Wildside 11.10.19

Wildside November 10, 2019

Solomon Asked for Wisdom

Bible Passage: ,;

Main Point: Solomon asked God for wisdom to lead God’s people.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: Where does wisdom come from? Wisdom comes from God through His Word.

Small Group Opening

(10–15 minutes)

Large Group Bible Study

(25–30 minutes)

Small Group activities

(25–30 minutes)

Leader BIBLE STUDY

David’s sin with Bathsheba yielded difficult consequences, but God showed David and Bathsheba that He still loved them. After the death of their first son, Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon. Nathan, the prophet whom God had used to confront David concerning his sin, gave Solomon a second name: Jedidiah, which means “Beloved of the Lord.” God chose Solomon to be king. (See ; .)

Early in Solomon’s life, God appeared to him in a dream. “What should I give you?” God asked. Solomon’s response set him apart from many other kings. His God-honoring qualities were apparent. First, Solomon humbly acknowledged his lack of experience in leading God’s people. Then he said, “Give Your servant an obedient heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” ().

If you were a king or queen and God offered to give you anything you asked for, what request would you make? Ask the kids you teach what they would ask for if they could receive anything their hearts desired. One might assume that a king would ask for power or for victory over his enemies. Perhaps he would ask for riches or to live a long life. Solomon asked for none of these. Instead, he asked God to make him wise. God was pleased with Solomon’s request, and He agreed to give Solomon a wise and understanding heart.

Solomon’s heart was surrendered to God. God created people to do His will. Jesus was greater than Solomon. (See .) He completely trusted God with His life. Jesus surrendered His own life to die on the cross for our sins so that God could bring us back to Himself.

The BIBLE Story

Solomon Asked for Wisdom

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David was old. He had been the king of Israel for many years, and now his son Solomon was going to be king. God had promised David that Israel’s king would always be someone from his family. Before David died, he gave Solomon some instructions.

“Be strong and brave, Solomon,” David said. “Obey God, and you will be successful. God will keep His promise that every king of Israel will come from our family.” When David died, Solomon became the king of Israel.

One night, God appeared to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Solomon, ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you.”

Anything? A king might have asked to live a long life or to have lots of riches. Solomon could have asked God to give him victory over all his enemies. But Solomon did not ask to be rich or to have a long life. Solomon wanted to be a good king. He asked for something even better.

Solomon prayed, “God, I am young, and I do not know very much about being a king. Please make me wise and obedient to You. Help me know the difference between right and wrong. Help me lead Your people well.”

God was happy with Solomon’s request. God said, “I will give you wisdom. In fact, I will make you more wise and understanding than anyone who has ever lived. No one in the future will ever be as wise as Solomon.”

Then God said, “Because you asked for wisdom, I will also give you what you did not ask for: long life, riches, and honor. You will be greater than any other king during your lifetime.”

Solomon woke up and realized God had spoken to him in a dream. Solomon praised God and offered sacrifices to worship Him.

Christ Connection: Solomon was a wise king who wanted to do God’s plan. God planned to give His people a greater and wiser king—His Son, Jesus. Jesus completely trusted God with His life. Jesus surrendered His own life to die on the cross for our sin.

Small Group Opening

Session Title: Solomon Asked for Wisdom

Bible Passage: ,;

Main Point: Solomon asked God for wisdom to lead God’s people.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: Where does wisdom come from? Wisdom comes from God through His Word.

Welcome time

Greet each kid as he or she arrives. Use this time to connect to your group and make sure each student is checked in.

As kids arrive, invite them to share the best gift they’ve ever received. Ask about the most extraordinary gift they have ever requested. Did they receive it? Prompt them to talk about what the best gift would be for a king. What would a king need most?

Table Wars

Transition to large group

Large Group LEADER

Session Title: Solomon Asked for Wisdom

Bible Passage: ,;

Main Point: Solomon asked God for wisdom to lead God’s people.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: Where does wisdom come from? Wisdom comes from God through His Word.

Introduce the session

Remember, the last couple weeks, we have been talking about David. Remember, David grew up and became the king of Israel. When he died, his son Solomon became king. Let’s see what happened.

Big picture question

Leader • Everyone, I want you to listen carefully to see if you can figure out the answer to our big picture question! Where does wisdom come from? Hmm … a very good question, indeed!

Tell the Bible story

Open your Bible to ,; . Let’s watch the Bible story video “Solomon Asked for Wisdom.”

Leader • What a great story. I love hearing about things God did long ago. Let’s see what you can remember about the story. I’m going to say a sentence and leave out a word. When I pause, you fill in the blank.

