Early in his reign, Solomon goes to Gibeon to sacrifice, and God meets him in a dream with an open offer: “Ask what I shall give thee.” Solomon — young, overwhelmed, “a little child” by his own account — asks for one thing: an understanding heart to judge the people. God is pleased, gives him wisdom past anyone before or since, and adds the riches and honour he did not ask for. Then two women and a baby put the gift to the test.
A study in 1 Kings 3 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 8 min read
Ask What I Shall Give Thee
“In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee… And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.”
1 Kings 3:5-7
God hands Solomon a blank cheque, and Solomon’s first move is to say how small he is: “I am but a little child.” The wisest thing he ever said, he said before he was given wisdom.
“Solomon was never so rich or so wise or so truly great as when he confessed, ‘I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.’”
Ellen G. White · Prophets and Kings, p. 30
Give Thy Servant An Understanding Heart
“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? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.”
1 Kings 3:9-10
He does not ask for long life, wealth, or victory over enemies — the three things a king would normally want. He asks for the ability to tell good from bad and to serve the people well. James says the same thing plainly: “if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.”
“The God whom we serve is no respecter of persons. He who gave to Solomon the spirit of wise discernment is willing to impart the same blessing to His children today… When a burden bearer desires wisdom more than he desires wealth, power, or fame, he will not be disappointed.”
Ellen G. White · Prophets and Kings, p. 31
That Which Thou Hast Not Asked
“Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.”
1 Kings 3:12-13
Ask for the right thing, and the lesser things often come with it — “seek ye first the kingdom of God… and all these things shall be added unto you.” God gives Solomon the wisdom he asked for and the wealth he did not. The danger, which the book spends eight chapters unfolding, is that the added things can slowly crowd out the thing that was asked for.
The Wisdom Of God Was In Him, To Do Judgment
“And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other… Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.”
1 Kings 3:25-28
Two women, one dead baby, one living baby, no witnesses. Solomon calls for a sword — not to use it, but to make love and indifference show themselves. The real mother would rather lose the child than see it killed; the other would rather see it halved than lost to her rival. The verdict is quick, and the nation’s response is not applause but fear — “they saw that the wisdom of God was in him.” A wise ruler makes people revere the God behind the wisdom.
