In Gibeon Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
God meets Solomon at the start of his reign and tells him to name what he wants. Commentators press two questions here. Why did God appear at a high place instead of at the ark? And why in a dream?
The setting matters. The tabernacle and its bronze altar stood at Gibeon, so Solomon offered his thousand burnt offerings at the right altar.
When Saul destroyed the town of Nob, the tabernacle was moved to Gibeon. It stayed there until Solomon built the house of the LORD. The ark had been brought from Kiriath-jearim to the tent David had pitched for it in Jerusalem. But the tabernacle and the bronze altar that Bezalel had made remained at Gibeon. The high place at Gibeon means the high ground on which the tabernacle and the altar stood. At first that same spot had been a Canaanite place for the worship of idols. The temple was the one place for worship that God had chosen. As long as it was not standing, worship of Jehovah at the Gibeon high place was not sinful. Solomon and all the people with him gathered at Gibeon. They went to the bronze altar and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. He began with this act of worship, and it was the same night that God appeared to Solomon. The Lord drew near to him graciously as the result of the sacrifices on the bronze altar.
Solomon went to the altar at Gibeon, not to the ark in Jerusalem. His faith fell short of his father's. That makes God's appearing the striking thing.
With his father it was not so. In Gibeon, however, Jehovah appeared. And how great the grace of God! Solomon's faith is set here against his father's deeper and higher faith — yet in Gibeon Jehovah appears! What a God was He!
One writer reads the choice as a plain mistake. Solomon assumed the grandest place must be the right place to worship, "just as people today often think that the most beautiful church is where they ought to worship" (Leslie M. Grant).
Rossier starts with Solomon's love for the Lord, and then with what a dream does to a person.
Solomon went to Gibeon, but he loved the Lord, and the Lord always takes account of our affection for Him. There He appeared to him in a dream. In a dream a person cannot disguise the true state of his heart. Neither reason nor will is there to hold back what is inside. In a dream the soul is laid bare before the Lord. What then were the thoughts held in this young king's heart when God said to him, "Ask what I shall give you"?
This makes Solomon's answer proof rather than performance: "the genuineness of this feeling is all the clearer because he replies to God in a dream" (J. N. Darby).
What Solomon did with the offer matters as much as the offer itself.
God appeared to him in the night with the wonderful message, "Ask what I shall give you." It was as though He placed all His resources at the disposal of faith. The young king prays for wisdom and knowledge so that he may care for the flock committed to him. It was a most remarkable prayer for a man in his position. The Lord shows His pleasure by giving him far more than all he asked or thought.
An open offer shows what a person wants most. Solomon could have named any of the obvious prizes.
What an offer! What a test to this young man! Will he ask for long life, or riches, or success over his enemies? He greatly pleased the Lord. He might have been dazzled by the glory of his position. He might have held great ambitions and asked for things to match.
The invitation was not sealed off in Solomon's night at Gibeon.
What grace this was, but it also searched his innermost soul. And this offer was not made only to Solomon. The One who appeared to Solomon and put this gracious question to him was later on earth, clothed as a servant, yet greater than Solomon in all his glory. He said: "Ask, and it will be given to you." And again He said: "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do." It is faith's privilege to hear Him speak like this to our hearts and to make use of His great offer.
- Worship first. Solomon began his reign at the altar with burnt offerings, and God drew near that same night as the result.
- Grace stoops. He came to Gibeon, not to the ark. God appeared anyway, though commentators call that a real shortfall in his faith.
- Sleep exposes. A dream strips away reason and will, so the answer God got was the man's true heart, not his managed one.
- God opens everything. "Ask what I shall give you" put all His resources at the disposal of faith. The answer came back larger than the asking.
- The test travels. The same question still searches every reader. The One who asked it later said, "Ask, and it will be given to you."
And Solomon said, Thou hast shewn unto thy servant David my father great loving-kindness, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great loving-kindness, that thou hast given him a son who sits upon his throne, as it is this day.
God appears to Solomon and offers him anything he asks for. The first thing the young king says is not a plea for himself, but a memory of how God treated his father.
The offer came at night, while the young king slept. One writer sees meaning in the timing itself:
His sleeping is the very time when the blessed God acts. Sleep is the picture of nature's inactivity and open helplessness. I say open, because although nature is always a weak, helpless thing, sleep expresses this most fully. When nature is silenced and subdued like this, and the man's own power is put aside, God speaks and acts.
