1 Kings 3:1-28
Solomon Asks God 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.
4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” 15 Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.
He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.
16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.
19 “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”
22 The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”
But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.
23 The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’”
24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
26 The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”
But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”
27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”
28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.
Solomon made a peace treaty with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, by marrying his daughter...Solomon brought her to the City of David...This was when Solomon was still building his palace, the Temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem...The Temple to honor the LORD had not yet been finished, so people were still making animal sacrifices on altars at the high places...Solomon showed that he loved the LORD by obeying everything his father David told him to do, except that Solomon continued to go to the high places to offer sacrifices and to burn incense...King Solomon went to Gibeon to offer a sacrifice because that was the most important high place...He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar...While Solomon was at Gibeon, the LORD came to him at night in a dream....God said, “Solomon, ask Me what you want Me to give you.”...Solomon answered, “You were very kind and loyal to your servant, my father David...He was faithful to you and lived a good, honest life...And You showed him the greatest kindness when You let his son take his place as king...LORD my God, you have made me the king in my father’s place, but I am like a small child...I don’t have the wisdom I need to do what I must do...I am your servant here among your chosen people...There are so many that they cannot be counted...So I ask you to give me the wisdom to rule and judge them well and to help me know the difference between right and wrong...Without such great wisdom, it would be impossible to rule this great nation.”...The LORD was happy that Solomon asked for wisdom...So God said to him, “You did not ask for long life and riches for yourself...You did not ask for the death of your enemies...You asked for the wisdom to listen and make the right decisions...So I will give you what you asked for...I will make you wise and intelligent...I will make you wiser than anyone who ever lived or ever will live...And I will also give you what you did not ask for...You will have riches and honor all your life...There will be no other king in the world as great as you...And I will give you a long life if you follow Me and obey My laws and commands as your father David did.”...Solomon woke up and knew that God had spoken to him in the dream...Then Solomon went to Jerusalem and stood before the Box of the LORD’s Agreement...He offered a burnt offering and fellowship offerings to the LORD and then gave a party for all of his officials...
One day two prostitutes came to Solomon and stood before the king...One of the women said, “Sir, this woman and I live in the same house...We were both pregnant and ready to give birth to our babies...I had my baby while she was there with me...Three days later she also gave birth to her baby...There was no one else in the house with us, just the two of us...One night while this woman was asleep with her baby, the baby died...That night while I was asleep, she took my son from my bed and carried him to her bed...Then she put the dead baby in my bed...In the morning I woke up and was about to feed the baby when I saw he was dead...When I looked at him more closely, I saw that he was not my baby.”...But the other woman said, “No!...The dead baby is yours, and the one still alive is mine!”...But the first woman said, “No, you are wrong!...The dead baby is yours!...The one that is still alive is mine.”...So the two women argued in front of the king...Then King Solomon said, “Each of you says that the living baby is your own and that the dead baby belongs to the other woman.”...Then King Solomon sent his servant to get a sword...He told the servant, “Cut the living baby in two and give one half of the baby to each woman.”...The second woman said, “Yes, cut him in two...Then neither of us will have him.”...But the first woman, the real mother, loved her son and said to the king, “Please, sir, don’t kill the baby!...Give him to her.”...Then King Solomon said, “Stop, don’t kill the baby...Give him to this woman...She is the real mother.”...The people of Israel respected the king when they heard about this decision...They saw he had the wisdom of God to make the right decisions...