2. The method of it. Probably enough in dream, in one or other of the kinds of dream, with which Scripture makes us familiar; the deeper dream, or that which young Samuel's more resembled; or thinking in night's deep stillness, with all its unstinted retrospect of the day on which it had just closed. In brief, whatever the absolute fact was, it is not necessary to suppose that God appeared then any more literally or visibly than now sometimes to us, or that he appears any less really many a time to us.
3. The times; i.e. immediately upon Solomon's practical conduct, right conduct, devout and religious conduct, and conduct that drew in with itself the nature, the idea, the fact of public worship, public service, the action of the combined Church. To human works no merit belongs. They claim no worthiness of this kind. They cannot earn or deserve anything of God. Yet is it to be most distinctly and unequivocally noted how often God appears to view in connection with human works, interposes to aid and bless in the very crises or sequel of rightly intended human endeavour or bold deed. It is as though he would graciously ever associate his noblest, kindest, freest giving with our deeds, so that they be simple and sincere deeds, that these may be reacted upon at other times by the quickening, encouraging memory thereof. It is not simply written that "God appeared" in the night, but emphatically "in that night."
4. The object, or very matter of it. Astonishing to say, it is not to hear a petition, not to answer a petition, but positively to ask for a petition—to ask to be asked for some good gift. This, when projected upon the plain page of the Divine book, is recognized as amazing condescension; but it is nothing in excess of what is ever going on in God's dealings with us. It comes of the fulness of his overflowing goodness, of his natural liberality, and of his unfeigned forgiving-ness of spirit, to his erring family.
5. The contradiction couched in it, to the idea of human life, character, action, being based on any fatalistic scheme emanating from above. A man's own choice is here asked, elicited, challenged, acceded to, and granted! And herein, in all five particulars, we have but expressed in graphic parable the facts between God and human, individual life in all ages.
II. THE UNHESITATING PRAYER OF SOLOMON. There cannot be held to be any doubt that this prayer was approved, divinely approved, in what it contained. It cannot, perhaps, be asserted as positively that it "lacked nothing," and was as unchallengeable in what it did not contain. When we have travelled many a mile with Solomon, and have come to the latter milestones of his journey, thoughts make themselves a voice, and we fear that the prayer erred by defect. Let us take note first of what was incontestably good in it.
1. It found its spring in the sense of genuine responsibility—responsibility that had come from father to son, and more sacred and venerable for this; responsibility that was heightened by the memory of its being in matter that had. enlisted special Divine promise, and which promise must not be allowed to fall to the ground through lack of human co-operation; and responsibility because of the intrinsic nature of the subject in hand. Prayer thus rising to the surface is earnest, sincere, deep; and no doubt it was so now with Solomon.
2. It was prayer relatively high in its aim, by the expressed Divine admission and commendation here. "Wisdom and knowledge" were above "riches, wealth, honour, the life of enemies, or long life for self."
3. It was prayer for means, strength, grace to do duty, to be equal to the requirements of lofty duty, and duty that in its significance and its results looked far outside individual interest or individual interest and honour combined. The standpoint of duty is equally grand and momentous! There may be prayer for high possessions—possessions of knowledge and wisdom even, that have selfishness and ambition in them, but not a grain of grace or an atom of sense and love of duty, and acknowledging of solemn responsibility. Solomon's prayer stands in vivid contrast to this sort of thing. He prayed for wisdom and knowledge that he might fill his father's place worthily, his own place aright—"serve his generation by the will of God," and in thus doing "please God" himself!
4. It was prayer that failed to make provision for the highest, deepest, surest needs of all; viz. humility, personal, practical, preserving piety, ever "a clean heart" and the renewing ever of "a right spirit." Of these things, masked in the prayer, nothing is promised in its answer; and the sad clue may lie herein to much in Solomon's subsequent life. Thinking hereof, may we not lay it to heart for our own timely warning, when we are compelled to say of Solomon at this critical moment, "He left unprayed the things he ought to have prayed"?
III. THE ANSWER WITH PROMISE MADE BY GOD TO SOLOMON.
1. It expressly said to him, it reminds ourselves, how God knows the heart and measures prayer by the heart. "Because," he says, "this was in thy heart." There is many a prayer of the lip, of memory, of habit, of superstitious sentiment, of some vague feeling of duty, but the heart is far away, and from such prayers, so-called, God himself is equally far away.
