Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Chronicles
Chapter 1: Ask! What Shall I Give You?
A young king stands at the beginning of his reign, and God hands him a blank check: 'Ask! What shall I give you?' Solomon could have named wealth, long life, or the death of his enemies. Instead he asks for wisdom to shepherd God's great people. Because he sought first the kingdom's true need, God gave him wisdom, and riches and honor besides. This chapter shows what God delights to give the heart that asks rightly.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Chronicles chapter 1. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Second Chronicles opens with Solomon newly established on the throne and God's remarkable offer at Gibeon. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
From Solomon to Exile
Second Chronicles carries Israel's story from the glory of Solomon and the temple through the kings of Judah to the Babylonian exile, and closes with the decree that lets the people return home.
Traditionally Ezra
As with First Chronicles, Jewish tradition credits Ezra. Written for the returned remnant, it holds up the temple, true worship, and the house of David as the heart of the nation's hope.
Solomon's First Act
David is dead, and Solomon is firmly on the throne. His reign opens not with conquest but with worship: he leads Israel to Gibeon to seek the LORD at the tabernacle Moses had made.
Ask Rightly
God offers Solomon anything, and Solomon's answer reveals his heart. What we ask for when we could ask for anything exposes what we truly love.
Solomon Worships at Gibeon (2 Chronicles 1:1-6)
Before he asks God for anything, Solomon leads all Israel to worship, offering a thousand burnt offerings on the bronze altar.
The Kingdom Established, the Altar Sought
"And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly. Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers. So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. But the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjathjearim to the place which David had prepared for it: for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it. And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it."
Hebrew Study
"Solomon... was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly" — two distinct Hebrew verbs, not one idea repeated. "Strengthened" is chazaq (חָזַק), to be made firm and secure -- his throne established. "Magnified" is gadal (גָּדַל), to make great -- his renown exalted. God did both: securing Solomon's position and enlarging his name are stated as God's gift before Solomon does a single thing; it is bestowed, not achieved. And his first recorded act is worship: he leads all Israel up to the great high place at Gibeon to offer a thousand burnt offerings. Exaltation from God moves the wise heart not to pride but to the altar.
Explanation
Solomon's reign is secure, and the chronicler names the reason plainly: "the LORD his God was with him." His first recorded act as an established king is not to build a palace or muster an army but to gather the nation for worship at Gibeon, where the tabernacle of Moses and the bronze altar still stood. The lavish thousand offerings say where his priorities lay: God before anything else.
Gospel Focus
The order here is everything. Solomon worships before he asks. He seeks God's presence before he seeks God's gifts. This is the very pattern Jesus taught: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). A heart that comes to God bringing worship, not just requests, is a heart prepared to ask rightly. Solomon's greatness did not begin with his wisdom; it began at the altar.
Ask! What Shall I Give You? (2 Chronicles 1:7-10)
That night God appears to Solomon with an astonishing offer, and Solomon's request reveals the heart of a true shepherd.
Give Me Wisdom and Knowledge
"In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?"
Hebrew Study
"Wisdom," chokmah (חָכְמָה). Not mere cleverness but skill for living rightly, the practical art of applying truth to real decisions. Solomon asks for the wisdom to govern, to discern good from evil in the hard cases that come before a king.
"That I may go out and come in before this people." This is the Hebrew idiom for leadership, for shepherding a nation through its daily life. Solomon does not ask to be served; he asks to be able to serve. He calls Israel "this thy people, that is so great," remembering they belong to God, not to him.
Explanation
God's offer is breathtaking in its openness: "Ask what I shall give thee." A young king with the wealth of a kingdom before him could have named anything. Solomon names his own inadequacy: "I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in," set over "a people... that cannot be numbered." So he asks not for riches or long life or the death of his enemies, but for "wisdom and knowledge" to judge this vast people rightly. He asks for what he needs to serve, not for what he would enjoy.
Gospel Focus
Given anything, Solomon asked for what would help him serve God's people well. This is the prayer God loves to answer. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5). The same God who said to Solomon, "Ask!" invites us to ask, and promises wisdom to those who seek it for the right reasons. The question the chapter presses on every reader is simple: if God said to you tonight, "Ask! What shall I give you?", what would your answer reveal about your heart?
Wisdom, and Riches Besides (2 Chronicles 1:11-12)
Because Solomon asked for the right thing, God grants his request and adds what he did not ask for.
Because This Was in Your Heart
"And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel. And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means."
Hebrew Study
God grants the wisdom and knowledge (chokmah, the practical skill of godly living) that Solomon requested — "and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour" besides, three distinct Hebrew words: osher (עֹשֶׁר, wealth in silver and gold), nekasim (נְכָסִים, possessions and property), and kavod (כָּבוֹד, weighty honor and reputation) -- money, holdings, and reputation all promised together, the very things he did not ask. It is the principle the Lord Jesus would state: "seek ye first the kingdom of God... and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). When a heart asks God for the right thing, it often receives that and more.
Explanation
The reason God gives so lavishly is stated plainly: "Because this was in thine heart." God weighed not merely Solomon's words but his desires — that he longed to serve the people well rather than to indulge himself. Right desires unlock God's generosity. The king who sought wisdom to shepherd God's people received both the wisdom and a glory no other king of his age would match, precisely because he wanted the useful gift and not the selfish one.
Gospel Focus
God looks first at the heart: "Because this was in your heart." Solomon did not ask for riches or the death of his enemies, so God gave him wisdom, and then added the very things he had not sought. This is the abundance of God's grace to those who put His kingdom first. When we seek the right things, God often grants far more than we asked, "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). Yet the warning stands close by: Solomon who began so well would later let his heart be turned by the riches and wives his greatness attracted. The gifts are safe only in a heart that keeps seeking the Giver first.
Chapter 1 in Review
2 Chronicles 1 opens Solomon's reign at the altar. Established on the throne with God's blessing, he leads Israel to Gibeon to worship, offering a thousand burnt offerings before he asks God for anything. That night God offers him a blank check, "Ask! What shall I give you?", and Solomon asks not for wealth or long life but for wisdom to shepherd God's great people. God grants the wisdom and adds riches and honor besides, because the right thing was in Solomon's heart.
For the Apostolic reader, this chapter is a lesson in seeking first the kingdom of God. Solomon worshiped before he asked, asked for wisdom rather than gain, and received more than he requested. The God who invited Solomon to ask still invites us, and still gives wisdom generously to those who ask with a heart to serve Him. The blessings are best kept by the heart that keeps the Giver first.
- Solomon worshiped before he asked: seek God's presence before His gifts.
- What we ask for, when we could ask for anything, reveals what we truly love.
- God gives wisdom generously to those who ask for the right reasons (James 1:5).
- Seek first the kingdom, and God often adds what we did not ask (Matthew 6:33).
Questions for Reflection
- If God said to you tonight, "Ask! What shall I give you?", what would your answer reveal about your heart?
- Solomon worshiped before he asked. Does your prayer begin with adoration, or only with requests?
- God added what Solomon did not seek. How does seeking His kingdom first reorder what you chase after?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Solomon established; worship at Gibeon: 2 Chronicles 1:1-6; compare 1 Kings 3:4.
- God's offer and Solomon's request for wisdom: 2 Chronicles 1:7-10; 1 Kings 3:5-9.
- Seek first the kingdom; ask God for wisdom: Matthew 6:33; James 1:5.
- God grants wisdom and adds riches and honor: 2 Chronicles 1:11-12; 1 Kings 3:10-13.
- God gives above all we ask; the warning of a turned heart: Ephesians 3:20; 1 Kings 11:1-4.