2/13/21 The Gift Of Wisdom

Revival: Stronger Than Ever

The Gift Of Wisdom

2 Chronicles 1:7-12

Good morning everybody!

We are learning lessons these days about how to restart our lives after being shut down by a national crisis.

Our teacher during this series is an ancient scribe named Ezra. Ezra described himself as “a scribe skilled in the law of Moses.”

After 70 years of exile in Babylon, and being set free to restart their nation, Ezra compiled a selective account of the history of his people. We call his account, “The Book of Chronicles.”

In it, Ezra teaches scores of lessons from the lives of kings on what to do and what not to do when you get a change to do things over.

REVIEW

Last week, we learned another lesson from David, this one was about faith.

We learned that God relents when we repent. And that repentance involves remorse for our wrongs and turning towards what’s right, and giving something costly to God.

Today, we are going to learn a lesson from Solomon about wisdom.

(Pastor, now is a good time to start with prayer)

If you’d like to open your Bible to 2 Chronicles 1 and bookmark it, I encourage you to do so. Then, please turn to 1 Kings 4.

PREMISE

The Bible says that, apart from Jesus Christ, Solomon was the wisest man in history.

You’ve turned to 2 Chronicles 1, but I’m going to start in 1 Kings 4. Listen as it describes Solomon’s wisdom:

29 God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations.

32 Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005. 33 He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. 1 Kings 4:29-34

NEED

When you study the life of Solomon, you quickly realize he did many things wrong. But Ezra is writing to encourage us. So he’s going to talk about what Solomon did right. And what Solomon did right benefited an entire nation.

What he did right started in the very first year of his reign.

Solomon was replacing his personal hero, David. David was the greatest king in Israel’s history.

As he thought out how to begin his kingship, Solomon did something we might not have thought of. He went to Israel’s holiest place, a mountain not far from his home. He took with him 1,000 sheep, goats and cattle. He built a fire on an altar, and he made a thousand-animal-offering to God.

If you’re scratching your head wondering why he did that, let me read to you want happened as a result:

7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask. What should I give you?” 8 And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and faithful love to my father David, and you have made me king in his place. 9 Lord God, let your promise to my father David now come true. For you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people, for who can judge this great people of yours?” 11 God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge my people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I will also give you riches, wealth, and glory, unlike what was given to the kings who were before you, or will be given to those after you.” 2 Chronicles 1:7-12

CONTEXT

Solomon was 14 years old when he did this.

He wasn’t the youngest king to rule Israel, but whether you’re 7, 8, 14, or 40, becoming king is a daunting assignment.

NEED

If you’ve ever felt small and helpless, if you’ve ever wondered if you could do the thing you were being asked to do, if you’ve ever wished your dad or somebody else was there to help you with the task you’ve been given, you know what Solomon was feeling that day.

Solomon found himself responsible and caring for 2 million people who all needed leadership, care, and protection.

This was the biggest assignment of his life, so he makes the biggest sacrifice he can imagine. One after another, 1,000 herd animals are slaughtered and hoisted onto the altar. One after another, their ashes rise upward to God.

OFFERINGS

In the Old Testament, there were several types of offerings. One of them was called “The Fellowship Offering.” With a Fellowship Offering, you roasted a part the animal to the Lord and you roasted the other part for yourself. When your portion was cooked just the way you liked it, you sat down and ate it “in fellowship” with the Lord – like a meal eaten between two friends.

Another type of offering was a Burnt Offering. With a Burnt Offering, you ate nothing. You burned it all up. God got it all. The offering was totally consumed, symbolizing that you were giving everything to God.

Solomon’s offering was a Burnt Offering. Solomon was saying, “God, all I have is yours, and all I am is yours.” 1,000 times he said that. “All I am is yours. All I have is yours. All I am is yours. All I have is yours.”

GOD’S QUESTION

That evening, God came to him and asked, “Solomon, ‘What should I give you?’”