2. God granted that petition, not simply because it was a heart's true desire, but because it was also "most expedient"—it was a true heart's true desire! It was "most expedient" for Solomon, for the high place he held, and "all Israel"—"thy people"—over whom he reigned.
3. God crowns the answer with promise as well. The precious thing granted by way of answer, incomparably the best thing by far, God wreathes with splendour—a splendour, he expressly says, unknown before, and hereafter never to be eclipsed! So, how often has it been that those who have with single eye, steadfast heart, sought first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, have found all other things added to them! So, how often has it been that "those who feared God" have found they "lacked no good thing"! And even earthly honour, earthly wealth, earthly good, have been bestowed with overflowing cup on those who could safely receive it, because they had shown they desired first, prayed first, for purer, higher good—the real, the right, the true, the lasting.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
2 Chronicles 1:1
A bright beginning.
It is far from being everything when we make a good beginning; for many a bright beginning has a very dark ending. Yet is it a very great advantage to start well on our course. Few men ever commenced their career under more favourable auspices than did King Solomon, when "he sat on the throne of the Lord as king, instead of David his father" (1 Chronicles 29:23). He had much to sustain and to encourage him.
I. THE HERITAGE HE HAD FROM HIS FATHER. It was much to him that he was "Solomon, the son of David." He was known to be the favourite son and chosen heir of his illustrious father. All the strong attachment which the people felt for the late (or the dying) sovereign went to establish his son upon the throne. Solomon acceded to the gathering and deepening affection which his father David had been winning to himself through a long and prosperous reign. All the influence which an honoured and beloved leader can convey to his successor was communicated to him: thus was he "strengthened in the kingdom."
II. CONSIDERABLE PERSONAL ADVANTAGES. "The Lord magnified him exceedingly." Taking this with the same expression (and the words that accompany it) in 1 Chronicles 29:25, we may safely infer that God had given him:
1. A noble and commanding presence, such as attracts and affects those who behold it (see Psalms 45:2).
2. A winning address, a bearing and demeanour which drew men to him and called forth their good will.
3. A mind of unusual capacity, an intellectual superiority that enabled him to acquit himself honourably in private and in public affairs. Thus was he "magnified exceedingly;" he was held in high honour, was "made great" in the estimation of all the people.
III. THE FAVOURING PRESENCE OF GOD. "The Lord his God was with him." How much is held and hidden in that simple phrase," God was with him" (see Genesis 21:22; Genesis 39:2; 1 Samuel 18:14)! It meant that God was with him to shield him from harm, to direct him in difficulty, to inspire him with wisdom, to sustain him in trial, to enrich him with every needful good. God was attending his steps and "laying his hand upon him."
We may say that this was not only a bright, but even a brilliant, beginning of the king's career. We cannot hope for a commencement like that; that is only granted to the few, to the very few indeed. This is true, but it is also true that to most if not to all men, certainly to those of us who have a knowledge of God in Christ Jesus, there is possible a bright beginning of active life. In all or nearly all cases there is:
1. A heritage from those who have gone before us. From our parents, from our forefathers, from the toil and struggle and suffering of our race, there comes to us a heritage of good. This may be material wealth; or, if not that, knowledge, truth, wisdom, precious thought in striking and powerful language, inspiring examples of heroic deeds and noble lives. If not sons of such fathers as David, we are the children of privilege, we are "the heirs of all the ages."
2. Some personal advantages; either in bodily skill, or in address, or in mental equipment, or in strength of will, or in force of character.
3. God's gracious and favouring presence. For if we are "reconciled to him by the death of his Son," we may most surely count on the promise that he will be "with us;" with us not only to observe our course and mark our life, but to direct our ways, to "strengthen" us in our sphere, however humble our kingdom may be—to make our life fruitful of good and blessing, to enrich us with much pure and elevating joy, to guide us to the goal and to the prize. Let us but yield ourselves to him whose we are, and to that service where our freedom and our duty alike are found, and ours will be a bright beginning that shall have promise of a still fairer and brighter ending.—C.
2 Chronicles 1:3-5
The ark and the altar; obedience and sacrifice.
