”At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and 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 instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”“ I Kings 3:5-9 NKJV
a. The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream: This remarkable visitation from God happened in a dream. This is one of the more significant dreams in the Bible.
b. Ask! What shall I give you: This was an amazing promise. God seemed to offer Solomon whatever he wanted. This wasn’t only because Solomon sacrificed 1,000 animals; it was because his heart was surrendered to God, and God wanted to work something in Solomon through this offer and his response.
i. The natural reaction to reading this promise of God to Solomon is to wish we had such a promise. We do have them.
· Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)
· If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7)
· Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14)
c. You have shown great mercy: Before responding to God’s offer and asking for something, Solomon remembered God’s faithfulness to both David and now to Solomon himself.
d. But I am a little child: Solomon was not really the age of a child. He came to God in great humility, especially considering the job in front of him.
i. “The statement is actually Solomon’s poetic way of expressing his inadequacies as he faced the awesome tasks of leadership.” (Dilday)
ii. Solomon didn’t have the false humility that said, “I can’t do this, so I won’t even try.” His attitude was, “The job is so much bigger than me; I must rely on God.”
d. Give to Your servant an understanding heart: Solomon asked for more than great knowledge; he wanted understanding, and he wanted it in his heart, not merely in his head. Actually, the ancient Hebrew word translated understanding is literally, “hearing.” Solomon wanted a hearing heart, one that would listen to God.
i. In Ephesians 1:18, the Apostle Paul prayed for Christians, asking that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.
f. To judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil: Solomon already understood that a key component of leadership is wise and just discernment. Many leaders do not have this discernment or the courage to use it. (Guzik)
Ask! What shall I give you?
His heart was surrendered to God!
And just like Solomon, Matthew 7:7, John 15:7 and 1 John 5:14 shows us what is possible through Jesus Christ if we come to Him with a surrendered heart!
Several weeks ago the youth pastor filled in for the lead pastor during the Sunday service and taught a great biblical teaching. At the end, he performed an altar call and a lot of people answered it and went forward. Several people from the twelve step program we lead went forward and it was a wonderful experience watching the Holy Spirit work as people surrendered their hearts to God!
Have you surrendered your heart to God?
Blessings
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