First Kings 2:28

The Bible says in First Kings 2:28-34, “Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.[29] And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.[30] And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.[31] And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.[32] And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.[33] Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.[34] So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.” Joab finally got what was coming to him. From a human standpoint, it took a while, but it happened. Life is often like that. There are many people that we can see who from our point of view, deserve judgment. When will it come? When God decides. Joab finally overplayed his hand. He finally made the wrong move. This time Joab got the death penalty. Learn to leave things to God. The wheels of God might appear to turn slowly, but they turn ever so finely. People will reap what they sow in the time and place that God determines.

The Bible says in First Kings 2:35-46, “And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.[36] And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.[37] For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.[38] And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.[39] And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.[40] And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.[41] And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.[42] And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any wither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.[43] Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?[44] The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;[45] And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.[46] So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.” Shemei was given an opportunity to live. He was put on house arrest and was told that he must never violate the terms of restriction. Under the customs and politics of that day, Shemei should have already been put to death because of how he treated King David. King Solomon was establishing his rule, and enemies to King David’s lineage were being eliminated if there was just cause to do so. What was said in verse forty-five is exactly what was coming to pass because it was God’s will: “And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.”

The Bible says in First Kings 3:1-4, “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 LORD, 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 LORD, until those days.[3] And Solomon loved the LORD, 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 was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.” Immediately, we see Solomon’s weakness, the same as David’s weakness: women. Because he was king, Solomon could have just about whatever he wanted, and he made the mistake of wanting multiple women. Not only that, but some of the women were heathen such as the Egyptian woman here, and at times they influenced Solomon away from the things of the Lord. Notice the words “high places” in verse two and in verse three. That term in the Old Testament often refers to false religious practices. Once you let a little bit of false religion into the true religion, it does not end well. A little leaven will leaven the whole bunch. But Solomon was attempting to follow the example of his father, David, in serving the Lord. It says in the first part of verse three, “And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father.” If you are blessed enough to have one or both parents who are born-again Christians, hopefully you are wise like Solomon and follow their example. If not, woe will be to you.

The Bible says in First Kings 3:5-12, “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.[6] And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed 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 it is this day.[7] And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.[8] And thy servant is 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.” These verses are really great verses in the Bible because they explain to us how Solomon became the wisest man on the earth. His reign over Israel was full of wise decisions. Solomon became known all over the world for his great wisdom. Solomon wrote several books of the Bible: the Song of Solomon, which describes true love and marital love’s true meaning: Ecclesiastes which describes the vanity of a life without God: and Proverbs which is the great book of both spiritual and practical wisdom.

Why did Solomon become such a wise man? We can see several things in these verses to answer that question. First of all, Solomon wanted to do the right thing. In verse six Solomon said that he knew God had shown great mercy to David. That is the number one reason to serve the Lord: He forgives sin, and therefore we appreciate His forgiveness. Solomon said about David that he served God: “in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart.” That is the only way to serve God. It starts with truth. Jesus is the Truth, and so you believe in Jesus. And you tell Jesus the truth about yourself: that you are a sinner and need His mercy. Of course, you serve him “in righteousness.” When you turn to Jesus for mercy, you are also doing it with a purpose to start obeying the Lord and doing the right thing. This true belief is in the “heart:” in your innermost being. That is why being saved through faith in Christ changes one’s life.

Solomon was wise because he prayed to the Lord. These verses are about Solomon talking to God. The reason that Solomon was talking to God is because Solomon had just become king and he knew that he needed help. Whatever is your occupation or responsibilities in life, you need the Lord’s help to be your best. Solomon was a grown man, but he said to God at the end of verse seven, “I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.” Solomon was humble. He had the right view of himself. He did not have a high view, but a low view. This sounds a lot like the Apostle Paul who called himself “the chief of sinners,” and “the least of the apostles.” What is your opinion of yourself? Without Christ you are nothing.

Solomon could have asked for anything, but he asked God for “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.” God loved what Solomon asked for. What Solomon asked for we need more than money: wisdom. In the New Testament wisdom is centered in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says about Jesus in Colossians 2:3, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Christians are told to make the same request to God that Solomon made. It says in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

God told Solomon in verse twelve, “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.” If only we had wisdom, we would make the right decisions in regards to everything that comes our way in life and we would also see the best of results in everything that we do. We would be great witnesses for Christ. Our lives would honor the Lord. Our lives would produce the fruit that God wants them to produce. That is success, and that is the result of wisdom. Lord, please give us your wisdom. Amen.

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