You can’t outgive God. “Solomon,” God says, “you’ve given me your best gift. What would you want in return?”

In all humility, Solomon answers, “I only want one thing, Lord. I want the wisdom to be able to fulfill the calling You’ve given me.”

It’s the perfect request. “Grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people…” of yours.

All of heaven anticipated God’s answer.

What will God say to this? How will He respond?

Without hesitation, our gracious God responded, “Solomon, since you’ve asked me for something that will benefit others, and not for things that will benefit you, I’m going to give you what you asked for, and I’m going to give you what you did not ask for. I’m going to shower you with riches and wealth and glory unlike any other king before you.”

[Pause]

Ezra, who is telling us this story, is teaching us a lesson about rebooting our lives. He’s saying, “The best way to have a fulfilled life, is to follow God’s purpose for your life. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all the things you’re hoping for will be added to you as well.”

[Pastor – This would be a good place to insert a personal story that validates the principle of Matthew 6:33. A story about sacrifice, about putting God first, about seeking him above other things.]

SOLOMON

On the day of Solomon’s sacrifice, he was starting his life over. Once he was a prince, now he is a king. Princes can play. Kings must lead.

So Solomon asks for this incredible thing called wisdom.

Knowledge is knowing facts and figures and principles.

Wisdom is knowing what to do with those facts and figures and principles.

Knowledge is about information.

Wisdom is about application. It’s about knowing what to do in every situation.

TRANSITION

If you can find the time this afternoon, read through the next eight chapters and you’ll discover some incredible things that happened as a result of the wisdom of Solomon.

For instance, right here in chapter 1, v. 14, Ezra tells us:

14 Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

Those numbers might not mean much to you, but 1,400 chariots was a lot of chariots. When Pharaoh with his vast army came riding after Moses and the children of Israel, he only had 600 chariots. - Solomon knew that if God blessed his country, he’d need a strong military to defend it.

The next verse says…

15 The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills.

Solomon knew how to generate wealth.

Chapter 2 says,

Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself, 2 so he assigned 70,000 men as porters, 80,000 men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as supervisors over them. 2 Chronicles 2:1-2

Solomon knew the importance of having a place for people to worship God.

Solomon knew how to assign labor to build that place. Solomon’s wisdom endowed Israel with the most incredible temple or worship in the world.

Chapters 3 through 8 describe how Solomon built that Temple, and how he fortified the cities of Israel, and how he settled people in those cities so that all of Israel prospered.

Flip forward to chapter 9 and you’ll see this description:

The weight of gold that came to Solomon annually was twenty-five tons,14 besides what was brought by the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 2 Chronicles 9:13-14

THE POINT

The point Ezra is making is this: Wisdom is a great gift!

- Israel experienced fantastic blessings as a result of Solomon’s wisdom.

- Israel became the wealthiest nation in the world.

- Her people enjoyed safety on all their borders.

- And the whole world experienced blessing as a result of Solomon’s prayers.

TRANSITION

Solomon was wise enough to know that his wisdom couldn’t accomplish everything, so this really, really wise man, spent some serious time in prayer. Chapter 6 contains an incredible prayer by Solomon.

And chapter 7 contains God’s response to Solomon’s prayer. This response may be the most famous response to prayer in all the Bible.

Let me read it to you. I think you’ll recognize it. We’ll start in 2 Chronicles 7:12 -

12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him:

I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple of sacrifice. 13 If I shut the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on my people, 14 and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Some of you have memorized this in one version or another.

It says “If my people, who are called by my name, will (1) humble themselves and (2) pray and (3) seek my face and (4) turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.”

NEED

As we reboot our lives and reconnect with our world, we would be wise to do those four things, wouldn't we?

(1) When you humble yourself, you admit you’re not big and you’re not God.

(2) When you pray, you talk to God about your hopes and dreams.

(3) When you seek God’s face, you think about Him and try to do your day with Him, so that His face and His thoughts are always with you and guiding you.

