March 9, 2025 – 1 Kings 3 – 4

Lesson Date: March 9, 2025

Focal Scripture Passage: 1 Kings 3:3-14, 22-28; 4:29-34

AIM: To lead students to discover some marks of a truly wise person, and to strive to apply those marks of wisdom to their lives and seek God’s wisdom.

 

Before class: Read the notes on 1 Kings 3 – 4 found in the Sunday School Teacher Book.  Write the word “Wisdom” on the board or screen.

 

INTRODUCTION (Create Learning Readiness): Direct everyone’s attention to the word “Wisdom” written on the board or screen.  Ask: “What is wisdom?”  Allow time for some responses, which should include ideas such as discernment, judgment, prudence, and the proper use of knowledge.  Ask: “Is wisdom the same as knowledge?” (no, knowledge involves facts, but wisdom involves how we apply and use those facts).

Tell the class that knowledge is easily attainable, through education and personal study.  Tell them that a person may have great knowledge and many advanced degrees in highly technical fields, but still not be a wise person.  Ask: “How many of you went to school to prepare for a career?” (most probably did).  Ask: “When you finished school, did you know how to use the things you had been taught?” (no, that’s why many career fields require internships and on-the-job training).  Stress the fact that schooling entitles a person to get a job, but experience is what teaches them how to wisely do their job.

Tell the students that today’s lesson is about the wisdom of Solomon.  Tell them through studying the early days of King Solomon’s reign, we will discover some marks of a wise person.  Tell them the title of today’s lesson is Am I a Wise Person?

 

HEART OF THE LESSON (Bible Study):

