5 In Gibeon, Solomon had a vision of the Lord in a dream by night; and God said to him, Say what I am to give you.
But if any man among you is without wisdom, let him make his request to God, who gives freely to all without an unkind word, and it will be given to him. Let him make his request in faith, doubting nothing; for he who has doubt in his heart is like the waves of the sea, which are troubled by the driving of the wind.
But Jesus said to them, You have no knowledge of what you are saying. Are you able to take of my cup? or to undergo the baptism which I am to undergo? And they said to him, We are able. And Jesus said to them, You will take of the cup from which I take; and the baptism which I am about to undergo you will undergo: But to be seated at my right hand or at my left is not for me to give: but it is for those for whom it has been made ready. And hearing this, the ten became very angry with James and John. And Jesus made them come to him, and said to them, You see that those who are made rulers over the Gentiles are lords over them, and their great ones have authority over them. But it is not so among you: but whoever has a desire to become great among you, let him be your servant: And whoever has a desire to be first among you, let him be servant of all. For truly the Son of man did not come to have servants, but to be a servant, and to give his life for the salvation of men. And they came to Jericho: and when he was going out of Jericho, with his disciples and a great number of people, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind man, was seated by the wayside, with his hand out for money. And when it came to his ears that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he gave a cry, and said, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And some of them, turning in protest, gave him an order to be quiet: but he went on crying out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus came to a stop and said, Let him come. And crying out to the blind man, they said to him, Be comforted: come, he has sent for you. And he, putting off his coat, got up quickly, and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, What would you have me do to you? And the blind man said, Master, make me able to see.
In that night God came to Solomon in a vision, and said to him, Say what I am to give you. And Solomon said to God, Great was your mercy to David my father, and you have made me king in his place. Now, O Lord God, let your word to David my father come true; for you have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in number. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, so that I may go out and come in before this people: for who is able to be the judge of this great people of yours? And God said to Solomon, Because this was in your heart, and you did not make request for money, property, or honour, or for the destruction of your haters, or for long life; but you have made request for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you may be the judge of my people over whom I have made you king: Wisdom and knowledge are given to you; and I will give you wealth and honour, such as no king has had before you or ever will have after you.
And we are certain that if we make any request to him which is right in his eyes, he will give ear to us: And if we are certain that he gives ear to all our requests, we are equally certain that we will get our requests.
And whatever request you make in my name, that I will do, so that the Father may have glory in the Son. If you make any request to me in my name, I will do it.
And he had a dream, and in his dream he saw steps stretching from earth to heaven, and the angels of God were going up and down on them. And he saw the Lord by his side, saying, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: I will give to you and to your seed this land on which you are sleeping.
Make a request, and it will be answered; what you are searching for you will get; give the sign, and the door will be open to you: Because to everyone who makes a request, it will be given; and he who is searching will get his desire, and to him who gives the sign, the door will be open.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 3
Commentary on 1 Kings 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
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,
1Ki 3:1-4
We are here told concerning Solomon,
1Ki 3:5-15
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.
1Ki 3:16-28
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,