1KI 3:4-154And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. 5In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 8And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 10And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 14And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 15And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. (1 Kings 3:4‑15)In 1 Kings 3:2-32Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days. 3And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. (1 Kings 3:2‑3) we see clearly that the order of things was not the ultimate at the beginning of Solomon’s reign. The ark of the Lord abode under curtains; it remained to David’s son to build the house of the Lord. At that time the tabernacle and the altar were at the high place at Gibeon and the ark, which David had brought back, was at Jerusalem. How David had this ark of the covenant, the throne of the Lord, the sign of His personal presence in the midst of His people, in his affections (Psa. 132)! From the moment he brought it back to Zion we do not see in his history that he personally ever sought another place of worship, though he was not unmindful of Gibeon. When the ark was being carried to Jerusalem he took care to link worship before the ark with the sacrifices upon the altar at Gibeon (1 Chron. 16:37-4337So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required: 38And Obed-edom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters: 39And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon, 40To offer burnt offerings unto the Lord upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel; 41And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endureth for ever; 42And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters. 43And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house. (1 Chronicles 16:37‑43)), maintaining in this way the unity of worship. Each day service was performed before the ark and before the altar at Gibeon, so that at the same moment and “continually” these two parts of worship were carried on together, though separated geographically.
Later, according to the commandment of the Lord, David built an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, and there he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. His God did not long deprive him of an altar in relation to the ark. In this way Gibeon lost its value and meaning.
Solomon does not appear to have thought of this unity at the beginning of his reign. Doubtless God bears him a lovely testimony: “And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father” (1 Kings 3:33And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. (1 Kings 3:3)), but this testimony is qualified: “only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.” In so doing he accommodated himself to the religious practices of his people, of whom it is said in 1 Kings 3:22Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days. (1 Kings 3:2): “Only the people sacrificed in high places.”
It was not a positive sin against the Lord, as was the case later on with certain pious kings of Judah, when the building of the temple had removed every plea for such practices. If they still continued then, it was to the Lord’s great displeasure, for they must needs lead to idolatrous practices. In these days of blessing and power under young King Solomon it was not at all so, but “he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places,” and not only at Gibeon, “for that was the great high place” (1 Kings 3:3-43And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. 4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. (1 Kings 3:3‑4)) where the brazen altar was still found, the tabernacle and all its furniture. At any rate, this practice served to disperse worship in Israel. And so the unity of worship was lost, for the altar was, among its other attributes, the expression of this unity, just as the Lord’s Table is today for Christians. In former days under Joshua with regard to the altar Ed (Josh. 22:3434And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the Lord is God. (Joshua 22:34)), Israel had understood this and had risen up in zealous energy against sacrifices offered on an altar other than that of the tabernacle.
God bore with this state of things as long as the full manifestation of His will concerning worship had not yet been given by the consecration of the temple. Nevertheless it was a weakness in this great king. How much more intelligent was David’s worship, even before Moriah, than Solomon’s! The ark was everything for David; for him it was the Lord, the mighty God of Jacob (Psa. 132:55Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. (Psalm 132:5)), whose worship was there where the ark was found. Solomon did not rise to the height of these blessings and did not enjoy the intimacy of this relationship with God. He did not go beyond the common level of religion of his people.
Do we not find in our own day the same weakness, the same lack of intelligence, even there where the desire to worship is present? Everyone chooses his own high place without troubling himself about the presence of the ark — of Christ. Everyone builds his own altar without even dreaming that since the cross, as in old times after Moriah, there could be but one symbol of unity for the people of God.
