1 Kings 3:14

“ And if you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

What was more, if he would continually walk in YHWH’s ways and keep His statutes and His commandments, thus remaining faithful to the covenant, he would also have length of days and live to a mature old age. For ‘keep my statutes’ see Leviticus 19:19; Leviticus 20:8; Leviticus 20:22. For ‘keep my commandments’ see Leviticus 26:3. For walking before God and keeping His statutes and commandments see especially 1 Kings 2:3; 1 Kings 6:12; 1 Kings 8:58; 1 Kings 9:4; Joshua 22:5; Leviticus 18:3-4; Leviticus 26:3; Deuteronomy 5:33; Deuteronomy 8:6; Deuteronomy 10:12; Deuteronomy 11:22; Deuteronomy 26:17; Deuteronomy 30:16; Judges 2:22; and compare Genesis 17:1; Genesis 24:40; Genesis 26:5; Genesis 48:15; Exodus 15:26; Exodus 18:20; Leviticus 26:21-41; Deuteronomy 6:1-2; etc. Thus the citations conform with various Biblical books.

1 Kings 3:15

‘ And Solomon awoke, and, behold, it was a dream, and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of YHWH, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.’

Then Solomon awoke and recognised that he had received a supernatural dream confirming the covenant and his own acceptability to YHWH as king within it (1 Kings 3:14), and in consequence he came to Jerusalem, to the Sacred Tent where the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH was to be found, and standing before it (although it would, of course, be unseen behind its curtain), dedicated himself and his people to YHWH, and offered up on the altar there burnt offerings and peace offerings, the former being for dedication, the latter being in respect of wellbeing, peace with God and thanksgiving. The burnt offerings were for dedication and atonement (Leviticus 1:0), and would be fully consumed, but the peace-offerings were for acceptability, well-being, thanksgiving and atonement, and meat from them could be consumed at a feast (Leviticus 7:11-21). Consequently Solomon made a feast to all his servants, and it may presumably be assumed that at that feast he communicated to his servants all that YHWH had said to him, thus making them one with him in it and assuring them that he had received the divine seal to his kingship.

The move to Jerusalem for this purpose was necessary because that was where the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH, containing the two tablets of ‘commandments’, was to be found. It was emphasising how much the covenant was to be seen as involved in what had been said.

One vital lesson that all of us can draw from the above narrative is the necessity of ensuring that when we make choices in our lives, we do so with the prosperity and blessing of the Kingly Rule of God in mind.