Solomon’s Wisdom
First Kings 4: 29-34
Solomon’s wisdom DIG: What were Solomon’s areas of expertise? How do you suppose he came by his special wisdom? How many ways does the biblical author describe wisdom?
REFLECT: What is wisdom? How is it different from intelligence? How can we gain wisdom? In what areas would you like more wisdom? Is it available today? How can you get it?
For ADONAI gives wisdom, from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
As Philip Ryken relates in his commentary on First Kings, Solomon’s wide and peaceful kingdom, with its bountiful table, helps us to see the Kingdom of God (to see link click Au – Solomon’s Kingdom). But the best of any kingdom is the king himself – not just his wealth and power, or the peace and prosperity he brings, but his own royal person. Therefore, First Kings 4 ends by reminding us of Solomon’s outstanding characteristic, the one supreme and God-given gift that distinguished him from all the other kings in the world. ADONIA had invited Solomon to ask for anything he pleased. What pleased Solomon to ask for was something that pleased God to give: the gift of wisdom (see As – Solomon’s Wish). The king had demonstrated that gift in the famous incident regarding the two prostitutes and the two babies (see At – A Wise Ruling). At the end of First Kings 4 the author celebrates the wisdom of his king by using the vocabulary for wisdom in almost every verse.
Dear Heavenly Father, Praise you, for Your wisdom knows no boundaries! You know the future before it happens – Amazing! You know every detail of our lives! No one can pull something over on You because You understand all details of our lives and the depths of our hearts – Wow! How incredible that Your infinite wisdom is wrapped up in Your fantastic love! You are always seeking ways to guide us to Your great love! It is such a comfort to know that You never give any rule or command that could hurt us, rather they are more like lifeboats in the ocean of sin and ignorance. Your wisdom gives us life! Others who follow their own ways may look like they have it all. But when I tried to make sense of this, it was troubling in my eyes – until I entered the Sanctuary of God, and perceived their end. Surely You put them in slippery places. You hurled them down to destruction. How suddenly they became a ruin – (Psalms 73:16-119a). Wisdom is joy in following You and pleasure that lasts for eternity.
The only way to have eternal wisdom is to have an intimate daily walk with You as the Lord of our lives. Your wisdom is always perfect, always pure, always exactly what is the best! Thank You that as we follow You, we will always be walking in the best path. You do allow trials in our lives. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). As we conquer trials and temptations in your strength with a heart of love to please You, the trials bring blessings by giving us opportunities for eternal rewards (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). We love you and delight in following Your wisdom in all we do, say and think. Please bless us with Your wisdom in how to live our lives in ways that best glorify You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen
The Bible declares this wisdom in many ways. It begins by simply asserting that God gave Solomon wisdom. Then Solomon’s wisdom is demonstrated by means of an analogy from nature: God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore (First Kings 4:29). The king’s wisdom was not infinite, of course, because only God is infinitely wise, by Solomon was wise beyond anything that any human being could measure. His wisdom was like the sand on the seashore. This analogy reminds us why the king asked for wisdom in the first place; the people he had to govern were too numerous to count (First Kings 3:8). Yet ADONAI gave Solomon wisdom sufficient for his calling – wisdom like the sand on the seashore.
Next, Solomon’s wisdom is demonstrated by comparison with other wise men: Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East (Arabs, Chaldeans and Babylonians, famed for their wisdom, astrological and scientific learning), and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite – wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations (4:30-31). Most of these men are long forgotten, but they were nearly as famous in their day as famous poets or songwriters are today. Ethan and Herman, for example, were poets; they wrote Psalms 88 and 89. Yet by comparison, Solomon was wiser than them all. His world-famous wisdom was superior to all the intellectual giants of Egypt, Persia, and Babylon – the great centers of learning in the ancient world.
Solomon’s wisdom was also demonstrated by the things he wrote and spoke. The Bible tells us that he spoke three thousand proverbs (some are included in the book of Proverbs but most of them are lost) and his songs numbered a thousand and five (4:32). Many of these wise sayings and lyrical ballads are preserved in the Scriptures. We find the king’s praise songs in Psalms 72 and 127. We read his love songs in the Song of Songs (Song of Songs 1:1). We learn his proverbs for daily life from the book of Proverbs, most of which were written by the king himself (Proverbs 1:1). As a result, Solomon’s literary output is impressive both in quantity and quality.
