1 King 3-4
Key verses 20 The
people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they
ate, they drank and they were happy. 21 And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms
from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border
of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's subjects all his
life.
1.
[3:1-9] What was the situation at the early
years of Solomon’s rule (1-3)? In this situation, how did he seek God’s favor (4)?
How did the Lord respond to his sacrifice (5)? What did he ask (9a) and why
(6-8,9b)?
V1-3 describes the
situation at the outset of Solomon’s kingship, most likely within few years (3
years) from his enthronement. 1) he married the daughter of King of Egypt,
one of the most powerful nations over the area. He cared for her and housed her
in Jerusalem and later in his palace (7:8). This implies that by this time, Israel
became the dominant kingdom of the entire area (even Israel might be more
powerful than Egypt). 2) the people sacrificed at high places—this
was the situation before the temple was build and this condition called for the
temple where God’s name is and Israel could the worship singularly. 3) Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking in accordance with
the Law. As we will see in the later chapters, all these three, though they were
benign at the beginning of his kingship, evolved into full ungodly ways.
One and the most
important positive thing at this time was his love for the Lord. Out of his
love for the Lord, he sought for God’s favor by sacrificing at Gibeon. The
bronze altar (a part of the tent of the meeting) that was made according to God’s
direction was at Gibeon (2 Chr 1:2-4) while the ark of the Lord was in
Jerusalem-again this calls for designating or building a place where Israel
could worship where the altar and the ark come together. God accepted Solomon’s
prayer. This tells us that for the time being, the altar at Gibeon was an
acceptable place to sacrifice and was not one of ‘pagan high place’ that God would
not accept (Deut 12:6-14).
In his answer to
God’s offer tells us of how he understood his kingship. Two things are to be
noted: It was rooted in His father David’s faithfulness to the Lord and God’s
kindness to him. As we discussed in ch 2, the most important thing in the process
of choosing the next king was who had the spirit that their father David had.
It was Solomon. The other sons did not have even a glimpse of what entailed in
this kingship. 1) Solomon
fully subscribed himself to the spirit exchanged between David’s faithfulness
and God’s kindness to him. 2) The second thing is actually an
extension of the first, his heart was fully geared to shepherd God’s people according to God’s law.
For this he greatly felt short and asked the Lord for wisdom; the wisdom to distinguish
right from wrong; the standard which is the Law of God. In other words, his basic purpose in asking wisdom
was to uphold the law of God among God’s people. These two is grounded on his
basic understanding of who the people of Israel was to him; they were not his
subjects but the people God has chosen, this great people of yours (8-9)
2.
[10-15]
What would the Lord give him (12-13) and why (10-11)? What additional blessing
would the Lord give him (14b) and on what condition (14a)? After having this
dream, what did he do and why (15)? Discuss God’s will or purpose in giving
these blessings.
God was extremely
happy to hear Solomon’s request because the purpose and mindset of this request
was perfectly in line with God’s hope and purpose for Israel. So God decided to
give him a wise and discerning heart (Wisdom) In addition, He would give him
wealth and honor as well. How great would his wisdom, wealth and honor be?
Particularly in regard to the wisdom, He said, “there will never have been
anyone like you, nor will there ever be” His wisdom would be above all men then
and ever in the entire human history. The implication is enormous. 1) no one
can even come close to his wisdom (wise and discerning) heart. No one can dare
challenge his wisdom and no one dare to deceive him. This is a very vital tool
to administer the Law of God rightly and perfectly. 2) there was no man who has
more wisdom than him. If this is so, then who else might be like him?
God offered him one
more thing to his gift list; long life if he walks in obedience to the Lord and
keep his commands. It is obvious that the gift of wise and discerning heart has
little to do with ‘one’s will to obey’. Obedience comes from one’s true honor or
fear of the LORD. Many would implement the Law on others for it is easy to
apply them on others but it is difficult to apply it to oneself for it demands
one’s obedience in faith.
3.
[16-28] Find Solomon’s wisdom in handling of the
two prostitutes’ conflicting claims. What is the main theme of the story? If
this event has God’s purpose, then, what might it be? How was Solomon’s wisdom
displayed in this story? Discuss his wisdom particularly in regard to its
nature/ability, usefulness, and limitations (28, Cf. 11b-12, 14).
I understand this story
in two aspects: first, what do this story itself reveal about? Second, how do
this story reveal about the wisdom of Solomon?
A prostitute mother
A. lost her son because another prostitute B. beside her stole this mother’s(A’s)
baby because hers died by her mistake. Mother A could not let her son go because
of her love for him. She pleaded this matter to the king. Since all the facts
are hidden and only the mother B knows the truth and she was not willing to
tell the truth, the King has no way to find out the truth. So, the king ordered to cut the baby in half to
give each of them a half of the baby. The genuine mother faced a crisis because
she would lose her baby for good. If the king’s discernment ends here, she
would lose her son twice, first by being stolen and second by killing the baby.
