At Gibeon the Lord Appeared to Solomon

I'm reading in 1 Kings these days and came across this little story. You all know it, I'd guess. Solomon had settled the kingdom. God shows up and says, "Ask me for what you want." You remember Solomon's answer. "Give me wisdom." God likes his answer so much that He gives him wisdom, long life, and riches. Nice. But there's something in that story that I never noticed before.

Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night ... (1 Kings 3:3-5).

Okay, let's see. Solomon loved the Lord. Got it. He was "walking in the statues of David." Good. And then there's an exception. "Only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places." The previous verse suggests an explanation. "The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the LORD" (1 Kings 3:2). "Oh, see?" we are tempted to say, "They didn't have anywhere else to sacrifice." Except they did. The tabernacle was still there. It was still in place. It was still the right place to sacrifice. So good ol' Solomon who loved the Lord and walked in the statutes of David had one little problem -- the violation of the first commandment.

And this is where it gets interesting. "At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon." God didn't show up to correct Solomon. He didn't even mention it. He didn't point out, "You know, Solomon, this is not the place to be sacrificing to Me." Not a word about it. Just, "Ask what I shall give you." And He did.

There is, in my mind, one clear explanation. According to the text, Solomon's wisdom was the discernment between good and evil (1 Kings 3:9). Knowing Solomon's heart ("Solomon loved the Lord"), the gift of discernment between good and evil would correct Solomon's error here. And, in fact, it did. He built the Temple and sacrificed there.

Like C.S. Lewis's Aslan, God is not a tame lion. He doesn't do things the way you and I expect. He has His own methods. They aren't necessarily the ones that we think up. Giving the gift of wisdom to a man in the midst of idolatrous sacrifice may seem a bit strange to us. It appears to have been God's idea of a good thing. I'm glad that God is not limited by the abilities of His people nor limited to the ideas of His followers.