Solomon went to Gibeon, but he loved the Lord, and the Lord always takes account of our affection for Him. There it was that He appeared to him in a dream (1 Kings 3:55In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. (1 Kings 3:5)). This fact, as others have remarked, has its importance. In a dream one is unable to disguise the true state of one’s heart; one is not controlled by either his reason or his will to repress the manifestation of what is in his heart. In a dream the soul is laid bare before the Lord. What then were the thoughts harbored in this young king’s heart when God said to him, “Ask what I shall give thee” (1 Kings 3:55In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. (1 Kings 3:5))? What the divine word finds in the first place in this heart is gratitude for the great mercy of the Lord towards David: “Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy,” and at the same time the high esteem he held this latter in (1 Kings 3:66And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. (1 Kings 3:6)) because of his walk of truth, of righteousness, and of uprightness which had proved that David feared the Lord (Prov. 14:22He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him. (Proverbs 14:2)). Next there is thankfulness for the mercy of God towards himself, David’s son; “Thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day” (1 Kings 3:66And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. (1 Kings 3:6)). Lastly, there is the consciousness of his youth, of his ignorance, of his incapacity. “And I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.” Such a state of soul promises abundant blessing; it is summed up in this: Fear the Lord, have the consciousness of His grace, esteem others better than yourself, and count yourself as nothing.
Solomon was there before God with an undivided heart and he was seeking but one thing: to serve the Lord in the circumstances in which He had placed him as leader of the people. He asks the Lord for “an understanding heart,” for hearing is the door to discernment and intelligence. In order to be wise one must begin by listening to wisdom: “Blessed is the man that heareth me” (Prov. 8:3434Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. (Proverbs 8:34)). All true service starts with hearing. Solomon did not know how to “go out or come in”; he could not learn this except by listening. He who does not begin by enrolling himself in the school of wisdom will never be a true servant. Such was the pathway of service of Christ Himself as man. “He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” (Isa. 50:44The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. (Isaiah 50:4)).
Let us remark that Solomon asks the Lord for “an understanding heart.” One does not truly learn to know the mind of God except with the heart—not with the intelligence. True intelligence is produced by affection for Christ. The heart listens and when it has received the lessons it needs, it is made wise, capable of discerning between good and evil and of governing the people of God. That which makes the role of the heart so important in service is that no judgment can be according to God if it does not have love as its starting point. We experience this in cases of discipline, in guiding souls, and in caring for saints and assemblies.
Solomon’s answer “pleased the Lord” (1 Kings 3:1010And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. (1 Kings 3:10)). What grace to have His approval on all that we ask of Him and to receive His testimony that we have been pleasing to Him! The Lord grants Solomon his request and is pleased to add that which Solomon had not requested. He grants him the first place in wisdom, “so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.” Moreover, He gives him “both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days” (1 Kings 3:12-1312Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. (1 Kings 3:12‑13)). Solomon’s humble dependence put him in first place, according as it is written: “Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” It was so with Christ: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:43-4543But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:43‑45)). In every respect there is none like Him! Wisdom, power, wealth, the crown of glory and honor—all things shall be His in “the day which the Lord shall make,” and even the greatest, most magnificent things will only serve as His footstool!
In 1 Kings 3:1414And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. (1 Kings 3:14), as in all the books we are studying, the question of the king’s responsibility is brought up. “If thou wilt walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.” It is this if that Solomon could not come up to and which led to his ruin and to the division of his kingdom.
Having received these blessings, Solomon leaves Gibeon to come to Jerusalem, where he “stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord” — the act of a submissive heart which understands the mind of God, the first manifestation of the wisdom which he has just received. He leaves the forms to take hold of the reality; he leaves the external display of his religion to come to seek the presence of God represented by the ark — Christ in figure. The altar of Gibeon is no longer sufficient for him; this place is abandoned and no longer plays a role in Solomon’s religious life. Later the Lord reveals Himself to him again (1 Kings 9:22That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. (1 Kings 9:2)), but no more at Gibeon.
There is more joy before the ark than at Gibeon, though the king had probably offered up many more sacrifices at Gibeon (2 Chron. 1:66And Solomon went up thither to the brazen altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it. (2 Chronicles 1:6)) than here; but before the ark we find peace offerings, the true sacrifices of communion, and at the same time a feast for all the servants of the king.