mh_parser/vol_split/11 - 1Kings/Chapter 3.xml

<div2 id="iKi.iv" n="iv" next="iKi.v" prev="iKi.iii" progress="52.02%" title="Chapter III">
<h2 id="iKi.iv-p0.1">F I R S T   K I N G S</h2>
<h3 id="iKi.iv-p0.2">CHAP. III.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="iKi.iv-p1">Solomon's reign looked bloody in the foregoing
chapter, but the necessary acts of justice must not be called
cruelty; in this chapter it appears with another face. We must not
think the worse of God's mercy to his subjects for his judgments on
rebels. We have here, I. Solomon's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter,
<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.1" parsed="|1Kgs|3|1|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:1">ver. 1</scripRef>. II. A general view
of his religion, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.2-1Kgs.3.4" parsed="|1Kgs|3|2|3|4" passage="1Ki 3:2-4">ver. 2-4</scripRef>.
III. A particular account of his prayer to God for wisdom, and the
answer to that prayer, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.5-1Kgs.3.15" parsed="|1Kgs|3|5|3|15" passage="1Ki 3:5-15">ver.
5-15</scripRef>. IV. A particular instance of his wisdom in
deciding the controversy between the two harlots, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.16-1Kgs.3.28" parsed="|1Kgs|3|16|3|28" passage="1Ki 3:16-28">ver. 16-28</scripRef>. And very great he
looks here, both at the altar and on the bench, and therefore on
the bench because at the altar.</p>
<scripCom id="iKi.iv-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3" parsed="|1Kgs|3|0|0|0" passage="1Ki 3" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="iKi.iv-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.1-1Kgs.3.4" parsed="|1Kgs|3|1|3|4" passage="1Ki 3:1-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Kgs.3.1-1Kgs.3.4">
<h4 id="iKi.iv-p1.7">Solomon Marries Pharaoh's
Daughter. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.iv-p1.8">b. c.</span> 1014.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iKi.iv-p2">1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of
Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city
of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and
the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.iv-p2.1">Lord</span>, and the wall
of Jerusalem round about.   2 Only the people sacrificed in
high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.iv-p2.2">Lord</span>, until those days.   3 And
Solomon loved the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.iv-p2.3">Lord</span>, walking in
the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt
incense in high places.   4 And the king went to Gibeon to
sacrifice there; for that <i>was</i> the great high place: a
thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p3">We are here told concerning Solomon,</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p4">I. Something that was unquestionably good,
for which he is to be praised and in which he is to be imitated. 1.
He <i>loved the Lord,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.3" parsed="|1Kgs|3|3|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>. Particular notice was taken of God's love to him,
<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.24" parsed="|2Sam|12|24|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:24">2 Sam. xii. 24</scripRef>. He had his
name from it: <i>Jedidiah—beloved of the Lord.</i> And here we
find he returned that love, as John, the beloved disciple, was most
full of love. Solomon was a wise man, a rich man; yet the brightest
encomium of him is that which is the character of all the saints,
even the poorest, He <i>loved the Lord,</i> so the Chaldee; all
that love God love his worship, love to hear from him and speak to
him, and so to have communion with him. 2. He <i>walked in the
statutes of David his father,</i> that is, in the statutes that
David gave him, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.2.2-1Kgs.2.3" parsed="|1Kgs|2|2|2|3" passage="1Ki 2:2,3"><i>ch.</i> ii. 2,
3</scripRef>; <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.28.9-1Chr.28.10" parsed="|1Chr|28|9|28|10" passage="1Ch 28:9,10">1 Chron. xxviii. 9,
10</scripRef> (his dying father's charge was sacred, and as a law
to him), or in God's statutes, which David his father walked in
before him; he kept close to God's ordinances, carefully observed
them and diligently attended them. Those that truly<i> love God</i>
will make conscience of <i>walking in his statutes.</i> 3. He was
very free and generous in what he did for the honour of God. When
he offered sacrifice he offered like a king, in some proportion to
his great wealth, a <i>thousand burnt-offerings,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.4" parsed="|1Kgs|3|4|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. Where God sows
plentifully he expects to reap accordingly; and those that truly
love God and his worship will not grudge the expenses of their
religion. We may be tempted to say, <i>To what purpose is this
waste?</i> Might not these cattle have been given to the poor? But
we must never think that wasted which is laid out in the service of
God. It seems strange how so many beasts should be burnt upon one
altar in one feast, though it continued seven days; but the fire on
the altar is supposed to be more quick and devouring than common
fire, for it represented that fierce and mighty wrath of God which
fell upon the sacrifices, that the offerers might escape. <i>Our
God is a consuming fire.</i> Bishop Patrick quotes it as a
tradition of the Jews that the smoke of the sacrifices ascended
directly in a straight pillar, and was not scattered, otherwise it
would have choked those that attended, when so many sacrifices were
offered as were here.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p5">II. Here is something concerning which it
