2 Chronicles 1 (NIV)✞: Solomon Asks for Wisdom
Passage
I’m pretty sure this is similar, if not identical, to the story as told in 1 Kings 3, but I decided not to compare and just take this passage as it comes in the book of Chronicles. (Perhaps an invalid choice; I’m assuming the author(s) of Chronicles expected us to have read Samuel and Kings…)
1 Chronicles ended with celebrations at the beginning of Solomon’s reign, which is where 2 Chronicles picks up the story. (Remember that Chronicles was originally just one book, not two; the author(s) didn’t envision a split between 1 and 2 Chronicles.)
He starts off in a very good place:
Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the LORD his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.
We’re told in verse 2✞ that Solomon spoke to all of the people of Israel (though we’re not told what he said), and then they all went to the “high place” at Gibeon, where the tabernacle was, along with a bronze altar. The Ark was in Jerusalem, however, and I’m wondering if the author(s) are telling us this to get us thinking about the fact that, at this point, there isn’t yet a Temple. I’m guessing it would conjure up in the readers’ minds the idea of disorganised worship.
Regardless, it’s to the tabernacle and bronze altar that Solomon goes, whereupon he offers a thousand burnt offerings to God. And we’re led to believe he offers them all in one day, because verse 7✞ tells us that God comes to visit Solomon “that night.” God has a very simple question for Solomon: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
Now… I’m guessing that anyone reading this is probably already familiar with this story, and knows how Solomon is going to answer, but it’s worth stopping for a moment to think about how we’d answer the question. If God—the Lord GOD of all the universe—the one with limitless power and might to do anything He pleases—if that God came to me and bluntly told me I could ask for whatever I want from Him… what would I answer? In fact, let me not even think about how I’d answer Him, let me think about how I’d want to answer Him – what would my heart say, even before my mouth spoke? I mean, I’ve read the Bible, I know what I’m supposed to say if God were to come and ask me this question; I’d probably follow Solomon’s example and ask for wisdom (spoiler alert), or maybe echo the words of the father of a demon possessed boy in Mark and ask for stronger faith:
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Given time to think about it I’m sure I could come up with a “good” answer. But what would be the immediate, knee-jerk reaction in my heart, given such an opportunity? Riches, so I could retire and be lazy? To be half a foot taller? Something wicked? To have a long, healthy life?
As I said, though, most of us already know how Solomon responded and it seems his heart, in this instance, was in the right place:
8 Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
It seems to me that, in asking this question, Solomon is displaying the fact that he already has a good amount of wisdom; he’s not starting from 0, he’s asking God to augment what he already has.
And God grants Solomon’s request – and more:
11 God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”
After this Solomon leaves Gibeon to head back to Jerusalem and begin his reign. The chapter ends with the beginnings of that wealth and prosperity promised by God:
14 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 15 The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 16 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 17 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.
And this is mostly good news! God is doing exactly what He had promised: Solomon is gaining in wealth and possessions, and it seems as if that wealth is extending beyond Solomon himself to his subjects.
There are some warning signs as well, however, because there is mention of the horses accumulated by Solomon as well as the fact that he’s getting at least some of them from Egypt, both of which were explicitly forbidden by God for any of Israel’s kings. The author(s) of Chronicles are warning us that Solomon’s reign isn’t going to be one of perfectly following his God…
Thoughts
I have some thoughts about the structure of this passage, the ways we can misuse the formula of Solomon’s request, and how God is blessing Solomon and Solomon is sinning at the same time.
The Structure
My first thought about this passage is about its structure; the “bookends” are interesting: we go from verse 1 telling us that God was with Solomon, making him exceedingly great, to verses 14–17 where there’s a hint that all might not be well. I’m pretty sure the author(s) of Chronicles did this on purpose.
I sort of vaguely remember, from way back when I was blogging through 1 Kings, that the author(s) were going out of their way to demonstrate that Solomon’s reign was mixed – at least in terms of his faithfulness to God. He did some things really well, and fell down hard in other areas, so the author(s) didn’t want to let us get away with simplifying his reign as either “good” or “bad” – there was a lot of good and a lot of bad. And it looks like the author(s) of Chronicles are following suit.
The “Formula” of Solomon’s Request
My second thought is that this passage presents an interesting challenge to the Christian – at least to those of us living in the 21st Century North America. We have a very strong “how to” culture, and love reading Bible passages in that light; “this is how you should pray to God,” we think, “if we want Him to bless us!” So there’s always a danger of seeing Solomon’s request here as a “formula” for how we should make requests of God: “If you ask for wisdom, He’ll give you a bunch of other things too!”
This is a nuanced thing, because there is a very real sense in which we can look at this passage, see the desires of Solomon’s heart, and meditate on how we can follow his example. Do I truly care about wisdom? And the reason Solomon wants that wisdom is to better serve his people – is that something I emulate? In this case, where Solomon is doing the right thing, how can I strive to be more like him?
That sense of following this example is good, but the “pray using this formula to get what you want from God” sense of reading this passage is not only un-Biblical, it’s also… foolish! Do we honestly believe God can so easily be tricked?!? “If I pray for wisdom then He has to give me health and wealth, too!” As if God wouldn’t know what was happening in our hearts! Or as if He’s thinking, “Well I wasn’t going to give him wealth but because he prayed in that way I guess I’m bound to!” Is there a more blasphemous way to think of God responding to a prayer?
In short: if you want wisdom, pray for wisdom. If you want wealth, or health, or anything else along those lines, feel free to pray for it (though you should also be reading your Bible to see what things are more or less important to the Christian heart) – but don’t pray for wisdom as if that somehow forces God to give you all of the things He gave to Solomon.
Solomon’s Disobedience
And my final thought on this passage is to say that yes, God blessed Solomon, and yes, Solomon disobeyed God. Both of those things were true, at the same time.
Just because God is blessing Solomon it doesn’t mean that all of Solomon’s actions were ok; just because Solomon was sinning it doesn’t mean the blessings didn’t come from God.
The same can be true in my own life. I’m very blessed by God, in nearly every way I can think of, but nobody should look at my life and assume that all of those blessings mean I’m properly following Him. I mean… I try to! But I also fail – regularly. I can, and sometimes do, choose to do bad things with the blessings He has given me. Just as Solomon did.
So yes, God really did bless Solomon – the blessings really did come from Him. And Solomon really did commit some sins, even as early as the very beginning of his reign. So… was he a good king, or a bad king? The answer is yes and yes. He was a good king, and he was also a bad king. He was as complicated as you or I.
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