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In today’s episode of The Dwelling Place, Stephanie Hickox walks through 1 Kings chapters 2–4, reflecting on the death of King David, Solomon’s prayer for wisdom, and the powerful parenting lessons woven throughout these chapters of Scripture.

As David gives his final charge to Solomon, we’re reminded that true strength is found in obedience to God’s Word. Stephanie unpacks the encouragement and warnings found in Solomon’s early reign — from his humility in asking God for wisdom to the compromises that later revealed his need for a greater King: Jesus Christ.

This episode is filled with biblical encouragement for Christian moms, parents, and families seeking to raise children who walk faithfully with the Lord.

In this episode, we discuss:

✨ David’s final words to Solomon and what they teach our children

✨ Why obedience to God defines true strength

✨ Solomon’s humility and prayer for wisdom

✨ Parenting with biblical truth and discernment

✨ The dangers of compromise and worldly influence

✨ Honoring parents and authority figures

✨ Why Scripture points us beyond human heroes to Jesus

✨ Encouragement to stay faithful in reading God’s Word this summer

Stephanie also shares heartfelt applications for motherhood and parenting, encouraging moms to train children to find their identity in Christ rather than achievements, success, wealth, or worldly recognition.

Key Bible passages:

• 1 Kings 2–4
• Solomon asking God for wisdom
• David’s charge to “be strong” by obeying God
• The wisdom of the two mothers and the living child
• God’s warnings about wealth, power, and compromise

If you’ve ever felt like you don’t have parenting figured out, this episode is a beautiful reminder that God delights in humble hearts that continually seek Him for wisdom and guidance.

Whether you’re studying the Bible chronologically, raising young children, parenting teens, or simply longing to grow deeper in your faith, this episode will encourage you to keep coming back to God’s Word.

If this podcast encourages you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share with another Christian mom who could use biblical encouragement today.

#ChristianMom #BiblicalParenting #ChristianMotherhood #BibleStudyPodcast #1Kings #Solomon #GodlyWisdom #EntrustedMinistries #StephanieHickox #FaithBasedParenting #ChristianFamily #ChronologicalBibleStudy #JesusChrist #ChristianEncouragement

Learn more about Entrusted Ministries and discover additional resources for Christian families at Entrusted Ministries.

Do you feel hopeless, discouraged, or anxious in your parenting? Can God redeem those mistakes and give peace and hope for the future? Yes, He truly can! Entrusted with a Child's Heart can encourage you to embrace the fresh start God has for you. This quick episode explains how this biblical parenting study can guide moms, bless your church, and actually help the leaders! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-again-podcast-for-christian-moms-encouragement-in/id1700555502

Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary, Spurgeon's Treasury of David

This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

2

I'm Stephanie Hickox, and today we're

reading 1 Kings chapters 2 through 4.

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Is your heart ready?

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Today we'll say goodbye

to our beloved David.

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We'll be inspired by his

parting words to his son

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And be amazed at the humility and

wisdom of Solomon in seeking the Lord.

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But then Solomon's humanness will

be on display so that we understand

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scripture is still pointing to a

king that is to come, Jesus Christ

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If you started with us in Genesis,

you are now five-twelfths of

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the way through scripture.

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That's almost halfway.

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As we head into

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summer,

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Speaker 73: I wanna

encourage you to not give up

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If you think back to that when

and where statement you made, it

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probably has to adjust a little

bit if your routine is adjusting.

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If you listened on your commute,

you're gonna have to find a new

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But don't give up on faithfully

seeking the Lord through His Word.

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There is one Psalm of David

we haven't covered yet,

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And you can find out which one that is

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when you receive the June

reading plan in my next email

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in First Kings chapter two, David

issues some parting words to Solomon.

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When David's time to die drew near,

he commanded Solomon his son, " I am

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about to go the way of all the earth.

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Be strong and show yourself a man,

and keep the charge of the Lord your

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God, walking in his ways and keeping

his statutes, his commandments, his

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rules, and his testimonies, as it is

written in the Law of Moses, that you may

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prosper in all that you do and wherever

you turn; that the Lord may establish

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his word that he spoke concerning

me, saying, ' If your sons pay close

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attention to their way, to walk before

me in faithfulness with all their heart

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and with all their soul, you shall not

lack a man on the throne of Israel.'"