Solomon answered while he slept, with no time to arrange his words:
In a dream a person cannot disguise the true state of his heart. Neither his reason nor his will holds back what is really inside him. In a dream the soul is laid bare before the Lord. What, then, were the thoughts held in this young king's heart when God said to him, "Ask what I shall give thee"? What the divine word finds first in this heart is gratitude for the great mercy of the Lord towards David: "Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy," and at the same time the high esteem in which he held him because of his walk of truth, of righteousness, and of uprightness, which had proved that David feared the Lord. Next there is thankfulness for the mercy of God towards himself, David's son: "Thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day."
Solomon praises his father's walk. One writer compares the two men, and the way God spoke to each:
A dream is not God's most intimate way of speaking to people. He Himself said so to Aaron and Miriam in Numbers 12:6-8. Yet it seems certain that Solomon never knew God as his father knew Him. He lacked David's deep spiritual experience, never having suffered as he suffered. David's years of affliction gave him a knowledge of God from which we all benefit today as readers of his Psalms.
Solomon takes his own crown as proof that God keeps His word. The promise did not stop with him:
God said to David, "You shall never lack a man to sit on my throne." There was always a man whose birthright it was to sit on David's throne. Each of them was unworthy, but the line of descent continues till Christ came. He is the Man on Whom the Holy Spirit looks. In Him there was, and is, the divine right as well as the human title. He is the Son of God as well as Son of David. Whatever may come between the promise and its fulfilment, He will certainly sit there.
The order of Solomon's reply matters. He names what God has done before he says what he needs:
The young king's answer delighted the heart of God. First, he acknowledged His loving-kindness in giving David a son to sit upon his throne. Then he admitted that he was not equal to the heavy duties now laid on him... "I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in." The spirit of the little child — humble, trusting, and teachable — is fitting in us all.
Rossier sums up what a heart like this looks like:
Such a state of soul promises abundant blessing. It comes down to this: fear the Lord, have the consciousness of His grace, esteem others better than yourself, and count yourself as nothing.
- Night. God spoke while sleep laid Solomon's own strength aside — the moment, as one writer puts it, when nature falls silent and God speaks and acts.
- Mirror. A dream strips away disguise. What Solomon said shows what he really held: gratitude, esteem for his father's walk, and a sense of his own smallness.
- Mercy. Solomon's first thought is not what he lacks. It is what God has already given — great mercy to David, and that same mercy kept for David's son.
- Promise. The son on David's throne is a kept promise. That line runs past Solomon to Christ, who holds both the divine right and the human title.
- Smallness. Thanks came first, then the confession of being a little child, and only then the asking. That order delighted God.
And now, Jehovah my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father; and I am but a little child I know not to go out and to come in.
Solomon has just come to the throne of Israel, and God offers him a blank cheque in a dream: ask whatever you want. His answer starts with a confession — he credits his crown to God's kindness, and admits he does not know how to carry it.
Solomon speaks about God before he speaks about himself. He starts with God's kindness to his father, then God's kindness to him. One writer traces those steps through to the words of our verse:
What the divine word finds first in this heart is gratitude for the Lord's great mercy towards David. At the same time he held David in high esteem for his walk of truth, righteousness and uprightness. That walk had proved that David feared the Lord. Next there is thankfulness for God's mercy towards himself, David's son. Lastly, there is the awareness of his youth, his ignorance, his inability. Such a state of soul promises abundant blessing. It comes down to this: fear the Lord, be conscious of His grace, value others above yourself, and count yourself as nothing.
"A little child" is not only a figure of speech here. Solomon was young in years, and the size of the job pressed on him:
As stated before, Solomon was a youth when he was anointed king. Eusebius says he was only 12 years old; Josephus gives his age as 15. He was probably not yet 20 when he became king. He felt two things deeply: his own littleness, and the great responsibility of governing so many people.
The same writer adds that the offer was not for Solomon only:
The Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Ask what I shall give you." This offer was not made only to Solomon. The One who appeared to Solomon and put this gracious question to him later walked on earth dressed as a servant, yet greater than Solomon in all his glory. He said, "Ask, and it will be given to you" (Matthew 7:7).
Not knowing how to "go out or come in" is Solomon's way of saying he cannot rule. He tells God so, plainly:
He felt as a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in (v.7). He felt unequal to the task of ruling the great nation Israel, and he confessed this before the Lord. That is a good sign.
