Lesson 37 – Solomon the King

  • Read the Bible Background
  • Material skipped –
    • 1 Kings 1:1 Solomon’s attainment of Kingship
    • 2: Death of David and the elimination of men dangerous to the reign of Solomon
    • 3: Solomon’s dream – This is what we are reading
    • 4: Solomon’s organization of his kingdom
    • 5: Preparation for building the Temple
    • 6: - 7: Building the Temple  -- Chapters 6-8 will be picked up in the next lesson
    • 8: Dedication of the Temple
    • 9: Solomon’s vision
    • 10: The Queen of Sheba

 

• What do you think was the main point of the story of Solomon’s Dream in 1 Kings 3:3-15?

• What principle of human nature did Solomon use in deciding who the real mother was?

What  risk did Solomon take in that story?

 

·        If Solomon had amassed the kind of wealth described in chapter 10 what do you think the standard of living was among his subjects?

 

(Skim the Bible background material to answer the following questions)

·        What were some of Solomon’s outstanding qualities?

·        How did Israel’s foreign relations fare under his leadership?

·        What other projects benefited the Israelites during Solomon’s reign?

 

  • Making the story your own
    • Think of some people you consider wise.
      What is it about them that makes them wise?
      How do you think they have come to be that way?

Memory verse: 1 Kings 2:2b-3

“Be strong, be courageous, and keep the charge of the HOLY ONE your God, walking in God’s ways and keeping God’s statutes.”

 

Bible Background (taken from Journey through the Bible, Christian Board of Publications, 1995, p. 117)

David was Israel's greatest king—of that there can be no doubt. He was a great poet, a magnificent leader of people in times of war and peace, de­voutly religious, and a good judge of the abilities of his colleagues and associates. He knew how to adopt fresh ideas into a community that was very conservative and suspicious of change, and at the same time he had a deep appreciation of ancient and tested tradition.

2But David also had great faults. Like many great leaders who had the respect and affection of the community, David could exempt himself from the normal moral requirements of the society. His affair with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his most loyal warriors, was disgraceful, and it ended with David's plotting and ordering the murder of Bathsheba's husband. He could not deal effec­tively with his children, with the result that one son raped David's daughter Tamar and was later killed by another son. Absalom, his favorite son, led a rebellion against David and died in the battle that followed, causing David agonizing grief. David's later years are more a story of the collapse of his leadership than an account of how this talented man prospered under God's favor.

3When David was on his deathbed, his inability to manage his affairs was frightfully costly. Who was to be king after him? His eldest surviving son, Adonijah, considered himself to be the rightful heir, and he had some of David's strongest leaders speaking up for him to succeed David. But Bathsheba was determined that her son Solomon should take the throne after David. A palace revo­lution was prevented by quick action by her and Nathan to have Solomon crowned king.

4Solomon's career as king of Israel was the stuff of which legends were made. He was a man of such wisdom that for years after his death the commu­nity would produce wisdom writings and list him as their author. His wealth too was legendary, and his dealings with neighboring states and with far-off and exotic lands made him the first Israelite leader who dealt in international trade and diplo­macy. He was married to many wives, and he sought to keep them happy by finding a place within Jerusalem for them to practice their native religions, even though that kind of tolerance was considered gravely dangerous to Israelite faith.

5Several incidents in Solomon's life help us to gauge his importance. One of these comes early in his career. Solomon boldly goes to an important holy place to seek God's will, a holy place north of the city of Jerusalem, at the city of Gibeon. God comes to Solomon there, in a dream, and asks him what he desires from God. Solomon's reply is that Solomon is like a little child compared with his father David, and yet Solomon has the responsibil­ity of governing a kingdom of thousands of people. Solomon asks God for an understanding mind, for the wisdom to judge between good and evil, so that he can be a responsible and faithful king.

The reply God gives to Solomon in the dream shows how pleasing that request of Solomon was. Solomon did not ask for wealth or fame for himself; he thought of others, of his public responsibilities, and he asked God to help him fulfill those respon­sibilities faithfully and well. Solomon's wisdom is understood not just to be his personal talent or achievement. It is a gift of God.

'We hear of no acts of warfare during Solomon's long reign. One reason is that David had already established peace with his neighbors. But Solomon did much to strengthen these relations with the neighbors. One way that he did so was by the taking of the daughters of foreign kings to be his wives; these marriages were political acts more than love matches, of course. Solomon's skill in international commerce brought great wealth and influence to the kingdom of Israel. His connections were close in all directions: with Egypt and other kingdoms to the south and southwest; with the Hittites and other northern kingdoms; and espe­cially with the Phoenicians, who helped him de­velop sea trade with many parts of the world.

8One of the fascinating stories of Solomon's wealth and wisdom involves the Queen of Sheba, probably one of the kingdoms at the southwest end of the Arabian Peninsula, where modern Yemen is located. This queen came to visit Solomon with a great entourage. Her land was noted for its great wealth and wisdom, but when she met Solomon and learned firsthand how wise and how wealthy he was, she was overwhelmed. Later on, in Ethio­pia, the story of this visit of the Queen of Sheba would become a basic part of the story of the origin of the kingdom of Ethiopia. The story goes that the Queen of Sheba and Solomon married and had a son. The son's name was Menelik, who later be­came the first king of Ethiopia.

9Solomon brought material greatness to Israel; he was Israel's first great builder; and he also seems to have promoted the arts and literature. Some of the greatest Israelite literature was produced dur­ing his reign. And he also built Jerusalem's great temple. How he did that is our next question.

 

 

 

 Scripture

1 Kings 3

 

Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt; he took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David, until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD and the wall around Jerusalem. 

The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the LORD. 

Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places. 

The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I should give you." 

And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you;  and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 

And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 

And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. 

Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?" 

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,

I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. 

I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. 

If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life." 

Then Solomon awoke; it had been a dream. He came to Jerusalem where he stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. He offered up burnt offerings and offerings of well-being, and provided a feast for all his servants. 

Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 

The one woman said, "Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 

Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together; there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house. 

Then this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him.

She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 

When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne." 

But the other woman said, "No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours." The first said, "No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine." So they argued before the king. 

Then the king said, "The one says, 'This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead'; while the other says, 'Not so! Your son is dead, and my son is the living one.'" 

So the king said, "Bring me a sword," and they brought a sword before the king. 

The king said, "Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other." 

But the woman whose son was alive said to the king--because compassion for her son burned within her--"Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!" The other said, "It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it." 

Then the king responded: "Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother." 

All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice. 

 

 

1 Kings 10:1-10

 

When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, (fame due to the name of the LORD), she came to test him with hard questions.  She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 

Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 

When the queen of Sheba had observed all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his valets, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. 

So she said to the king, "The report was true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom,

but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. Not even half had been told me; your wisdom and prosperity far surpass the report that I had heard. 

Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually attend you and hear your wisdom! 

Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness." 

Then she gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again did spices come in such quantity as that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 

 

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