Download Study Materials
The wisdom of Solomon… (4 things)
We are slowly pulled away from the Lord – by the little choices we make!
1st – Solomon made an alliane with Egypt…vs. 1 Read: I Kings 3:1
As part of the treaty he married the daughter of Pharaoh… vs. 1
It has long been a common practice to marry – as part of a making a peace treaty…
Then the other nation is far less likely to attack you – you are family!
Solomon brought her to live in the City of David – but she did not stay…
The daughter of Pharaoh was not a believer – and did not want to follow God…
So Solomon would move her to her own house – outside the city – I Kings 9:24…
Because rather than Solomon drawing her towards the Lord…
She instead succeeded over time in luring Solomon away from the Lord!
I Kings 11:1 – “King Solomon loved… Pharaoh’s daughter. The LORD had clearly instructed his people not to intermarry with [other] nations, because the women they married would lead them to worship their gods.”
When we get married – we need to make sure not to ‘intermarry’…
II Corinthians 6:14 – “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers…
Be very careful whom you choose to be your spouse – it is a permanent decision…
Find a man/woman who loves the Lord – not just in words – but also in actions…
Otherwise they might end up drawing you away from your walk with Jesus!
2nd – The request for wisdom…vs. 2-15 Read: I Kings 3:2-14
1st – There was no Temple yet – so Israel sacrificed at local altars… vs. 2
The Law required ALL sacrifices be offered at the Tabernacle – Leviticus 17:1-5
Because otherwise people might begin to use their ‘offerings’ to worship false gods…
God wanted them to come to the Tabernacle – so they could have accountability!
Going to church does not save you – but it does keep you from getting off track…
It is easy to do the wrong things and convince yourself your right…
That is why God call us to fellowship together in church – Hebrews 10:25…
We help keep each other in check – keep our priorities pointed towards God!
2nd – Solomon loved the Lord – but he too offered sacrifices at local altars… vs. 3-4
The most important of these altars was at Gibeon – because of the Tabernacle…
I Chronicles 21:29 – “The Tabernacle of the LORD was located at the hill of Gibeon.”
The Ark of the Covenant had been brought to Jerusalem – II Samuel 6:17
David built a ‘new Tabernacle’ for the Ark there in the City of David…
But the original Tabernacle made by Moses stayed in Gibeon…
Solomon offered 1000 burnt offerings there – and that night God spoke in a dream!
Solomon came to hear from the Lord – and he got an answer…
Not because of how many animals he sacrificed / or because of where he was…
He got an answer because he was sincerely seeking the Lord!
A lot of people think if they give God will answer them – but God cannot be bribed!
Or if they come to a ‘holy place’ God will hear them – but God is everywhere!
If we are truly looking to find God – He is always willing to answer…
Jeremiah 29:13 – “You will find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
3rd – God offered to give Solomon ANYTHING… vs. 5-9
Solomon answered – ‘God had shown wonderful kindness to David’…
David had been honest and faithful – so the Lord had always been with him…
And now the Lord had made Solomon King in his place…
But Solomon felt like a lost little child – ruling a nation to numerous to count!
So – he asked for wisdom – so he would be able to rule Israel well!
We have all felt the helplessness that comes from being overwhelmed in life…
Feeling like a lost little child – not knowing what decision to make…
Looking for someone to guide us – needed wisdom so we do not make a mistake!
Wisdom comes to those who ask for it from the Lord…
The wisdom of God is not the same thing as knowledge we learn in the world…
If you want knowledge you go to school – and you will be taught…
But even the best-educated people – often lack wisdom in their lives!
Because wisdom is not learned – it is a gift of the Spirit – I Corinthians 12:8…
Knowing the best choices to make in life – have Godly understanding…
And the way to get wisdom – is simply to come to the Lord and ask for it!
James 1:5 – “If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do-ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.”
4th – God was VERY pleased with Solomon’s request… vs. 10-15
Since Solomon did not ask for money / or long life / or revenge on his enemies…
God would make him the wisest man who ever lived – or would EVER live!
God would also give to Solomon what he did not ask for – great riches!
And if he continued to follow the Lord – he would also have long life!
Solomon woke up – realized it was a dream – and returned to Jerusalem
God granted the request of Solomon – because is was a self-less request…
If you child asked you for P200 to buy school supplies – you would not hesitate…
If you child asked you for P200 to buy candy and sweats – you would not give it!
In the same way if we ask God for selfish things – silence will be His only reply…
James 4:3 – “When you ask, you do not get it because your whole motive is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”
As we look to Jesus – we can ask for anything and God will give it – John 15:7…
Because we are going to be asking for the things that God wants!
