The Monarchy – Part 7 What do you want? I Kings 3:1-15 October 23, 2016
I. Two SIDES of SOLOMON… (v.1-4)
A. LOVING God by his ACTIONS. (v.3)
B. Except for his WIFE and WORSHIP. (v.1,3-4; Dt. 7:3; Lev. 17:3-4)
C. A lot like YOU and ME… (Ps. 86:11; Rom. 7:21-25)
Solomon, after an initial bumpy start is now finally king. And there is much that is good
about him. He loves God, and it is seen by his devotion to the things that David had
instructed him to do. But, like most of us, he is a complicated individual. We all have
good and evil wrapped up in hearts.
1. How would you describe Solomon if all you knew of him was I Kings 3:1-4?
2. Can you identify with the feeling of a “divided heart”? In what ways?
II. God’s OFFER and Solomon’s REQUEST. (v.5-15)
A. Ask for WHATEVER you WANT. (v.5)
B. To “HEAR” the DIFFERENCE… (v.6-9)
C. BOTH are a bit SURPRISING. (v.5,11)
D. God is PLEASED, Solomon is CHANGED. (v.10-15)
Despite the two sides of Solomon, God is incredibly gracious to him. “Ask for whatever
you want me to give you.” How many of us would love to hear God say that. It’s like
rubbing a lamp and having a genie give you a wish…but better. This is God. And He’s
offering to do whatever you ask. What would you ask for?
3. Does it seem surprising that God would offer this to a man who married and
worshipped in ways that broke the law?
4. People usually say that Solomon asked for wisdom. Is that what the text says? Is it
different?
5. How is “hearing” actually important in the process of discerning?
III. WHAT do we really WANT? (Ps. 37:4; Mk. 10:50-51)
A. PEELING back the LAYERS. (v.7; Jn 6:25,26; Jer. 17:10)
B. Seeking the HUMILITY to HEAR the difference. (v.9; Ps 139:23-24)
C. Moving from KNOWING to DOING. (v.14; Rom. 7:21-25; 8:1-2)
What if it did happen to us? What if God said, “What do you want? What do you really
want?” It could happen. It’s not unusual for us to see Jesus asking that very question
of the people He came into contact with. What is it that we really desire? And what
does that show us about who we are? Can we let God help us to discern what our
desires really are, and can we be willing to believe that He might actually want to give
us those desires?
6. What are some of the things that you deeply desire? What do those desires say
about you?
7. What has helped you in the past to understand the “purposes of your heart” (Prov.
20:5)?
8. Paul reminds us that knowing the truth and doing it are different things. When have
you felt like he did in Rom. 7:21-25? How did that resolve?
9. Spend some time thanking God for freeing us from the “body of death” that we carry
around with us on a regular basis.