Theological Reflection and Reading
On the surface, the narrative in 1 Kings 3:1-15 describes for the reader the amazing gift of wisdom Solomon received from the Lord. It also serves as a bridge and pivotal point in Solomon’s reign, explaining his success and subsequent failure. However, the narrator subtly and cautiously weaves another agenda within the text. Again, I point to the theme, not only of this unit (1 Kings 1-11), but the book of 1 Kings as a whole; and the theology the Deuteronomistic Historian interlaces into almost every text. The success or failure of Solomon, and the community as a whole, depended upon their obedience to the covenant of Yahweh laid out in the book of Deuteronomy.
The thrust of the passage is hidden as almost a side note in 3:14, “if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statues and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.” (NRSV) The blessings of God, on the people of God, are dependent on their wholehearted obedience to God’s commands. In Deuteronomy 10:12-13 the Lord
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The narrator is specific, stressing that the Lord loved David (vv. 6), not because David was perfect and sinless (he sinned greatly when he had an affair with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, 2 Sam. 11); He loved David because he was faithful, righteous and upright in heart (1 Kings 3:6). He had integrity of heart (1 Kings 9:4) and was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). David, even though he had sinned, did not compromise when it came to his devotion to the Lord, he did not vacillate between the Lord and other gods. This was the distinction the narrator subtly highlights. Solomon as we see in the beginning of this pericope and at the end of his life (1 Kings 9:4, 9), could not make that same commitment and compromised his heart by following other