God came to Solomon in a dream — a moment when a person is doing nothing and controlling nothing. One writer draws a principle from that setting:
When nature is inactive, the blessed God draws near and speaks. Here we see the same thing in picture: when nature is inactive in God's people, divine thoughts take the place of all that is merely human. Solomon asked for wisdom, and it pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. Surely we please Him in what we ask or do only when nature's claims are set aside.
Solomon's self-description is not just a fact about an inexperienced monarch. It describes an attitude the New Testament asks of every believer:
Then he confessed that he was not equal to the heavy responsibilities that now lay on him. The Lord's people were a great people, marked out as His chosen. To guide and direct them rightly in their unique relation to God was beyond his power. "I am but a little child: I do not know how to go out or come in." The spirit of the little child — humble, trusting, and teachable — is fitting in us all. The Lord Jesus lays this down in Matthew 18.
This prayer stands in sharp contrast to Solomon's later years. His humility was real, but he did not keep it.
As the years passed, the childlike simplicity that marked him at the start of his reign faded away. He became self-important and self-willed. Have we not seen something like it in the church of God? The prosperity so graciously granted to Solomon was too much for his slender faith.
- Small before God. Solomon opens by crediting God's mercy to David and to himself — the crown is a kindness received, not a prize won.
- Small in his own eyes. He was probably not yet twenty, and he felt both his littleness and the weight of governing God's people.
- Small enough to say so. He said his weakness out loud to God, and that was the good sign — not the embarrassment.
- Small enough to be filled. Set human ability aside, and God's thoughts take the place of merely human ones. That is what pleased the Lord.
- Stay small. The Lord Jesus asks the same childlike spirit of us all — humble, trusting, teachable. Solomon's later self-importance shows what happens when it fades.
And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
God tells the young king Solomon to ask for whatever he wants. Before he asks, Solomon names two facts that shape his whole prayer: the people are God's, and they are too many to count.
Solomon never calls Israel his own. One writer sees Solomon's whole outlook resting on that:
He did value the people; and he valued the people not because they were his people, but because they were God's people. It makes all the difference now.
Kelly draws out what that changes for the man in charge:
He did not regard the people as his people — his to govern, his to serve God in — but as God's people entrusted to him. This makes the work serious, and it searches the conscience. So he asked for wisdom, and he truly needed it. Had they been his own people, he might have had wisdom enough; but because they were God's people, he needed wisdom from God.
The same distinction applies to anyone trusted with the care of God's people:
I repeat, it is God's flock, not yours. You are not to rule over it as if it belonged to you. If it were your own property, you would have certain rights... When you weigh this properly, it makes a wonderful change in the mind, tone and temper — a change in those who tend the flock, and in those they care for. For then they look to God... Claiming "my flock" or "yours" is the root of endless trouble. It is God's flock, and if the Lord charges someone to shepherd His flock, what a blessed trust!
Solomon sets the size of the nation against his own smallness:
Then he admitted that he was not equal to the heavy responsibilities he now carried. The Lord's people were a great people, marked out as His chosen. To guide and direct them rightly in their unique relation to God was beyond his power. "I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in." The spirit of the little child — humble, trusting and teachable — suits us all.
Another writer reads that same admission as the thing that opens the door to blessing:
Last of all, there is his awareness of his own youth, his ignorance, his inability... Such a state of soul promises abundant blessing. It comes down to this: fear the Lord, be conscious of His grace, esteem others better than yourself, and count yourself as nothing.
Solomon's problem was a matter of numbers: a nation too large to count, and one young king. God answered in the same measure:
Solomon pleaded that Israel was "so great": how could he carry the responsibility of guiding such a nation? Now compare verses 20 and 29 of 1 Kings 4: "Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea"; "God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore." Wisdom according to the need!
One writer notes what Solomon left out of his prayer, and what it cost him later:
What he asked for was good, but it was not good enough. Wisdom and knowledge are never enough to keep us walking with God. Solomon did not pray that God would keep him from evil in his own life... Did he not realize that he needed more than an understanding heart? He needed a submissive heart, obedient to the Word of God. Only that could have kept him from the evils he fell into.
- Whose — Solomon values Israel not as his own subjects, but as the people God chose. That one fact governs all he asks for.
- Trust — They are God's people entrusted to him. That makes the work serious, searches the conscience, and sends him to God for wisdom.