may be doubted whether it was good or no. 1. His marrying Pharaoh's
daughter, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.1" parsed="|1Kgs|3|1|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. We
will suppose she was proselyted, otherwise the marriage would not
have been lawful; yet, if so, surely it was not advisable. He that
<i>loved the Lord</i> should, for his sake, have fixed his love
upon one of the Lord's people. Unequal matches of the sons of God
with the daughters of men have often been of pernicious
consequence; yet some think that he did this with the advice of his
friends, that she was a sincere convert (for the gods of the
Egyptians are not reckoned among the strange gods which his strange
wives drew him in to the worship of, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.11.5-1Kgs.11.6" parsed="|1Kgs|11|5|11|6" passage="1Ki 11:5,6"><i>ch.</i> xi. 5, 6</scripRef>), and that the book of
<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.1" parsed="|Song|1|1|0|0" passage="Cant 1:1">Canticles</scripRef> and the <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.1-Ps.45.17" parsed="|Ps|45|1|45|17" passage="Ps 45:1-17">45th Psalm</scripRef> were penned on this
occasion, by which these nuptials were made typical of the mystical
espousals of the church to Christ, especially the Gentile church.
2. His worshipping in the high places, and thereby tempting the
people to do so too, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.2-1Kgs.3.3" parsed="|1Kgs|3|2|3|3" passage="1Ki 3:2,3"><i>v.</i> 2,
3</scripRef>. Abraham built his altars on mountains (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.12.8 Bible:Gen.22.2" parsed="|Gen|12|8|0|0;|Gen|22|2|0|0" passage="Ge 12:8,22:2">Gen. xii. 8; xxii. 2</scripRef>), and
worshipped in a grove, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p5.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.33" parsed="|Gen|21|33|0|0" passage="Ge 21:33">Gen. xxi.
33</scripRef>. Thence the custom was derived, and was proper, till
the divine law confined them to one place, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p5.8" osisRef="Bible:Deut.12.5-Deut.12.6" parsed="|Deut|12|5|12|6" passage="De 12:5,6">Deut. xii. 5, 6</scripRef>. David kept to the ark, and
did not care for the high places, but Solomon, though in other
things he <i>walked in the statutes of his father,</i> in this came
short of him. He showed thereby a great zeal for sacrificing, but
to obey would have been better. This was an irregularity. Though
there was as yet no house built, there was a tent pitched, to the
name of the Lord, and the ark ought to have been the centre of
their unity. It was so by divine institution; from it the high
places separated; yet while they worshipped God only, and in other
things according to the rule, he graciously overlooked their
weakness, and accepted their services; and it is owned that
<i>Solomon loved the Lord,</i> though he <i>burnt incense in the
high places,</i> and let not men be more severe than God is.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iKi.iv-p0.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.5-1Kgs.3.15" parsed="|1Kgs|3|5|3|15" passage="1Ki 3:5-15" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Kgs.3.5-1Kgs.3.15">
<h4 id="iKi.iv-p5.10">God's Appearance to Solomon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.iv-p5.11">b. c.</span> 1014.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iKi.iv-p6">5 In Gibeon the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.iv-p6.1">Lord</span> appeared to Solomon in a dream by night:
and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.   6 And Solomon
said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great
mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in
righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast
kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to
sit on his throne, as <i>it is</i> this day.   7 And now,
<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.iv-p6.2">O Lord</span> my God, thou hast made thy
servant king instead of David my father: and I <i>am but</i> a
little child: I know not <i>how</i> to go out or come in.   8
And thy servant <i>is</i> in the midst of thy people which thou
hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted
for multitude.   9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding
heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad:
for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?   10 And
the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
  11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this
thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked
riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but
hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;   12
Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a
wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee
before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
  13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not
asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any
among the kings like unto thee all thy days.   14 And if thou
wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as
thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.   15
And Solomon awoke; and, behold, <i>it was</i> a dream. And he came
to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.iv-p6.3">Lord</span>, and offered up burnt offerings, and
offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p7">We have here an account of a gracious visit
which God paid to Solomon, and the communion he had with God in it,
which put a greater honour upon Solomon than all the wealth and
power of his kingdom did.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p8">I. The circumstances of this visit,
<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.5" parsed="|1Kgs|3|5|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. 1. The place.
