2
Chronicles 1:1-15; Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his
kingdom, for the Lord his God was
with him and made him exceedingly great.
2
Then Solomon spoke to all Israel—to
the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, to the judges and to
all the leaders in Israel, the heads of families— 3 and Solomon and
the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God’s Tent of Meeting
was there, which Moses the Lord’s
servant had made in the desert. 4 6 Solomon went up to the bronze
altar before the Lord in the Tent
of Meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. 7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
8 Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
11 God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”
13 Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from before the Tent of Meeting. And he reigned over Israel. [1]
The Lord responded to Solomon’s expression of worship
by appearing to him (in a dream; cf. 1 Kings 3:5) and inviting him to request whatever he
wanted. Because Solomon was young and inexperienced he was apprehensive
about his ability to rule the great nation. So he requested that he might
receive wisdom and knowledge to lead the people. ”Wisdom“
refers to discernment and judgment while ”knowledge“ means practical know-how
in everyday affairs.
The
unselfish character of Solomon’s choice prompted the Lord to grant not only
what Solomon . . . asked for but also more. God said He would also
give Solomon wealth, riches, and honor unlike any other king of
Israel.[2]
Solomon
could have asked God for anything, but instead chose wisdom and knowledge. Solomon said this about wisdom in Proverbs
3:15, She (wisdom) is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare
with her.[3]
This
same wisdom is available to us. First,
we must ask God for wisdom. James 1:5
says, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to
all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. [4]
Second,
we must believe God will grant us this wisdom.
James 1:6 says, But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because
he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.[5]
Third,
we must act to search out this wisdom.
It will not come to us by just asking and believing, but also by our
actions to attain wisdom. We must devote
ourselves to studying God’s word and then applying it to our lives. When we do this then we will see the results
of wise living and gain the divine source of wisdom.
2. An example of Solomon’s wisdom.
1
Kings 3:16-28; Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17
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. 18 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.
19
“During the night this woman’s son
died because she lay on him. 20 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. 21 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.” 22 The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”
But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.“And so they argued before the king.
23 The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’ ”
24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”
26 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!”
27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”
28 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. [6]
This
incident was undoubtedly included at this point to show that God had indeed
given Solomon the wisdom He promised (cf. v. 12).
Significantly the essence of wisdom is revealed in Solomon’s handling of this
difficult case. The king had insight into basic human nature (in this case,
maternal instincts) that enabled him to understand why people behave as they do
and how they will respond in various situations. The opposite of this ability
is seen in simply judging people’s superficial words and actions.
3:16-23. Two prostitutes living in the same house
each had a baby three days apart. One of the boy babies died
during the night and his mother exchanged the dead child for the living
child. In the morning when the other woman discovered that the dead
son was not hers, the guilty mother refused to admit her wrongdoing. Unable to
settle their dispute they appeared before the king, each one claiming
the living infant was hers.
3:24-27. Solomon ordered that the baby be cut . . . in two.
As he had anticipated, the child’s mother, not wanting it killed, volunteered
to let the other woman have the baby, rather than have it killed. When the
other woman argued that the baby should be cut . . . in two, it was
evident that she, having no compassion for the child, was not the living
son’s mother.
3:28. Solomon’s wisdom in this case became known
throughout his kingdom so that he was admired as a wise administrator of justice.[7]
What
we learn is that wisdom must be put into action and must be bold. Many times those who are wise will not lead,
because they are afraid or unwilling to be bold. This is why many times it is not the wisest
that lead us, but instead those who only act wise. Those who have been given wisdom have an obligation
to pronounce that wisdom to teach, correct, and lead people.
3. Wisdom with God
1
Kings 4:29-34; God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of
understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s
wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than
all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 And his fame spread to all the
surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his
songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He described plant life, from
the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught
about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 Men of all nations
came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had
heard of his wisdom.[8]
This
additional information about Solomon’s wisdom demonstrates God’s faithfulness
in blessing the king as He had promised. Wisdom is the ability to live
life successfully. While Solomon possessed this ability he did not always apply
it to his own life. Thus the wisest man who ever lived did not live as wisely
as many others who preceded and followed him. Having insight into life does not
guarantee that one will choose to do what is right. Solomon’s great insight
was his ability to see the core of issues. His understanding was vast;
today he would be described as a man of encyclopedic knowledge.
4:30-31. His wisdom exceeded that of all the men of
the East (cf. Job 1:3)
and all the wisdom of people in Egypt, both areas known for their
wisdom. He was also superior to other men renowned for their wisdom.
4:32-34. Several hundred of Solomon’s 3,000 proverbs
have been preserved in the Book of Proverbs as well as a few in Ecclesiastes.
One of his 1,005 songs is the Song of Songs. Solomon’s literary output
was extremely prolific. He became an authority in botany and zoology too. The
statement in verse 34 is an overstatement to
make a point; obviously not every nation on earth sent a representative
to visit Solomon. The point is that many important visitors from faraway places
visited Solomon who received them openly at his court. He was recognized as the
wisest man of his day as God had promised he would be.[9]
The
question for us is our we the wisest person in our circle people? Do people see us as someone who they can
trust to get honest and clear advise?
Someone who would listen and because of our understanding of the Bible
be able to discern right from wrong. Our
actions in life will show people our wisdom and how well we put our wisdom into
action.
[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 2 Ch 1:1-17
[2] Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B.
; Dallas Theological Seminary: The
Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL :
Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 1:620
[3] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Pr 3:15
[4] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand
Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Jas 1:5
[5] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Jas 1:6
[6] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 1 Ki 3:16-28
[7] Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B.
; Dallas Theological Seminary: The
Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL :
Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 1:495
[8] The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed.
Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 1 Ki 4:29-34
[9] Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B.
; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible
Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor
Books, 1983-c1985, S. 1:496-498