(4) And to turn from your wicked ways means… to turn from your wicked ways. – To not offer excuses and say, “Everybody’s doing it,” or “What I’m doing isn’t all that bad.” It’s to turn from those things that you know are wrong and to do the right thing.

This is the key to healing our land.

It’s the key to recovering well.

It’s the key to revival.

REVIEW

(1) Humble yourself.

(2) Pray.

(3) Seek God’s face.

(4) Turn from your wicked ways.

You know who needs to do that in order for God to heal our land?

- We do.

We don’t need to call other people to turn from their wicked ways.

God will not heal our land until He first has an army of healers in His hand.

RECAP

Under Solomon’s wisdom, Israel prospers. They have peace, and hope, and a rising economy, and wealth.

It was a time like never before or ever since.

APPLICATION

Ezra is teaching us a lesson about wisdom. If you want to start your life over and live it at a higher level, you need wisdom. Wisdom is one of God’s greatest gifts.

Proverbs 8:11 says, Wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can equal it.

- Whatever you desire: money, sex, power. Thrills, achievements, recognition. Wisdom is better than them all.

So if you want to recover well, or maybe your life didn’t get shut down during this crisis, and you just want to live on a higher level, here are four steps to take. You can live a better life from here forward:

1. Make a burnt offering. 2 Chronicles 1:6

Declare a do-over, by building an altar somewhere, - maybe in your heart - and climbing onto it. Offer yourself 1,000 times over to God. Give Him your possessions and your position, your rights and your hopes, your goals and your dreams.

“Say, Lord, here I am. All I have is yours; and all I am, is yours.”

The second thing to do to live at a higher level is…

2. Ask God for wisdom. 2 Chronicles 1:10

The book of James says…If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God – who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly – and it will be given to him. James 1:5

Once you’ve asked for wisdom, continue to grow in wisdom. You do that by reading the book of Proverbs.

3. Pursue wisdom by reading the book of Proverbs.

The introduction to the book of Proverbs describes the book this way:

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 2 For learning wisdom and discipline; for understanding insightful sayings; 3 for receiving prudent instruction in righteousness, justice, and integrity; 4 for teaching shrewdness to the inexperienced, knowledge and discretion to a young man— 5 let a wise person listen and increase learning, and let a discerning person obtain guidance—

Proverbs 1:1-6

There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, which means you could read the whole book in one month by reading one chapter a day. Billy Graham did that for over 70 years of his life.

Every day, read the Proverb of the day. Every month, you’ll grow in wisdom.

REVIEW

Make a burnt offering.Ask for wisdom.Pursue wisdom.

And then…

4. Walk in wisdom.

How do you do that? Well, Proverbs 13:20 says…The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.

[NOTE TO PASTORS – Consider including an illustration here about a group you walk with that has or is helping make you wise.]

PRAYER

Lord, thank you for the wonderful gift of wisdom. We need more of it. We want more of it. As we emerge from this crisis time, would you give us this gift that is better than jewels.

Before I conclude my prayer, I want to pray for anyone who wants to make a burnt offering today. If that’s you, would you pray these words after me:

Lord, all that I am is yours. And all that I have is yours. Please use my life to fulfill Your purposes.

And I want to pray with anyone who wants wisdom If that’s you, would you pray these words:

Lord, I ask for Your wisdom today. Give me the wisdom to know what to do in the situation I’m in. And give me wisdom to carry out the calling You’ve put on my life.

And finally, the Bible says that Jesus is the author of all wisdom. If you’ve never surrendered your life to Him, I invite you to do that right now. You can become a follower of His by praying this simple prayer:

Lord Jesus, I admit I’m a sinner in need of a Savior, and I invite you to be mine. Come into my life, and live your life through me. I am committing to be your follower for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

If you prayed one of those prayers, it will help you greatly to let someone know it. So find someone to celebrate with.

[Pastor - this is a good time to tell your church you will be reading one chapter of Proverbs every day this month and invite them to join you].

In Jesus’ name, Amen!