It was in Gibeon; that was the great high place, and should have
been the only one, because there the tabernacle and the brazen
altar were, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.1.3" parsed="|2Chr|1|3|0|0" passage="2Ch 1:3">2 Chron. i. 3</scripRef>.
There Solomon offered his great sacrifices, and there God owned him
more than in any other of the high places. The nearer we come to
the rule in our worship the more reason we have to expect the
tokens of God's presence. Where God records his name, there he will
meet us and bless us. 2. The time. It was by night, the night after
he had offered that generous sacrifice, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.4" parsed="|1Kgs|3|4|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. The more we abound in God's work
the more comfort we may expect in him; if the day has been busy for
him, the night will be easy in him. Silence and retirement befriend
our communion with God. His kindest visits are often in the night,
<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.17.3" parsed="|Ps|17|3|0|0" passage="Ps 17:3">Ps. xvii. 3</scripRef>. 3. The manner.
It was in a dream, when he was asleep, his senses locked up, that
God's access to his mind might be the more free and immediate. In
this way God used to speak to the prophets (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Num.12.6" parsed="|Num|12|6|0|0" passage="Nu 12:6">Num. xii. 6</scripRef>) and to private persons, for their
own benefit, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.33.15-Job.33.16" parsed="|Job|33|15|33|16" passage="Job 33:15,16">Job xxxiii. 15,
16</scripRef>. These divine dreams, no doubt, were plainly
distinguishable from those in which there are divers vanities,
<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p8.7" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.7" parsed="|Eccl|5|7|0|0" passage="Ec 5:7">Eccl. v. 7</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p9">II. The gracious offer God made him of the
favour he should choose, whatever it might be, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.5" parsed="|1Kgs|3|5|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. He saw the glory of God shine
about him, and heard a voice saying, <i>Ask what I shall give
thee.</i> Not that God was indebted to him for his sacrifices, but
thus he would testify his acceptance of them, and signify to him
what great mercy he had in store for him, if he were not wanting to
himself. Thus he would try his inclinations and put an honour upon
the prayer of faith. God, in like manner, condescends to us, and
puts us in the ready way to be happy by assuring us that we shall
have what we will for the asking, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:John.16.23 Bible:1John.5.14" parsed="|John|16|23|0|0;|1John|5|14|0|0" passage="Joh 16:23,1Jo 5:14">John xvi. 23; 1 John v. 14</scripRef>. What
would we more? <i>Ask, and it shall be given you.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p10">III. The pious request Solomon hereupon
made to God. He readily laid hold of this offer. Why do we neglect
the like offer made to us, like Ahaz, who said, <i>I will not
ask?</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.7.12" parsed="|Isa|7|12|0|0" passage="Isa 7:12">Isa. vii. 12</scripRef>.
Solomon prayed in his sleep, God's grace assisting him; yet it was
a lively prayer. What we are most in care about, and which makes
the greatest impression upon us when we are awake, commonly affects
us when we are asleep; and by our dreams, sometimes, we may know
what our hearts are upon and how our pulse beats. Plutarch makes
virtuous dreams one evidence of increase in virtue. Yet this must
be attributed to a higher source. Solomon's making such an
intelligent choice as this when he was asleep, and the powers of
reason were least active, showed that it came purely from the grace
of God, which wrought in him these gracious desires. If his
<i>reins</i> thus <i>instruct him in the night season,</i> he must
<i>bless the Lord</i> who <i>gave him counsel,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.16.7" parsed="|Ps|16|7|0|0" passage="Ps 16:7">Ps. xvi. 7</scripRef>. Now, in this prayer,</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p11">1. He acknowledges God's great goodness to
his father David, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.6" parsed="|1Kgs|3|6|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>. He speaks honourably of his father's piety, that he
had <i>walked before God in uprightness of heart,</i> drawing a
veil over his faults. It is to be hoped that those who praise their
godly parents will imitate them. But he speaks more honourably of
God's goodness to his father, the mercy he had shown to him while
he lived, in giving him to be sincerely religious and then
recompensing his sincerity and the great kindness he had kept for
him, to be bestowed on the family when he was gone, in <i>giving
him a son to sit on his throne.</i> Children should give God thanks
for his mercies to their parents, for the sure mercies of David.
