Faithfulness: Wisdom
Wisdom Requires Humility
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. August 15th, 2021
God was faithful to David to his dying day. Though there were rebellions, though there were famines, though there was war at Israel’s borders, God kept the nation safe and prosperous. David died, not an exile, but a King. And Solomon, his son, came to rule. Solomon, the son of Bathsheba. And these last two sermons will concern his rule, and God’s faithfulness to Solomon.
Solomon is known for two things throughout history. One is that Solomon was very very prosperous. The other is that Solomon was very very wise. And today we hear how it is Solomon came to be both very prosperous and very wise.
“But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?” Job asks. Finding understanding is no easy thing. We all seek understanding, and wisdom. And in a world full of so much information, true understanding can be hard to find. I got this phone I keep in my pocket. And if I wish I can go to the right app and scroll down and find all sorts of information. Some of it is actually true. It is easy to overload our mind with information, with trivialities, and with falsities. If you want to check the weather in Spain or the Tigers’ record that sort of information is easy to come by. But there is no app for understanding and wisdom. Wisdom is much harder to come by.
Understanding, or wisdom, is the ability to know what is right and what is wrong and to act on it in the right way. There’s a qualitative difference between any old information, and wisdom. Wisdom puts everything we see and hear into context, and directs our steps. This is why the Bible says wisdom is precious, with wisdom and understanding comes so much more.
Understanding is not the sort of thing that can be picked up by reading. In one of Plato’s dialogues Socrates jokes that he wishes understanding were like a piece of yarn that you put in a cup full of water, so that it might fill up another cup. That way he could gain understanding just by sitting next to a wise person. Of course, it’s not that way either. Just because someone has a good teacher doesn’t mean they gain understanding. Even Jesus taught Judas. Where is understanding to be found?
Solomon, like I said, was renowned for his understanding and wisdom. Early in his reign Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice to the Lord. That night God appeared to him in a dream and said “ask what I should give you.”
What a message to get from God, right? “Ask, and you will receive. Whatever you want, I will make it happen.” No strings attached. No limitations. Whatever desires are deep in your heart, I will fulfill.
We don’t know how long Solomon waited, long in thought. But when he made up his mind he said, "Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” He didn’t ask for anything superficial: a long life or prosperity. He didn’t ask for revenge on his enemies. He didn’t ask for glory. He proved himself to be wise before such wisdom was even granted. He asked, simply, that he would be given understanding. That he would be able to discern between good and evil. That he could govern the people of Israel well.
This pleased God, and God gave him that great wisdom. But, God said, “I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.” Because Solomon was not selfish, and asked for the right thing, God gave him everything else to go along with that wisdom. It is nothing for God to give away such trifling things as honor, wealth, and length of days. Solomon asked for the truly precious thing and got everything else along with it.
True wisdom, true understanding, is not anything that you can go out and grasp. It’s not mastery over life, or over self. It’s not, in the end, our accomplishment. Some of the most foolish people, the least wise, are those who fancy themselves as being wise. Who think they are wizened and know. But if we want to be truly wise, if we want true understanding, that can only come from God. Solomon shows his wisdom, such as it was, in that he asked for it. He didn’t presume. He knew what he did not know, and he asked the one who has all understanding.
True wisdom is a gift. It is a gift we can hone, and cultivate, and improve upon. But it is ultimately a gift. “The fear of the Lord,” we are told, “is the beginning of wisdom.” Not because we are afraid of thunderbolts from the sky, but because we are humble and recognize the wisdom of God. We need to be humble to be made wise. We need to recognize we are empty to be made full.
God was faithful to Solomon in giving him what he asked. Jesus says to us as well “knock, and the door will be opened, seek and you will find.” God still remains faithful. And God still asks us “ask what I should give you.” If we want wisdom, it will be given. If we want understanding, it will be given. But it takes a humble and contrite heart. It takes a self emptying, of a sort. It takes listening. It comes on our knees, and through the reading of the word of God.