Gospel Project: Solomon Asks For Wisdom
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Solomon Ask For Wisdom
Solomon Ask For Wisdom
1 Kings 3:5-28, 4:29-34
Main Idea: Seek out wisdom above all else
Me: I love the movie Aladdin.
Have you all seen Aladdin?
It is about a street-rat named Aladdin and his sidekick a money named Abu.
And Aladdin just wants to the world to see that there is more him then what they see.
And then you have princess Jasmine who is trying to write her own journey.
The two end up together but that is because Aladdin has the help of a genie.
And Genie grants Aladdin three wishes.
I mean can you imagine getting asked to do this?
I mean what would you ask for?
If you had three wishes?
(Ask Students)
Money, Power, To be someone that you are not currently...
I mean we would ask for some pretty important things right?
But what if you only had one wish?
What if that Genie popped out and was like you only have one wish?
Would that change your answer?
I mean it should.
The normal rules apply— can’t make you fall in love, can’t kill anybody, and cant bring anyone back from the dead.
But what if you only had one wish?
What would you wish for?
(ask Students)
I think it changes our answer when it comes down to one wish.
In our story today King Solomon, David’s son is asked a similar question except it does not come from a fake Genie, but from the real God.
And it isn’t even a wish God literally ask Solomon to ask him anything and it will be granted to him.
If God gave you this choice would it change what you asked for?
(Ask Students)
We: God is not a Genie, yet he treat Him like one.
Now I want you to hear me on this, God is not a genie.
He is not some vending machine where you put in your prayers and out spits whatever you ask for.
While we know this in our hearts— We tend to treat God this way.
Don’t get me wrong here— God is a God of blessings and He will bless those who follow Him.
The Christian faith is about giving, but it is also about receiving what God has for you.
But it is God who gives not based on what we want but rather what we need.
What is interesting about King Solomon is that when faced with this choice— he could have said a lot of things that we have said tonight.
But Solomon didn’t instead he asked for wisdom.
Did anyone here ask for wisdom?
Heck no we want the material— nobody here wanted to be a great leader when we get a free wish—
We want fame, power and money.
But that wasn’t the heart of Solomon.
He wanted to be great king and a great leader.
Sometime you are going to be put in situation where you will look back because hindsight is 20/20 and you will wish that you made a different decision.
You will see the outcome play out and you will wish that maybe you just had a bit more wisdom.
I look back to college and wish I would have just gone to a local community college first and then did college online.
It is cheaper and I still would have gotten the same education.
While I loved the friendship I made I wonder if it would have been wiser to stay and serve locally rather than leave.
Or what about getting a pandemic puppy— I love my dog but having a baby on top of having a puppy was a bit crazy and if I had more wisdom maybe that would have been different.
Or buying our dumb van.
Our van has caused us nothing but problems since we got it.
It is poopy!
And if I made more wisdom I would have never bought a Chrysler.
We can play this game all day, with our dumb decisions.
But that is where wisdom comes in.
Wisdom is about making the right choice first.
It is about being put into a situation and choose the right choice.
Wisdom is not something that you just have it or you don’t but at times it sure can feel that way.
Has anyone wondered why you keep making the same mistakes over and over again?
Even when you know the right decision to make?
Wisdom isn’t cool or flashy—
I doesn’t score you cool points—
Wisdom is so much more.
And the real question I think we should ask is why would King Solomon respond with wisdom to God request of ask me anything?
That is the question why would Solomon choose wisdom?
Is wisdom something you would ask for?
And answer some of those questions— I want us to flip to 1 Kings 3.
God:
So let’s set up what is happening here.
David has just died and Solomon is now king.
Remember David and Goliath
Recall last week with David and Bathsheba.
Sin has consequences.
However— even in the darkness God can still offer hope and the child of David and Bathsheba ended up being King Solomon.
The rightful rule to the throne of Isreal.
So King Solomon finds himself in a new role.
Everything is different and he starts to understand some stuff he must do.
Maybe you can relate to a similar situation where you are in a new setting.
You have to make a plan or a decision about something.
Solomon was going to have lots of decision to make.
And what is interesting is that King Solomon understood His situation.
Understand your Situation
And at times we also must understand our situation that we are in.
This will help us make good and wise decisions.
Let’s dig in and see how Solomon knew his situation.
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.
As a leader Solomon understood his role was to lead God’s people but He did not know how to do that.
Think about a time where maybe you were put into a position that required you to lead a group.
