Solomon

The King Who Sought Wisdom

READ 1 Kings 3:4–15

A former pastor once said, “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom is knowing to eat it like a vegetable. No one wants a tomato in their fruit salad!” Wisdom goes beyond knowledge. It’s not just about facts; it’s about living well in light of what is true.

Wisdom is a godly virtue taught throughout the Bible, and no character in the Bible is more closely associated with wisdom than King Solomon. Solomon took the throne in Jerusalem after his father, David, and led the country during a period of great prosperity.

Yet Solomon’s reign models the exact opposite of what Moses hoped for Israel’s future kings (Deuteronomy 17:14–20). Solomon put so much hope in his own military strength that he needed to have storage cities built just for his horses and chariots. He amassed enormous amounts of gold and wealth for himself. And he had far too many women—seven hundred wives of royal birth along with three hundred concubines. As Moses had warned, these many wives pulled Solomon’s heart away from God. On top of that, Solomon subjected the people to forced labor and set taskmasters over them, sounding more like Pharaoh (Exodus 1:11–14) than like a righteous and godly king.

Yet for all of Solomon’s flaws, the amazing thing is that God still helped him. Near the beginning of Solomon’s reign, God appeared to him through a dream at Gibeon and offered Solomon whatever he wanted, as if handing him a blank check. Solomon responded to God by asking for wisdom: “Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong” (1 Kings 3:9). God was pleased with Solomon and granted him wisdom beyond that of any other human—a wisdom that became legendary and pointed others to God (10:8–9).

Solomon did not walk in God’s ways over the course of his whole life. Yet God’s response to Solomon teaches us what God desires for each of us: a humble heart that seeks wisdom from God. And Solomon’s story also demonstrates that this is something God will graciously grant to his children. Like James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

True wisdom comes through learning from God’s Word and being attentive to God’s Spirit. There are plenty of clever or knowledgeable people in the world, but real wisdom is demonstrated by living a devoted and faithful life for God.

We need wisdom in all areas of our lives. Wisdom is not simply an accessory for the Christian life; it is necessary for living well and glorifying God in all we do. It takes wisdom

• to navigate our relationships, whether with family members, friends, coworkers, or neighbors. Conflicts that come up in our lives require wisdom to resolve.

• to discern the kind of media and information we consume and believe. We all know that spending mindless time on our mobile devices or getting sucked into toxic news broadcasts is not a God-glorifying way to live, but it takes wisdom to walk a better path.

• to cut through the noise and to speak about important issues intelligently. In Jesus’ disputes with the religious leaders of his day, he never stooped to the level of their squabbles or fell into their traps. He spoke wisely, even under pressure.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:24 that Christ is “the wisdom of God.” Humans will always falter in walking the path of wisdom, but Christ fully embodies God’s wisdom and invites us to come and learn from him. As Paul wrote, this wisdom might look like “foolishness” (v. 25) to the world around us. After all, why would Christians devote themselves to a Savior who died a criminal’s death?

What seems strange to the world, however, is the very center of the good news for God’s children. It is through the self-giving death and death-defeating resurrection of Christ that we find true life and hope. God opens the path of wisdom to us—a life that follows the call of Christ with a humble faithfulness that puts God on display.