God does not just want to give us what we need…
If you child asks you for ice cream – do you just give them some ice…
No we want to give them LOTS of ice cream – tell them to get a BIG bowl!
God does not just want to provide for our daily needs – He has a far greater plan!
He wants to give us His whole kingdom – bless us beyond imagination – Luke 12:33
The only reason He would not give us something is He knows its not good for us!
3rd – The example of wisdom…vs. 16-28 Read: I Kings 3:16-22
1st – Two prostitutes came to the King to solve an argument… vs. 16-22
They both had newborn infants – and one night one of them died…
The one mother rolled over in her sleep and suffocated her baby son…
She then took her dead baby – swapped it out with the other woman’s live baby…
When the mother awoke – she found her baby was dead…
But when she looked closer – she realized it was not her baby!
Hearing that the other mother argued with her – no it was your baby that died!
Solomon had an apparently impossible dilemma…
They were alone in the house – there were no other witnesses…
There was NO WAY to prove which mother the live baby belonged to…
The key to having answers to impossible problems – is having the wisdom of God…
Jeremiah 32:27 – “I am the LORD… Is anything too hard for me?”
2nd – The King clarified their argument – they both claimed the living son… vs. 23-28
So Solomon would cut the living son in half – give part to each mom…
One mother pleaded for the child’s life – let the second mom have the baby…
But the second mother liked the King’s plan – no one would have a baby!
Solomon would never have actually killed the child…
It was a test – because the real mother would do anything to save her son!
Solomon told his men to give the baby to the real mother…
The one who was willing to give him up – if it meant sparing his life!
All of Israel heard about this – and they were in awe of the King!
The world is looking for answers to the hard questions…
They want to know – ‘what is the meaning of life’ – why are we here…
The most educated men in the world – cannot answer that simple question…
But when we have the wisdom of God – we have all the answers!
4th – The greatness of Solomon…vs. 1-34 Read: I Kings 4:21-26 / 34
1st – Solomon was King over all of Israel – but he had a lot of help… vs. 1-19
Azariah – the son of Zadok – was the High Priest…
Benaiah – who had served David – was the commander of the army…
As well as 12 governors who managed the affairs of the 12 tribes…
Solomon was wise – and knew there was no way he could lead on his own!
There are only so many hours in a day /days in a week – yet we often try to do it all…
Maybe because of pride – we think we are the only ones who can do the work…
Maybe trying to please men – thinking if we say ‘no’ they will be upset…
Either way – when we try to do too much – we end up getting into a lot of trouble!
We end up burned out / frustrated / unable to get anything accomplished…
Because we are trying to juggle too many things – nothing gets done at all!
We end up upsetting others – because we tell people we will help them out…
But we spread ourselves so thin we end up not doing what we said we would!
We also keep others from being able to help out…
Because we said we would help – or because we did not ask for help…
Other people do not have the opportunity to step out and serve…
No matter how hard we try we cannot do it all – we need to learn to delegate!
2nd – There was great prosperity during the reign of Solomon… vs. 20-25
His kingdom went all the way from the Euphrates River – to the border of Egypt…
This is the largest the Kingdom of Israel ever was – the entire Promised Land…
Fulfilling the promise God gave to Abraham in Genesis 15:18
And there was peace in the Land throughout the reign of Solomon!
Solomon fed a HUGE number of people in his house every day…
Each tribe of Israel was responsible for providing the food one month of the year…
Every day he needed 240 sacks of rice / 6,600 liters of oil…
30 fattened cows / 100 goats / as well as more chickens than you could count!
How many hours of sleep have we lost worrying about how to feed our families…
How many fights have we gotten into over not having enough money…
If God can provide enough food for Solomon to feed his house / we are easy!
Matthew 6:31-33 – “Do not worry about having enough food… Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him…”
3rd – God gave Solomon immense wisdom… vs. 26-34
So that people from all over the world came to hear his words…
He could speak on almost any subject – from gardening / to government…
He wrote over 3000 proverbs – many of them recorded in the book of Proverbs…
Yet in all his wisdom – he made some poor choices – he had 40,000 horses…
The King was not to add horses – Deuteronomy 17:16…
The concern was he would trust in his military might rather than the Lord…
Psalms 20:7 – “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
It seemed a small compromise for the King – it was his first but not his last…
Solomon would end up walking away from the Lord – because of compromise!
Before break my first semester in Bible College – I was out late with friends…
We did not do anything bad – but we missed our curfew…
The next morning we had to show up at he Dean’s office – explain ourselves…
He told us – little compromises (missing curfew) – are where sin gets a foothold…
We need to constantly be on guard – watching even for little compromises in life…
Because we do not just wake up one day and decide to go and sin…
Leave a Reply