David, the great king of Israel, was old. Before dying, he called his son Solomon and said to him:

Solomon became king of Israel. He was young, but God had special plans for him.

One night, in Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, "Ask what I shall give you."

What an incredible gift! God was offering Solomon anything he wanted! He could have asked for riches, long life, victory over enemies...

But Solomon answered with humility:

Solomon did not ask for riches or power. He asked for wisdom to govern God's people well!

This answer pleased the Lord. God said:

"Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you."

Soon Solomon's wisdom would be tested. Two women came to him with a difficult problem.

Both lived in the same house. Both had given birth to babies three days apart. During the night, one of the women, while sleeping, lay on her baby and it died.

The first woman said: "Oh, my lord! This woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. During the night this woman's son died, because she lay on him. She arose at midnight and took my son from beside me while I slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, he was not my son!"

The other woman protested: "No! The living child is mine, and the dead child is yours!"

And so they argued before the king. There were no witnesses. There was no proof. How could Solomon discover the truth?

The king said, "One says, 'This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead,' and the other says, 'No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.'"

Then the king said, "Bring me a sword!"

They brought a sword before the king. Solomon ordered, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other."

People were shocked! Divide the baby in half? That would kill him!

But Solomon knew exactly what he was doing. He was testing the women's hearts.

The woman whose son was alive felt compassion for her son. She cried out, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death!"

The other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!"

The true mother preferred to lose her child rather than see him dead! The other woman, with jealousy and bitterness, preferred that neither should have him.

All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

Solomon governed Israel in a time of peace and prosperity. The kingdom became rich and powerful. But Solomon had a great dream: to build a temple for the Lord.

David, his father, had wanted to build the temple, but God told him it would not be him, but his son who would build it.

In the fourth year of his reign, Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah.

What a magnificent construction! The temple was thirty meters long, ten meters wide, and fifteen meters high. The stones were perfectly cut before being brought, so that during construction no hammer, axe, or any iron tool was heard.

The interior was lined with cedar and cypress. Everything was covered with pure gold! The Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant would be placed, was entirely covered with gold.

Solomon made two cherubim of olivewood, each five meters high, and covered them with gold. They stood in the Holy of Holies, with their wings spread over the Ark.

It took seven years to build! Thousands of workers, the finest wood from Lebanon, tons of gold and bronze. It was the most splendid building ever constructed in Israel.

When the temple was finished, Solomon assembled all the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes in Jerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.

The priests brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to its place, in the Holy of Holies of the temple, under the wings of the cherubim.

When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the temple of the Lord. The priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple!

God's presence was there! The same God who had guided Israel in the wilderness with a pillar of cloud now filled His temple.

Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven, and prayed:

It was a beautiful and long prayer. Solomon asked that God would hear the prayers made in that temple - prayers for forgiveness, prayers in time of war, prayers of foreigners who would come to know the God of Israel.

When Solomon finished all this prayer, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. He stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel.

Then Solomon and all Israel with him offered sacrifice before the Lord. Solomon offered as peace offerings twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred twenty thousand sheep!

They celebrated the feast for seven days. Then Solomon sent the people away. They blessed the king and went to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown.

Solomon's fame spread throughout all nations. Kings from all the earth came to hear Solomon's wisdom. The queen of Sheba traveled from very far away just to meet him and was amazed at his wisdom and wealth.

Israel had never been so glorious. Solomon's wisdom, peace in the kingdom, the magnificent temple - everything showed God's blessings upon Israel.

Solomon began his reign by asking God for wisdom. He judged wisely, built God's temple, and brought glory to Israel. When we put God first, He blesses abundantly!