solomon's Wisdom of the Baby - GoodSalt.com
No comments:
Post a Comment