Wisdom

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.  Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.  Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.  So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.  So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be" (1 Kings 3:5-12).

When a Christian thinks of wisdom, thoughts immediately turn to Solomon.  Solomon was the son of King David, the greatest warrior and ruler of ancient Israel.  But David was also a passionate believer in God, and an accomplished musician—most of the Psalms in the Bible were composed by David.

It seems natural that such a gifted man would have an equally gifted son.  When Solomon ascended his father’s throne, he showed that he was already a cut above the ordinary.  God spoke to Solomon in a dream, and offered a blessing to the young man as he assumed control of a very wealthy and influential country.  Solomon’s response showed his inner maturity; he acknowledged his need for God’s help in order to be a good ruler.  What he wanted most was the blessing of God’s wisdom.  The Lord was pleased with this request, and made Solomon the wisest man in all of human history.  Solomon contributed several new books to the Bible—Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs.  It’s no wonder that when we think of wisdom, we immediately think of Solomon.

What we don’t often remember, however, is Solomon’s fall from grace.  Solomon loved the benefits that came with being a king—he loved wealth and he loved women.  Solomon married 700 women and spent time with an additional 300 mistresses.  This lust for earthly things had a terrible effect on the king; the Bible tells us, As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.  He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.  So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done (1 Kings 11:4-6).  Although Solomon was the wisest man alive, he did something very foolish.  He thought that he could have it both ways—be a servant of God, and yet ignore God whenever it suited him. 

Solomon’s mistake is one that we make too.  We honor God on Sunday morning.  We pray to Him at mealtime.  We read a devotion in the morning or before going to bed.  But what about the rest of the time?  At work, do you ask the Holy Spirit for guidance before making an important decision?  When someone makes you mad, do you ask Jesus to forgive that person?  When you get a pleasant surprise, do you thank God for His generosity? 

Most of the time, we ignore God—we only think about Him on our schedule.  That way, the rest of our time is ours to do with as we please.  When you don’t think about God, it is easy to yell at your parents, tell mean jokes, have an affair, cheat on tests, stretch the truth, and spend money foolishly.  We treat God like He’s in a closet; if we close the door on Him and turn off the light, He won’t see what we’re doing. 

Of course, such thinking is ridiculous.  God knows our every thought, word, and deed.  And He knows that a divided heart can only lead to trouble.  Jesus said, No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24). 

Solomon should have realized this—after all, he was the wisest man of all time.  Yet if you read Ecclesiastes, you see the thoughts of an old man who realizes how foolish he has been.  Listen to how the book starts: "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."  For page after page, Solomon despairs over the wasted years of human life.  It is not until the very end of the book that he puts it all into perspective: here is the conclusion of the matter--fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Pretty bleak wisdom, to be sure.  Shouldn’t wisdom make us happy?  Let’s see what we can find out about wisdom from looking at God’s gift to Solomon.

Solomon asked for wisdom in order to become a good ruler for God’s people.  Obviously, the young king was already a wise man—he was concerned with treating others fairly and improving their lives.  He did not ask for long life or riches or the death of his enemies, and God praised him for that.   Foolish people are obsessed with personal comfort and safety; wise people find happiness by cultivating it in others.

Solomon knew his limitations; like each of us, he needed God’s help to make good decisions.  The events of our world swirl in murky grayness; it’s like everything is shrouded in fog at sunset.  Churches are like street lamps, shining with the light of God; but Satan fills the areas in-between with shadows and confusion. 

Wisdom cuts through the fog and pushes back the dark.  Wisdom sees the difference between right and wrong.  Wisdom separates truth from half-truths and outright lies.  Wisdom enables you to consider all the angles and ask the right questions.  Wisdom looks at the big picture but does not miss any important details.  Wisdom learns from the past, plans for a better tomorrow, but does not ignore the needs of today.  Wisdom shows us the best path forward through the murky fog.

As king of Israel, Solomon would often be called on to act as judge for the people.  Solomon wanted to be a good judge—fair, but compassionate.  Wisdom is the ability to temper justice with mercy.  This is exactly what Jesus does for us.  When Christ calls us to stand before Him, He has one decision to make—accept us into heaven, or reject us to hell.  Because we are sinners who ignore God’s rules, justice demands eternal punishment.  But Jesus tempers holy justice with loving compassion.  Love took Him to the cross where Christ suffered the punishment for our sins.  Now He offers the benefits of His death to all who trust in Him.  When we stand before the Son of God in judgment, He will look into our hearts to see if we love and trust Him; if we do, we will be joyfully welcomed into paradise.  Jesus is the wisdom of God made flesh, and He is the perfect judge of all.

Such wisdom understands the human heart.  It understands that our inner nature is corrupt, but that God loves us despite our faults.  Wisdom enables us to nurture the good while dealing aggressively with the bad.  Wisdom helps us to forgive each other, support each other, and grow together.

But having wisdom does not guarantee good behavior—something that Solomon found out the hard way.  He had the God-given wisdom to see the right thing to do, but more and more often he chose a different direction, one which took him away from God. 

There are lots of smart people in our world—smart people who don’t believe in Jesus.  They earn doctorates, teach at universities, and publish books.  They believe that they are wise, yet their wisdom leads away from God, not towards Him.  In 1st Corinthians chapter one, Paul makes fun of such human wisdom: Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  The world, through its wisdom, did not know him, so God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe…For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

Solomon demonstrates that wisdom and humility go hand-in-hand.  The young king would not have asked for such a gift if he were confident in his own abilities.  People who are proud and arrogant don’t ask God for wisdom; in their minds, they already know the best way to proceed.  They don’t consult with advisors; they surround themselves with ‘yes men’ to pat them on the back for always being clever. 

Wisdom is not always valued by others—it tells us uncomfortable things about ourselves.  Consider this case brought before Solomon: two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.  One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me.  The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.  During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him.  So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast.  The next morning, I got up to nurse my son--and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne."  The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”

…Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king.  He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other." The woman, whose son was alive, was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!"  But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!" Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."  When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice (1 Kings chapter three).

Solomon had great wisdom—but I doubt that the losing woman had much good to say about him.  The darkness in her heart had been exposed for all to see.  It is the same with Christ and us.  Through the Bible, God’s wisdom clarifies what is good and what is evil.  When confronted with the truth about themselves, some experience a change of heart, repent their sins, and cling to Jesus in love.  But others don’t want to change their ways; they resent being described as a sinner.  Such people get angry at Jesus and angry at His followers.  It was this kind of rage that led to Jesus’ crucifixion.  It is this kind of resentment that has pulled the Bible from our schools and the 10 Commandments from our courthouses.

And yet wisdom is both respected and desirable.  The queen of Sheba came to learn from Solomon and offered him many expensive gifts for the experience.  The words of Solomon are preserved in no less than five books of the Bible, and even unbelievers are impressed with his understanding of human nature.  Wisdom is magnetic; it draws us in and makes us hungry to learn.  And wisdom is useful—it makes clear what is otherwise confusing.

Wisdom can be yours.  The Holy Spirit has preserved much wisdom in the Bible, and offers to help you understand it.  But just remember this—wisdom does not guarantee good decisions.  The wise person lets Jesus lead, and humbly follows behind.