1 Kings 3

1 And Solomon became a relative of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, for he took Pharaoh’s daughter to wife and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the LORD and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

2 Until then the people sacrificed in high places because there was still no house built unto the name of the LORD until those days.

3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David, his father; only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.

5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask what you wish that I shall give thee.

6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shown unto thy slave David, my father, great mercy, according to the way he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great mercy that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy slave king instead of David my father; and I am but a tender young man; I do not know how to go out or come in.

8 And thy slave is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

9 Give, therefore, thy slave a hearing heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this thy so great a people?

10 And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.

11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing and hast not asked for thyself long life neither hast asked riches for thyself nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to hear judgment,

12 behold, I have done according to thy words: behold, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and glory so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee in all thy days.

14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments as thy father David walked, then I will lengthen thy days.

15 And when Solomon awoke, he beheld it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings and made a banquet for all his slaves.

16 In that season two women, that were harlots, came unto the king and stood before him.

17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house, and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.

18 And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered that this woman was delivered also and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.

19 And this woman’s child died in the night because she lay on top of him.

20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom and laid her dead child in my bosom.

21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I had given birth to.

22 And the other woman said, No, but my son is alive, and thy son is dead. And this one said, No, but thy son is dead, and my son is alive. Thus they spoke before the king.

23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that is alive, and thy son is dead. And the other saith, No; but thy son is dead, and my son is alive.

24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two and give half to the one and half to the other.

26 Then the woman, of whom the living child was, spoke unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.

27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it, for she is its mother.

28 And all Israel heard of that judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to judge.

1 Kings 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

Solomon's marriage. (1-4) His vision, His prayer for wisdom. (5-15) The judgment of Solomon. (16-28)

Verses 1-4 He that loved the Lord, should, for his sake, have fixed his love upon one of the Lord's people. Solomon was a wise man, a rich man, a great man; yet the brightest praise of him, is that which is the character of all the saints, even the poorest, "He loved the Lord." Where God sows plentifully, he expects to reap accordingly; and those that truly love God and his worship, will not grudge the expenses of their religion. We must never think that wasted which is laid out in the service of God.

Verses 5-15 Solomon's dream was not a common one. While his bodily powers were locked up in sleep, the powers of his soul were strengthened; he was enabled to receive the Divine vision, and to make a suitable choice. God, in like manner, puts us in the ready way to be happy, by assuring us we shall have what we need, and pray for. Solomon's making such a choice when asleep, and the powers of reason least active, showed it came from the grace of God. Having a humble sense of his own wants and weakness, he pleads, Lord, I am but a little child. The more wise and considerate men are, the better acquainted they are with their own weakness, and the more jealous of themselves. Solomon begs of God to give him wisdom. We must pray for it, ( James 1:5 ) , that it may help us in our particular calling, and the various occasions we have. Those are accepted of God, who prefer spiritual blessings to earthly good. It was a prevailing prayer, and prevailed for more than he asked. God gave him wisdom, such as no other prince was ever blessed with; and also gave him riches and honour. If we make sure of wisdom and grace, these will bring outward prosperity with them, or sweeten the want of it. The way to get spiritual blessings, is to wrestle with God in prayer for them. The way to get earthly blessings, is to refer ourselves to God concerning them. Solomon has wisdom given him, because he did ask it, and wealth, because he did not.

Verses 16-28 An instance of Solomon's wisdom is given. Notice the difficulty of the case. To find out the true mother, he could not try which the child loved best, and therefore tried which loved the child best: the mother's sincerity will be tried, when the child is in danger. Let parents show their love to their children, especially by taking care of their souls, and snatching them as brands out of the burning. By this and other instances of the wisdom with which God endued him, Solomon had great reputation among his people. This was better to him than weapons of war; for this he was both feared and loved.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST KINGS 3

This chapter relates the marriage of Solomon with Pharaoh's daughter, 1Ki 3:1; his piety and devotion, 1Ki 3:2-4; his prayer for wisdom and understanding, which was acceptable to God, who promised to grant his request, with an addition to it, 1Ki 3:5-15; an instance and proof of the wisdom given him in determining a case between two harlots brought before him, which greatly raised his reputation, and gave him reverence among his people, 1Ki 3:16-28.