Day 151 - 1 Kings 3-4; 2 Chronicles 1; Psalm 72

1 Kings 3

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

¹ Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem. ² The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD. ³ Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

⁴ The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ⁵ At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

⁶ Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

⁷ "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. ⁹ 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?"

¹⁰ The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. ¹¹ 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, ¹² 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. ¹³ Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. ¹⁴ And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life." ¹⁵ Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.
He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. ^a]">[a] Then he gave a feast for all his court.

A Wise Ruling

¹⁶ Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. ¹⁷ One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. ¹⁸ The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.

¹⁹ "During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. ²⁰ So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. ²¹ The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne."

²² The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours."
But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king.

²³ The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.' "

²⁴ Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. ²⁵ He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."

²⁶ The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!"
But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"

²⁷ Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."

²⁸ When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.

1 Kings 4

Solomon's Officials and Governors

¹ So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. ² And these were his chief officials:
Azariah son of Zadok—the priest;

³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud-recorder;

⁴ Benaiah son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;
Zadok and Abiathar-priests;

⁵ Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the district officers;
Zabud son of Nathan—a priest and personal adviser to the king;

⁶ Ahishar—in charge of the palace;
Adoniram son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.

⁷ Solomon also had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. ⁸ These are their names:
Ben-Hur—in the hill country of Ephraim;

⁹ Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan;

¹⁰ Ben-Hesed—in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher were his

¹¹ Ben-Abinadab—in Naphoth Dor ^b]">[b] (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon

¹² Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah across to Jokmeam;

¹³ Ben-Geber—in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead were his, as well as the district of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities with bronze gate bars

¹⁴ Ahinadab son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;

¹⁵ Ahimaaz—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon

¹⁶ Baana son of Hushai—in Asher and in Aloth;

¹⁷ Jehoshaphat son of Paruah—in Issachar;

¹⁸ Shimei son of Ela—in Benjamin;

¹⁹ Geber son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and the country of Og king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.

Solomon's Daily Provisions

²⁰ The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. ²¹ And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River ^c]">[c] to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's subjects all his life.

²² Solomon's daily provisions were thirty cors ^d]">[d] of fine flour and sixty cors ^e]">[e] of meal, ²³ ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. ²⁴ For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. ²⁵ During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.

²⁶ Solomon had four ^f]">[f] thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses. ^g]">[g]

²⁷ The district officers, each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king's table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. ²⁸ They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.

Solomon's Wisdom

²⁹ God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. ³⁰ Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹ He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. ³² He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. ³³ He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. ³⁴ Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Kings 3:15 Traditionally peace offerings
2. 1 Kings 4:11 Or in the heights of Dor
3. 1 Kings 4:21 That is, the Euphrates; also in verse 24
4. 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 185 bushels (about 6.6 kiloliters)
5. 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 375 bushels (about 13.2 kiloliters)
6. 1 Kings 4:26 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 9:25 Hebrew forty
7. 1 Kings 4:26 Or charioteers

2 Chronicles 1

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

¹ Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the LORD his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

² Then Solomon spoke to all Israel—to the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, to the judges and to all the leaders in Israel, the heads of families- ³ and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God's Tent of Meeting was there, which Moses the LORD's servant had made in the desert. ⁴ Now David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. ⁵ But the bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon in front of the tabernacle of the LORD; so Solomon and the assembly inquired of him there. ⁶ Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

⁷ That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

⁸ Solomon answered God, "You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

¹¹ God said to Solomon, "Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have."

¹³ Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from before the Tent of Meeting. And he reigned over Israel.

¹⁴ Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, ^a]">[a] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. ¹⁶ Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt ^b]">[b] and from Kue ^c]">[c]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. ¹⁷ They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels ^d]">[d] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. ^e]">[e] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Chronicles 1:14 Or charioteers
2. 2 Chronicles 1:16 Or possibly Muzur , a region in Cilicia; also in verse 17
3. 2 Chronicles 1:16 Probably Cilicia
4. 2 Chronicles 1:17 That is, about 15 pounds (about 7 kilograms)
5. 2 Chronicles 1:17 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds (about 1.7 kilograms)

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹ Endow the king with your justice, O God,
the royal son with your righteousness.

² He will ^a]">[a] judge your people in righteousness,
your afflicted ones with justice.

³ The mountains will bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.

⁴ He will defend the afflicted among the people
and save the children of the needy;
he will crush the oppressor.

⁵ He will endure ^b]">[b] as long as the sun,
as long as the moon, through all generations.

⁶ He will be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth.

⁷ In his days the righteous will flourish;
prosperity will abound till the moon is no more.

⁸ He will rule from sea to sea
and from the River ^c]">[c] to the ends of the earth. ^d]">[d]

⁹ The desert tribes will bow before him
and his enemies will lick the dust.

¹⁰ The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
will bring tribute to him;
the kings of Sheba and Seba
will present him gifts.

¹¹ All kings will bow down to him
and all nations will serve him.

¹² For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.

¹³ He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.

¹⁴ He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵ Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him
and bless him all day long.

¹⁶ Let grain abound throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills may it sway.
Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon;
let it thrive like the grass of the field.

¹⁷ May his name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun.
All nations will be blessed through him,
and they will call him blessed.

¹⁸ Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.

¹⁹ Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.

²⁰ This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 72:2 Or May he; similarly in verses 3-11 and 17
2. Psalm 72:5 Septuagint; Hebrew You will be feared
3. Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
4. Psalm 72:8 Or the end of the land