Bible Commentaries

Verses 1-51

The Reign of King Solomon (His Prosperity) 1 Kings 3:1 to 1 Kings 10:29 gives us the story of Solomon’s reign as king over the united kingdom of Israel. The emphasis in this passage of Scripture is Solomon’s prosperity as a result of obeying God’s Word. In contrast, the final chapter of Solomon’s reign will end sadly with the story of Solomon falling away from God and how his kingdom grew weak and became divided as a result of his sins.

One of the reasons for Solomon’s prosperity can be seen in his willingness to give generously to the Lord. 1 Kings 3:1-15 gives us the story of Solomon’s great sacrifice that he offered to God and how God responded to him in a dream and blessed him. As a new king he had a great need, which was to rule over his people with wisdom and discretion. In his need he came to God with an offering. It was Solomon’s offering of one thousand burnt offerings to the Lord that prompted God to give back to the king a gift. This great sacrifice opened the windows of heaven for Solomon that forever changed the effectiveness of his ministry, for God gave him great wisdom and wealth.

Then God came to Solomon a second time and promised to be with His people and bless the entire nation (1 Kings 6:11-13). Although God blessed Solomon in his first divine encounter, the people were blesses during this second visitation. During these years God did not mind Solomon’s prosperity. In fact, it was God who had given him the power to gain this wealth. In fact during his second great sacrifice at the dedication of the Temple Solomon was able to offer sheep and oxen without number (1 Kings 8:5). His first offering to God consisted of one thousand burnt offerings (1 Kings 3:4). This time he offered twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep (1 Kings 8:63). The Lord responded by visiting him again in a dream (1 Kings 9:1-9). This time God promised to establish his royal lineage forever and to honour the Temple with His presence. Solomon continued to give (2 Chronicles 8:12; 2 Chronicles 9:12). As he gave he continued to prosper, and he built to his heart’s desire. In fact, he became the richest man on earth, receiving tribute from many kingdoms around him. Solomon made silver as common as stones (2 Chronicles 9:27). In other words, he made the city look more and more like Heaven itself, whose streets are paved with gold.

There is a teaching in today’s churches that one should be specific to God in prayer with his particular need as he gave an offering. In other words, an act of giving should be accompanied with a request to God for a particular need. If someone wanted a Scriptural basis for speaking these blessing forth as they gave an offering, then this verse would certainly support such a teaching.