- Small — He measures a countless nation against himself and calls himself a little child. One writer says such a state of soul promises abundant blessing.
- Measure — The people were as many as the sand by the sea, and God gave breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore — wisdom matched to the need.
- Gap — Wisdom alone did not keep him. One writer notes he never asked for a heart submissive to God's Word, and that is where he later fell.
Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart, to judge thy people, to discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy numerous people?
God offers Solomon anything he wants, and the young king asks for a heart that can hear. That raises two questions. What kind of heart did he ask for? And why did the request please God?
Older translations read "an understanding heart" where the ESV has "an understanding mind." Solomon is not asking for cleverness. He is asking for an ear.
He asks the Lord for "an understanding heart." Hearing is the door to discernment and intelligence. To be wise, you must begin by listening to wisdom: "Blessed is the one who listens to me" (Prov. 8:34). All true service starts with hearing. Solomon did not know how to "go out or come in"; he could not learn this except by listening. Anyone who does not begin by enrolling in the school of wisdom will never be a true servant.
Solomon's request grew out of what he had just admitted about himself. And the offer he received was not for him alone.
He felt two things deeply: his own littleness, and his great responsibility in governing so many people... And this offer was not made to Solomon alone. The same One who appeared to Solomon and put this gracious question to him later came to earth dressed as a servant. Yet He was greater than Solomon in all his glory, and He said: "Ask, and it will be given to you" (Matt. 7:7). And again He said: "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do" (John 14:13). It is faith's privilege to hear Him speak like this to our hearts and to make use of His great offer.
Notice whose people Solomon says he must judge. That one word changes the weight of the job.
He did not regard the people as his people, his to govern, his to serve God in, but God's people entrusted to him. This gives seriousness; and, further, it exercises conscience. So he asked for wisdom, for he needed it. If they had been his own people, he might have had wisdom enough. But they were God's people, so he needed wisdom from God. That is what he asked for — not wealth or long life.
The older wording — "heart" — matters. It carries a lesson for anyone who has to judge others.
You come to know the mind of God with the heart, not with the intelligence. Affection for Christ produces true intelligence. The heart listens. Once it has received the lessons it needs, it becomes wise — able to discern between good and evil and to govern the people of God. The heart matters so much in service because no judgment can be according to God unless love is its starting point. We experience this in cases of discipline, in guiding souls, and in caring for saints and assemblies.
Solomon also asks to discern good from evil. That phrase has the sense of a judge passing sentence.
It is to sit in judgment, and pass sentence, on good or evil which we find in our own souls. Of David the king, it was said, by the wise woman of Tekoa, "my lord the king is like the angel of God to discern good and evil" (2 Sam. 14:17). This refers to decisions of judgment. So of Solomon in 1 Kings 3:9; so of Israel, Deut. 1:39; see also Heb. 5:14.
What Solomon passed over is as telling as what he chose.
His speech pleased the Lord well. He might have asked for long life or riches, or for the life of his enemies. Instead he asked for an understanding heart, so that he might rule God's people well. Our Lord once said: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." The Lord dealt with Solomon on this principle... but God went on to say, "If you will walk in My ways, and keep My statutes." ... The "if" to Solomon in 1 Kings 3:14 was as fatal as the "if" to Israel in Exodus 19:5. Weak flesh can never be trusted, and Solomon's failure was catastrophic.
Solomon's most famous ruling pictures a king still to come.
He will rule or judge wisely, as expressed by Solomon's decree between the two prostitutes (1 Kings 3). And the sceptre of righteousness in His hand will secure peace... For when righteousness is in power, godly peace must be the result all over the world.
- Hear first. The heart he asked for is a listening heart. No one becomes wise, or a true servant, without first enrolling in the school of wisdom.
- Ask small. Solomon felt his own littleness and his heavy responsibility. That is what shaped the request that pleased God.
- Whose people? He judged God's people, not his own. That fact exercised his conscience and sent him to God for wisdom.
- Love judges best. The request was for a heart, because no judgment is according to God unless love is its starting point.
- Still open. The offer was never Solomon's alone: "Ask, and it will be given to you." Solomon failed his "if," but a greater King will rule and judge wisely.
And the word pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
At Gibeon God offered Solomon anything he wanted, and the young king asked for one thing. The account shows why that request delighted God, and what it teaches anyone who prays.
What Solomon left out of his prayer says as much as what he put in.