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David ensures that Solomon understands

the fulfillment of God's promises to him

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are dependent upon Solomon's obedience

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I love that David

says, " Show yourself a man.

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Obey the word of God

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I've prayed this for my boys, and I

think it is awesome that coming from

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this incredible warrior, he's telling

his son what really proves your strength

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is your obedience to

the source of strength

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Next, David asked Solomon to give

justice to two men that were worthy

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of judgment and death earlier,

but David had shown them mercy.

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It's hard to tell if David is asking

Solomon to avenge him by ending the lives

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of these two men, or if he's trying to

set his son up for success and saying,

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"Get rid of these two So they don't do

anything sneaky or sly after I'm gone?

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One of these is Joab, it is Really

surprising to me that scripture never

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records David finding out about Joab

being the one that killed his son Absalom.

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It seems it would've been common

knowledge, as we know there were

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soldiers watching when it happened

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but he's never called to account for that

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Do you remember Adonijah,

David's oldest living son?

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He was the one having that party thinking

he was going to be the next ruler.

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Well, he comes to Bathsheba, who is the

mother of Solomon, and asks for something

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that seems innocent to Bathsheba,

but Solomon sees right through it.

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It's likely that Adonijah was making

a play for the throne But my heart

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as a mom is so blessed by the way

that Solomon treats Bathsheba In

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two nineteen, so Bathsheba went to

King Solomon to speak with him on

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behalf of Adonijah, and the king rose

to meet her and bowed down to her.

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Then he sat on his throne and

had a seat brought for the king's

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mother, and she sat on his right.

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Then she said, "I have one

small request to make of you.

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Do not refuse me."

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And the king said to her,

"Make your request, my mother,

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for I will not refuse you."

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Okay, how sweet is this that the king

is bowing down to his mom, providing

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a throne at his right hand, the place

of honor, and saying, "Whatever you

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ask for, Mom, I'll give it to you"?

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But then he executes justice on

those enemies of David, and he

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ends the priesthood of Abiathar.

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This fulfills God's word

generations ago to Eli that his

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priestly line would be cut off.

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David had honored Abiathar's faithfulness

to him, but now the priesthood is

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reestablished in the line of Eleazar and

Phinehas, and Zadok becomes priest In

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chapter three, I know you're gonna groan

with me because Solomon makes a political

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marriage alliance with Pharaoh's daughter.

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It was his most politically advantageous

marriage, but he didn't need to

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disobey God to advance his kingdom

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Next, we read that the people

were sacrificing at the high

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places because no house had been

built for the name of the Lord.

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These high places were hilltop altars

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where pagan gods were worshiped.

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But as Israel conquered the land,

they took over some of these

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and made them altars to the Lord

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Which is actually just combining the

ways of the world With our worship of God

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And this is convicting for

us today and is never ideal

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Verse three says, " Solomon loved the

Lord, walking in the statutes of David

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his father: only he sacrificed and

made offerings at the high places."

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And it's this context that makes

this next story so incredible to me.

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It's a familiar one.

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I'm sure you know it well.

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Beginning in verse five, " At

Gibeon the Lord appeared to

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Solomon in a dream by night.

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And God said, "Ask what I shall give you."

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And Solomon said, " You have shown great

and steadfast love to Your servant David

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my father, because he walked before

You in faithfulness, in righteousness,

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and in uprightness of heart toward You.

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And You have kept for him this great

and steadfast love, and have given him

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a son to sit on the throne this day.

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And now, O Lord my God, You have made

Your servant king in place of David my

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father, although I am but a little child.

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I do not know how to go out or come in.

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And Your servant is in the midst of

Your people whom You have chosen,

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a great people, too many to be

numbered or counted for multitude.

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Give your servant therefore an

understanding mind to govern your people,

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that I may discern between good and evil.

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For who is able to govern

this, your great people?

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It pleased the Lord that

Solomon had asked this.

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And God said to him, " Because you

have asked this, and have not asked

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for yourself long life or riches or

the life of your enemies, but have

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asked for yourself understanding

to discern what is right, behold,

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I now do according to your word.

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Behold, I give you a wise and

discerning mind, so that none

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like you has been before and none

like you shall arise after you.

