Image: Another scene from 2019 CRBC VBS.
Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 Kings 4.
And God
gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart,
even as the sand that is one the sea shore” (1 Kings 4:29).
The historian tells us the source of the
blessings that came to Israel through Solomon: “And God gave Solomon wisdom…”
(v. 29). It did not come from Solomon himself but from the Lord. One
commentator observes: “Grace explains wisdom” (Davis, 1 Kings, p. 49).
As James wrote, “every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above.” Where does wisdom come from? Proverbs 9:10: “The
fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” If we
do not get this right everything else will be askew, off-kilter, or, as they
say in Appalachian English, sigogglin.
Solomon’s wisdom, like the number of the nation
of Israel, was as the sand of the seashore! (v. 29b).
His wisdom excelled that of the men of the East
and of Egypt (v. 30).
He was wiser than the other sages of Israel, like
Ethan the Ezrahite (credited with writing Psalm 89), Heman (the name means
“faithful”; credited with writing Psalm 88), Chalcol and Darda, the sons of
Mahol (v. 31a). His fame spread beyond the boundaries of Israel (v. 31b). He
was internationally known for his wisdom. In 1 Kings 10 we read about the queen
of Sheba hearing of his fame and coming “to prove him with hard questions” (v.
1).
He spoke 3,000 proverbs (v. 32a). We know Solomon
as the father of Biblical wisdom literature, including as author of much of the
book of Proverbs. He wrote 1,005 songs (v. 32b). Psalms 72 and 127 are
attributed to him, as is the Song of Songs.
He was a naturalist, an arborist, a biologist, a
zoologist (v. 33). A wise man appreciates the beauty and complexity of the
natural world and praises the Designer who created and sustains it all.
Solomon was a man of great wisdom, but in the
fullness of time a greater than Solomon has come. He is, as Paul described him,
the power and wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24). The Lord Jesus Christ would himself
declare, “a greater than Solomon is here” (Matt 12:42). True wisdom comes from
the fear of Christ.
Grace and
peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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