How does the Law of God do fair in this situation since everything is hidden in
the depth of one’s heart? Here the King in wise and discerning heart let the hidden
thing to come out, from one, true love, and from the other, murderous envy/jealousy.
Can man hide his sin and ungodliness? To many it is more than possible. But before
such king as this, who has the wisdom from the LORD, it is almost impossible
for God’s wisdom is in him. His wisdom is so great and covers all matters of
human lives; he even could discern what is in the dept of men’s heart.
This wisdom is from
God and such wisdom has never been a property of any men. It is God’s and God only
has such wisdom. But God imparted this to Solomon for one purpose: to uphold
the Law or to uphold god’s justice and His glory. What was His ultimate purpose
in it?
The son of the prostitute
was as good as dead as he was about to be cut in half. But as the love of his
mother was revealed, the son was saved and returned to the mother. He became
the hope for her. Jesus called himself as a son of man. He was crucified and
died. But in God’s righteousness and love for us sinners, He raised the son of
man to life so as to give hope for all the sinners who loved him and had hope
in him. If you love the son, and would not give up the son to death, then God’s
justice in the Law of Covenant will surely return the son back in life.
This story is placed
at the central part of this section (ch3-4) which denotes the fulfillment of God’s
promise to Abraham, the kingdom of God. In
other words, here God’s wisdom is powerfully and most skillfully demonstrated
to the one who loves her son so much. He will display the same wisdom in
brining back the son of man to those who love him with all their hearts.
The wisdom of God
or the genuine wisdom that is from the Lord has a keen insight on life-giving love.
4.
[4:1-19] Find the details of the governance of
the nation that Solomon set up (1-19)? What might it suggest about Solomon’s
wisdom?
It is noted that
the priests held the first position, not the military generals. Also, the
adviser to Solomon was not a military man but the son of Nathan, a priest.
Solomon divided the
land into twelve districts and on each, he placed a governor. Though this
division of the land into twelve districts were very similar to the twelve divisions
for twelve tribes, these divisions did not carry the name of the tribes,
emphasizing the unity as one nation under one king.
5.
[20-34] Under his rule, how did the nation
Israel do (20-21; Josh 1:4; Cf. Gen 15:18)? What was Solomon’s daily provisions
(22-23)? How fair was the life of Judah and Israel during his life time
(25-28)?
This is a brief
summary of the nation under Solomon’s rule, a concluding note of chapter 3-4. Two
things are noted: first the land governed under kingship of Solomon—it is from
Dan to Beersheba, or “ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to
the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt” (Josh 1:4; Cf. Gen
15:18), indicating that the land of Israel encompasses the entire land of God’s
promise to Abraham. Second the kingdom was blessed abundantly; the abundance of
blessing is noted from the palace, to each family. These are possible only
under God’s blessing, indicating that Israel kept the Law of Covenant
faithfully. These two, fulfilling the promise of land, and the promise of God’s
blessing, speaks of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel.
This section is
closed with the note of the richness in its scope and depth of Solomon’s wisdom.
This is to reemphasize the fact that his wisdom is not of man but of God and in
essence, it is God’s wisdom imparted to Solomon ruled the nation leading
to such blessing and prosperity and then to fulfillment of God’s promise.
6.
Again, discuss Solomon’s wisdom in its scope and
fame and its ultimate purpose. Also find its significance for the prosperity of
the nation Israel (Cf. 2 Sam 7:8-13).
As for discussion on
Solomon’s wisdom, see note on q5.
To find further the
significance of the prosperity of Israel under King Solomon, I like to review God’s
word given to David.
2 Samuel 7: 10 And
I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they
can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not
oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since
the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest
from all your enemies. "'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself
will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest
with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your
own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who
will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever. (2Sa 7 NIV)
Before having David
to build a house for the Lord, the Lord will do two things; first the LORD Himself
will build His nation on a solid ground (10-11). Second, the Lord will have
David’s son to establish his kingdom. V20-34 seems to note the fact that God
fulfilled these two promises to David Having established His kingdom under
David and now by giving his wisdom, God established the kingdom in David’s son,
Solomon, it is now the time to build a house for the Lord by David’s son
Solomon. Today’s passage with the next section (ch 5-9) that is devoted to the
building of the temple of the Lord fulfills the promise that God made with David.
How did the Lord do
this? The answer is obvious, by giving His wisdom to David’s son Solomon. At
the center of this section is how Solomon received the wisdom from the Lord and
this section ends with description of the greatness of his wisdom. This
tells us how important it is to have or receive the wisdom from the LORD when
one is set to do the work of God or to do His will.
If God helped
Solomon fulfill His promise to David by giving His wisdom, and yet this kingdom
lasted only for a short time, the Lord will give the coming son far more than
wisdom for the kingdom of the coming son shall last forever. (Luke 2:52; 4:18)
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