November 26, 2021
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Reading along with us in 1 Kings? Here’s today’s reading:
1 Kings 3 (NIV)
Solomon Asks for Wisdom
1 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord. 3 Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.............Continue Reading
Solomon asked God for wisdom. Knowing of all he could ask for and the selfish, prideful ways of many of David’s sons he made a great choice here. Not riches, power, or fame but he asked for wisdom and discernment that he might be a good king and God rewarded this choice abundantly!
It matters to God how we pray, specifically on what kinds of things we ask for. When we ask the right things, he will even give us more good things that we didn’t ask for.
“This very day in David’s town your Savior was born—Christ the Lord! Suddenly a great army of heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God:”
Luke 2:11, 13 GNTD
https://bible.com/bible/69/luk.2.11-13.GNTD
In continuing in Luke, this verse always struck me in a way. Imagine being one of the Shepard’s in the fields that night and seeing the army of Heaven? I would be in awe.
1 Kings 3
Solomon loved the Lord, such that God appears to him in a dream. Solomon is humble demonstrated by his speech and his request for wisdom to judge God’s people.
1 Kings 3 –
God shows Solomon grace by coming to him in a dream even though he married a foreign wife and presented sacrifices in the wrong place. But he shows great wisdom and humility to ask God for wisdom in ruling the people because he recognized his own inadequacy. It must have been tempting for him to ask for all the things God mentions, but God honors his request by giving him wisdom as well as wealth and honor. Long life will come on the condition that Solomon follows God’s ways. The chapter closes with the account that clearly demonstrates the wisdom God provides. It makes perfect sense that it would be the true mother that would protect the child’s life, but to come up with the idea of grabbing a sword and threatening to cut the child in two was genius. And everyone couldn’t help but see that God had been faithful to answer Solomon’s prayer.