King Solomon's Pleading and Praying for God's Wisdom

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We know Solomon was a man of great wisdom and great folly. Before he fell, he wrote the Proverbs. He may have completed the Song of Solomon after he repented of his folly which he confessed in Ecclesiastes. But first, it would be important to learn the lesson of Solomon's prayer for wisdom.
1 Kings 3:6-9 
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?

This is the situation of Solomon. I thought about the huge age gap between his parents David and Bathsheba. Solomon was 20 when he became king and David was 70 when he died. That's a whopping 50 years difference. David fathered Solomon at fifty which meant he committed adultery with Bathsheba at 48 years old. His only full sibling died as a result of the sin. His parents lay with each other after one year and he was born when David was fifty though Bathsheba's age remains unknown. I can only assume that she was only a teenager when she was married to Uriah the Hittite who was a proselyte to the Jewish faith.

Obviously David accomplished much in his 40 year reign and what was Solomon? He was but born when David was fifty. He was but ten when David was sixty. His half-siblings from the previous wives were much older than he was. Some assume that Chileab the son of David and Abigail died of unknown causes - perhaps it was a war or may have been killed during the rebellion of Absalom. Absalom was a full grown man - perhaps forty and Solomon was but a young child. This was a call for something to alarm as the David's death brought but a twenty year old to the throne. Solomon would have known all these considering his years of growing up in the palace!

He had his divine dream in Gibeon. Notice how Solomon addresses the feebleness of his mind. He calls himself but a little child in his understanding in politics. Being king of Israel is no walk in the park. He may have inherited the books of his fathers. But there's one thing that children can never inherit from their parents - it's the years of experience built up and the knowledge they gained. They never automatically know what their parents know. David at 20 had all the experience in battle. Solomon at 20 had the kingdom handed to him. This was obviously his problem - he was but a little child in his understanding in ruling the people so great. Also, he had foolishly chosen to have affinity with Egypt with an Egyptian princess (who was a newer wife since Song of Solomon shows his marital relations with his first, unnamed wife) - not learning from the mistake of his father who had several wives which only led to more chaos for years to come.

Why did he ask for an understanding heart to judge the people? A person needs both their mind and heart to run things properly. God gave people a brain and a heart and not just one over the other. The heart gives emotions and the brain gives logic. Both of them are needed. Solomon knew he had to learn to balance both his mind and emotions to rule the kingdom properly. Then we knew the LORD responded by answering his prayer to rule properly.
1 Kings 3:11-14 
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.

Solomon's great achievements were only possible when he trusted the LORD with all his heart. The problem was that later he started leaning on his own understanding which led him to backslid horribly by marrying even more heathen women than just Pharaoh's daughter and Naamah the Amonitess (Rehoboam's mother) in 1 Kings 11 - he had a total of 400 wives and 300 concubines! Such foolishness led to the division of his kingdom after he died. Fortunately, he was wise enough to write down his repentance in Ecclesiastes and the last three chapters in Song of Solomon may have been later added after he repented of his womanizing.

The lesson is that ask God for wisdom and continuously ask for it and never lean on the wisdom God gives but on God Himself. Worldly wisdom will fade while wisdom from God is invaluable.

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