How came it to pass that the ark was in one place, and the tabernacle and the brazen altar in another? How did it happen that the ark was in Jerusalem, and the altar of sacrifice at Gibeon? Surely they should have been together. So it was originally ordained; so it was at the beginning; and that was the final disposition. There was something irregular and not according to the commandment in the arrangement described in the text. It is difficult to understand how such a departure from the Divine plan could exist in a dispensation in which careful and even minute conformity to detail was accounted a virtue. The connection and the disconnection of these two institutions may suggest to us—
I. OUR TWOFOLD OBLIGATION AS SYMBOLIZED BY THE ARK AND THE ALTAR.
1. Of these one is worship or sacrifice. Men approached the altar of Jehovah with their gifts or sacrifices, and they then came consciously into his presence; they brought their oblations to him; they made a direct appeal to him for his mercy and his blessing. This forms one part; and a large part, of the obligation under which we rest toward God. Jew or Gentile, under any dispensation whether old or new, we are sacredly bound to draw near to God in reverent worship, to bring to him our pure and our costly offerings, to entreat of him his Divine favour, to pay unto him our vows.
2. The other is obedience. The ark contained the sacred tables of the Law on which were written by the hand of Moses the ten commandments. This was the great treasure of the ark, and it was always associated with these two tables; it was, therefore, the symbol of obedience. Both Jew and Gentile are under the very strongest bonds to "obey the voice of the Lord," "to keep his commandments," to do that which is right in his sight, and to shun all those things which he has condemned.
II. OUR TEMPTATION. We are often tempted to do in life and in fact what was pictured here—to put a distance between the altar and the ark, between worship and obedience. Too often there is a very wide gap, even a deep gulf, between the two. One man makes everything of forms of devotion, and nothing of purity and excellence of conduct. Another makes everything of behaviour, and nothing of worship. We are led, either by the current of the time or by the inclination of our own individual tem- perament, to go off in one direction and to leave the highway of Divine wisdom; to exaggerate one aspect of truth and to depreciate another; to put asunder what God has joined together and meant to go together. And this exaggeration, this separation, ends in error, in faultiness, in serious departure from the mind and the will of God.
III. OUR WISDOM. As, later on, the ark and the altar were reunited, as they both stood within the precincts of the temple, and spoke of the vital connection between sacrifice and obedience, so should we see to it that, if there has been any separation of these two elements of piety in our experience, there should be a reunion and, in future, the closest association.
1. The habit of obedience should include the act of worship; for worship is one of those things which God has enjoined.
2. Each act of obedience should spring from the impulse which worship fosters—a desire to please and honour the present and observant Lord.
3. Worship should lead up to and end in obedience; for "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" The devotion that ends in service, in purity, in truthfulness, in fidelity, in self-forgetting kindness, is after the mind of Jesus Christ. Let the ark never be far from the altar, but worship and obedience be always in close companionship.—C.
2 Chronicles 1:7-12
The Divine responsiveness, etc.
From the interesting scene described in these verses (more fully in 1 Kings 3:1-28.) we may glean some lasting truths.
I. THAT WE MAY CONFIDENTLY RECKON ON THE DIVINE RESPONSIVENESS. Solomon went to Gibeon with "all the congregation," in very great state, to seek the Lord there, and there he offered abundant sacrifices (2 Chronicles 1:6). And God responded to his act of piety by seeking him, by coming to him and making him a gracious and generous offer. Without any state, in lowliest obscurity, we may repair to the quiet and solitary place, and there seek God; and there, too, he will seek us and manifest himself to us, and he will bless and enrich us also. There is an unfailing and a large responsiveness in "him with whom we have to do."
II. THAT GOD HAS MANY WAYS OF ACCESS TO HIS CHILDREN. (2 Chronicles 1:7.) In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon "in a dream by night" (1 Kings 3:5). At other times he appeared to his servants in a vision in their wakeful hours (Exodus 3:2; Isaiah 6:1). Our Lord was seen by the Apostle Paul under circumstances that were unique (Acts 9:1-43.), and subsequently he manifested himself in other ways to his servant. God has access to us—his children—in many ways. At any time he may "lay his hand upon us;" he may make known his will to us. It is our wisdom to expect it; it is our duty to pray and to look for it.
