1 Kings 3:4-28

Introduction

Can You Imagine if God Came to You and Said:

“Ask Me for Whatever You Want”

What would You Ask for?

Would You Ask for a Long Life of Perfect Health?

Would You Ask for Enough Money to Sustain Your Descendants for Generations?

Would You Ask for World Power and Influence?

Would You Ask for a Loved One to Be Brought Back to Life?

Would You Ask for Your Dream Job, Dream Home, Dream Car, Dream Boat?

Would You Ask for a Private Island or a Million Acres of Land with Mountains, Valleys, Rivers, and Lakes?

If We Sat Here Long Enough, We could Probably Think of a Lot of Things We Might Ask for

But, in Our Text, We’re Going to See that Solomon was Once in this Exact Situation

And We’re Going to See what Solomon Did with His Wish

1 Kings 3:4-28

Last Week, We Looked at How Solomon Loved God…

But He Made Some Exceptions to that Love

And Those Exceptions are Going to Eventually Lead to Lots of Sin and Idolatry

One of Those Sins was that He was Makes Sacrifices to God on High Places

And that’s Where We Find Him in Our Text

1 Kings 3:4–5 (NIV)

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.”

Gibeon was About 6 Miles North of Jerusalem

It was Likely the Most Important High Place…

Because the Tabernacle was There

1 Chronicles 16:39 (NIV)

39 David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the Lord at the high place in Gibeon

2 Chronicles 1:1–3 (NIV)

1 Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great. 2 Then Solomon spoke to all Israel—to the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, to the judges and to all the leaders in Israel, the heads of families—3 and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God’s tent of meeting was there, which Moses the Lord’s servant had made in the wilderness.

One Night, God Came to Solomon in a Dream and Asked Him:

“Ask for Whatever You Want Me to Give You.”

Again, Try to Imagine How You’d Respond to that

Now Let’s See How Solomon Responded

1 Kings 3:6–9 (NET)

6 Solomon replied, “You demonstrated great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served you faithfully, properly, and sincerely. You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne.7 Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced.8 Your servant stands among your chosen people; they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning mind so he can make judicial decisions for your people and distinguish right from wrong. Otherwise no one is able to make judicial decisions for this great nation of yours.”

Solomon Begins His Response By Praising God’s Love and Loyalty to David

God Made a Promise and He has Kept His Promises

Then Solomon Transitions to Showing Humility

He Doesn’t Claim to Be Capable or Ready for the Task of Being King Over God’s People

He Openly Acknowledges that He is Young and Inexperienced

“I Don’t have a Clue How to Do What You’ve Called Me to Do!”

Then He Gives His Request:

“Give Me the Ability to Discern Right From Wrong”

“Give Me the Understanding that is Needed to Rightly Govern/Rule Over Your People”

You could Probably Guess How God Responded to that Request

1 Kings 3:10–15 (NET)

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon made this request.11 God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies,12 I grant your request, and give you a wise and discerning mind superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you.

13 Furthermore, I am giving you what you did not request—riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation.14 If you follow my instructions by obeying my rules and regulations, just as your father David did, then I will grant you long life.”15 Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream. He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings, and held a feast for all his servants.

Solomon’s Request “Pleased the Lord”

Why was God Pleased?

Because Solomon Didn’t Ask for:

A Long Life for Himself

Riches for Himself

The Downfall of His Enemies

He was Pleased Because Solomon’s Request wasn’t Selfish/Self-Serving

He Didn’t Ask for Things that would Make His Life Better/Easier/More Enjoyable

He Didn’t Ask for Health, Wealth, or Power

He Asked for What would Make Him a Better Leader of God’s People

He Asks for Wisdom to Better Fulfill the Role God had Placed Him in

Because of His Humble, Selfless Request…

God Promised to Grant His Request and Even Go Beyond it

He Also Promised to Give Solomon:

Both Riches & Honor so that He will Be the Greatest King on Earth

A Long Life if He Obeys God’s Laws/Commands

The Rest of the Chapter is a Story Showing the Proof that God Granted Solomon His Request

2 Prostitutes Come to King Solomon with a Dispute…

That They Need Him to Judge and Bring About Justice

Both Women Gave Birth to Baby Boys Within 3 Days of Each Other

One Woman Accidentally Smothered Her Baby By Laying on it

When She Discovered Her Baby had Died…

She Secretly Swapped it for the Other Woman’s Living Baby

But the Other Mother could Tell that the Dead Child was Not Her Own

So They Both are Claiming the Living Child is There Own

Solomon, with His God-Given Wisdom Gave the Command to Cut the Baby in Half

This Way Both Mother’s could Have Half of the Baby

One Mother Said, “Fine! Then Neither of Us will have a Baby!”

The Other Said, “No, Please Don’t Hurt the Baby. Give Him to the Other Woman!”

This Revealed the True Mother of the Baby Boy…

And She Received Her Baby Back

Our Chapter and the Story End with:

1 Kings 3:28 (CSB)

28 All Israel heard about the judgment the king had given, and they stood in awe of the king because they saw that God’s wisdom was in him to carry out justice.

Application

If God were to Approach You and Say:

“Ask Me for Whatever You Want”…

What would You Ask for?

We’d Likely Be Tempted to Ask for a Lot of Selfish Things

Things Like Health, Wealth, and Power

I’m Presenting this as a Hypothetical Situation, But it Really Isn’t

We All have Constant Access to God Through Prayer

And He Wants Us to Ask Him for What We Desire

But, So Often Our Prayers are Selfish

What We Pray for is What We Believe will Bring Us the Most Pleasure/Happiness

Those Kinds of Prayers aren’t Very Pleasing to God

James Talks About this Sort of Thing in James 4:1-3

James 4:1–3 (NLT)

1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

But What if Our Prayers Took on a Different Form?

What if Our Prayers had a Different Motivation?

What if Our Prayers were Selfless Instead of Selfish?

What if Our Prayers were for God’s Pleasure Instead of Our Own?

Solomon Didn’t Pray for His Own Pleasure

He Prayed for Help Accomplishing God’s Will for Him

He Prayed for God to Give Him What He Needed to Properly Accomplish His Ministry

When is the Last Time You Prayed a Prayer Like that?

“Father, Equip Me with What I Need to Do Your Will.”

“Give Me What I Need to Be Successful at the Work You’ve Given Me to Do for Your Kingdom.”

“Make Me Be a Blessing to Others for Your Glory.”

“Use Me to Fulfill the Needs of Your Kingdom and the Needs of Others.”

“Give Me the Knowledge and Skills I Need to Fulfill Your Will for Me.”

“Give Me the Wisdom I Need to Know What/How I can Bring Glory to Your Name.”

God Promises to Give Wisdom to Those Who Ask:

James 1:5 (ESV)

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

These are the Kinds of Prayers that are Focused on Pleasing God

They are Prayers that are Focused on More than Ourselves

They are Prayers that are Focused on Being a Benefit to God’s Kingdom

Solomon’s Request of God Pleased God

His Request was to Be Better Equipped to Fulfill God’s Purpose for Him

We can Pray Prayers that will Please God Too

Let’s Follow Solomon’s Lead in this Matter

Let’s Pray for God to Better Equip Us to Fulfill His Purposes for Us

If We Do that, I Know What will Happen

God will Answer Our Prayers

He will Equip Us and Open Doors of Opportunity for Us to Use Our Gifts for His Glory

And He will Even Go Beyond that

He will Bless Us with Every Physical and Spiritual Need as We Seek to Glorify Him