It is recorded in 1 Chronicles 22, that upon the end of king David’s life and reign over the kingdom of Israel, David called his son Solomon unto him for the purpose of giving him instructions, as he would become the successor of David’s kingship. David instructed Solomon that he should build a house for the LORD God of Israel. And he instructed Solomon to “get wisdom” of the Lord for ruling Israel.
1 Chronicles 22:11-13 states,
“Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee. Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.”
In the early days of king Solomon’s reign, God appeared unto Solomon during the night and asked him, “what shall I give thee?” Solomon could have asked of the Lord anything. However, here was his request.
2 Chronicles 1:8-12 states,
“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.”
Shortly after Solomon made his request to the Lord, and the Lord granted it, the “wisdom” of Solomon was put to the test. In 1 Kings 3:16-28 we read that two women, that were harlots, came before Solomon requesting him to settle a dispute between the two as to which a living baby really belonged to. The two women lived in the same house. Both delivered their babies three days apart. The latter baby died during the night because the baby’s mother rolled on top of it, smothering the child. During that same night, the mother of the dead baby switched her baby with the baby of the other mother. When the other mother awoke and was going to nurse her baby, she realized that the baby was dead – and she also realized that the baby was not hers; after all, she had nursed her baby for three days. When the two mothers came before Solomon with the living child, both claiming that the living baby belonged to them and that the dead baby belonged to the other, Solomon had to discern who was telling the truth. Solomon called for a sword to be brought in, so that the child could be divided in two – giving each mother half. The woman that had made the false claim to the living child stated that she was ok with the child being divided in two. However, the mother who was telling the truth stated that the child should be given to the other woman; for, she loved her baby and wanted no harm to come to it. Solomon then understood, through the wisdom of the Lord, who the real mother was, and she was given the child.
Throughout the life of king Solomon, there were times that he truly utilized God’s wisdom and understanding – but, there were many times that he allowed his ego, fame, and fortune to magnify his own wisdom, thereby overshadowing God’s; consequently, bad decisions were made. However, in the later years of his life, he realized that God’s wisdom is always superior to man’s wisdom. Thus, he wrote the following.
Proverbs 9:10,
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
Proverbs 1:7,
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Proverbs 2:10-12,
“When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;”
Proverbs 4:5,
“Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.”
Solomon had truly learned what David meant when he said, “get wisdom from the Lord”. Can this be said of us?
