The Wisdom of God

Scriptural Text: 1 Kings 3:28

"And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment." (1 Kings 3:28)

The "wisdom of God," as attributed to Solomon, is an awesome concept, because God Himself is omniscient. Apparently Solomon was given a greater share of the divine wisdom than any others of his generation, and probably more than most of any generation.

God also gave him "largeness of heart" (1 Kings 4:29). Not only did he build and effectively rule a great kingdom, but "he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five" (1 Kings 4:32). Included in these, of course, were three divinely inspired books (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon), which are now in our Bibles.

Furthermore, he was a scientist, for "he spake of trees, . . . of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes" (1 Kings 4:33-34).

Sadly, in his old age, he also acquired a goodly portion of "the wisdom of this world" (1 Corinthians 2:6) that must "come to nought," and which led eventually to a loss of part of his kingdom.

The phrase "the wisdom of God" occurs six other times in Scripture (Ezra 7:25; Luke 11:49; 1 Corinthians 1:21, 24; 2:7; Ephesians 3:10). In the Corinthian passages, the eternal divine wisdom is being contrasted with the very temporal and often misguided wisdom of man.

In Ephesians 3:10 is found the remarkable revelation that the angels (who themselves have tremendous wisdom--note 2 Samuel 14:20) are themselves being taught "the manifold wisdom of God." And these instructions are conveyed "by the church"--that is, by the amazing way in which God has created and redeemed man for eternal fellowship with Himself.