I Kings 3:3
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And Solomon loved the LORD and walked in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Solomon's Marriage; Worship and Sacrifice at Gibeon; and Wise Judicial Sentence - 1 Kings 3 The establishment of the government in the hands of Solomon having been noticed in 1 Kings 2, the history of his reign commences with an account of his marriage to an Egyptian princess, and with a remark concerning the state of the kingdom at the beginning of his reign (Kg1 2:1-3). There then follows a description of the solemn sacrifice and prayer at Gibeon, by which Solomon sought to give a religious consecration to his government, and to secure the assistance of the Lord and His blessing upon it, and obtained the fulfilment of his desire (Kg1 2:4-15). And then, as a practical proof of the spirit of his government, we have the sentence through which he displayed the wisdom of his judicial decisions in the sight of all the people (Kg1 2:16-28).
Open source ↗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, I. Solomon's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter (Kg1 3:1). II. A general view of his religion (Kg1 3:2-4). III. A particular account of his prayer to God for wisdom, and the answer to that prayer (Kg1 3:5-15). IV. A particular instance of his wisdom in deciding the controversy between the two harlots (Kg1 3:16-28). And very great he looks here, both at the altar and on the bench, and therefore on the bench because at the altar.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
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But the one who loves God is known by God.
Love the LORD, all His saints. The LORD preserves the faithful, but fully repays the arrogant.
For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and increase, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
So if you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commandments, just as your father David did, I will prolong your days.”
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Solomon replied, “You have shown much loving devotion to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart. And You have maintained this loving devotion by giving him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.