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I’ve been fighting a stomach illness for 5 days now, and
maybe that’s what caused me to view Solomon with a jaundiced eye instead of with the usual amazement I’ve always
felt upon reading this conversation he had with God that’s always sounded so uplifting. I relied heavily on my commentary as well today. As a result, I think a lot less of Solomon that I ever did – quite
unusual for this chapter.
“Solomon had an agreement with the king of Egypt by marrying
his daughter…” The essence of what God had set about to produce in the Hebrew people
was separateness from the rest of
the world. They were to be a people set apart to Him, serving as a light to the rest of the world. Why then was Solomon going to Egypt to claim a wife? God’s Word had told the Israelites when they
left Egypt not to return to
Egypt. They weren’t to make alliances
with other nations because other nations would pull them down. Solomon is believed to have been about 20
years old at this point, and supposedly already married to Naamah, the mother
of his son Rehoboam who succeeded him, and this
wife was from Ammon, not Israel, as well.
He unfortunately was beginning to “multiply wives” – something forbidden
of Israelite kings.
Yes, he was
building God’s Temple, but I don’t see much obedience besides THAT. People were also still worshiping in “the
high places”, which Solomon here admits his father had wanted him to rid Israel
of.
“Solomon showed he
loved the Lord by following the commands his father David had given him …” These might or might not have been God’s commands. It sounds like he was showing he loved the
Lord by following his daddy’s rules, not particular God’s rules.
I also read where each king was required to write out their own copy of Deuteronomy (Deut.
17:18-20), presumably to familiarize themselves with God’s requirements of
them. In my commentary, the question was
asked how Solomon must have felt when he read about the commands regarding
wives and horses and chariots, which Solomon had made a name for himself in
collecting.
The Bible says God wants an obedient heart more than
sacrifices. Here we see Solomon making
1,000 burnt sacrifices at Gibeon the night before he and God conversed in a
dream. Hmmmmm……
God said in the dream, “Ask
for whatever you want Me to give you.” My commentary called that a test of Solomon’s
heart and a display of God’s grace. (I
noticed God to him to ask but didn’t
say that he would GIVE
anything.)
Solomon was honest and humble when he said, “I’m like a
little child; I don’t know how to do what must be done.” It really doesn’t say “what must be done to rule”.
Perhaps Solomon did mean “what
must be done to obey.” Tellingly, he asked for an obedient heart.
I know when I’ve prayed for
one, it has always been at a time when I felt I needed one but didn’t possess
one. Maybe we’re getting
there. He also wanted to know the
difference between right and wrong. (Solomon wasn’t the one mentioning making
correct decision here – God is going to bring that up.) So was Solomon also admitting that his discernment of right from wrong was not
at all fully developed?
God was pleased
with Solomon’s request. From elsewhere in God’s Word, we know that it
pleases God when a sinner repents and when a lost sheep returns. Was that
what so pleased God – that Solomon was admitting
that he had trouble obeying and even choosing between right and wrong, and that he was asking God’s help in doing so?
It’s always seemed odd to me that Solomon asked for an obedient heart and God
said, “I’ll give you what you asked
for – wisdom to make the right decisions.”
But thinking about it, giving us obedient hearts probably takes away
free will, for disobedience requires a will of our own. God would be going against His own decision
at creation. So maybe He was giving
Solomon His best – wisdom to make the right decisions. Still, with all that wisdom, it boils down to
this: “No matter how smart the mind may be, if the heart is wrong, all of life
will be wrong,” my commentary said. “The
heart of every problem is the
problem in the heart.”
Father, I feel so much
like Solomon at times. I want an obedient heart, and I want to always make the right decisions, yet there are many times when, despite it
all, I choose willful
disobedience. I know it comes from our
sin nature, and until I’m with You in heaven that will always be something we
all have to fight. Walk closer beside me,
Father. Nudge me when I start walking
too close to temptation. Help me to walk
away from situations that stoke my anger rather than letting it grow. Give me the willpower to choose an obedient
heart over sin every time.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
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