1 AND solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, [This was no doubt a political measure in order to strengthen his kingdom, and on the same ground he continued his alliance with the king of Tyre; and these were among the most powerful of his neighbours. But should political considerations prevail over express laws of God? God had strictly forbidden his people to form alliances with heathenish women, lest they should lead their hearts away from him into idolatry. Let us hear the law: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son; for they will turn away thy son from following me, &c. Exod. xxxiv. 16; Deut. vii. 3, 4; Deut. 17:16. Now solomon acted in direct opposition to these laws; and perhaps in this alliance were sown those seeds of apostacy from God and goodness in which he so long lived, and in which he so awfully died. Adame Clarke solomon knew he was not supposed to do this but did any way - how does disobeying what might seem to be an insignifigate command lead to other problems? We all start small, rationalize we are better than the command. we know what we are doing... "Early in his reign solomon elected to marry the daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh. Since Israel had imposed its sovereignty throughout the region, solomon apparently considered it important to neutralize any hostility on the part of Egypt, for Egypt had been accustomed to using Canaan as a base for military operations. Marriages between royal families were often politically motivated; such a marriage was a way of signing a treaty between two countries. Nevertheless, the marriage of solomon to the daughter of the pharaoh showed a lack of faith in the Lord, who had promised to defend Israel and fight her battles (see Deuteronomy 20:4; Joshua 23:10). Later, this marriage and other marriages to foreign wives proved to be a major factor in the downfall of Israel, for solomon began worshiping the false gods of these other nations and was condemned by the Lord (see 1 Kings 11:1–9)." Old Test Student Manual Rel 302 Pg 4 ] and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

2 Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days.

3 And solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; [ Gibeon is the place that Moses built the sacrificial altar. ] for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did solomon offer upon that altar.

5 ¶ In Gibeon the LORD appeared to solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. [ Wow! how would you like a dream like that? Lord visits you and asks what would you like that I should give you - How would you respond? ]

6 And solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, [ so what is an "understanding Heart"? Compassion, empathy, non-judgemental, seek first to understand. What is the heart symbolic of? Three primary symbols:1)The place of affectionslike joy, fear, hatred 2) An expression of spiritual receptivity or lack of it 3) True gospel understanding is to take place in the heart. How can we have understanding hearts? How did having an understand heart provide for solomon to have so much wisdom? some commandments are easier for some of to keep and others are easier for others to keep - How does an understanding heart help one to be a good judge? sometimes we may need to understand how some one was raised to understand their decisions, we may need to understan their trials to understan their decisions...] that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that solomon had asked this thing.

11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. [ Why Did the Lord Praise David’s Righteousness When He Had Violated the Law of Chastity and Had Caused Uriah’s Murder? Joseph Smith Translation 1 Kings 3:14 reads: “And if thou wilt walk in my ways to keep my statutes, and my commandments, then I will lengthen thy days, and thou shalt not walk in unrighteousness, as did thy father David.” The Prophet Joseph Smith corrected this verse to show that David was being used by the Lord as an example of what David’s successors should not do. ]

15 And solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, [ Note that solomon is sacrificing at the Ark of the covenant - so he is not on the hilltop any more, as he was in vs 2-4. ] and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

16 ¶ Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.

18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.

19 And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.

27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. [ Two wise decisions made in this story. First solomon was wise enough to create a situtation where the mother that would be the BEST mother for the baby would make herself known. the other woman would disqualify herself as well. The second decision was to have restraint not to judge either of these harlots. He could have made mention that neither was fit to be a mother or some other statement, he could have chasened their behavior but he did not. There is a time to teach and he recognized that it was not the time. solomon sticks to the case that is brought before him, and to that only. so, while solomon is very clever is resolving the particular matter at hand, he is ignoring the broader issues of dishonesty, prostitution. What is the wisdom here? ]

28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; [solomon became well known for his judgement] and they feared the king: [respected him - the way that they feared God - or respected him] for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.