He asked for an understanding heart to administer justice to the people, to discern between good and evil. 2 Chronicles tells us that his request also included "wisdom and knowledge." God was pleased with Solomon's request (v.10), above all because he did not ask for completely selfish things, such as long life, riches or the destruction of his enemies (v.11). He asked for wisdom to discern justice, showing a desire to see the people of Israel prosper.
Solomon did not treat Israel as his own property, and that changed what he needed.
Now, Solomon entered into this in his measure. He did not regard the people as his people, his to govern, his to serve God in, but God's people entrusted to him. This gives seriousness; and, further, it exercises conscience. So he asked for wisdom, since he certainly needed it. If they had been his own people, his own wisdom might have been enough. But they were God's people, so he needed wisdom from God. That is what he asked for — not wealth or long life.
The request came out of a confession. Solomon gave thanks first, then admitted he was out of his depth.
The young king's answer delighted the heart of God. First, he acknowledged His loving-kindness in giving David a son to sit upon his throne. Then he admitted that he was not equal to the heavy responsibilities he now carried... He had no power to guide and direct them rightly in their unique relation to God. "I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in." The spirit of the little child — humble, trusting, and teachable — is fitting in us all.
One writer draws from this a rule about all our asking.
Solomon asked for wisdom, and "it pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this." We never please Him in what we ask or do, except when we set aside the claims of our own nature... When that is so, the blessed God stands at the top of the mystic ladder. Heaven is then not far off. Then wisdom is what we ask for, as the thing most pleasing to Him. To us, this is Christ, God's wisdom and God's power.
God gave more than Solomon asked for. But the promise did not end with the gift.
He might have asked for long life or riches, or the life of his enemies; instead he asked for an understanding heart that he might rule the people of God well. Our blessed Lord once said: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." On this principle Jehovah dealt with Solomon... This seemed to make the blessing of Israel secure. But God went on to say, "If you will walk in My ways, and keep My statutes."... The "if" to Solomon in 1 Kings 3:14 was as fatal as the "if" to Israel in Exodus 19:5. Poor flesh can never be trusted, and Solomon's failure was a disaster.
The open question put to Solomon was not a one-off privilege for an ancient king.
While he was still at Gibeon, Jehovah appeared to him in a dream and said: "Ask what I shall give you." What grace this was! But it also searched his innermost soul. And this offer was not made only to Solomon. The One who appeared to Solomon and put this gracious question to him later came to earth dressed as a servant, yet He was greater than Solomon in all his glory. He said: "Ask, and it will be given to you" (Matt. 7:7).
- Smallness first. Solomon admitted he was out of his depth before he asked for anything. That is the humble, trusting, teachable spirit of a little child.
- Stewardship, not ownership. He asked for wisdom because the people were God's, not his. If they had been his own, his own wisdom might have been enough.
- The request God loved. He left out long life, riches and the death of his enemies. He asked instead to tell good from evil, so the nation would prosper.
- The added gifts. God gave him what he asked and more. Seek the kingdom first, and the rest is added.
- The "if" that followed. God tied the blessing to walking in His ways. Solomon's later collapse shows that poor flesh can never be trusted.
And God said to 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 discernment to understand judgment;
God's answer to Solomon begins not with what He will give but with a list of what the young king never mentioned. What Solomon left out is a test of the heart. It raises one question: what would you have asked for?
One writer explains the phrase, and points to the same wording elsewhere in Scripture:
An understanding heart is what Solomon asked of God (see 1 Kings 3:9-11), and it means, as the margin gives it, a hearing heart — a heart to hear or discern judgment... A heart that by faith loves to hear and bow to the excellent things that come out of the mouth of divine wisdom, without reasoning.
So Solomon did not ask for cleverness. He asked for a heart that listens first, then tells good from evil.
It came down to whose people Solomon believed he was governing. He never treated the nation as his own:
He did not regard the people as his people, his to govern, his to serve God in, but God's people entrusted to him. This gives seriousness; and, further, it exercises conscience. So he asked for wisdom, for surely he needed it. Had it been his own people, he might have had wisdom enough; but being God's people, he needed wisdom from God.
Another writer notes how small Solomon felt for the task:
Solomon did not request wisdom out of vanity or for personal advantage. He realized what a tremendous responsibility the Lord had entrusted to him, young and inexperienced as he was. He wanted wisdom so as to be able to rule God's great people well. May we too seek wisdom from above to function well in our daily tasks, family needs, and in the responsibilities God entrusts to us among His people!
