Why King Solomon Asked God for Wisdom
When you search the name “King Solomon” on the internet, the next phrase you’ll see is something about the king who asked God for wisdom and became the wisest and richest man to ever live in the Old Testament days. However, there is much more to Solomon than his riches and wealth. But before we talk about how he became the wisest and richest king, let's go back to who Solomon was before his wisdom and wealth.
Solomon was the son of King David and Bathsheba, the former wife of Uriah whom David had killed to cover his infidelity while he was on the battlefront. Among King David’s children, Solomon was the only one to become king. When his half-brother tried to take the throne from him, his mother went on his behalf and spoke to King David about the vow he had made that Solomon would become king. Based on how the monarchy works, Solomon wasn’t supposed to be king but David made a vow that couldn’t be reversed and this earned Solomon his place in the palace.
Do you know Solomon didn’t have to ask God for wisdom?
He didn’t have to ask God for wisdom because he was born into a wealthy family. He didn’t lack anything, he was comfortable, his position for the throne was already secured because of a vow his father made, and him asking for wisdom shows he was smart already. But even if he never became king he would have still had inheritances from his father who was known to be the richest king in Israel. So he had more reason not to ask for wisdom, yet he did.
However, research shows that his father taught him core values and reminded him of the covenant over his life and this helped him excel and stay grounded at the beginning of his journey. The bible records this conversation was the last King David had with Solomon before he died in 1 Kings 2:3-4 (NLT), which reads:
“Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.”
How Solomon Became a Wise King
The bible highlights that Solomon loved the Lord and he followed in his father's ways. David was a man after God’s heart; and since Solomon was heavily influenced by his father; he was encouraged to love God. As a show of his affection for God, Solomon went up to worship at Mount Gibeon where he made a big sacrifice of 1,000 burnt offerings. After that making that sacrifice, he had an encounter with God in his dream where God asked him what he wanted and this was his response:
“You showed great and faithful love to your servant, my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” — 1 Kings 3:10-14
This response pleased the Lord so much that he told Solomon he would give him more than wisdom, he would also give him wealth.
“The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”
The more I read King Solomon’s story, I ask myself questions in the third person like “If you were in Solomon’s shoes, what would you do? What would you ask for?”
Honestly, I don’t know what my answer would be but it’s interesting that he asked for wisdom when it seems like he was already wise because only a wise person would ask for wisdom. Only someone who is intentional, thoughtful, and has a goal in mind would ask for wisdom. We don’t know how old he was when he became king, but research shows he was likely young. So it’s interesting to see a young king like Solomon asking for wisdom. I believe his father's last words about keeping God’s covenant were a guiding force for his life. So, when he became king, he knew and understood that he had a big role to play.
Although he started very well and is still known as the wisest man to ever live to date, his story ended up with him forgetting God’s covenant for his life. He went on to marry women who were foreigners which was against God’s law for his people. This can be attributed to his young age, and the excesses of wealth, to an extent but whatever the issue was I believe there’s so much we can learn from King Solomon’s life, especially from how he started his journey.
How does King Solomon’s story apply to you?
In this day and age, there’s a common theme around young people: we sometimes like to take matters into our own hands. We’re focusing a lot on self and not the bigger picture. And that’s not a great way to live life.
Matthew Henry Commentary on 1 Kings 3 puts it this way: Let young people learn to prefer grace to gold in all that they choose, because godliness has the promise of the life that now is but the life that now is has not the promise of godliness.
King Solomon cracked the code to living life, but unfortunately, he got carried away along the line. The code King Solomon cracked to living life is called godliness. Everything you need, or are looking for, is in God because all he asked for was wisdom and yet God added wealth and long life.
The Bible even highlights that God was pleased with Solomon’s request, which means there was something very peculiar about King Solomon’s prayer. King Solomon’s prayer was more than him asking for a wise heart, it was more about him admitting that he is like a child and doesn’t know his way around. That was Solomon telling God, “I'm depending on you. I am not depending on my own strength and ability to live my life. I need you.”
Solomon was already wise enough to realise that he needed God and the wisdom that comes from God to truly make it through life. His prayer was a reflection of his love for God and understanding that he is nothing without God.
“The starting point for acquiring wisdom
is to be consumed with awe as you worship Yahweh.
To receive the revelation of the Holy One,
you must come to the one who has living-understanding.”
— Proverbs 9:10 (TPT)
King Solomon was already wise, to an extent, before he even asked for wisdom because he knew and acknowledged God's covenant for his life. His understanding of who God is prompted him to ask God for more wisdom.
As young people , we have to admit that we don’t have it all figured out. We need God. . We have to acknowledge who God is to us as we spend time in prayer and worship. We have to seek his direction as we make big and small decisions. We should approach life with the mindset that we do not own our lives, and there is someone greater than us who steers the ship.
Just like David told Solomon there was a covenant speaking over his life, so it is with you and I. God wants each of us, his children, to walk in covenant with him. Your covenant walk with God will be different from mine. His relationship with each of us is unique. But all you need to do is get to know more about him and you’ll learn his covenant for your life. This is the starting point of getting wisdom or becoming wise; it’s a posture of surrendering to the one whose way is greater than yours.
Get wisdom.