1 Kings 3:7

“ And now, O YHWH my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father, and I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.”

But having received his authentication by YHWH Solomon recognised what his great problem was, and that was that he was ‘but a little child’ when it came to running an empire. He was openly acknowledging that as a very young and inexperienced man the task was too big for him and that he did not know how precisely to go about it (thus revealing that he already had some wisdom). The idea of ‘going out’ and ‘coming in’ refers to a person going out of the house or city in order to fulfil his purposes in life and do his duty and fulfil his responsibilities, and then returning, both to rest from his labours, and also to see to the internal problems at home in order also to fulfil his responsibilities there. It thus referred to all aspects of life both near and far. And he was admitting that he needed help with regard to all of them.

An interesting example of a similar humility shown by a king, and vividly depicted, is found in a sculpture at Pi-Rameses of Rameses II where he is portrayed as squatting like a young child and sucking his thumb under the protection of an image of Horus depicted as a giant stone falcon. It was an indication that in the hearts of all men, however great, there is a recognition of their own inadequacy and need for supernatural help, which if not met by trust in God, will find other avenues by which to express itself such as in Nature, ‘Evolution’ or the occult.