1. Review.
   • Remind everyone that we are studying the Old Testament book of 1 Kings.
   • Be sure everyone has a copy of the new Sunday School Member Quarterly.
   • Ask: “What was last week’s lesson about?” (Deadly Ambition; we learned about some people whose ambition for power blinded them to God’s plan and resulted in their deaths).
   • Ask if anyone would recite last week’s memory verse (1 Peter 5:6).
2. A Wise Person Loves, Obeys, and Worships the Lord.
   • Read 1 Kings 3:1-2.
   • Tell the class that Solomon, shortly after becoming king of Israel, made a peace treaty with Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter.
   • Ask: “According to verse 2, why were the people worshiping at the high places?” (because the Temple had not yet been built).
   • Explain the following:
     • High places were open areas on hilltops that had been used by the Canaanites to worship their pagan gods.
     • The Lord told the Israelites to destroy all the high places (Deut. 12:1-3), but they did not obey.
     • Over time, the Israelites began to worship Almighty God in the very high places He had commanded them to destroy.
   • Ask a volunteer to read 1 Kings 3:3-4.
   • Ask: “What good things does verse 3 tell us about Solomon?” (he loved the Lord and obeyed and followed the same statutes [the Jewish Law] as his father David).
   • Ask: “What shortcoming does verse 3 identify?” (Solomon worshiped at the high places).
   • Ask: “According to verse 4, what did Solomon do?” (went to Gibeon to offer a thousand burnt offerings to God).
   • Explain the following:
     • Gibeon was 7 miles northwest of Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem (locate on the Map).
     • Gibeon was known as a “great high place” because that’s where the Tabernacle was located (1 Chron. 16:39; 2 Chron. 1:3).
     • The altar at the Tabernacle was used for making sacrifices to God.
   • Tell the class that Solomon’s example reveals that a wise person loves, obeys, and worships the Lord.
   • Tell them that Proverbs 9:10 says it this way: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
   • Stress the fact that the prerequisite for wisdom is fearing, honoring, and obeying the Lord; these were things that Solomon did before God endowed him with special wisdom.
   • Summarize: A wise person loves, obeys, and worships the Lord. Am I doing those things?
3. A Wise Person Recognizes God’s Mercy, Kindness, and Sovereignty.
   • Read 1 Kings 3:5-7a.
   • Ask: “According to verse 5, what happened while Solomon was at Gibeon?” (the Lord appeared to him in a dream).
   • Ask: “What did God tell Solomon?” (to ask of Him anything Solomon wanted).
   • Tell the class that God gave Solomon a “blank check” to ask for anything he wanted.
   • Ask: “According to verse 6, what two things did Solomon realize that God had done?” (shown great mercy to his father David, and continued to demonstrate kindness to David by establishing his dynasty and placing David’s son on the throne).
   • Explain the following:
     • God showed mercy and kindness to David, but those are only facts.
     • Solomon was wise enough to recognize God’s hand in doing those things.
     • An unwise person accepts God’s blessings without recognizing their source.
     • A wise person sees God’s hand at work in all areas of his life.
   • Ask: “According to the first half of verse 7, what else did Solomon recognize?” (that God was the one who made him king).
   • Tell the class that an unwise person claims credit for their achievements, but a wise person acknowledges God’s power and blessings in his life.
   • Tell the students that Acts 17:28a says, “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being,” and Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5b).
   • Summarize: A wise person recognizes God’s mercy, kindness, and sovereignty in his or her life. Am I aware of God’s mercy, kindness, and sovereign actions in my life?
4. A Wise Person Recognizes Their Limitations and Needs.
   • Read 1 Kings 3:7b-8.
   • Ask: “What did Solomon realize about himself in the last half of verse 7?” (like a little child, he was young, inexperienced, and didn’t know how to do anything).
   • Ask: “Was Solomon proud or arrogant?” (no, he recognized his own limitations).
   • Ask: “What did he say in verse 8 about the people he was supposed to lead?” (they were God’s chosen people and they were too numerous to count).
   • Ask: “Does that sound like he was confident in his ability to lead Israel?” (no).
   • Tell the class that verse 9 contains Solomon’s brief prayer in response to the Lord’s generous offer in verse 5.
   • Ask a volunteer to read 1 Kings 3:9.
   • Ask: “What did Solomon ask for?” (he asked God for a wise and understanding heart and clear recognition of good and evil so he could judge the people).
   • Explain that ancient kings often had to settle disputes between their people, and Solomon realized he needed God’s wisdom to render proper judgments.
   • Tell the students that James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
   • Ask: “Can you teach or correct someone who thinks they know it all?” (no).
   • Tell the class that an unwise person trusts their own, flawed, human reasoning, but a wise person realizes he or she doesn’t have all the answers and needs God’s direction.
   • Summarize: A wise person recognizes his or her limitations and needs. Am I aware of my limitations and needs, or do I think I can handle life on my own?
5. A Wise Person Will be Blessed by God.
   • Ask a volunteer to read 1 Kings 3:10-12.
   • Ask: “How did God feel about Solomon’s request for wisdom?” (He was pleased with it).
   • Ask: “According to verse 12, what did the Lord give Solomon?” (a wise and understanding heart, greater than anyone before or after him).
   • Ask a volunteer to read 1 Kings 3:13-15.
   • Ask: “In addition to wisdom, what did God say in verse 13 that He was also giving Solomon?” (riches and honor, more than any other king on earth).
   • Tell the students that God also made a conditional promise to Solomon in verse 14.
   • Ask: “What was that conditional promise?” (if Solomon would walk in God’s ways and obey His commands like his Father David had, then God would lengthen Solomon’s life).
   • Ask: “According to verse 15, what did Solomon do when he awoke?” (went to Jerusalem and offered sacrifices and burnt offerings before the Ark of the Covenant).
   • Tell the class that the remainder of the chapter gives an example of Solomon’s wisdom.
   • Read 1 Kings 3:16-27.
   • Ask: “How did Solomon settle the dispute between the women?” (he said he was going to cut the living child in half and give half to each woman, knowing that the child’s real would do anything to save its life).
   • Ask a volunteer to read 1 Kings 3:28.
   • Ask: “How did all Israel react to Solomon’s wisdom?” (they feared and respected Solomon, recognizing that the wisdom of God was in him).
   • Tell the class that Solomon wisely appointed 12 governors to oversee Israel.
   • Read 1 Kings 4:20-21, 24-25.
   • Explain that Solomon’s kingdom stretched from the Euphrates River far to the north in modern Syria all the way to the border of Egypt, including the land of the Philistines and “Azzah,” which is modern Gaza.
   • Ask: “How do verses 20 and 25 describe the people of Israel under Solomon’s wise rule?” (they were happy, secure, and safe).
   • Read 1 Kings 4:29-34.
   • Tell the students that God blessed Solomon with more wisdom than anyone on earth, and people from all over the world came to hear his wisdom.
   • Summarize: A wise person will be blessed by God. Am I experiencing the blessings of wise, godly living?  If not, what needs to change?

 

PERSONAL APPLICATION: Direct everyone’s attention once again to the word “Wisdom” written on the board, and remind them that the title of today’s lesson is Am I a Wise Person?

Tell the students that through the example of Solomon, we have discovered the following three vitally important marks of a wise person:

1. A wise person loves, obeys, and worships the Lord.
2. A wise person recognizes God’s mercy, kindness, and sovereignty in his or her life.
3. A wise person recognizes his or her limitations and needs.

Remind everyone that we also discovered that God blesses people who seek His wisdom.

Ask: “Don’t answer out loud, but based on what we have learned today, are you striving to be a wise person?”

Ask: “Do you love, obey, and worship the Lord?  If you don’t, you’re not wise.”

Ask: “Do you recognize God’s mercy, kindness, and sovereign control over your life?  If you don’t, you’re not truly wise.”

Ask: “Do you recognize your personal limitations and need for God’s help?  If you don’t, you’re not wise.”

Ask everyone to bow their head and close their eyes.  Tell them to confess their shortcomings in any of those three areas, and to ask God to help them be wise.  Allow a moment for silent prayer, and then voice a closing prayer.

 

CONCLUSION: Ask everyone to memorize James 1:5.  Tell them to ask the Lord daily for the wisdom they need to live for Him and serve Him.