God's favours are doubly sweet when we observe them transmitted to
us through the hands of those that have gone before us. The way to
get the entail perpetuated is to bless God that it has hitherto
been preserved.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p12">2. He owns his own insufficiency for the
discharge of that great trust to which he is called, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.7-1Kgs.3.8" parsed="|1Kgs|3|7|3|8" passage="1Ki 3:7,8"><i>v.</i> 7, 8</scripRef>. And here is a double
plea to enforce his petition for wisdom:—(1.) That his place
required it, as he was successor to David ("<i>Thou hast made me
king instead of David,</i> who was a very wise and good man: Lord,
give me wisdom, that I may keep up what he wrought, and carry on
what he began") and as he was ruler over Israel: "Lord, give me
wisdom to rule well; for they are a numerous people, that will not
be managed without much care, and they are thy people, whom thou
hast chosen, and therefore to be ruled for thee, and the more
wisely they are ruled the more glory thou wilt have from them."
(2.) That he wanted it. As one that had a humble sense of his own
deficiency, he pleads, "<i>Lord, I am but a little child</i> (so he
calls himself, a child in understanding, though his father called
him <i>a wise man,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.2.9" parsed="|1Kgs|2|9|0|0" passage="1Ki 2:9"><i>ch.</i> ii.
9</scripRef>); <i>I know not how to go out or come in</i> as I
should, nor to do so much as the common daily business of the
government, much less what to do in a critical juncture." Note,
Those who are employed in public stations ought to be very sensible
of the weight and importance of their work and their own
insufficiency for it, and then they are qualified for receiving
divine instruction. Paul's question (<i>Who is sufficient for these
things?</i>) is much like Solomon's here, <i>Who is able to judge
this thy so great a people?</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.9" parsed="|1Kgs|3|9|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. Absalom, who was a wise man,
trembles at the undertaking and suspects his own fitness for it.
The more knowing and considerate men are the better acquainted they
are with their own weakness and the more jealous of themselves.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p13">3. He begs of God to give him wisdom
(<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.9" parsed="|1Kgs|3|9|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>); <i>Give
therefore thy servant an understanding heart.</i> He calls himself
<i>God's servant,</i> pleased with that relation to God (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.116.16" parsed="|Ps|116|16|0|0" passage="Ps 116:16">Ps. cxvi. 16</scripRef>) and pleading it with
him: "I am devoted to thee, and employed for thee; give me that
which is requisite to the services in which I am employed." Thus
his good father prayed, and thus he pleaded. <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.125" parsed="|Ps|119|125|0|0" passage="Ps 119:125">Ps. cxix. 125</scripRef>, <i>I am thy servant, give me
understanding.</i> An understanding heart is God's gift, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.2.6" parsed="|Prov|2|6|0|0" passage="Pr 2:6">Prov. ii. 6</scripRef>. We must pray for it
(<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.5" parsed="|Jas|1|5|0|0" passage="Jam 1:5">James i. 5</scripRef>), and pray for
it with application to our particular calling and the various
occasions we have for it; as Solomon, <i>Give me an
understanding,</i> not to please my own curiosity with, or puzzle
my neighbours, but <i>to judge thy people.</i> That is the best
knowledge which will be serviceable to us in doing our duty; and
such that knowledge is which enables us to <i>discern between good
and bad,</i> right and wrong, sin and duty, truth and falsehood, so
as not to be imposed upon by false colours in judging either of
others' actions or of our own.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p14">4. The favourable answer God gave to his
request. It was a pleasing prayer (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.10" parsed="|1Kgs|3|10|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): <i>The speech pleased the
Lord.</i> God is well pleased with his own work in his people, the
desires of his own kindling, the prayers of his Spirit's inditing.