Ill. THAT SOLOMON SHOWED A DEEPER WISDOM THAN ANY HE ASKED GOD TO GIVE HIM. He asked for "wisdom and knowledge" (2 Chronicles 1:10); and the wisdom he asked for was cleverness, penetration, political sagacity, subtlety of mind to read the thoughts of men, readiness to see at once what was the expedient policy to adopt, range of human learning. All this was valuable, and much to be desired; but all of this together was not wisdom of so deep and precious a kind as that shown by Solomon in making the choice he made. To ask for that gift which would enable him to fill well the sphere in which Divine providence had placed him,—this was better than all possible intellectual equipments. No learning, no talent, no genius, is of such value and importance as the spirit of fidelity. Everything else without that will leave life a failure and make man a guilty being. But to be possessed with the spirit of faithfulness, to be supremely desirous of taking the part and doing the work to which God has called us,—this is the true success, and this will end in well-being of a pure and lasting kind.
IV. THAT WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED TO MAINTAIN AND EVEN TO ENLARGE THE HERITAGE WE HAVE RECEIVED. (2 Chronicles 1:8.) Solomon evidently felt deeply impressed, if not oppressed, with the thought that his father, David, had left a very great and serious charge in his hands, and he was rightly anxious that it should be well maintained. It becomes us, as members of. a family, as citizens of the nation, to consider what we have inherited from those who have gone before us—from their labours and sufferings and prayers, and to ask ourselves what we are about to do to guard and to strengthen, and, if it may be so, to enlarge and enrich that precious legacy.
V. THAT IF WE SEEK THE BEST WE SHALL FIND MORE THAN WE SEEK. (2 Chronicles 1:11, 2 Chronicles 1:12.) Solomon's happy experience of God's graciousness is very far indeed from being singular. We may all participate here. If we seek rightness of soul with him we shall find it, end not only that, but a profound and most blessed peace of mind as well. If we seek purity of heart, we shall find what we seek, and happiness beside. If we seek the good of others we shall secure that end, and we shall at the same time be building up our own Christian character. Pursue the very best. and with the best of all will come that which is good, that which is not the highest, but which we shall be very glad to have and to enjoy.—C.
2 Chronicles 1:7
God's offer to the young.
"What a splendid and enviable position!" we are inclined to say; "one removed from ours by the whole breadth of fortune. How utterly unlike the conditions under which we freed ourselves to-day!" But is it so? Is there not, on the other hand, quite as much of comparison as of contrast between the position of the young sovereign and our own, as we look forward to the future that awaits us? Does not God say to each one of us, "Ask what I shall give thee?"
I. THERE IS A NOBLE FUTURE IN FRONT OF US. Only a very small fraction of mankind may look for royalty or high rank, for large wealth or extensive power. But it is highly probable that if this were our lot, we should envy those who, in hummer spheres, were saved the many penalties of prominence and power. And, apart from this, there is a very true heritage which is open to us all. More or less at our command. are—beginning at the bottom of the scale, and moving upwards:
1. Bodily comforts; and these lowest gratifications are the more worthy and lasting as they are more pure and moderate.
2. Human friendship—domestic love, the sweet and sacred ties of the heart and the home.
3. Mental activity—the intellectual enjoyment which comes from the observation of the works of God and the mastery of the works of men; all the keen, strong, elevating delights of the active mind.
4. The service of God, the friendship of Jesus Christ; thus realizing the end and attaining the true satisfaction of our being.
5. Working with God; out-working with him the great redemptive scheme he has designed and is effecting.
6. A high and happy place in the heavenly kingdom. Such large and noble heritage God offers to give the children of men, whether born in a palace or in a cottage.
II. GOD MAKES THIS OFFER ON CONDITIONS. His offer to Solomon was not absolutely unconditional; he would not have been the wise or learned man he became if he had not studied; nor the rich man he became if he had been a mere spendthrift, etc. God is too kind to any of his children to grant them his gifts without attaching Conditions which must be fulfilled. He says, "Here is my gift, but you must ask me for it; and the way to ask for it is to fulfil the conditions on which I bestow it. Shall I give you temporal prosperity? ask for it by being diligent, temperate, civil, faithful. Shall I give you human love, the esteem of those around you? ask for it by being virtuous, honourable, generous, amiable. Shall I give you knowledge, wisdom? ask for it by being studious. Shall I give you eternal life? ask for it by fulfilling the conditions on which it is promised—repentance toward God, and faith in Jesus Christ. Ask what I shall give you; take the course which you know is the one constant antecedent of my bestowal."
