Solomon shows the wisdom and knowledge given to him from the Lord. Let’s pray for similar wisdom.
1 Kings 3: Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom
1 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.
2 The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the LORD.
3 Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places.
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, "Ask what I shall give you."
6 And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, 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 this day.
7 And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.
8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.
9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?"
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
11 And God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,
12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.
13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honour, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.
14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days."
15 And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
Solomon's Wisdom
16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
17 The one woman said, "Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.
18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house.
19 And this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him.
20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast.
21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne."
22 But the other woman said, "No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours." The first said, "No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine." Thus they spoke before the king.
23 Then the king said, "The one says, 'This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead'; and the other says, 'No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.'"
24 And the king said, "Bring me a sword." So a sword was brought before the king.
25 And the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other."
26 Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death." But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him."
27 Then the king answered and said, "Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother."
28 And 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 do justice.
1 Kings 4: Solomon's Officials
1 King Solomon was king over all Israel,
2 and these were his high officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king's friend;
6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram the son of Abda was in charge of the forced labour.
7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year.
8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan;
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher);
11 Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);
12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;
13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);
16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land.
Solomon's Wealth and Wisdom
20 Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy.
21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 Solomon's provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal,
23 ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.
24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him.
25 And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon.
26 Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.
27 And those officers supplied provisions for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon's table, each one in his month. They let nothing be lacking.
28 Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.
29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore,
30 so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.
32 He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.
33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish.
34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
Things to think about…
1. 1 Kings 3:1-15 shows the mercy of God upon Solomon in that he grants wisdom and promised blessing for returned faithfulness. Solomon had followed the Lord and yet still sacrificed at the high places. The tent that housed the Ark of the Covenant was in Jerusalem. Why did Solomon see the need to offer sacrifices on the High Places, only that it was a culturally acceptable thing to do. But even in this the Lord meets Solomon in a dream at Gibeon. The Lord meets us where we are in his mercy. Praise the Lord. Solomon prays for wisdom. Just as Solomon prayed for wisdom to lead God’s people I need wisdom to lead the Lord’s people at CBC. Please pray for me and our eldership that we lead our church with the Lord’s wisdom. Note that Solomon even though he had offered a thousand burnt offerings at Gibeon, 1Kings 3:4, after he hears from the Lord he comes back to Jerusalem and sacrifices at the Ark of the Covenant, vs 15.
2. Wisdom that comes from the Lord is more than what we call common sense. Solomon displays God’s wisdom in dealing with the two prostitutes and the two sons, 1Kings 3:16-28. The result was that the people perceived that Solomon had the ‘wisdom of God in him to do justice’. This is especially needed for those who lead the church but is available for everyone who needs wisdom from the Lord, James 1:5. When others ask your advice in times of trial or where there is a crossroads in their lives this shows the Lord’s grace over you. Wisdom is given when the Lord’s people spend more time seeking Him in prayer and studying His word.
3. God is a God of order, and Solomon is a type of Christ where all the nations came to Jerusalem and saw and heard his wisdom. In 1Kings 4:1-19 we begin to see the enormity of Solomon’s charge as a king as we read of his officials and those who had charge over his house. It’s interesting that it says “Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year”. Volunteers that are rostered on for the weekly cleaning, welcoming and morning tea keep churches open. In this way they spread the load and allow the body to minister to itself.
4. In 1Kings 4:20-34 we see the extent of Solomon’s kingdom and the influence he had over the region and indeed over the known world at that time. Solomon shows a type of Christ not only with the extension of the land to fulfil the promises that would come through the Messiah but also the wisdom of the Messiah where “all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom”, vs 34. Solomon’s rule is a type and shadow of the rule that Christ will give in the Millennium where His wisdom and knowledge will cover the earth and all the nations will be blessed through the nation of Israel.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer.
Prayer Points
1. A new admin and finance officer for CBC. Pray for God’s choosing in this role.
2. Pray for the US as they enter into the final day of the election.
3. Prayer for Israel, Gaza and Lebanon for peace to descend over the region.
4. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
5. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
6. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
7. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
8. Church finances to continue to grow and expenses to be more than met.
9. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
10. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
11. Pray about the possibility and planning of a Farmers Market at Chuwar Baptist Church once a month on Saturdays. Anastasia taking the lead on this. Pray for us as we plan
12. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
13. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Baptisms and testimonies. Praise God for the witness of Lucy, Anna, Aron and Nathan. Pray the Lord encourages them this week.
2. More new visitors on Sunday. Pray they feel welcomed in the church
3. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members meeting – AGM - 24th Nov after the service
2. PlayPatch Friday mornings – 9:30am. Contact Anna for details
3. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
4. Carols Sunday 22nd Dec starting from 3pm.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for November...
Q. 26. Who tempted them to this sin? A. The devil tempted Eve, and she gave the fruit to Adam.