By this choice Solomon made it appear that he desired to be good
more than great, and to serve God's honour more than to advance his
own. Those are accepted of God who prefer spiritual blessings to
temporal, and are more solicitous to be found in the way of their
duty than in the way to preferment. But that was not all; it was a
prevailing prayer, and prevailed for more than he asked. (1.) God
gave him wisdom, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.12" parsed="|1Kgs|3|12|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>. He fitted him for all that great work to which he
had called him, gave him such a right understanding of the law
which he was to judge by, and the cases he was to judge of, that he
was unequalled for a clear head, a solid judgment, and a piercing
eye. Such an insight, and such a foresight, never was prince so
blessed with. (2.) He gave him riches and honour over and above
into the bargain (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.13" parsed="|1Kgs|3|13|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>), and it was promised that in these he should as much
exceed his predecessors, his successors, and all his neighbours, as
in wisdom. These also are God's gift, and, as far as is good for
them, are promised to all that <i>seek first the kingdom of God and
the righteousness thereof,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Matt.6.33" parsed="|Matt|6|33|0|0" passage="Mt 6:33">Matt.
vi. 33</scripRef>. Let young people learn to prefer grace to gold
in all that they choose, because <i>godliness has the promise of
the life that now is,</i> but <i>the life that now is</i> has not
<i>the promise of godliness.</i> How completely blessed was
Solomon, that had both wisdom and wealth! He that has wealth and
power without wisdom and grace is in danger of doing hurt with
them; he that has wisdom and grace without wealth and power is not
capable of doing so much good with them as he that has both. Wisdom
is good, is so much the better, with an inheritance, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.7.11" parsed="|Eccl|7|11|0|0" passage="Ec 7:11">Eccles. vii. 11</scripRef>. But, if we make sure
of wisdom and grace, these will either bring outward prosperity
with them or sweeten the want of it. God promised Solomon riches
and honour absolutely, but long life upon condition (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.14" parsed="|1Kgs|3|14|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>). <i>If thou wilt walk
in my ways, as David did, then I will lengthen thy days.</i> He
failed in the condition; and therefore, though he had riches and
honour, he did not live so long to enjoy them as in the course of
nature he might have done. Length of days is wisdom's right-hand
blessing, typical of eternal life; but it is in her left hand that
riches and honour are, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Prov.3.16" parsed="|Prov|3|16|0|0" passage="Pr 3:16">Prov. iii.
16</scripRef>. Let us see here, [1.] That the way to obtain
spiritual blessings is to be importunate for them, to wrestle with
God in prayer for them, as Solomon did for wisdom, asking that
only, as the <i>one thing needful.</i> [2.] That the way to obtain
temporal blessings is to be indifferent to them and to refer
ourselves to God concerning them. Solomon had wisdom given him
because he did ask it and wealth because he did not ask it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p15">5. The grateful return Solomon made for the
visit God was pleased to pay him, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.15" parsed="|1Kgs|3|15|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. He awoke, we may suppose in a
transport of joy, awoke, and <i>his sleep was sweet to him,</i> as
the prophet speaks (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.31.26" parsed="|Jer|31|26|0|0" passage="Jer 31:26">Jer. xxxi.
26</scripRef>); being satisfied of God's favour, he was satisfied
with it, and he began to think <i>what he should render to the
Lord.</i> He had made his prayer at the high place at Gibeon, and
there God had graciously met him; but he comes to Jerusalem to give
thanks <i>before the ark of the covenant,</i> blaming himself, as
it were, that he had not prayed there, the ark being the token of
God's presence, and wondering that God had met him any where else.
God's passing by our mistakes should persuade us to amend them.
There he, (1.) Offered a great sacrifice to God. We must give God
praise for his gifts in the promise, though not yet fully
performed. David used to <i>praise God's word,</i> as well as his
<i>works</i> (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.56.10" parsed="|Ps|56|10|0|0" passage="Ps 56:10">Ps. lvi. 10</scripRef>,
and particularly, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.7.18" parsed="|2Sam|7|18|0|0" passage="2Sa 7:18">2 Sam. vii.