III. EVERYTHING HANGS ON THE WISDOM OF OUR CHOICE.
1. It is sad to think that many go through life without caring to accept God's challenge at all; they pass through a life charged with precious opportunities, freighted with golden chances, never caring to inquire how much they may make of the life that is slipping through their hands.
2. Others deliberately choose the lower good; they ask for comfort, for pleasure, for gratification, for abundance of earthly good, or for nothing higher than human love.
3. Our wisdom is to ask God for the highest good; for the diamond, and not the granite; for the cup that heals, and not for that which soothes; for the key that opens to the rich treasury, and not that which unlocks only a cabinet of curiosities; for that which will make the heart pure and holy, and the life noble and useful, and which will make death to be lighted up with a glorious hope;—to ask for heavenly wisdom and eternal life. We should ask for the best because it is the best and highest; and also because, as with Solomon, it commands the lower good as well (2 Chronicles 1:11, 2 Chronicles 1:12). Let us seek first the kingdom of God, because that is the one good, the supreme thing to seek, and also because other and lower things are added to it (Matthew 6:33).—C.
2 Chronicles 1:13-17
From the altar to the throne.
A great step was now taken. Solomon, the young man, mounted the throne of his father David; in so doing he assumed the function of one who had behind him a large and varied experience, and who had above and around him the assured and proved loving-kindness of God. Solomon began his reign most promisingly. We gather—
I. THAT HE DID WELL TO STEP TO THE THRONE FROM THE ALTAR. He came "from before the tabernacle … and reigned" (2 Chronicles 1:13). There could have been no place so suitable as that where Jehovah was worshipped from which to ascend to kingly power. There is no resort so good as the throne of grace, from which we can ascend any throne of authority or power to-day. It is well, indeed, to pass from intercourse with God to association with men and to the conduct of human affairs. The visit to the house of the Lord, fellowship with Christ at his table or in our own chamber, will give a calmness of spirit, an unselfishness of aim, and a steadfastness of principle which will go far to qualify us for the difficult duties and heavy burdens and the serious battles of daily life.
II. THAT ONE MAN MAY HOLD IN HIS HAND THE WELL-BEING OF MANY. Solomon "reigned over Israel." In those days reigning meant governing. And though the Hebrew monarchy was not actually absolute, it was invested with great power. A good sovereign wrought great blessings, and a bad one caused terrible evils to his country. Great power, in the shape of royal authority, has passed or is passing away. But still men "reign'" over others—lead, direct, rule, influence, mightily affect them for good or evil. Very great power has the statesman, the preacher, the poet, the principal, the teacher. The possession of power is usually esteemed a thing to be greatly coveted. But it is as full of solemn responsibility as it is of noble opportunity; it calls for a deep sense of obligation and accountability; also for peculiar prayerfulness of spirit and of habit. Humble and not proud, conscious of dependence on God and not self-sufficient, should be the man of high position and commanding influence.
III. THAT AFFLUENCE MAY BE A GOOD SIGN, BUT IT IS A PERILOUS CONDITION. All those instances of national prosperity related in the text—the abundance of horses and chariots, and of gold and silver, the cultivation of choice trees, etc.—were signs that Jehovah was favouring the land, and that Solomon was fulfilling his early promise. But affluence, whether individual or national, is a dangerous condition. It tends to luxury; and luxury leads only too often to sloth and self-indulgence; and these lead straight to wrong-doing and impiety. It is "a slippery place," where a few can walk without stumbling, but where the many slip. and fall.
1. Envy not the greatly prosperous; plenteousness of gold and silver may impoverish the soul while it enriches the treasury.
2. Care much, care most, for the abundance of Christian truth, of sterling principle, of generous helpfulness.—C.
HOMILIES BY T. WHITELAW
2 Chronicles 1:1-6
The beginning of a reign.
