The Wisdom of Solomon

We have moved from 2 Samuel to 1 Kings this week. We are moving through the story of Solomon as the "wise" king. While David is considered the greatest king Israel has ever known. Solomon is considered the "wisest." I notice that there is a difference between greatness and wisdom. And I think we see it lived out in the differences between David and his son Solomon.

For example, Solomon built the temple of God before he built himself a palace. David built himself a palace and then thought about building God a temple (he never got around to it). Perhaps Solomon learns from his father’s mistakes and builds on his father’s successes—wisdom. It does seem to be true that Solomon was deeply intent on growing forth the faith life of the Hebrew people. Once that was in place, then he considered any personal needs or any personal grand goal—wisdom.

One of my mentors in ministry always asked as he was helping lead people in all matters “Where’s the wisdom in this or that?” I’ve never forgotten it. It is an important question as I live my life as a son, father, husband, friend, citizen, pastor, American, Caucasian with English and Irish roots. Where is the wisdom?

How do I get at wisdom in my life? How do you get at wisdom in your life? A good place to start is asking “what are our priorities? Do we put God first when planning our day or making decisions about how to spend our time and money? I have discovered that when I put God first in my life, my priorities are different than what they might be otherwise. Wisdom is found in this one fact: There is nothing more important than knowing the one who created me and saved me.

Remember the words of Jesus? “Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33) - Dr. Terry Walton, senior pastor