Lessons on Wisdom from the Life of Solomon

Solomon - old age

Many books have been written in which the author claims to be imparting some wisdom to his readers. What makes the book of Proverbs different is the author and the source of his wisdom.

The last two chapters of Proverbs are attributed to “Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle” (30:1) and “King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him” (31:1). The identities of these individuals are uncertain. However, the bulk of Proverbs can be attributed to “Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel” (1:1). Some of these “proverbs of Solomon” were “transcribed” by “the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah” (25:1).

It is important that we understand how Solomon acquired his wisdom. We find the answer to this shortly after Solomon established his rule as king over Israel.

In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, ‘Ask what you wish Me to give you.’ Then Solomon said, ‘You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?’

It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you’” (1 Kings 3:5-12).

It is certainly true that no one could equal Solomon in terms of wisdom. When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s wisdom and traveled to visit him in order to see for herself if the reports were true, she discovered that they were absolutely true.

Then she said to the king, ‘It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard’” (1 Kings 10:6-7).

God promised to give Solomon wisdom. When He did, the evidence of this wisdom was so overwhelming that a ruler from another land confirmed that Solomon’s wisdom was far greater than anything she had been told about him.

Solomon’s wisdom was miraculously granted to Him by God. This is not going to happen to us today. It will take more time and effort on our part, but we can certainly gain wisdom. Notice what James wrote:

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5-6).

After Solomon was given wisdom directly from God, he wrote down his wise teachings of the book of Proverbs. Why? If God would miraculously grant everyone wisdom who desired it, this written volume would be superfluous. He wrote these things down so that others could read them and receive instruction in the ways of wisdom.

It is important to note that even though Solomon was given wisdom directly and miraculously from God, he still possessed the characteristics necessary to receive wisdom – characteristics we must have if we wish to gain wisdom:

  1. Solomon recognized God as the source of all blessings. When God asked Solomon to ask Him for what he wished, the king’s first response was to acknowledge God’s great blessings up to that point. “You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father” (1 Kings 3:6). If we hope to gain the wisdom that comes from above, we must also recognize what James wrote: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).
  2. Solomon was humble. Though he had become king, Solomon recognized that he was “but a little child” who did not “know how to go out or come in” (1 Kings 3:7). We, too, must possess humility if we are to gain wisdom. We “acquire wisdom” by heeding the “words” of those who are teaching us of the wisdom that comes from above (4:5). James said that “in humility,” we are to “receive the word implanted” (James 1:21).
  3. Solomon appreciated his responsibility. Solomon recognized that he was ruling over “a great people” that had been “chosen” by God (1 Kings 3:8). The enormity of his responsibility, coupled with his humility noted in the previous point, caused him to realize that he needed wisdom and to desire it.
  4. Solomon was selfless, putting others first. Solomon could have asked God for long life, riches, or the life of his enemies (1 Kings 3:11); but he did not. Instead of asking for something that would be of primary benefit to himself, he asked for something that would benefit others – “an understanding heart to judge [the] people” (1 Kings 3:9). The wisdom of the world focuses on self-promotion and self-preservation. The wisdom that comes from above causes us to seek the good of others as we are told to love our neighbors as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39).

If we possess these characteristics that Solomon demonstrated when he was granted wisdom by God, we will also gain wisdom as we follow the source of wisdom.

However, there is another important lesson to be learned from Solomon. We can learn from his example that the pursuit and possession of wisdom alone is not enough.

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, ‘You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after other gods.’ Solomon held fast to these in love. He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.

For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods” (1 Kings 11:1-8).

Solomon knew better. He possessed wisdom in the ways of God. Yet he did not use this wisdom. Instead, he ignored the will of God and followed the godless influence of those who were close to him. It is not enough to pursue wisdom, or even to possess wisdom; we must use the wisdom we have.


This article is an excerpt from the book, My Son, Hear My Words: Notes on Proverbs.


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Comments

  1. Wayne D. Teel says

    Andy,

    I want to commend you for a very good article on King Solomon and his wisdom. We can learn lessons from this if we open our eyes. Thanks for the good you do in your writings.

  2. Thanks, Wayne. I appreciate your encouragement.