God Asks Solomon What He Would Like From Him |
1 Kings 3:1-34 1 Kings [in Smaller Chunks] |
Solomon [became the ally of] Pharaoh, [Egypt’s] king & [married] Pharaoh’s daughter & brought her to the city of David, until he [finished] building his own house, the house of the Lord & the wall [around] Jerusalem. |
[Still] the people sacrificed in high places, because the house of the Lord wasn’t built [yet]. Solomon loved the Lord & [walked] in the [laws of] David, his father: [except] he sacrificed in high places. |
King [Solomon] went to Gibeah to sacrifice there, for it was the [most prominent of the] high [places]. Solomon offered 1,000 burnt offerings upon that altar. In Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream [at] night. |
God said, Ask what I shall give you? Solomon said, You have shown your servant, David, my father, great mercy, according to [his walking] before You in truth, righteousness & [an upright] heart, with You. |
You have [done] this great kindness for him & have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is [today]. Now, O Lord my God, You have made [me,] Your servant, king instead of David, my father. |
I am [just] a little child & I don’t know how to go out & come in [as a leader]. Your servant is in the midst of Your people [that] You have chosen. A [large amount of] people, a multitude that can’t be numbered [or] counted. |
Therefore, give [me,] Your servant, an understanding heart to judge Your people, [so] I may [distinguish between] good & bad. For who is able to judge such a [large amount] of people as Yours? |
It pleased the Lord that Solomon asked this thing. God said to [Solomon,] Because you asked [for] this & didn’t ask for yourself, long life, riches or the [lives] of your enemies, but asked for understanding for yourself [to judge fairly]. |
[Look,] I have done according to your words & I have given you a wise & understanding heart, so there was [no one] before you or [will be] after you [as wise as you are]. |
I have also given you [what] you didn’t ask [for:] both riches & honor, so there won’t be any king like you all [your life,] among all the kings. If you will walk in My [laws] & My commandments, [like] David, your father [walked,] then I will lengthen your [life]. |
Solomon awoke & [realized] it was a dream. He came to Jerusalem & stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord [God] & offered up burnt offerings, peace offerings & made a feast [for] his servants. |
Then, 2 women [who] were [prostitutes] came to the king & stood [in front of] him. The one woman said, O my lord, this woman & I [live] in 1 house together & I delivered a child with her in the house. |
[It happened] the 3rd day after I delivered, this woman also delivered [a child]. We were together & no [one else was] with us in the house, [except the] 2 [of] us. |
This woman’s child died in the night, because she [laid on him]. She arose at midnight & took my son from beside me while [I,] your hand maid, slept. She laid it [on] her bosom & laid her dead child [on] my bosom. |
When I rose [up] in the morning to [nurse] my child, it was dead. But when I [thought about] it in the morning, [I saw] it wasn’t my son [that] I [had given birth to]. |
The other woman said, [No,] the living [child] is my son & the dead [child] is your son. She said, No, but the dead [child] is your son & the living is my son. They said [this] to the king. |
King [Solomon] said, The 1 says my son lives & your son is dead & the other says, [No,] your son is dead & my son is living. The king said, Bring me a sword & they brought it to the king. |
King [Solomon] said, Divide the living child in 2 & give 1/2 to one & 1/2 to the other. The woman [who gave birth to the living child] said to the king, O my lord, give her the living child & don’t kill it, for she yearned for her son. |
The other [woman] said, Let it be neither my [son or] yours, but divide it. King [Solomon] answered & said, Give her the living child & don’t kill it. She is the mother [of it]. |
All Israel heard of the [wise] judgment [of] the king & they [respected] the king: for they saw [that] the wisdom of God was with [Solomon] to do [justice]. |