“In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” 2 Chronicles 1:7
If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?
If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for? (You can’t ask for unlimited wishes.)
I think that most of us have played this game before. It is an insightful game to play. It has the tendency to reveal what a person perceives as their source of contentment. My wife’s grandfather, Grandpa Buck, was playing this game with his daughter. His wish was to buy the largest tractor and plow and plow the world. He loved to watch soil roll under the edge of a good plow. He was a true farmer at heart and that was reflected in his source of contentment.
Most of us will never win the lottery or be granted a wish so it remains a game.
Solomon had a very unique experience. Solomon had the opportunity to play this game for real. God allowed him one wish. The God of all creation allowed Solomon to ask what He should give to him. That is a big request. I think that it is a revealing request. I think that what he chose revealed his greatest insecurity at the time. His father, David, said of Solomon, “my son, whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God.” David understood that the construction of the temple was going to be a significant challenge for any person and particularly for a person who was young and inexperienced. Solomon was probably more aware of the challenge than most as he walked through the large quantities of building materials that his father had stored up and the number of craftsmen that were awaiting his command.
What would you ask for if you had such a challenge as Solomon’s?
Solomon asked for “wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” That request makes sense from a person who has just become king and has the task of constructing a temple for God and is probably insecure in his abilities. We also need to remember that the transition from David to Solomon was not without a challenge from his brother Adonijah.
I wonder if Solomon wasted his wish. I realize that God blessed his wish and his wish was much better than many other things that he could have asked for but I still wonder if there was a better wish that he could have made. I wonder if Solomon at the end of his days looked back and wished that he had chosen better.
I don’t think David would have picked wisdom and knowledge for his son. That is not what he had prayed for his son. David prayed, “Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provisions.” (1 Chronicles 29:19) David did not tell his son to seek out wisdom and understanding. David told Solomon, “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.”(1 Chronicles 28:9)
David knew that all men’s greatest source of contentment comes from God. Every man’s greatest need is a whole heart and a willing mind that seeks after God.
Consider if Solomon’s request would have been the same as his father’s. The downfall of Solomon was his wayward heart. He retained all his wisdom and knowledge, yet his kingdom was ripped apart. The granting of his request did not work out like he would have hoped.
Solomon’s many wives turned away his heart. (1 Kings 11:3) He did not have a whole heart for God and he did what was evil in the sight of God and did not wholly follow the Lord (1 Kings 11:6). God tore the kingdom apart because of Solomon’s divided heart.
David’s prayer was a better request.
If Solomon had made David’s request for a heart and mind that wholly and willingly served God, I don’t think Solomon’s reign would have ended as it did. Solomon’s problem was not a lack of experience. It was not a lack of wisdom and understanding of the principles of governing people. Solomon’s primary problem, like every person’s, was a divided heart. David knew that.
Solomon thought that contentment would be found in wisdom, knowledge, and ruling his people well. One only needs to read Ecclesiastes to realize that Solomon did not find contentment in any of that. He concluded that it was all vanities.
David knew that our contentment was created in such a way that there is only one thing that will satisfy it. Contentment will only be realized when it is matched with it’s maker, God. Man’s greatest need is for a whole heart and willing mind that seeks after God.
Where is your heart and mind? Is your heart divided like Solomon’s? Is your mind reluctant and resistant to serving God? What have you been asking God for?
Jesus told us that all we have to do is ask him. Have your requests been more like Solomon’s or David’s?
May we not make the same mistake as Solomon and choose the request that matches our immediate insecurities. Let’s be making the better request. Let’s ask God to grant us a whole heart – a heart totally devoted – and a willing mind that will address our greatest need.
PRAYER: Lord, you know that I have prayed for wisdom and knowledge many times. I need wisdom and knowledge. However, You know that is not my greatest need. You know that my greatest problem is my divided heart and unwilling mind. Father, grant me a heart that is wholly yours; that wholly follows You; that wholly wants You. Grant me a mind that willingly seeks You; that willingly serves you; that willingly is set upon you. Make me a man who is wholly yours. Amen
A DEVOTED LIFE 