Long life, riches, and the death of his enemies were the obvious things a new king might want. One writer sets out what Solomon chose instead:
He asked then for an understanding heart to administer justice to the people, to discern between good and evil. 2 Chronicles tells us that his request also included "wisdom and knowledge." God was pleased with Solomon's request. It pleased Him above all that Solomon did not ask for totally selfish things, such as long life, riches or the destruction of his enemies. He asked for wisdom to discern justice, showing a desire to see the people of Israel prosper.
One writer draws a wider rule from God's pleasure in that prayer:
Solomon asked for wisdom, and "it pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this." We never please Him in what we ask or do, unless we set aside the claims of our own nature.
Solomon left those things out, and God gave them anyway. One writer links this to a promise of Jesus, and then to the condition that followed:
He might have asked for long life or riches, or the life of his enemies; instead he asked for an understanding heart so that he might rule the people of God well. Our blessed Lord once said: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." On this principle the Lord dealt with Solomon... "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." This seemed to make Israel's blessing secure, but God went on to say, "If you will walk in My ways, keeping My statutes." That "if" to Solomon was as fatal as the "if" to Israel, for weak human nature can never be trusted, and Solomon's failure was truly catastrophic.
Not every writer treats the request as flawless. One says Solomon should have asked for more:
But Solomon would have been wiser to ask much more than this. For instance, Deuteronomy 17:14-20 shows that a king faces a special temptation: to take many wives and horses, and to pile up riches. If he had known Scripture well, he might have known this. If he had prayed for God to keep him from these evils, his history might have been very different.
- Asked — Solomon wanted a "hearing heart": a mind that listens to God and can then tell good from evil.
- Why — the prayer pleased God because Solomon saw Israel as God's people, not his own. So he knew he needed God's wisdom.
- Not asked — long life, riches, and the death of enemies are self-centred requests. God commends Solomon for leaving them out.
- Added — God gave him the things he passed over. Seek God's kingdom first, and the rest is added.
- After — the promise carried an "if." Solomon's later failure shows that even the wisest man needed to ask God to guard him from himself.
behold, I have done according to thy word behold, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there hath been none like unto thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
God answers Solomon's prayer in full, and then gives more than Solomon asked for. Three questions follow. Why did this prayer please God? What is a "wise and discerning mind"? And did the gift secure Solomon's future?
Solomon put himself low, and God set him high. One writer ties this to the way of Christ:
Solomon's answer "pleased the Lord" (v. 10). The Lord grants Solomon what he asked, and is pleased to add what Solomon had not asked for. He gives him the first place in wisdom. He also gives him riches and honour, so that no king in his days would be like him. Solomon's humble dependence put him in first place, as it is written: "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant... whoever would be first among you must be slave of all." It was so with Christ: "even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Where the ESV reads "discerning mind," older translations read "an understanding heart." That heart begins by listening:
He asks the Lord for "an understanding heart," for hearing is the door to discernment and intelligence. To be wise, you must begin by listening to wisdom: "Blessed is the one who listens to me." All true service starts with hearing. Solomon did not know how to "go out or come in"; he could not learn this except by listening.
God gave a wise heart, not a clever mind. That difference shapes every judgment:
You only really learn the mind of God with the heart, not with the intellect... The heart listens. When it has received the lessons it needs, it becomes wise, able to discern between good and evil and to govern the people of God. The heart matters so much in service because no judgment can be according to God unless love is its starting point. We experience this in cases of discipline, in guiding souls, and in caring for saints and assemblies.
God's invitation was open-ended, and His answer overflowed the request:
God appeared to him in the night with the wonderful message, "Ask what I shall give you." It was as though He placed all His resources at the disposal of faith. The young king prays for wisdom and knowledge so that he may care for the flock committed to him. It was a most remarkable prayer for one in his position. The Lord shows His pleasure in it by giving him far more than all he asked or thought.
One writer turns this toward our own responsibilities:
Solomon did not ask for wisdom out of vanity or personal gain. He realised what a tremendous responsibility the Lord had entrusted to him, young and inexperienced as he was... May we too seek wisdom from above to function well in our daily tasks, family needs, and in the responsibilities God entrusts to us among His people! God will delight to honour such prayers. James 1:5-6 assures us that God is pleased to grant wisdom to all who ask Him in faith, with no doubting.
