Solomon’s request of God for wisdom teaches us that more important than asking good questions is that we ask the right questions of the right person. Solomon made two very important requests of God and did so after properly positioning his heart to receive God’s response.
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Though Solomon made sacrifices to Yahweh at Gibeon (a “high place”), his 1,000 burnt offerings was a personal expression of his allegiance to God.
Following this significant sacrifice, Solomon retires for the evening and has a dream. A vivid, life-altering dream.
“Hebrew does not differentiate between dream, vision, or epiphany… In Egypt and Babylonia such a vision authenticates a reign and forms part of the divine call to the new ruler.”
(Wiseman, 1993, p. 84)
This particular dream was a means of divine communication at that time. It was “an articulate and intelligible Divine communication” (Spence & Exell, 1950, p. 56) that was a “powerful claim for legitimacy, because what God gives us in a dream is beyond human control or exploitation or manipulation or resistance” (Brueggermann, 2000, pp. 46-47). This indicated to Solomon the validity and importance of what the God of his father David was about to convey.
In response to the sincerity of his worship at Gibeon, God appears to Solomon and graciously inquires of him: “Ask what I shall give you.” We should understand this to be a test, as much as God was willing to provide Solomon what he asked for. Given this opportunity, what would this young king as God for?
Having the right heart to make a request of God
Solomon starts by expressing gratitude and thankfulness by recalling God’s faithfulness: “You have shown great and steadfast love…” (1 Kings 3:6). Then in verse 7, Solomon acknowledges his inability to rule and how little he knows about what he has been given to do. On top of that, he has been given charge of God’s chosen people (v. 8), who are “too many to number”–an overwhelming responsibility.
With gratitude and humility, recognizing his lack of understanding and capability to govern, Solomon asks the right question of the right person: “God, please give me wisdom.” In other words, “give me what I need to care for your chosen people the way you want me to.”
Earlier in their history, another leader of God’s chosen people inquired of God similarly. Out of a lack of confidence of being equal to the task and from the depth of his heart, Moses makes this request of Yahweh in Exodus 33:
“Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”
Exodus 33:13
Two parts of Solomon’s request for wisdom
True worship will put our hearts in the right position to have the right conversation with God. While it most likely won’t take on the form of a dramatic sacrifice or ceremony, it may be public, but will require that our hearts are honest and pure in our expression of devotion, honor, and praise to God.
That is the kind of heart God responds to. We can see His desire for and response to a pure heart in the first part of 2 Chron. 16:9: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him…”. The right heart is strongly supported by God.
To be sure, there are times when we need specific instruction or direction from God. But in verse 9, Solomon doesn’t “ask for directions”, but specifically asks that he receive two things from God.
An Understanding Mind to Govern
Solomon’s first request was that he be given “an understanding mind to govern.”
“The most intriguing expression is Solomon’s request for a “hearing heart” (v. 9 RSV “an understanding mind,; NEB “a heart with a skill to listen”). The heart is the organ of thought and will in the OT. This expression implies a reason that understands, an instinct for the truth…”
(Nelson, 1987, p. 32)
We’re only as wise as our ability to listen to God. And we’ll only be able to listen to God from a humble heart. That is the foundation for true wisdom and is described as having “a hearing heart” (Wiseman, p. 85) and an “instinct for the truth.” Moses affirms this in the verse above by desiring to “know God” so that he may think, decide, and act as He would desire.
Discernment between good and evil
In order to rule fairly and justly, we must also possess the discernment to navigate the sometimes very difficult task of distinguishing between what is good and what is evil.
I want to make a point about our continuing to use those two specific words: good and evil. To say something is either good or bad, understates both what is good and what is bad. They become diluted and weak. The implications are similar to our excessive use of the word ‘awesome’. If “everything is awesome”, then nothing really is.
Good and evil are not separated by a thin line, but are direct opposites just as something that is ‘awesome’ is far and away better than anything else.
I can’t recall an instance in Scripture where God describes the battle as being between good and bad. Good is held as the highest standard. Good is non-negotiable. To say that God is ‘good’ means that ONLY God is good. There is no one more “gooder”. When He said of His creation that it is ‘good’, He was in no way referring to it as being ‘not bad.’ God’s ‘good’, that is, what is right, stands alone. It is pure. It is perfect. And, the opposite of the very best, is the very worst. Evil.
The stakes are high for all of us as ‘rulers of our realms’ when seeking to apply God’s definition of good and evil. Understanding ‘His ways’ comes from humbly asking for an understanding heart that is able to discern between good and evil. God’s offer of wisdom is extended to all of us (Jas. 1:5-8), that we would seek and receive this divine gift.
In our last post in this series, we will see God’s response to Solomon’s request, and how God is able to bless us beyond our expectation.
Wisdom In All Things Special Series: Solomon’s Missteps, Misuses, and Just Plain Misses
Part 1 – Ask for Wisdom as Solomon Asked for Wisdom
Part 2 – The Rise and Fall of Solomon
Part 3 – Walk in God’s Ways: David’s Charge to Solomon
Part 4 – Solomon’s “Missteps” as King
Part 6 – The Kind of Request That Pleases God
References:
Wiseman, D. J. (1993). 1&2 Kings: an introduction and commentary. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press
Brueggermann, Walter. (2000). Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary: 1&2 Kings. Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc.
Spence, H. D. M., & Exell, Joseph S. (1950). The Pulpit Commentary. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company
Nelson, Richard D. (1987). First and Second Kings, Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching preaching. Kentucky: John Knox Press
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