Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Our consideration of the word 'desert' now brings us to 2 Chronicles 1...and we have a reference to the tabernacle of Moses. If I'm not mistaken, this is the last time, chronologically, that we see the actual Tent of Meeting....
and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God's Tent of Meeting was there, which Moses the LORD's servant had made in the desert. (2 Chron. 1:3)
The altar that Bezalel made, that the Israelites had carried through the desert, was also at that location (v. 5), and Solomon went up there and offered 1,000 burnt offerings (v.6). He apparently spent the night up there, because v. 13 records 'Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, and before the Tent of Meeting.' And in between...well, it wasn't called the 'Tent of Meeting' for nothing.
Verse 7 tells us that 'That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."
I am assuming that this was a dream, although it's just implied. Solomon's answer is famous..."Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?" ( v. 10).
Solomon asked for a good thing, and God was pleased and gave him blessings he did not ask for as well (v. 12).
Now I'm going to wax a bit philosophical. Solomon did ask for a good thing...wisdom and knowledge. But we all know what happened. With all his wisdom, and all his knowledge, he failed to take to heart the commandments of God....one of which was specifically directed at the king:
'When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll
a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be
with him and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to
revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and
these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from
the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long
time over his kingdom in Israel.' (Deut. 17: 18-20)
How do I know Solomon didn't do this? Well, the first thing mentioned after his return to Jerusalem is that he accumulated chariots (1,400) and horses (12,000) (2 Chron. 1:14). The horses were imported from Egypt (v. 16)...and the law, which the king was to copy out for himself and read daily , specified:
'The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them.' (Deut. 17: 16a). Deuteronomy goes on to say the king must not acquire great personal wealth or marry many wives 'or his heart will be led astray.'....which is exactly what happened to Solomon. His wisdom and knowledge were renowned in his day, which is something for a world without any kind of mass communication. Yet, in is later years, he fell into worshiping the gods of his many foreign wives...and it turned his heart from following God. He didn't mentor his son well...and shortly after his death the kingdom was divided. Because...if he had all the wisdom and knowledge he needed to govern the people, then...he wouldn't need to inquire of God. He was sufficient for his task. He could succeed at anything, because he was just that smart.Why would he need to write down the law and study it daily? He could remember it...right?
Maybe having talent sufficient for the task isn't always the best thing.
Contrast Solomon's request with the 'one thing' his father David requested:
"One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." (Ps. 27:4).
God met Solomon at the Tent of Meeting, which was made in the desert where Israel learned that they had to depend on God for all things....and that God would provide all things. But Solomon didn't perceive that he had to depend on God for anything...he had it all. And he forgot where it all came from.
There's no record that Solomon ever went back to the Tent of Meeting...or of what happened to the tent or the altar Bezalel crafted after Solomon built the Temple with a new altar.
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