A Daily Devotional by Kenton Cheek
30 May 2024
Reading From I Kings 3-4, II Chronicles 1, Psalm 72
“So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”
–I Kings 3:9-14
Solomon’s heart was humble before the Lord and his request showed that God had already blessed him with a measure of wisdom. Yahweh not only added to the new king’s wisdom and knowledge, but He also gave him what he had not asked for which was wealth and honor. All through the Scriptures we find that when hearts are in the right place and earnestly seeking the will of God, He rewards people beyond what they could imagine. Sometimes the reward is a fruitful family, material provision, spiritual blessing or any number of things.
The wisdom that Solomon was blessed with brought peace and prosperity to the kingdom. “During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.”[1] This is a remarkable statement to me. When I read this, it gives me the impression that there existed a kind of middle class during his reign. Common people were not upper class, but no one was destitute either. Everyone owned their own productive property and benefited from it.
People from all over the ancient world came to Israel to learn from Solomon. This is part of what Yahweh wanted for His people; He wanted them to follow Him and be a shining light of truth. I see this as a partial fulfillment of His promise to Abraham to bless the nations. The ultimate fulfillment of this came through Jesus and is still being fulfilled today as we obey the Great Commandment and fulfill the Great Commission to go into all the world and make disciples. The model of blessing under the Old Covenant was for other nations to come inward to Israel to know how to serve the Most High God, but in the New Covenant, we are sent outward carrying the love and message of Jesus to as many people as possible.
“Lord, thank You for the wisdom You blessed Solomon with. The written proverbs provide the best guidance in life we could ever hope for. I pray that I would continue to not only contemplate Your wisdom, but also put the knowledge You give me into practice in my daily life. Amen.”
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
–James 1:5-8
[1] I Kings 4:25
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