CLOSER LOOK
ADULTING WEEK #3 1 Kings 3 6/2/19
MAIN POINT
Wisdom is not random. We pursue it in the person of Christ.
INTRODUCTION
As your group time begins, use this section to introduce the topic of discussion.
If you were given three wishes today, what would you ask for?
What has been your toughest decision this year? What had the greatest impact on that decision:
your feelings, others’ advice, circumstances, etc.?
Most adults would probably wish for money, power, or things that we think might make life easier. A lot of us would probably rather avoid life’s tough decisions. Solomon teaches us that what we really need is God’s wisdom and that God readily gives wisdom to help us through life’s tough decisions. God’s wisdom is not random. It comes through Christ.
UNDERSTANDING
Unpack the biblical text to discover what the Scripture says about a particular topic.
Have a volunteer read 1 Kings 3:5-12
As the king, what might Solomon have asked for in response to God’s willingness to give to him?
What did Solomon request of God? Why did he say he had made this request?
Why do you think God was pleased with Solomon’s request?
What does God’s willingness to give Solomon more than what he asked for reveal about God’s nature? How have you witnessed God’s generosity in your own life?
Our God is so generous to give us the help we need if we will only ask. God may not come to us with a personal invitation, but we are invited to come to Him in prayer and ask for our needs to be met. He may not give us our worldly desires, but He is generous to provide for our every need. Solomon didn’t ask for selfish desires. He asked God for what he needed in order to do what God had positioned him to do as king and God was well pleased with his request.
Have a volunteer read James 1:5.
According to this verse, where does wisdom come from? How does this differ from where the world tells us wisdom is found?
What does this verse tell us about how God feels when we come to Him with our requests?
What does this tell us about going to God in prayer?
Our God is so eager to help us. He not only gives generously, but He does so without any disappointment or disapproval. We are free to come to Him in prayer and petition, and He will never look down on us for our requests. There is nothing that He deems stupid or beneath Him.
Have a volunteer read 1 Kings 3:16-28.
Based on what was presented by the women, how would you decide which woman was lying?
What was unique about King Solomon’s response?
King Solomon was presented with a case for which there was no evidence. He was faced with what would seem like an impossible decision for most people. Yet, his wisdom allowed him to test the women’s character on the spot and make a good judgment.
Have a volunteer read Proverbs 12:15.
What does this passage say about the judgment of a fool?
According to this passage, what does a wise man do?
What is the connection between a willingness to ask others for advice and wisdom? Why do these two things go hand in hand?
What qualities should we look for in those from whom we seek counsel? How can evaluate the advice we receive?
A fool will always think they are right, but wise men seek advice from others. After consulting God’s word and praying, the next step should be talking with others who have a Godly perspective that you trust.
APPLICATION
Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives.
What decisions are you facing right now for which you need godly wisdom? What might keep you from seeking God’s wisdom about this decision? How will making this decision by God’s wisdom help you?
In your requests of God, have you ever asked for wisdom? Why or why not?
TAKE AWAY
Consider asking 1 or 2 of these questions this week to help your group members develop an action plan for a point of application.
Now that you’ve heard what you’ve heard, what is your next step for God?
Is there a truth that was established tonight that you’re going to continue to wrestle with until it takes hold in your heart?
Did something God told you through this study tonight unearth a commitment you need to make and be held accountable to? If so, what is that commitment?
What is the one thing you now know you’re supposed to do before we meet again?
PRAYER REQUESTS
Take a moment to ask your group if there are any prayer requests.
PRAY WITH YOUR GROUP
Pray over your group’s prayer requests, along with the following prayer:
Father God, we thank You that we are able to come to You in prayer and that You are so generous to meet our needs. We pray that You would give us Your wisdom as we face tough decisions in life. We pray that, as we come to You throughout the week, You would help us to grow in wisdom and we ask that You would surround us with wise counsel. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
LP REMINDERS
MEMORIZE
Midway through this week, send a follow-up email to your group with some or all of the following:
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5)
COMMENTARY
1 Kings 3:5-121 Kings 3:5. We have here an account of a gracious visit that God paid to Solomon, and the communion he had with God in it, which put a greater honor upon Solomon than all the wealth and power of his kingdom did.
1 Kings 3:6. Verses 6-9 recount how Solomon replied to the Lord’s invitation to ask for whatever he wanted.
Solomon began by reflecting on God’s great work in the past, especially in the life and reign of his father, David. The expression “faithful love” (Hebrew, “chesed”) renders an important Hebrew term related to the covenant. It refers to the Lord’s steadfast kindness or unfailing beneficence toward His covenant people.
This reflection on God’s past actions helped Solomon gain perspective on his present situation, and it guided his request for help concerning the future. By mentioning David’s faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity, Solomon acknowledged that, humanly speaking, he owed his position to his father’s character.
Solomon’s next comment—You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne—was an affirmation that in the ultimate sense he owed his position to God’s faithful covenant- keeping.