Read the following sentences, pausing for kids to fill in the missing words:

 Solomon was the son of King ______. (David)

 God said Solomon could ask for ______. (anything)

 Solomon asked God for ______. (wisdom)

 Solomon asked God for wisdom to lead God’s ______. (people)

Leader • Solomon was not like other kings. Instead of asking for things that would make himself powerful or famous, Solomon asked for wisdom. By being a wise king, Solomon could lead God’s people well.

You know, God created people to do His will. Solomon was a great king, but the Bible says that Jesus is greater than Solomon. [See .] Jesus completely trusted God with His life. He gave up His life when He died on the cross for our sins.

Key passage

Show the key passage. Lead the boys and girls to read together .

Leader • Our key passage comes from the Book of Proverbs, which contains many wise sayings that Solomon and others wrote down to help people live wisely. Let’s make motions for these verses to help us memorize them.

Lead boys and girls to develop hand motions for the phrases of the key passage. Consider the following:

Point to head—For the Lord gives wisdom;

Point to mouth—from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Stand up tall with hands on hips—He stores up success for the upright;

Hold arms vertically in front of body like a shield—He is a shield for those who live with integrity.

Guide kids to read the key passage several times as they do the motions.

Discussion starter video

Leader • Imagine how Solomon’s life would have been different if he had only asked God to make him the richest man in the world, or if he had asked God to make him the most powerful king in the land. Would that have been glorifying to God or to only Solomon? Watch this.

Show the “Unit 11, Session 1” discussion starter video. Lead kids to discuss what the problem was with everything asked for in the video. (They were not long-lasting.)

Leader • God gave Solomon wisdom because he asked for it. Solomon wanted to do what God wanted him to do. Where does wisdom come from? Wisdom comes from God through His Word. We can ask God to give us wisdom, and He will. [See .] God gave Solomon riches because Solomon did not ask for them!

Pray

Invite kids to pray before dismissing to small groups.

Leader • Father God, in , Jesus tells us that when we put Your kingdom first and do what You want us to do, You will provide what we need. Help us to trust You like that. Give us wisdom so we can live for Your glory. We love You. Amen.

Dismiss to small groups

Small Group LEADER

Session Title: Solomon Asked for Wisdom

Bible Passage: ,;

Main Point: Solomon asked God for wisdom to lead God’s people.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: Where does wisdom come from? Wisdom comes from God through His Word.

Key passage activity

Before the session, label each piece of poster board with a key word from the passage: wisdom, mouth, stores, shield.

Look up the key passage. Lead kids to read it aloud together. Then form four groups and give each group markers and a piece of poster board.

Invite kids to make drawings for their key words to help them memorize the key passage. As kids work, you might provide definitions to guide their drawings:

wisdom—good sense or judgment; knowing what is best

mouth—the opening from which we speak

stores—to keep or accumulate

shield—a broad piece of armor that serves as a defense or protection

Say • Great work, everyone! We will use these posters each week to help us memorize God’s Word. Gather them up and we will use them after Christmas break. We will do Christmas lessons for 3 weeks in December, and then jump back into learning about Solomon in 2017 (yikes). We can roll up the posters and store them in the cabinet.

Can you think of any reason why we should memorize Scripture?

Allow kids to respond. Suggest that memorizing Scripture can help us be wise.

Bible story review

Guide each kid to open the Bible to . Call for a volunteer to read the first two verses and another volunteer to read verses 3-4.

Say • Thank you! Before King David died, he gave his son Solomon some instructions. David told Solomon to be strong and courageous and to obey God. Why did David want Solomon to do these things? (so that Solomon would have success and so God would keep His promise that Israel’s kings would come from David’s family, )

Choose a volunteer to read .

Say • David was king in Israel for 40 years. That’s a long time to be king! When David died, his son Solomon became king. Now, everyone put your finger on the first verse of . This is where we can find our Bible story today.

Ask a kid to read aloud. Point out that God told Solomon to ask Him for anything.

Say • Amazing! What would you ask for if you were a king? We wouldn’t be surprised if a king asked for a long life, riches for himself, or the death of his enemies. Do you remember what Solomon asked for? (Solomon asked God for wisdom to lead God’s people.) Yes! How unusual!

This is what Solomon asked. [Read .] Solomon’s request made God happy. God agreed to give Solomon a wise and understanding heart. He also said He would give Solomon what he did not ask for: riches and honor. Then God said, “And if you obey Me, I will give you a long life too.”

God gave Solomon wisdom. Do you know the answer to our big picture question? Where does wisdom come from? Wisdom comes from God through His Word. That’s right. Let’s say that together. Where does wisdom come from? Wisdom comes from God through His Word.

prayer

Distribute pencils and prayer cards. Encourage kids to write about what they would like to ask God for and why. Then allow time for them to pray. Assure kids that God hears our prayers. (See .)