God Gives Solomon Wisdom
1 Kings 3
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After the death of King David, one of his sons, named Solomon, became king of Israel. But there was no temple built unto the Lord in those days. Solomon loved the LORD very much, and one night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream and God said "Ask what I shall give you" And Solomon answered "Give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, so I man know between good and bad" And the LORD was pleased by this, and he said "Because you have asked for this, and not for long life or riches, or for the death of your enemies, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart. And I also give you that which you did not ask for, both riches and honour. And if you walk in my ways, I will give you a longer life."
And when Solomon woke up, he went to Jerusalem and made offerings before the ark of the covenant, and made a big feast.
Now two women came to Solomon and stood before him. And one woman said "O my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a child in this house. And three days after my baby was born, this woman had a child also, we were the only ones in the house. And this woman's baby died in the night because she laid on top of it. And she got up at midnight, and took my son from beside me, and laid her dead child beside me. And when I got up in the morning to feed my baby, it was dead, but it was not my son that was born to me.
And the other woman said "No, but the living is MY son, and the dead is your son. And they argued back and forth as to whose child it was before King Solomon.
Then said King Solomon, "One says 'this is my son that lives, and your son is dead' and the other says 'no, but your son is dead, and my son is living'." And Solomon asked for a sword. And they brought a sword to him.
And Solomon said "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. Then spoke the woman whose the living child was to the king, for she loved her son so very much, and she said "O my lord, give her the living child, and in no way kill it." But the other said "Let it be neither yours or mine, but kill it."
Then the king said "Give her the living child, and in no way slay it, for she is the mother." And the baby was given to its own mother.
All all Israel heard of this judgment, and they feared the king because they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to judge them.
Memory Verse: 1 Kings 3:3 "And Solomon loved the LORD......"
Questions:
1. How did the LORD come
to Solomon?
2. What did Solomon ask for?
3. What did God give Solomon in addition to an understanding heart?
4. What did the mother do when her baby died?
5. Why do you think Solomon said he was going to divide the baby in half?
6. What did the baby's mother do?
7. What did Solomon do with the baby?
Answers:
1. At night in a dream
while Solomon was sleeping
2. An understanding heart so he could judge the people of Israel
3. Things he did not ask for, riches and honour
4. She put it with the mother whose baby was alive and pretended the
living baby was hers.
5. Because he knew the mother of the baby would want the baby to live
6. She told Solomon to give the baby to the other lady so it would live
7. He gave the baby to its real mother.
Vicki C. Gross
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