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I give you also what you have not asked,

both riches and honor, so that no other

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king shall compare with you all your days.

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And if you will walk in my ways,

keeping my statutes and my commandments,

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as your father David walked,

then I will lengthen your days."

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And Solomon awoke, and

behold, it was a dream.

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Then he came to Jerusalem and stood

before the ark of the covenant

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of the Lord, and offered up burnt

offerings and peace offerings, and

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made a feast for all his servants

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This dream occurs right after Solomon

sacrificed at those high places.

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It already reveals the mercy of

God to meet with him, and it's

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a unique dream because Solomon

and the Lord are conversing.

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Obviously, it was right and good

that Solomon asked this, and we

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know that because God himself

is pleased by the request.

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But I was led in an interesting

activity that challenged me on this a

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couple years ago, where we had to try

to think if there were any negative

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aspects of Solomon requesting wisdom

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Initially, I thought, "How

can you even ask this?"

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But as I pondered it I realized that

maybe all of Solomon's allowed him to

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lose some of his reliance upon the Lord

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Maybe it actually made him bored,

leading to his later downfall

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And this thought is a little

encouraging to me because so often

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I feel like I just don't have things

figured out, and it forces me to get

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on my knees before God and ask for

help and to diligently seek His Word

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And so even though I think it was really

beautiful that Solomon asked for wisdom,

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I think God is also delighted By the times

you and I are at the end of ourselves

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and keep coming back to Him to guide us

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And I hadn't really thought of this

before, but this request of Solomon

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actually blessed you and me and each

of our kids because it's this wisdom

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and understanding that inspired

him to write the Book of Proverbs

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and Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs

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God allowed Solomon to be an instrument

to share His wisdom with all of us

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In chapter three, we're given one example

of Solomon's insight as two prostitutes

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come before his throne, which isn't

that amazing that anyone was allowed

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to come?

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before him

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Both of these women had babies, but one

of them rolled over her child in the night

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The one mother is accusing the other

of having switched her dead baby

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with the live baby in the night

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And Solomon says, " Get me a sword.

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I'm gonna cut the baby in half so

you can each have a part of him

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But the mother of the living

son interjects, "Oh, my Lord,

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give her the living child, and

by no means put him to death

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Solomon rightly discerned that she was

the true mother, and all Israel heard

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about it and stood in awe of him He

understood the sacrificial heart of

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a mother, And he knew a loving mother

would rather lose her access to her

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son than allow him to lose his life.

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Chapter four lists the administrators

and officials Solomon used

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to help rule his kingdom.

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We hear the extent of Judah and Israel

at this point, and that there are as

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many as the sand by the sea, which should

remind you of the Abrahamic covenant.

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But Israel still hasn't occupied all the

land God promised Abraham at this point.

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And in case you're curious, for a

census update, the Israelites have

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doubled their population from the

time they came in at Joshua's day.

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They'd be about 4 million at this point

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and even with all of Solomon's

wisdom, he goes against God's word

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and his warnings in Deuteronomy.

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He amasses wealth and horses.

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We read that he had 40,000

stalls of horses for his

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chariots and 12,000 horsemen.

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This is most likely a copying

error because Chronicles

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tells us he had 4,000 horses.

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Still, it's directly in opposition

to God's commands for kings.

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So we'll close being partially

inspired, but definitely disappointed

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with Solomon, and being reminded that

we're not looking to establish heroes

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here, but to seek the Lord Himself.

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Let's pray.

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Heavenly Father

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We praise you that you are the source

of all wisdom and understanding And

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we gratefully accept the pattern you

have set that we can come humbly

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before you and to your word to guide

us for our life and our parenting

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Please prevent us from seeking the answers

outside of you We pray for our kids

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that as David taught Solomon to follow

the word of God, that our kids would

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find their true identity in your word

and that you would give them a hunger

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to keep coming back searching for you

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Thank you for the sweet way

that Solomon honored his mom.

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Help us to train our kids to

walk in honor and respect of

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us and other authority figures

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And Lord, we thank you for the warning

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To not look to wealth or the pleasures of

this earth to find our contentment, but

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instead to look to you as the giver of

all good gifts Thank you, Jesus, for the

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way you modeled perfect wisdom for us.

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It's in your name we pray.

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Amen