5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
10 It pleased the LORD that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”
15 And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants. – 1 Kings 3:5-15 ESV
Early in his reign, Solomon was a man who loved and honored Yahweh. His devotion to God shows up in the regular trips he made to Gibeon, where the tent or Tabernacle was located. There, he would offer burnt offerings to God, sometimes as many as 1,000 at a time. The divine regulations concerning these sacrifices are found in the book of Leviticus, where they are described as “a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the LORD” (Leviticus 1:17 NET).
On one such occasion, after a day of offering unblemished sacrificial animals on the altar to Yahweh, Solomon went to bed that evening and had a dream. In his dream, he was visited by Yahweh, who made Solomon a gracious and magnanimous offer: “Tell me what I should give you” (1 Kings 3:5 NET).
Solomon had spared no expense when giving to God the thousands of unblemished animals from his royal flocks and herds. He had willingly offered the best of what he had as a way of expressing his gratitude and devotion to God. And now, God was offering to give Solomon a gift in return. As a reward for his faithful obedience, Solomon was granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ask for whatever he desired from God. He was being given carte blanche, a literal blank check from Yahweh, to name his own blessing. The God of the universe was opening up the doors to His royal treasuries and telling Solomon that he could have whatever he wanted.
The gravity of this moment should not be overlooked. In a sense, Solomon was being tested by God to reveal the true nature of his heart. He could ask God for anything, and his request would expose his hidden desires and priorities.
What would you do if faced with the same opportunity? How would you respond? Would you ask for wealth, power, popularity, good health, and a long life? The problem is that many of us already think of God as some kind of cosmic Genie-in-a-bottle, an all-powerful, divine being who exists to fulfill our wishes. We would relish the thought of being in Solomon’s sandals, faced with the chance to tell God our one request for Him to meet. But this was Solomon’s dream, and he didn’t hesitate for a second to give God his answer.
First, Solomon expressed his gratitude to God for all that He had already done.
“You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.” – 1 Kings 3:6 NLT
Solomon was grateful for God’s faithfulness and unfailing love. He was well aware of the many ways in which God had blessed his father, David. Now, he was sitting on the throne of Israel because Yahweh had ordained it to be so. His newfound position of power and authority had been a gift from God. Solomon knew he had done nothing to deserve this honor. If anything, he felt ill-equipped and unprepared for such an important role.
“I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted!” – 1 Kings 3:7-8 NLT
When faced with a situation that could have easily exposed his greed and opportunism, Solomon displayed remarkable humility. His mind was not immediately filled with dreams of riches or glory. His first thoughts were not of a new royal wardrobe, a faster chariot, a bigger palace, or a larger kingdom. His mind focused on his inadequacy and inability to do the job he had been given by God. So, he asked Yahweh for the one thing he knew he lacked: Wisdom.
“Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” – 1 Kings 3:9 NLT
Solomon already possessed unsurpassed power and tremendous wealth. He didn’t need more of either one. In the short time he had ruled over Israel, he realized that what he lacked was the wisdom to govern God’s people. It had been said of David that he shepherded the people of Israel with “integrity of heart” and “guided them with skillful hands” (Psalm 78:72 BSB). Solomon wanted to do the same thing, but knew he was deficient. He lacked the necessary qualities to govern wisely and well. So, he asked God to provide the missing ingredient, and God was pleased to do so.
“Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!” – 1 Kings 3:11-12 NLT
In essence, God said, “Good answer!” He liked what He heard and was more than willing to give Solomon exactly what he had requested, and more.
“And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!” – 1 Kings 3:13 NLT
God blessed Solomon, first, by giving him what he needed most. God provided this newly crowned king with wisdom that would set him apart from every other ruler on the planet. Solomon would become world-renowned for his wisdom. Even today, he is often referred to as the wisest man who ever lived. However, God also gave Solomon more than he had requested, by promising to bless him with riches and fame. But those unrequested gifts would actually come as a result of Solomon’s wisdom. God didn’t suddenly fill Solomon’s royal treasuries with gold and silver. His net worth didn't double overnight. His great wealth would be a byproduct of the wisdom given to him by God. One of the proverbs later collected and compiled by Solomon personifies the voice of wisdom, declaring its many residual benefits.
Riches and honor are with me,
enduring wealth and righteousness. – Proverbs 8:18 ESV
Solomon would grow wealthy and become famous, but those were side benefits. The gift of wisdom, bestowed upon him by God, would enable Solomon to govern his kingdom according to divine principles. Every aspect of his decision-making was divinely influenced and inspired. As long as he relied on God, he would experience the blessings that accompany godly wisdom.
God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. – 1 Kings 4:29-34 NLT
Fame and fortune were not what Solomon asked for; wisdom was. Godly wisdom was the gift he received, and everything else flowed from it. As Proverbs 8 clearly states, the wisdom of God is of far greater value than any benefits it may yield.
Take my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. – Proverbs 8:10-11 ESV
It is interesting to note how Solomon worded his answer to Yahweh.
“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil…” – 1 Kings 3:9 ESV
This brings to mind the story of Adam and Eve in the garden. When God created the first couple, he placed them in the garden and gave them one prohibition.
“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” – Genesis 3:16-17 ESV
That one tree was off-limits, and consuming its fruit would result in death. Yet, it seems to have contained the very thing Solomon asked God for: The knowledge of good and evil. As the story goes, Eve later found herself in the garden, considering the tempting fruit of the forbidden tree. Suddenly, Satan, disguised as a serpent, appeared to her and encouraged her to eat what God had banned. When Eve articulated God's warning of death if they ate the fruit, Satan countered, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5 ESV).
Satan wasn't offering the promise of godly wisdom; he was offering God-like wisdom. He was trying to get Eve to seek wisdom from the wrong source. Proverbs 2 states, “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (Proverbs 2:6-7 ESV). Wisdom, at its core, is the knowledge of good and evil. It is the ability to understand the difference between right and wrong, as defined by God's standards. The knowledge of good and evil (wisdom) was never meant to come from any source other than God. But Satan wanted Adam and Eve to be the sole determiners of their moral standards. Rather than allow God to direct their moral trajectory, he wanted them to become moral free agents, choosing for themselves what was best. And when the first couple chose to “be as God,” they opened the door to sin, condemnation, and death. Thinking themselves to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:22).
The Proverbs portray the outcome of Adam and Eve’s decision to choose God-like wisdom rather than godly wisdom. When they decided to become their own gods and determine their own standards for right and wrong, they discovered it produced a dangerous byproduct.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. – Proverbs 14:12 BSB
What sets Solomon’s request apart is his understanding that the knowledge of good and evil can only come from God. He knew that, on his own, he could not and would not make the right choices. Adam and Eve were lured by the fruit of self-determinism. They wanted to be the masters of their own fates, deciding for themselves how to live their lives. However, they failed to grasp the painful truth that the prophet Jeremiah later exposed.
The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? – Jeremiah 17:9 NLT
Solomon was young and inexperienced, but he knew enough to know that he didn't want to be “as God;” he wanted to have the wisdom of God. He was willing to let God determine what was right and wrong, and because he trusted God, he was blessed in ways he could have never imagined.
“I grant your request and give you a wise and discerning mind superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you. Furthermore, I am giving you what you did not request—riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation.” – 1 Kings 3:12-13 NLT
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