Treasure God's Wisdom

Listen Well To God’s Wise Word

7.23.22 [1 Kings 3:5-12] River of Life (9th Sunday after Pentecost)

Every generation has its own geniuses. Scientific geniuses like Albert Einstein and Marie Curie. Artistic geniuses like Da Vinci & Van Gogh. Musical geniuses like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. Geniuses tend to leave a mark—not just on their own generation—but on those that come after them. Solomon is no different. Even today, Solomon is considered a genius. As wise as any mere mortal who has ever walked the face of the earth.

But today, we have the opportunity to peek behind the genius. We get an opportunity to see how such a man was gifted with such wisdom. Solomon wasn’t always so wise. God gifted it to him.

When Solomon became king of Israel he did something that had never been done before in Israel’s history. He succeeded his father.

But that didn’t mean that Solomon didn’t have trouble when he became king. About a decade earlier, Solomon watched as his half-brother Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel and tried to take the throne of their father, David. Then as his father was about to die, Absalom’s younger brother, Adonijah, tried to make himself king, too. But David kept his promise to make Solomon king. Eventually, after some skirmishes and power struggles, the kingdom of Israel was firmly established in Solomon’s hands.

Yet, even with things ironed out at home, Solomon was anxious about the responsibilities of being king. He revealed his fear and insecurities by (1 Kg. 3:1) making an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and marrying his daughter. This wouldn’t be the last time Solomon married an idolatrous foreign princess.

Solomon still demonstrated his love for the Lord by following his father’s instructions carefully, (1 Kg. 3:3) except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. He had not yet built the Temple, but had little issue with ripping from pagan worship practices. At Gibeon, the most important of the high places, he offers a thousand burnt offerings.

Solomon is struggling. In some areas, he’s trying to do the right thing—following the advice of his faithful father David, and trusting in the Lord. But in some other ways, he’s thinking & acting as if the Lord isn’t his God, his mighty fortress. Then, the Lord did something for Solomon that he never did for his father David. The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream & made an unthinkable offer.

(1 Kg. 3:5) Ask for whatever you want me to give you. Can you imagine what would be rolling through your mind at a moment like this?

Though Solomon describes himself as (1 Kg. 3:7) only a little child, he makes a very thoughtful and mature request. (1 Kg. 3:8) Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. Despite all Solomon’s struggles, in this pivotal moment, he gives a great answer to God’s offer. And the Lord was pleased. The Lord blessed Solomon with a (1 Kg. 3:12) wise and discerning heart—and also (1 Kg. 3:13) wealth and honor and (1 Kg. 3:14) a long life. Solomon had no equal among the kings in his lifetime. God gave Solomon wisdom—very great insight and an unrivaled aptitude when it came to things like proverbs and poetry and plant life. Solomon recognized incredible things about the animal kingdom and the deep matters of man’s hopes and dreams, fears and weaknesses. (1 Kg. 4:34) From all nations, people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.

So what exactly was Solomon’s wisdom? Well, I’m glad you’re curious, too. What Solomon asks for is a heart that listens well. He isn’t asking God for a brilliant and encyclopedic mind—but for a heart that humbly hears and does what God desires. Solomon isn’t seeking to be the one with all the deep thoughts, the witty quips, and the sage advice. He’s asking God to make him someone who listens well, thinks deeply about what he’s heard, and strives to do it to the best of his ability so that he can meet the demands of his vocation.

That is something we should all want. Yet, it doesn’t seem like it should be that far out of any of our reach. I mean how hard is it to listen well?

Turns out, very difficult. Look at our lives. Jesus says that (Mt. 4:4) a person shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. He’s quoting Deuteronomy 8. Think about what Jesus is saying. Really process it. God knows you need material things. God knows you get hungry. You need clothes. You need a place to sleep. Think about how abundantly God has kept that promise throughout your life. The many many days when you had more than enough to eat, more choices in your closet than you could count, and a place to rest your head that would put Solomon to shame.

But Jesus is opening our eyes to see that we can have all of our needs met and more, but if we don’t have the Word of God we’ve got nothing. Our lives are (Jn. 15:4) fruitless. (2 Pt. 1:8) Unproductive. (Ecc. 1:2) Meaningless as Solomon would say later on in life.

Without the Word of God we don’t know who we are, where we are headed, or what God thinks about us. The Word of God is powerful and effective. It protects & prospers our souls. It fends off the fiendish foe. It directs our lives. It is a light for our path.

But so often we choose to walk in darkness. We put our trust in our skills or our accomplishments. We treasure our careers, our savings, & our connections more than we do the very words of God. Look at your priorities, how you really live. Do you listen well?

