From 2 Chronicles 1:7-12 ...
"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?
"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."
The young King Solomon, who was twelve years old at the time, made this plea when God appeared to him in that night. When God said, "Ask what I shall give thee," Solomon could have asked for anything: long life, fame, fortune, victory over his enemies. Instead, he asked for wisdom, of all things. Using human the philosophy of pragmatism, one would come to the conclusion that this was a silly thing to ask for! Why on earth did he ask for wisdom rather than something exercisable like power or riches? One would soon find that in addition to wisdom, Solomon gained power, riches, and so much more.
A common Sunday School mistake would be to say that the lesson of this passage is, "God will give you all the things you'll ever want- money, fame, long life- if you ask for wisdom." This fallacious appeal to selfishness is called the prosperity gospel, and ironically enough, if a man truly asks from his heart, "God, give me wisdom," then surely God would give him wisdom to refute it! Because Solomon sought righteousness, God gave him what he needed in order to carry out His will. In Solomon's case, those needs were financial and political, because he was a king of Israel. In the case of a common man, "riches, wealth, or honour" might take a different form.
Job 28:18 says, "the price of wisdom is above rubies." Wisdom is a treasure that continues to rise even when banks crash, when lands are plundered, when money is worth nothing. Wisdom is humble, and it can learn from princes as well as paupers. Wisdom is fear of the LORD, who alone can save the soul from death. How much better it is to have wisdom than to command all the armies in the world, than to possess the sum of all the nations' wealth! "The wise shall inherit glory; but shame is the promotion of fools." (Pr. 3:35)