Maybe a class project?
Maybe you were selected to be a captain of a sports team?
You were asked to help serve in Awanna or in the Nursery?
Anytime you oversee people it is different then just being in charge of a task.
Solomon wasn’t put in a group project he was made King over a nation.
The nation of Israel was massive and he was a young man who was appointed King.
He had no idea how to lead.
But instead of faking it until he made it— he humbled himself before God and said in verse 7
And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.
I don’t know what I am doing God— I need direction and understanding of what I am too do.
While Solomon is going to go on and ask for wisdom— I found this to be very wise of Solomon already.
Going and asking God— hey I don’t know what to do here— Can you help here?
Many times leaders are put in charge with little understanding of what they are too do— and the burden of leadership is really hard at times.
John Maxwell stated;
“Leadership involves a heavy burden of responsibility, and the fear of getting it wrong could paralyze the wrong leader.”
Solomon could have had great fear in leading the people of God— but instead of giving into that fear— he realized that he was only going to be able to lead well if God was with him.
Sometimes in life you are going to be put in situations like this— while you may not be asked to be King or Queen— you may get asked to lead something— you get asked to lead people.
And if you do not go into that position humbly people will not follow you well.
And a leader with no followers is just going for a walk.
Solomon understood what his position meant and he was going to go into the role humbly.
So Understand your Situation
Secondly:
Understand your need for wisdom
Let’s see what Solomon ask of the Lord:
Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”
And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
Many in this room may be thinking— way does one need to be wise?
We have already mentioned that no one here said that they would ask for Wisdom.
Solomon wanted to be able to discern what was good and evil.
He is asking for Wisdom in making decisions.
We make thousands of decisions a day and sometimes we make good decisions and other times we make bad ones.
And maybe in some of those bad decisions it is because we lacked wisdom.
We go back later and think— dang that was not a wise choice or that was not a smart decision.
And when we are not in the role of King or Queen of a nation or the president we can afford to make some questionable decisions but when you are leading a nation you don’t get to make very many of those bad decisions.
If you do you may not be the king much longer.
You may have to step down.
Solomon understood that in order to last as a leader he needed humility and he needed wisdom.
Folks— that is what we all need today as well.
Humility and wisdom.
And look at how God responded to Solomon—
He is like that is a pleasing request— you know what I am going to give you all the other stuff as well— why?
Because you will be wise with what I give you.
You will not use your wisdom for evil but for good in leading my people.
And this wisdom was sought after by other nations.
Everyone wanted to hear from Solomon.
When you are viewed as wise guess what— people come to hear from you.
People ask for your thoughts and your wisdom.
But it must be done through humility.
We all know plenty of people who are wise but they are loud about their wisdom?
And sure you may go to them as ask their thoughts— but you and I both know that seeking someone out who is humble and wise is way better to deal with then proud and wise.
So we need to understand our situation
We need to understand our need for wisdom and lastly here is what wisdom will look like:
Understand Wisdom in Action
Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king.
Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’ ” And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.
This story is always so fascinating to me.
Like first off Solomon was never really going to cut this baby in half.
Like we get this— but in order to find the right mom in an impossible situation required wisdom.
It makes me think that if Solomon wouldn’t have asked for wisdom what would this situation have looked like?
Maybe the real mon would have just been out of luck— but instead because of God giving Solomon wisdom— The real mom was able to get her son.
Wisdom spreads.
Everyone wants a piece of your wisdom— if you have it.
Maybe you are someone that friends come to when it comes to dating somebody or after a breakup or when they are having to make a really big decision.
Do not take that role lightly.
The burden of leadership is heavy leaning into God durning those times and first seek wisdom from Him.
Look what Solomon was known for:
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
Everyone came to him.
And I don’t think this should be our goal— but listen if you could be humble and wise you may get but into positions to speak not only wisdom to friends and family but also the gospel to them.
That is not something we should take for granite.
Lean into those conversation.
Keep praying for humility and wisdom.
When was the last time you asked God for wisdom?
Or that you asked God for humility?
Maybe you never have— I would challenge you to do that this week.
To seek wisdom from God in your decisions.
To humble yourself before others.
We still may not get it right, and be willing to admit that even if it cost us.
Pastor Craig Groeschel always says this after his leadership podcast:
“People would rather follow a leader who is always real then one who is always right.”
Be real— understand that you may get it wrong— Pray for wisdom and humility when you find yourself in leadership positions and be willing to own it when you get it wrong.
Let’s pray