1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14

Growing up I found this passage to be inspiring. As a bright young boy who did well in school I often wondered who wouldn’t want to emulate Solomon and seek the wisdom of the ages? His prayer and humility were certainly worthy of imitation, too. In 1 Kings 3:6 he acknowledges God’s grace to him. In 3:7 he recognizes that he is undeserving of such a blessing. In 3:8-9 he makes his noble request for wisdom to lead and to serve God’s chosen people. It’s what each of us should strive for, to desire the good of others and give gratitude to God for all God’s perfect gifts, knowing that if we seek first the Kingdom and God’s righteousness then other things are added to us as well (Matthew 6:33). It certainly happened for Solomon. He was wealthy. He ruled with wisdom. He had God’s blessing. “What better example could one have?” I thought.

In this I showed that I clearly did not have the proverbial wisdom of Solomon.

The First Lesson in 1 Kings 2:10-12 and 3:3-14 begins with David’s death and burial and Solomon’s subsequent ascension to his father’s throne. Interestingly, and part of the reason my early understanding of this passage was shaped the way it was, the remainder of chapter 2 and verses 1 and 2 of chapter 3 are left out of the readings. But I believe they are crucial to understanding what the passage is truly about.

We can see immediately that the First Lesson is consistent with the breadth of Scripture in pointing to the One who actually deserves to be imitated and followed: God. God showed kindness to David (v. 6). God made Solomon king (v. 7). None of what Solomon achieved in his life, be it his wisdom, his wealth, his honor, or his victories over his enemies, were the result of his own doing, his own righteousness. God initiated the conversation in this passage. God came to Solomon while he was yet unworthy.

This is where the omitted verses shed light on the broader narrative. Without them we simply read of the young king wisely (already!) asking for wisdom from God and not personal wealth or fame. But when we read them in the context of all we know about Solomon we notice how the passage seems to both commend and condemn the young king at the same time. Yes, his request was pure. Yes, Solomon loved the Lord. Yes, his request is affirmed by God, as we see in 3:10-14. But verses 1, 2, and 3 point out ways that Solomon strayed from God’s word and God’s ways.

He brought a foreign wife to Jerusalem, in direct violation of Deuteronomic law. He planned the construction of the Temple of the Lord only after he completed his own palace. He allowed the people to continue to burn incense and offer sacrifices at local shrines (which would have ceased once the Temple was completed), and he himself continued to offer sacrifices at the high places, again ignoring God’s clear commands. As said already, there is no doubt that Solomon knows God and loves God. But as 1 Kings 11:4b says, “He wasn’t committed to the Lord his God with all his heart as was his father David.” Solomon makes a very good request for wisdom as he seeks to lead God’s people. But that does not mean that everything he did was right, for even when confronted with his waywardness by God Himself, 1 Kings 11:10b reminds us that “Solomon didn’t do what the Lord commanded.”

All of this helps us understand the true lesson from this pericope. Solomon’s request is exemplary, but it is contradictory to other things in Solomon’s life. Like any of us, he has moments of great goodness and awareness of God’s mercies and other moments of selfishness and pride. Solomon’s desire to lead God’s people well and put God and duty before his own ambition and desire is certainly righteous, but his willingness to ignore God’s clear marital commands and to put the building of his own house ahead of building the house of the Lord reveals the depth of his ongoing unrighteousness.

But it is this very tension of the simul justus et peccator (at the same time saint and sinner) that defines the lives of those who have surrendered to Christ today. We are saved, but also in the process of being saved. We live in the now and the not yet. The old has gone and the new has come, but we are not yet fully as we should be, as we shall be. We have moments of deep reverence and holiness, as Solomon did. And we have moments of great selfishness and sin, as Solomon did. And in all of it we find God extending prevenient grace, reaching to us, initiating the relationship, calling us home.

Like Solomon we may love and serve God imperfectly. Thanks be to God, our Lord is perfect! And God’s patience and perseverance extended toward us is always offering the choice of wisdom, to submit and to serve and to follow our Lord all the days of our life.

Seeking this is truly the wisest decision one could ever make.