Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 3:1-4
We are here told concerning Solomon, I. Something that was unquestionably good, for which he is to be praised and in which he is to be imitated. 1. He loved the Lord, 1 Kgs. 3:3. Particular notice was taken of God's love to him, 2 Sam. 12:24. He had his name from it: Jedidiah?beloved of the Lord. And here we find he returned that love, as John, the beloved disciple, was most full of love. Solomon was a wise man, a rich man; yet the brightest encomium of him is that which is the character of... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 3
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, 1 Kgs. 3:1. II. A general view of his religion, 1 Kgs. 3:2-4. III. A particular account of his prayer to God for wisdom, and the answer to that prayer, 1 Kgs. 3:5-15. IV. A particular... read more