18</scripRef>), and Solomon trod in his steps. (2.) He made a great
feast upon the sacrifice, that those about him might rejoice with
him in the grace of God.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iKi.iv-p0.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.16-1Kgs.3.28" parsed="|1Kgs|3|16|3|28" passage="1Ki 3:16-28" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Kgs.3.16-1Kgs.3.28">
<h4 id="iKi.iv-p15.6">The Wisdom of Solomon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.iv-p15.7">b. c.</span> 1014.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iKi.iv-p16">16 Then came there two women, <i>that were</i>
harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.   17 And the one
woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I
was delivered of a child with her in the house.   18 And it
came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this
woman was delivered also: and we <i>were</i> together; <i>there
was</i> no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.
  19 And this woman's child died in the night; because she
overlaid it.   20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son
from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her
bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.   21 And when I
rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but
when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son,
which I did bear.   22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the
living <i>is</i> my son, and the dead <i>is</i> thy son. And this
said, No; but the dead <i>is</i> thy son, and the living <i>is</i>
my son. Thus they spake before the king.   23 Then said the
king, The one saith, This <i>is</i> my son that liveth, and thy son
<i>is</i> the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son <i>is</i>
the dead, and my son <i>is</i> the living.   24 And the king
said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.
  25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and
give half to the one, and half to the other.   26 Then spake
the woman whose the living child <i>was</i> unto the king, for her
bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the
living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be
neither mine nor thine, <i>but</i> divide <i>it.</i>   27 Then
the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no
wise slay it: she <i>is</i> the mother thereof.   28 And all
Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they
feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God <i>was</i> in
him, to do judgment.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p17">An instance is here given of Solomon's
wisdom, to show that the grant lately made him had a real effect
upon him. The proof is fetched, not from the mysteries of state and
the policies of the council-board, though there no doubt he
excelled, but from the trial and determination of a cause between
party and party, which princes, though they devolve them upon their
judges, must not think it below them to take cognizance of.
Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p18">I. The case opened, not by lawyers, but by
the parties themselves, though they were women, which made it the
easier to such a piercing eye as Solomon had to discern between
right and wrong by their own showing. These two women were harlots,
kept a public house, and their children, some think, were born of
fornication, because here is no mention of their husbands. It is
probable the cause had been heard in the inferior courts, before it
was brought before Solomon, and had been found special, the judges
being unable to determine it, that Solomon's wisdom in deciding it
at last might be the more taken notice of. These two women, who
lived in a house together, were each of them delivered of a son
within three days of one another, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.17-1Kgs.3.18" parsed="|1Kgs|3|17|3|18" passage="1Ki 3:17,18"><i>v.</i> 17, 18</scripRef>. They were so poor that
they had no servant or nurse to be with them, so slighted, because
harlots, that they had no friend or relation to accompany them. One
of them overlaid her child, and, in the night, exchanged it with
the other (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.19-1Kgs.3.20" parsed="|1Kgs|3|19|3|20" passage="1Ki 3:19,20"><i>v.</i> 19,
20</scripRef>), who was soon aware of the cheat put upon her, and
appealed to public justice to be righted, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.21" parsed="|1Kgs|3|21|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. See, 1. What anxiety is caused
by little children, how uncertain their lives are, and to how many
dangers they are continually exposed. The age of infancy is the
valley of the shadow of death; and the lamp of life, when first
lighted, is easily blown out. It is a wonder of mercy that so few
perish in the perils of nursing. 2. How much better it was in those
times with children born in fornication than commonly it is now.
