No one knows who this Pharaoh is but Solomon makes an alliance with him which was the custom of the day, where two countries sealed their relationship through marriage. By doing this, the king of one country would marry the other’s daughters which was permissible under those circumstances, as long as those other countries gave up their gods, Deuteronomy 21:10-14. Israel wasn’t allowed to marry any Canaanites, Exodus 34:11-16 / Deuteronomy 7:1-5.
In this case, Pharaoh and Egypt as a whole would be better off because Israel at this time was the stronger nation, but both countries could easily come to an agreement about trade deals, 1 Kings 10:26-29.
The high places were common places where the Canaanites sacrificed offerings to their gods. These high places shouldn’t have been in existence because God had commanded Israel to destroy them all many years before this, because He knew that Israel would be tempted to get involved in idol worship, Deuteronomy 12:1-4.
The people had the excuse that the temple wasn’t finished being built yet, but worshipping God at these high places was sinful, Leviticus 17:9. We must remember that God never commanded a temple to build in the first place, it was David’s idea, not Gods, 2 Samuel 7:1-17.
Although the ark of the covenant was in a tent in Jerusalem, Solomon goes to Gibeon because the tabernacle was located at Gibeon during the days of David’s reign and the first part of the reign of Solomon. When he arrives he offers burnt offerings, 2 Chronicles 1:2-13.
God often appeared to men in dreams, but that didn’t always mean that God approved that person, we see this Pharaoh, Genesis 41:1-8, and Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 2:1-9.
Notice Solomon says God after having his dream that he is ‘only a little child’, Solomon could be referring to his inexperience in judging the people, and he could be referring to is young age as king he is young. Although we don’t exactly how old he was when he became king, the Septuagint gives it at age twelve, 1 Kings 2:12, but we simply don’t know.
When God tells Solomon to ask for anything, we see in Solomon’s answer to God, that he truly appreciated everything God had done for him. Solomon understands that his greatest need, if he is going to have this huge responsibility to lead God’s people, is wisdom, he knows he needs understanding so that he can lead God’s people with justice.
Solomon didn’t request anything for himself such as long life or riches, he simply asks for wisdom to rule the people and because of this, God heard his prayer and God was pleased with him. God was so pleased with his request, He gives Solomon more than just wisdom, He gives him wealth and honour.
The people had direct access to the king at this point in time and notice that the two women who came to Solomon were prostitutes. Because Solomon allows two prostitutes to come to him, shows us just how kind and generous Solomon was as a king.
One of the women says, ‘the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son’. When we think about this, this appears to be an impossible issue to solve, because there were no witnesses, this is basically one prostitute’s word over another.
Notice how Solomon uses his wisdom to solve this issue, he asks for a sword. If we didn’t know how this issue ended, we would think that what Solomon was about to do was foolish and even dangerous, but because we know how this issue ends, we can see the wisdom in his actions.
Solomon knew how to solve this issue because he knew what the true mother of the child would react if she thought the child was about to be killed, she ‘was deeply moved out of love for her son.’
She proved she was the real child’s mother by her love for her son. She would rather have the child live without her than to die with her, she put the child’s welfare above her own.
Without any hesitation Solomon now knows who the real mother is, he knew that the offer to cut the child in two would reveal the true mother, and he rewarded the mother’s love accordingly. This whole event manifested the wisdom God had given Solomon.
And because of Solomon’s wisdom and dealing with these two women and the child, he became famous throughout the surrounding nations and beyond.
Everyone heard about what he did and as a result the people were in awe because they knew that Solomon not only had the wisdom to lead God’s people but also the courage to do what is right.
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."