Week 20 2 Chronicles
Solomon had a dream and in it the Lord gave him an unbelievable choice: what do you want? Ask and I will give it to you. The offer sounds too good to be true. I can’t think of anyone else in the OT who got one like it.
Anyway with this sky’s-the-limit offer on the table Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge. What a great character guy! And the Lord told him: because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for personal wealth and honor or the death of your enemies or even a long life…I will certainly give you wisdom and knowledge.
I put together a list: Potential Choices for Solomon (in ascending order):
• personal wealth
• honor
• freedom from opponents
• long life
• wisdom-and-knowledge
When Solomon made his choice I don’t know how far down the road he was thinking. But I read 1 Kings a couple of weeks ago and know that Solomon’s wisdom-and-knowledge didn’t inoculate him against idol-worship. So maybe not far enough.
I’m wondering if another choice might have been better for Solomon. Not to say that Wisdom-Knowledge wasn’t good. But would something like Long-term Faith have been better? Probably.
Based on what he knew about himself at the time Solomon made a solid choice. What he didn’t plan for was the long deviation that gradually took him farther and farther away from the Lord.
Note: quotes from 1 Chronicles 1:7 11-12 (NLT)