I. THE KING'S PERSON MAGNIFIED.
1. The owner of an auspicious name—Solomon, "Peace," equivalent to Friederich or Frederick Perhaps
2. The son of a distinguished father—David. Originally a Bethlehem shepherd-lad (1 Samuel 16:1), Jesse's youngest son climbed the giddy heights of fame with marvellous celerity and success, becoming in swift succession a brilliant warrior, a skilful harper, an agreeable courtier, a popular leader, a trusted sovereign, a sweet singer, a devout psalmist, a far-seeing prophet. Possessed of almost every qualification requisite to render him the idol of his fellows, he found the pathway of greatness easier to tread than do men of smaller stature and less-gifted soul. To have been the son of such a sire was no mean honour to Solomon, though it entailed upon him correspondingly large responsibility; while, if it multiplied his chances of achieving in the future a similar distinction for himself, it no less certainly created for him difficulties from which otherwise he might have been exempt.
3. The heir of a prosperous empire—Israel. The kingdom inherited by Solomon had been carved by the sword of David. The Philistines had been driven back to their plains, retaining, however, the strongholds of Gath and Gezer at the edge of the hill country. The capital of the Ammonites, Rabbah, had been taken, and the census embraced all the Holy Land from Beersheba to Sidon, ruled by the king at Jerusalem".
4. The representative of a Divine Superior—Jehovah. Solomon ascended David's throne by Divine right, because by Divine grace and for Divine ends (Psalms 2:6). Solomon was Jehovah's vassal, and held his regal power only on condition of ruling in Jehovah's name and for Jehovah's glory (2 Samuel 22:3). If Solomon was Israel's king, Jehovah was Solomon's.
II. THE KING'S THRONE ESTABLISHED.
1. By removal of his enemies. In particular by the execution of three dangerous characters.
2. By the union of his subjects. As yet the empire was undivided. The ten tribes still adhered to the house of David. "All Israel obeyed him, and all the princes and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of King David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king" (1 Chronicles 29:23, 1 Chronicles 29:24).
3. By the help of his God. "The Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly." As Divine grace set, so Divine power kept him on the throne. Without Heaven's favour and assistance kings just as little as common men can prosper. As Jehovah giveth the kingdom to whomsoever he will (Daniel 4:25), so through him alone can kings reign (Proverbs 8:15). He also removeth and setteth up kings (Daniel 2:21); yea, the hearts of kings are in his hand (Proverbs 21:1). Jehovah was with Solomon in virtue of the promise made to David (2 Samuel 7:12), and because of the piety which still distinguished himself (2 Chronicles 1:6; cf. 2 Chronicles 15:2). This was the true secret of Solomon's prosperity upon the throne no less than of Joseph's in the prison (Genesis 39:2).
III. THE KING'S ALLEGIANCE TENDERED.
1. Before the tabernacle of the Lord. This then at Gibeon, five miles north-west of Jerusalem. Originally a Canaanitish royal city (Joshua 9:17; Joshua 10:2), and afterwards the scene of a clever fraud perpetrated upon Joshua by its inhabitants, as well as of a bloody battle in their defence (Joshua 10:1-14), it latterly became in David's time, because of the presence of the tabernacle, a Levitical city with a high place presided over by Zadok and his brethren (1 Chronicles 16:39). Thither accordingly Solomon repaired to inaugurate his reign by professing fealty and submission to the King of kings.
2. With the offering of sacrifice. Within the tabernacle court stood the brazen altar of Bezaleel (Exodus 38:1), upon which were offered a thousand burnt offerings—a magnificent service, even for a king, and symbolic of
3. "In the presence of his people. "All the congregation," in its representatives, "went with him to the high place at Gibeon." Not ashamed of his religion, Solomon acknowledged his dependence on and submission to Jehovah in the most public manner. So are kings, princes, subjects, all men, expected to confess God and Christ before men (Matthew 10:32).
Learn:
1. The value of a good beginning, in business as in religion.
2. The need of Divine assistance in all undertakings.
3. The propriety of consecrating all to God in youth.
4. The possibility of declining from early faith.
5. The duty of never being ashamed of religion.
6. The melancholy fact that good men may do doubtful actions.
7. The beauty and propriety of social worship.—W.
2 Chronicles 1:7-12
A young king's choice.
