What Would You Ask For?

1 Kings 3:5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish me to give you.”

    I was reading this passage and was blown away by Solomon’s response to such a request, which is pretty amazing just by itself, but when you put it in context it is so much more powerful.
  
 Imagine being the son of a dieing king who was known as a man after God’s own heart and having an older brother who by normal right of succession should be the one to claim the throne. Adonijah the older brother went off with King David’s military commander Joab and Abiathar one of David’s chief priests and his adviser and anointed himself king while David the king still lived.   David had made a vow that Solomon would inherit the kingdom and once he heard of this he sent Zadok, another chief priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah the Chief of his Mighty Men to go and anoint Solomon king.  A messenger came to Adonijah to tell him that David had Solomon anointed king by Nathan and Zadok. All the men that came to celebrate Adonijah’s false anointing dispersed and Adonijah was brought before Solomon and Solomon had him sent away. As David is dieing he tells Solomon of all those that deserve justice but David had sworn not to kill, himself.  So Adonijah tries using Solomon’s mother to develop a scheme but Solomon has him executed along with Joab who followed him but sends Abiathar away because he had carried the Ark of the Covenant. Solomon also has those that David had told him about put to death.

    A while after all this Solomon travels to a distant altar to sacrifice to the Lord and whilst sleeping there God asks him the question, “ Ask what you wish me to give you.”.  I think it’s pretty safe to say that Solomon had a lot going on in his life, he was just crowned king and had to dispense a lot of justice and I guarantee very few of them were easy decisions to make. Solomon’s response is as follows:
 
1Kings 3:6-9 You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.
Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.
So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours.
      
 Solomon’s response is so humble and selfless it is astounding. To start his responding prayer he talks of his father and how great a man he was through the power of God.  When Solomon does finally mention himself it is not as a great leader or some cocky young king who thinks he knows everything and is all powerful, but as little child who does not know how to go out or come in. So he is essentially saying he is a toddler and completely incapable of the position without the help of God.  In the next verses Solomon has such a heart for the people God has placed under his care. Solomon’s wish is for an understanding heart and discernment to judge wisely. Rather than ask for all the gold and jewels or all the kingdoms, or all the women in the world, Solomon selflessly asks for the Wisdom to deal justly with God’s chosen people, who have been placed in his care. 

Solomon had a mighty devotion to his duty as king of God’s chosen people, had I been in his place I don’t know what I would have asked for, even now after thinking on it all afternoon I still can’t quite find the words to say if I were to be asked of God.  I suppose I would pray to be His instrument, that like Christ I would make myself of no reputation, to go into the dieing world of the lost and shine His light into the hopeless darkness of their hearts that they may shine with the hope of Christ, That He would be my strength, my voice and my Glory.  Amen.