Solomon's own book shows where his wisdom had to stay anchored:
A brief look at the book shows that when God gave Solomon wisdom, it was wisdom from above. His own wisdom, great as it was, was not enough to guide him when he was directed by himself. So we find "the fear of the Lord" connected with wisdom.
A condition follows in the next verse, and that is where the story turns:
In verse 14, as in all the books we are studying, the question of the king's responsibility is raised. "If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." Solomon could not meet this if. It led to his ruin and to the division of his kingdom.
One writer looks past Solomon to Christ:
Not one question brought to Jesus on earth puzzled Him. He is the true Solomon, the greater than Solomon, and His wisdom could meet and answer every hard question. Nor is it different now, for Christ, risen from the dead and glorified in heaven, "became to us wisdom from God" (1 Cor. 1:30). There is not a question the troubled, anxious sinner can bring to Him that He will not answer in wisdom and in grace.
- Listening — hearing is the door to discernment. All true service starts by listening to wisdom.
- Heart — you learn God's mind with the heart, not the intellect. No judgment is according to God unless love starts it.
- Humility — humble dependence put Solomon in first place. Christ walked the same order: the servant becomes the greatest.
- Overflow — God placed all His resources at the disposal of faith and gave far beyond the prayer. The same offer stands when we ask in faith today.
- Fear of the Lord — wisdom from above still stays under the fear of the Lord. Solomon failed the "if" that came with the gift; the greater than Solomon answers every hard question still.
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 all thy days.
God answers Solomon's prayer for an understanding heart. Then He adds two things the young king never mentioned, which raises a question about prayer: why does God give what we never asked for?
God offered Solomon anything he wanted. What he left out matters as much as what he asked for. One writer ties his choice to a principle the Lord Jesus later taught.
He might have asked for long life or riches, or the life of his enemies. Instead he asked for an understanding heart, so that he might rule the people of God well. Our blessed Lord once said: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." On this principle the Lord dealt with Solomon.
Riches and honour followed humble dependence, not ambition. One writer sees the same order in Christ: the servant's place first, then the highest place of all.
The Lord grants Solomon his request and is pleased to add what Solomon had not requested. He grants him the first place in wisdom. Moreover, He gives him "both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days." Solomon's humble dependence put him in first place, as it is written: "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant." It was so with Christ: "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." In every respect there is none like Him! Wisdom, power, wealth, the crown of glory and honour — all things shall be His in the day which the Lord shall make.
God's offer to Solomon had no limits. One writer shows what God did with a prayer that put His people before self.
God appeared to him in the night with the wonderful message, "Ask what I shall give you." It was as though He placed all His resources at the disposal of faith. The young king prays for wisdom and knowledge so that he may care for the flock committed to him. It was a most remarkable prayer for one in his position. The Lord shows His pleasure in it by giving him far more than all that he asked or thought.
God gave the riches with no conditions. The next verse adds one. One writer points to the small word that everything else hangs on.
In verse 14, as in all the books we are studying, we meet the question of the king's responsibility. "If you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." Solomon could not meet this if. It led to his ruin and to the division of his kingdom.
Solomon's later life turns the gift into a warning. He got the riches and honour — but not by waiting on God.
We must not always take the gaining and enjoying of promised blessings as a mark of God's approval. Solomon had asked God for wisdom, and to it God added riches and honour. But then he obtained the promised riches and honour by disobedience. He gathered many chariots and horses for himself, which God had forbidden. We need faith for the means as well as the end. That is, we must wait patiently for God Himself to make good to us the very blessings He promised.
Another writer asks what Solomon did with the gift:
Was there no misuse of the abundant riches which the Lord added to him? Were they given so that he might bring horses out of Egypt, have chariots, and take many wives — the very things God had forbidden?
- Asked — Solomon asked for an understanding heart to rule God's people. He left out long life, wealth and the life of his enemies.
- Added — He sought God's interests first, so God added the rest. God put all His resources at the disposal of faith and gave far beyond what Solomon asked.
- Ascended — Humble dependence put Solomon first. It is the pattern of Christ, who came to serve, and to whom wisdom, wealth and honour will belong.
- Attached — God gave the riches outright. He did not give long life the same way: it hung on an "if" of obedience Solomon failed to meet.
- Abused — He later grasped the promised riches and honour by disobedience. We need faith for the means as much as for the end.