How often did you drag yourself to work even when you weren’t feeling up to it? Yet you accepted flimsy excuses and put the Scriptures on the back burner. How different would your devotional life and your worship attendance have been if it were your career?

How often did you scrimp and save for some big goal? And you got there by God’s grace! But you still didn’t trust that same grace to enable you to abound in generosity towards God’s kingdom.

How many times did you see someone struggling with sin and not say or do anything? They boasted about how they were cutting corners at work, complained about how they couldn’t stay in their marriage any longer, or how they stopped going to church because it was full of hypocrites and you just sat there. You ignored their cry for help. Your silence legitimized their sin. Turns out it's hard to listen & live well.

Far too often, we tackle tough problems with only our own talents and tenacity—and leave the truth of God’s Word on the shelf. We foolishly try to fend off spiritual attacks with secular skills and then are surprised when we were overwhelmed & frightened. We say we hear God, but what we do tells a different story. Despite all God has done for us, we still do things our own way and don’t listen to him very well.

But that’s not just true of you and me. That’s the life of Solomon. Even though God blessed Solomon with wisdom and wealth, a heart for justice and a sharp mind, Solomon still struggled. When people came to him with their problems, he was wise and faithful. But when it came to his personal life, Solomon was a mess. I told you, Pharaoh’s daughter wasn’t the only idolatrous princess Solomon would marry. Despite God warning the Israelites (1 Kg. 11:2) You must not intermarry with idolatrous nations because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods, Solomon loved many foreign women. (1 Kg. 11:3) He married 700 royal women and his wives led him astray. (1 Kg. 11:4) His heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God as his father’s heart had been.

And Solomon, despite all the wisdom and wealth and honor that God granted him, did what geniuses do—he impacted everyone after him. Because of his idolatry, the nation of Israel was torn in two. Both struggled with idolatry and had kings who did evil in the Lord’s eyes.

Even with God’s unrivaled gift of wisdom, Solomon still struggled to listen and live according to God’s Word. Just like David did.

That’s why God promised to send a greater Son of David to do what Solomon could not. Jesus, the Son of David listened & lived perfectly. All the things that Solomon hoped to be and do, Jesus actually did. Jesus listened well to the Word of God and then did it perfectly. Jesus showed his love for the Lord by walking perfectly according to his Father’s will, with no exceptions. No shortcuts. No high places. No blind eyes or deaf ears. Jesus thought and spoke, acted and reacted exactly as God wanted. He was righteous in every way. He was honest and humble, selfless and yet still sanctified—set apart for the Lord as the spotless Lamb of God.

But the Lord Almighty didn’t send this Son of David into the world to build an impressive Temple. He came into the world to be the Temple, the priest, & the sacrifice. Jesus came to be the bridge that bad listeners like you and me and Solomon desperately need. He rejected sin so that we might be credited with righteousness. He died that we might no longer be slaves to sin.

In a way that seems very foolish, God demonstrated his immense power and wisdom. Christ Jesus was crucified for his enemies, for our sins. This is the power & wisdom of God. Christ crucified for us is our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption. He makes us wise—because he is working in our hearts to make us better listeners. So listen well. Be wise.

So listen to what God has to say about David. Solomon says God was kind to David because he was faithful, righteous, and upright in heart. Sons often exaggerate their dad’s strengths & overlook their faults. God wasn’t kind to David because David was good. David was bad. Sinful. The reason David was married to Solomon’s mom, Bathsheba, was because David foolishly abused his kingly power.

But David was faithful. He was righteous. He was upright in heart. Because God opened his ears. God worked in David’s heart and called him to repentance through his servant, the prophet Nathan. No one is righteous on their own. No one is faithful all the time. Our hearts are twisted, by nature, not upright. Until God does something incredible. When God blesses us with real wisdom—a heart that listens to his rebuke, a heart that seeks his forgiveness, a heart that craves to be faithful. God did that for David.

And eventually, he did that for Solomon, too. At the end of his life, Solomon did some deep self-reflecting and recognized where he had gone wrong. Well, God caused that too. He had lived life to the full. Denied himself nothing and no one. And yet he came to see how empty his life was. Everything he had done and earned was destined to be given to another.

But he wasn’t depressed about that, Not at all. Here is what Solomon concluded: (Ecc. 12:1) Remember your Creator. (Ecc. 12:13) Fear God and keep his commandments. Listen well for only God can give you a wise heart. And he does. He has given you the God-breathed Word (2 Tim. 3:16) to teach you, to rebuke you, to correct you, and to train you in righteousness so that you may be thoroughly equipped for the task before you and most importantly— (2 Tim. 3:15) wise for salvation. Because of what Jesus has done for you, and how God has fostered your faith in him, God considers you his righteous, faithful, and wise child. That’s better than being considered a genius. Amen.