Harlots then loved their children, nursed them, and were loth to
part with them; whereas now they are often sent to a distance,
abandoned, or killed. But thus is was foretold that <i>in the last
days perilous times should come,</i> when people should be without
natural affection, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:2Tim.3.1 Bible:2Tim.3.3" parsed="|2Tim|3|1|0|0;|2Tim|3|3|0|0" passage="2Ti 3:1,3">2 Tim. iii. 1,
3</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p19">II. The difficulty of the case. The
question was, Who was the mother of this living child, which was
brought into court, to be finally adjudged either to the one or to
the other? Both mothers were vehement in their claim, and showed a
deep concern about it. Both were peremptory in their asseverations:
"It is mine," says one. "Nay, it is mine," says the other. Neither
will own the dead child, though it would be cheaper to bury that
than to maintain the other: but it is the living one they strive
for. The living child is therefore the parent's joy because it is
their hope; and may not the dead children be so? See <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.31.17" parsed="|Jer|31|17|0|0" passage="Jer 31:17">Jer. xxxi. 17</scripRef>. Now the difficulty of
the case was that there was no evidence on either side. The
neighbours, though it is probable that some of them were present at
the birth and circumcision of the children, yet had not taken so
much notice of them as to be able to distinguish them. To put the
parties to the rack would have been barbarous; not she who had
justice on her side, but she who was most hardy, would have had the
judgment in her favour. Little stress is to be laid on extorted
evidence. Judges and juries have need of wisdom to find out truth
when it thus lies hid.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p20">III. The determination of it. Solomon,
having patiently heard what both sides had to say, sums up the
evidence, <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.23" parsed="|1Kgs|3|23|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. And
now the whole court is in expectation what course Solomon's wisdom
will take to find out the truth. One knows not what to say to it;
another, perhaps, would determine it by lot. Solomon calls for a
sword, and gives orders to divide the living child between the two
contenders. Now, 1. This seemed a ridiculous decision of the case,
and a brutal cutting of the knot which he could not untie. "Is
this," think the sages of the law, "the wisdom of Solomon?" little
dreaming what he aimed at in it. <i>The hearts of kings,</i> such
kings, <i>are unsearchable,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.25.3" parsed="|Prov|25|3|0|0" passage="Pr 25:3">Prov.
xxv. 3</scripRef>. There was a law concerning the dividing of a
living ox and a dead one. (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.21.35" parsed="|Exod|21|35|0|0" passage="Ex 21:35">Exod. xxi.
35</scripRef>), but that did not reach this case. But, 2. It proved
an effectual discovery of the truth. Some think that Solomon did
himself discern it, before he made this experiment, by the
countenances of the women and their way of speaking: but by this he
gave satisfaction to all the company, and silenced the pretender.
To find out the true mother, he could not try which the child loved
best, and must therefore try which loved the child best; both
pretended to a motherly affection, but their sincerity will be
tried when the child is in danger. (1.) She that knew the child was
not her own, but in contending for it stood upon a point of honour,
was well content to have it divided. She that had overlaid her own
child cared not what became of this, so that the true mother might
not have it: <i>Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide
it.</i> By this it appeared that she knew her own title to be bad,
and feared Solomon would find it so, though she little suspected
she was betraying herself, but thought Solomon in good earnest. If
she had been the true mother she would not have forfeited her
interest in the child by agreeing so readily to this bloody
decision. But, (2.) She that knew the child was her own, rather
than the child should be butchered, gives it up to her adversary.
How feelingly does she cry out, <i>O, my lord! give her the living
child,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.26" parsed="|1Kgs|3|26|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>.
"Let me see it hers, rather than not see it at all." By this
tenderness towards the child it appeared that she was not the
careless mother that had overlaid the dead child, but was the true
mother of the living one, that could not endure to see its death,
having compassion on the son of her womb. "The case is plain," says
Solomon; "what need of witnesses? <i>Give her the living child;</i>
for you all see, by this undissembled compassion, <i>she is the
mother of it.</i>" Let parents show their love to their children by
taking care of them, especially by taking care of their souls, and,
with a holy violence, snatching them as brands out of the burning.
Those are most likely to have the comfort of children that do their
duty to them. Satan pretends to the heart of man, but by this it
appears that he is only a pretender, that he would be content to
divide with God, whereas the rightful sovereign of the heart will
have all or none.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iKi.iv-p21">IV. We are told what a great reputation
Solomon got among his people by this and other instances of his
wisdom, which would have a great influence upon the ease of his
government: <i>They feared the king</i> (<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.28" parsed="|1Kgs|3|28|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>), highly reverenced him, durst
not in any thing oppose him, and were afraid of doing an unjust
thing; for they knew, if ever it came before him, he would
certainly discover it, <i>for they saw that the wisdom of God was
in him,</i> that is, that wisdom with which God had promised to
endue him. This <i>made his face to shine,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.8.1" parsed="|Eccl|8|1|0|0" passage="Ec 8:1">Eccl. viii. 1</scripRef>. This <i>strengthened him,</i>
<scripRef id="iKi.iv-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.7.19" parsed="|Eccl|7|19|0|0" passage="Ec 7:19">Eccl. vii. 19</scripRef>. This was
better to him <i>than weapons of war,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.iv-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.9.18" parsed="|Eccl|9|18|0|0" passage="Ec 9:18">Eccl. ix. 18</scripRef>. For this he was both feared and
loved.</p>
</div></div2>