< 1 Kings 3 >

Israel were God’s chosen people and Solomon was given wisdom to rule them, and many of his sayings inspired by God are recorded in the books he wrote: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. However, Solomon was not always wise in his personal life and he made serious errors in marrying princesses of neighbouring countries, e.g. Egypt,v.1Waiting for response for 1 Kings 3:1 who, when he was old, “turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father”. 1 Kings 11:4Waiting for response for 1 Kings 11:4 The consequence of this was very serious because God punished him by taking most of the kingdom away from his son, but for David’s sake the LORD allowed him to keep his own tribe of Judah and also the tribe of Benjamin in which Jerusalem was situated because “the LORD had chosen to put his name there”. 1 Kings 11:36Waiting for response for 1 Kings 11:36

“Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father” and he built the house of God in Jerusalem according to the wishes of David and the LORD. His name means “peace” and his reign of forty years was a period of peace and prosperity for Israel, and a time which is typical of the thousand year reign of Christ. However, Solomon was not perfect. For example, he sacrificed to the LORD in the high places where idolaters worshipped their gods, a practice not stamped out until many generations later.2 Kings 18:4Waiting for response for 2 Kings 18:4

Solomon recognised that God had permitted him to “sit on the throne” v.6Waiting for response for 1 Kings 3:6 “as king instead of his father David” and he humbled himself as a little child.v.7Waiting for response for 1 Kings 3:7 When God invited him to request anything he desired, Solomon asked, not for great wealth or long life, but for wisdom to rule God’s people: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” v.9Waiting for response for 1 Kings 3:9 God commended him for his selflessness, granted his request, and also gave him wealth and long life for which he had not asked. And all the people soon acknowledged “that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment”.v.28Waiting for response for 1 Kings 3:28