NEBUCHADNEZZAR went to bed one night in Babylon with the might and majesty of his Empire upon his mind, and wondering what would be the development of it. God graciously answered the poor pagan’s thoughts by showing him in vision Gentile Imperialism as a whole and its ultimate destruction by the superior power of the Kingdom of God (Dan. 2). This was intended to act upon his conscience for his blessing, but no such effect was produced at that time. He was blessed later (Dan. 4).
Solomon went to bed in Gibeon with very different thoughts exercising his mind. He had become the most exalted person on earth, head of God’s chosen people, now triumphant over every foe. He felt the seriousness of his position, and the great responsibilities connected with it (he was scarcely out of his teens), and his heart turned to God. Happy would it have been for the nations throughout the centuries if rulers everywhere had felt as Solomon did that night in Gibeon (1 Kings 3:5-15).
“Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.” A dream is not God’s most intimate way of communicating with men, as He Himself told Aaron and Miriam in Numbers 12:6-8; but it seems certain that Solomon never knew God as his father knew him. He lacked David’s deep spiritual experience, never having suffered as he suffered. David’s years of affliction gave him a knowledge of God from which we all benefit at this day as readers of his Psalms. David could have said like a later poet:
“Deep waters crossed life’s pathway,
The hedge of thorns was sharp.”
Such language would be foreign to Solomon. With reference to the Temple, although denied the honor of building it, it was to David that Jehovah gave all the necessary instructions, which he passed on to Solomon (1 Chron. 28:1-12). It is also noticeable that David is named in God’s list of men of faith (Heb. 11:32), but not Solomon.
It was after a busy day in Gibeon when a thousand burnt-offerings were offered upon the altar that “Jehovah appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said. Ask what I shall give thee.” The young king’s answer delighted the heart of God. First, he acknowledged His loving-kindness in giving David a son to sit upon his throne. Then he confessed his own insufficiency for the heavy responsibilities which now lay upon him. Jehovah’s people were a great people, distinguished as His chosen. To guide and direct them aright in their unique relation to God was beyond his power. “I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.” The spirit of the little child―humble, confiding, and teachable―is becoming in us all. The Lord Jesus lays this down in Matthew 18. The concluding verses of chapter 17 give us a wonderful setting for this instruction. Peter made himself foolish with the tax-collector in Capernaum, but the Lord took occasion by it to declare the exalted position in which Peter and every other believer stands in relationship with Himself through grace. We are sons of the Sovereign of the universe in association with the Firstborn! (Heb. 2:10).
The believer in Jesus is thus a very dignified person, according to grace. Note the sequel. “In the same hour (the correct rendering of Matt. 18:1) came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Thus we have to become very small in order to enter into blessing. The next verse teaches us to continue small. “Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 17:24-27 shows us the dignity of grace; Matthew 18 follows suitably, instructing us to keep small and insignificant in our own esteem. Even King Saul was little in his own sight to begin with (1 Sam. 15:17); exaltation and power drew out his inherent pride and stubbornness, to his ruin. A later king―Uzziah―walked well “till he became strong. And when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction” (2 Chron. 26:16).
Self-importance was the plague of the apostolic band. Even at the Last Supper “there was strife among them which of them should be accounted the greatest” (Luke 22:24). The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to take charge of the Assembly for Christ should have made this impossible in the new order, but flesh is ever restless. The Apostle’s plain injunction in Romans 12:3 has been but little heeded: “I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” The vastness of the divine immensities that he ministered made Paul feel personally very small— “less than the least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8). In 1 Corinthians 14:20 we find a truly impressive appeal: “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye babes, but in understanding be men.” He had no desire that his readers should be childish, but he longed that they might be childlike. “I am among you as He that serveth,” said the Lord to His self-important followers (Luke 22:27). Did He not wash their feet that very night? (John 13).
Solomon felt that he was “but a little child”; accordingly he seized the golden opportunity divinely given to ask 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 people?” His speech pleased Jehovah well. He might have asked for long life or riches, or the life of his enemies; instead he asked for an understanding heart that he might rule well the people of God. Our blessed Lord once said: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” On this principle Jehovah dealt with Solomon. “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. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor: so that there shall not be any amongst the kings like unto thee all thy days” (1 Kings 3:11-13). This seemed to make the blessing of Israel secure; but God went on to say, “If thou wilt walk in My ways, and keep My statutes.” The priesthood having been in a secondary place since the breakdown of Eli and his sons, everything depended upon the fidelity of the king. The “if” to Solomon in 1 Kings 3:54 was as fatal as the “if” to Israel in Exodus 19:5, for poor flesh can never be trusted, and Solomon’s failure was truly catastrophic. Blessed be God, all that has been lost by the unfaithfulness of men will be taken up by the Lord Jesus, God’s faithful Second Man, on the principle of grace, and on the ground of redemption. This makes all things sure forever.
Ere we pass from Gibeon, let us ask our own hearts what reply we would give if God were to say to us, “Ask what I shall give thee.” It would be a testing moment assuredly, yea, it would be the turning-point of our lives. Elisha had a moment of testing in 1 Kings 19:19-21, and he responded well to it. He left his farm and forthwith shared the path of the persecuted prophet. Matthew was similarly tested and he abandoned a lucrative calling and followed the rejected Jesus (Matt. 9:9). What do we desire more than anything earth can give? Is it to “know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death?” (Phil. 3:10).