1 Kings 3:7. The phrase “You have now made Your servant king” explicitly attributes Solomon’s reign to God’s action. Others, including Solomon himself, had taken actions to secure his succession, but their actions would have failed had not God chosen to make Solomon the new king. Solomon referred to himself as just a youth. His point was not as much to comment on his age as to express how he felt in light of the responsibility facing him. The phrase with no experience in leadership also can be translated “I do not know how to go or to come.” Solomon humbly confessed a sense of inadequacy in the face of God’s calling.
1 Kings 3:8. Solomon clarified the task by noting “Your servant is among Your people You have chosen, a people too numerous to be numbered or counted.” God had called Solomon to lead His chosen people.
Having reflected on God’s faithful love, on his father’s godly example, and on his own inadequacy, Solomon was ready to make his request to God.
1 Kings 3:9. What did Solomon ask for? The request for an obedient heart was a confession of dependence on God alone. The Hebrew phrase can also be rendered “a heart of listening.” In the Old Testament mind- set, listening and obeying were like two sides of one coin. In effect, then, Solomon was admitting his need for God-given instruction and was expressing a willingness to follow that instruction.
Why did Solomon ask for an obedient heart? Solomon explained the rationale of his request: “to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil.” Two purposes merge in the king’s rationale. The first, “to judge Your people,” was not so much a request for judicial insight as it was a request for leadership abilities. The second purpose, “to discern between good and evil,” was an indispensable quality for one who exercised authority in the administration of justice. The request, then, focused not on Solomon’s personal prestige but on the need for continued divine equipping for a divinely appointed task.
1 Kings 3:10. We can be confident that God is delighted when our prayers are consistent with His
purposes. God wanted Solomon’s reign to be a good one, a reign characterized by wisdom and justice. Not surprisingly, it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this.
1 Kings 3:11-12. God was pleased that Solomon’s request centered on the successful accomplishment of God’s calling and not on worldly or self-centered desires. God listed three requests a self-focused king might have made in Solomon’s situation: “long life … riches … or the death of … enemies.” The word
“death” in the phrase “death of your enemies” is a translation of the Hebrew term nephesh [NEF esh]. The word also can be rendered “soul” or “life.” The context of 3:11 makes clear, however, that new kings typically would wish for their enemies to die, not to remain alive.
God described the extent of His blessing by saying that He was willing to make Solomon a one-of-a-kind ruler. This is what every monarch wants, to be remembered as a great ruler. Because Solomon asked for things on behalf of God’s people, God gave the honor and prestige of a worthy monarch.
James 1:5
James 1:5. Heavenly wisdom, the internal and practical means to endure, is particularly needed when we face trials. Difficult times often visit us suddenly and without warning. Our natural reactions could be distress, grief, perplexity, confusion, disappointment, or hopelessness. Without wisdom, we do not have God’s perspective on our trials, a perspective that helps us get through the dark days of difficulty.
1 Kings 3:16-28
1 Kings 3:16. This in itself is a remarkable testimony to the goodness and generosity of Solomon. Not many kings would take the time to settle a dispute between two prostitutes.
1 Kings 3:17-24. This seemed like an impossible problem to solve. It was surely one prostitutes’ word against the other, and there was no independent witness to the events. Solomon’s solution to the problem at first looked foolish – even dangerous. The wisdom of his approach was only understood when the matter was settled. In the same way, the works — even the judgments — of God often first seem strange,
dangerous, or even foolish. Time shows them to be perfect wisdom.
1 Kings 3:24–28 The king quickly produces his own evidence. He decides to try the case based on the women’s maternal instincts and human compassion. Calling for a sword, he orders the child cut into halves, with each woman getting an equal share. The real mother, who has already cared enough for her child to plead her case before the king, acts out of compassion for her son. She begs Solomon to give the baby to the other woman. In startling contrast the careless, dishonest woman is willing to take her half. Her cruelty has been revealed, just as the other mother’s kindness has emerged.
Solomon can now give a just verdict. The compassionate woman is given the child. He has the insight to see the difference between just and unjust persons even when he has no corroborating evidence. When this verdict becomes public knowledge, the nation was in awe of (lit., “feared”) the king. This comment reinforces the statement in 2:46 that the kingdom is now firmly established in Solomon’s hands. Most important, this respect stems from the knowledge that wisdom like Solomon’s can come only from God.
Israel now understands, as does the reader, that “God’s wisdom was in him to carry out justice.” If so, the nation will flourish under his leadership. So far Solomon has been faithful to the God who has kept the promises made to the new king.
Proverbs 12:15
Proverbs 12:15. What it is that keeps a fool from being wise: His way is right in his own eyes. He thinks he is in the right in every thing he does, and therefore asks no advice, because he does not apprehend he needs it; he is confident he knows the way, and cannot miss it, and therefore never enquires the way. The rule he goes by is to walk in the way of his heart. He is a fool that is governed by his eye, and not by his conscience.
What it is that keeps a wise man from being a fool? He is willing to be advised, desires to have counsel given him, and hearkens to counsel, being diffident of his own judgment and having a value for the direction of those that are wise and good. He is wise (it is a sign he is so, and he is likely to continue so) whose ear is always open to good advice.