I. THE PERMISSION GRANTED TO SOLOMON. "Ask what I shall give thee." Granted:
1. By whom? God (Elohim), the Giver par excellence, of whom David had said, "All things come of thee" (1 Chronicles 29:14); "The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord" (Psalms 33:5); and whom a New Testament writer describes as "the Father of lights," etc. (James 1:5, James 1:17). The invitation here accorded to Solomon, after the manner of Oriental monarchs (Esther 5:6; Esther 9:12; Matthew 14:7), was and is pre-eminently after the manner of the King of kings (Matthew 7:7; James 1:5). Christ extends the same to his followers: "If ye shall ask anything in my Name, I will do it" (John 14:14; cf. John 16:23, John 16:24).
2. When? "In that night;" i.e. after the day in which Solomon had been offering sacrifice—not without significance. God is not likely to appear at night, at least in grace, to them who have been unmindful of him throughout the day.
3. How? In a dream-vision (1 Kings 3:5), which, however, warrants not the deduction that the incident had no solid basis of reality, and that here is only the record of a dream. Even were this correct, it would not be without value as showing the current and tenor of Solomon's thoughts and feelings during the preceding day. Men seldom have pleasant dreams of God upon their midnight couches who have not had him in their thoughts all their waking hours. Yet that in Solomon's dream were a veritable manifestation of God to his soul, and a bona fide transaction of asking and answering, of giving and receiving, is proved by the fact that Solomon obtained what he asked.
4. Why? To prove what was in Solomon's heart, to test whether the ceremonies of the preceding day had been the outcome and expression of a genuinely devout soul, to ascertain whether he had ascended the throne with a clear grasp of the situation, whether he knew what he most required for the successful execution of his kingly office. So God still tests his people and men in general by extending to them a similar permission to that he gave Solomon (Matthew 7:7), and by occasionally in his providence bringing them into situations where they must choose, as Solomon was invited to do, what they shall have as their chief good.
II. THE REQUEST PREFERRED BY SOLOMON. "Give me now wisdom and knowledge."
1. The purport of this request. If "wisdom "and" knowledge" are to be distinguished, which is doubtful, the former will be the general and the latter the particular, the former the principle the latter the application, the former the root the latter the fruit (cf. Proverbs 8:12; Ephesians 1:17); "wisdom," the soul's capacity for seeing truth and discerning its adaptations to the particular exigencies of life; "knowledge," that truth as apprehended and possessed by the soul. Solomon craved the spirit of wisdom, that with clear and single vision he might "see" God's will concerning himself in every situation in his future career, and the faculty of apprehension that he might always know what that will required him to do. No prayer could have been more appropriate in his lips at the important juncture in life at which he stood. No prayer could better befit any one at any juncture. The prime necessities of the soul are—an eye to see and light to see with, a capacity to find out and comprehend God's will concerning itself (Psalms 143:8). The Gentiles walk in the vanity of their minds, through the ignorance that is in them (Ephesians 4:18). God's people go astray mostly through defect of knowledge (Isaiah 5:13; 1 Corinthians 15:34).
2. The reason of this request. Solomon, conscious of inexperience and inability to discharge the duties of the kingly office, felt he could not rightly "go out and come in before" or "adequately judge" so great a people as Israel. A hopeful sign for Solomon it was that he knew and was willing to confess his want of wisdom and knowledge. As the first step towards holiness is to acknowledge sin, so the first genuine movement in the direction of self-improvement of any kind is the admission of defect. Solomon confessed himself a little child, who knew not how to go out or come in (1 Kings 1:7), and Tennyson in similar language depicts the natural condition of the race—
"Behold, we know not anything;
So runs my dream; but what am I?
An infant crying in the night,
An infant crying for the light,
And with no language but a cry."
('In Memoriam,' 54.)
It is doubtful, however, if that expresses the mood of any but the loftier spirits. When souls begin to cry for light they are no longer absolutely blind, but have become conscious of and are pained by the darkness.
3. The plea of this request. Not that he was a great man's son, and indeed a great man himself, at least in social position, or that his youth had been virtuously spent, and that he was even then piously inclined; but that God had graciously covenanted with David his father, promising to be a father to David's son, and to establish David's throne for ever (2 Samuel 7:12-16). So with no plea but that of grace, and no argument but that of God's covenant with men on the ground of Christ's sacrifice, need suppliants on any errand approach the throne of God.