The story of Solomon moves on to include deadly
fights over the matter of succession. King David had many sons by numerous
wives and, unsurprisingly, they were not all in agreement that Solomon should
be crowned king of Israel.
Even before David died, there were negotiations in
the works. Solomon’s mother Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan approached the
king on his deathbed because another of David’s sons had seized power already,
apparently hoping to make it look like a forgone conclusion before anyone
noticed what he had done.
So David intervened to make it clear that Solomon
was his chosen successor on the throne. But his worries were not yet over. He
summoned Solomon to his bedside and shared his concerns and his final words of advice,
sounding a lot like Don Corleone in The Godfather. “These are the ones you need
to look out for; but you should deal loyally with these others.”
“Act according to your own wisdom,” he says to
Solomon. “You are a wise man,” he says at another point. But his message is
clear: Do as I would do. Do as I tell you to do.
And after David dies, Solomon again finds himself
challenged by those who oppose him. And even though he tries not to, he
eventually succumbs to the violent ways his father had recommended.
When God came to King Solomon and said, “Ask what I
should give you,” Solomon seemed to know already what he needed: Wisdom.
Perhaps he knew that with enough wisdom he would have found a way other than
violence.
Solomon asked the Lord for the gift of wisdom.
I don’t know how many of us would have asked for wisdom
were we in Solomon’s place, because in any given day there are so many other
things we are want. We want more time, more energy, more
health. We want more peace in our lives, more love in our families, more
laughter in our days. We want to wipe away our pain, our worries, our debt.
And, yes, much of the time our desires center on material things: a new car,
new furniture, a vacation. Personally, I want a lot of things, I will tell anyone
who asks. I am full of wishes and wants.
And even if we realize that most of these things we
wish for would not be the thing to ask God for, should the Lord come to us and
say, “Ask what I should give you,” I still wonder if our inclination would be
to ask for wisdom. Because we might wonder: Would wisdom make me any happier? And,
wouldn’t wisdom be, perhaps, somewhere down the list below other things like
love? Like peace?
However you might answer these questions, it’s
important to recognize the long thread of wisdom shining through the
scriptures. You could argue it begins in the third chapter of Genesis, where
Adam and Eve ate the fruit that was forbidden, for they could see that it would
make them wise. Was it a sin for them to want wisdom? No. Their sin, perhaps,
was to take it, rather than to ask for it.
There is much written about wisdom in the book of
Proverbs, where the very first verse tells us that the book’s purpose is to
impart wisdom. Proverbs 8 even says that wisdom was God’s first act of
creation. The epistles of the New Testament also have plenty to say about
wisdom.
If we still feel unclear about the value of wisdom,
we might look closely at this story of King Solomon where wisdom is the centerpiece,
and we might wonder what wisdom means in this context.
When we do, what we see is thankfulness. Immediately
after his vision, Solomon goes to the ark of the covenant and makes sacrifices
of thanksgiving to God. Do you think that thankfulness is wise? Does
thankfulness come from wisdom?
We also see a concern for justice. Solomon built the
halls of justice in Israel, with a priority for administering laws for the
welfare of all the people. Do you think justice for all is a wise thing?
Solomon did so much that was good for Israel, but that
is not the whole story of Solomon. As the years go by, for reasons I do not
know, Solomon shifts his priorities. The legacy he leaves includes very severe
and harsh policies that impoverished and enslaved the people. Cruelty that does
not seem to show any trace of wisdom.
The author of the book of Kings seems to know why it
turned out this way and tells us in Chapter 11. Solomon lost his way when he
lost the ways of the Lord. He built altars to idols, he divided his heart, and he
was no longer walking in God’s ways.
Perhaps the most truthful thing to say about wisdom then
is that true wisdom is following in God’s ways. And the gift of wisdom grants
us the ability to discern good from evil, to discern the true God from false
idols, to recognize love and practice love.
Aren’t these things that you would want? If God said
to you, “Ask what I should give you,” would you ask for this?
The letter to Ephesians tells us, “Be careful how
you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, for
the days are evil.”
Make the most of the time by staying connected with
one another, caring for neighbors near and far – we hold one another up,
sharing our strength when we do so.
Make the most of the time by fixing your eyes on
Christ, seeking to carry him in your heart and show that beautiful heart to all
the world.
Make the most of the time by staying awake and alert
to the needs of the world and the ways of God and holding before you the vision
of God’s better world.
There is plenty of foolishness in the world – in the
church, too. Foolishness is easy but does no one any good.
And then there is wisdom.
If God says to you, “Ask what I should give you,”
choose wisdom.
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