The breadth of the king’s knowledge was equally impressive. Not only was he skilled in the literary arts, but he also had a scientist’s love for the natural world. As Solomon wrote his songs and proverbs he spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish (4:33). Solomon’s knowledge was encyclopedic. He knew everything from the tallest tree in the forest (the cedar of Lebanon) to the smallest plant growing on the garden wall (the hyssop). The king had a love for botany and biology; he knew both the plants and animals of his native Isra’el. In the words of one commentator, his interests included what was in the barn and what was in the lake, what graced the skies and what slithered across the kitchen floor.105
With a curiosity as wide as the universe, Solomon was interested in everything God made. Not surprisingly, his writings are filled with many analogies based upon careful observation of the created world. When he was not making comparisons with eagles in the sky or poisonous snakes (Proverbs 23:5 and 32), the king was inviting his readers to go to the ant (Proverbs 6:6) or listen to the voice of the cooing doves (Song of Songs 2:12). Solomon was the renaissance man of the ancient world – a naturalist as well as a songwriter, a philosopher as well as a king.
If we are wise, we will follow Solomon’s example by finding delight in the world that ADONAI has made and learning everything it has to teach us. Gaze at the high constellation in the evening sky. Watch the osprey dive in the mountain lake to claim its prey. Smell the flower that blooms along the path in summertime. Notice the trail of ants crawling from the picnic to the anthill. Do not miss the marvels all around us – the things God has made, which the Ruach Ha’Kodesh can use to teach us how to live.
Since ADONAI has left the fingerprints of His wisdom everywhere, since there is no place where God does not furnish us with raw materials for godly thinking, believers should be seized with a lively curiosity to ponder His works, both the majestic and the mundane. The task of wisdom is to joyfully describe and investigate all God’s many works. We may not have Solomon’s insight, but we can gratefully examine the same data.106
The king’s wisdom is further demonstrated by the people who came to him for counsel: From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom (4:34). We can see a famous example of Solomon’s international renown when the queen of Sheva came to visit him (see Bu – Solomon and the Queen of Sheba). But apparently that sort of thing happened all the time. People came to visit him from all over the world. Solomon virtually became an international tourist attraction. By any measure – whether by comparison, by reputation, or simply by the plain assertion of the biblical text – he was the wisest man in the world.
But he was not as wise as King Yeshua. Solomon’s kingdom was always pointing us to the greater Kingdom of Messiah. He sits as a more bountiful table, at which He gives His own body and blood as life for His people (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kj – Breaking the Middle Matzah). He rules a wider Kingdom, spanning the globe. He also governs with superior wisdom, for He is greater than Solomon in every way (Luke 11:31).
The B’rit Chadashah celebrates the wisdom of Yeshua Messiah in the same ways that First Kings shows us the wisdom of Solomon. At times our Savior’s superior wisdom is simply stated, such as when the apostle Paul stated that Yeshua has become for us our wisdom (First Corinthians 1:30). On other occasions, His wisdom is demonstrated by way of analogy. So, the Bible says, for example, that in Messiah are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). If Solomon’s wisdom was like the sand on the seashore, then the wisdom of Yeshua is like sand that has been turned miraculously into diamonds.
We also see the supreme wisdom of Yeshua Messiah in all the wise things that He said. Like Solomon, Yeshua often used memorable metaphors drawn from the created world. He talked about farmers sowing their seed (see The Life of Christ Et – The Parable of the Soils), and the wind blowing wherever it pleases (see The Life of Christ Bv – Jesus Teaches Nicodemus), and when He did, He said many wise things about knowing ADONAI that will never be forgotten. The royal wisdom of Messiah Yeshua is shown further by comparison. His wisdom is so superior, the Scriptures say, that even His apparent foolishness turns out to be wiser than the so-called “wisdom” of men (see the commentary on First Corinthians An – The Foolishness of Worldly Wisdom). What some people think is only foolishness – namely, the cross where Yeshua died – actually turns out to be God’s wise plan for salvation.
Now people from all nations are seeking the wisdom of Yeshua. It is happening this very day, as people all over the world worship God in the royal name of Messiah the King. I pray this is happening in your life as well, that you are trusting in Yeshua, who is the best and wisest of all kings. Feast on His grace. Serve His wide Kingdom by using your spiritual gift(s). Trust His wisdom, believing that He knows what is best. Rest in His peace as you wait for His Kingdom to come. He is the Prince of Peace (see the commentary on Isaiah Ck – He Will Be Called the Prince of Peace) and His peaceable Kingdom is not a dream, but a reality.
If you believe, you will see.107
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