The Wisest Man
Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the LORD and the wall around the city. At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local places of worship, for a temple honoring the name of the LORD had not yet been built.
1 Kings 3:1-14 NLT
Solomon loved the LORD and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.
“Now, O LORD my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”
One of the kings of Israel was a man named Solomon. He was the son of David, who is well known in the Bible. When King David died, 1 Kings 2:12 tells us, “Solomon became king and sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.”
King Solomon has quite a reputation—some of it good, and some of it not so good. The good is that he really did love God and worship Him. The not-so-good is that he still worshiped false gods and ended up having 700 wives and concubines. But, despite the imperfections of this king, he did something so memorable that it earned him the title of the wisest man.
In 1 Kings 3, there’s a story about King Solomon and a dream he had. In this dream, the LORD appeared to Him and asked, “What do you want? Ask, I will give it to you!” (1 Kings 3:5 NLT)
The God of the universe asked Solomon what he wanted, and clearly, he could’ve responded in many ways. But his response was anything but typical. He began by praising God and showing Him honor. After that, he made a surprising request in 1 Kings 3:7-9:
“Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong…”
Solomon’s heart was truly postured to lead the country, but he knew he needed wisdom from God to do it effectively. God was pleased with Solomon’s response because he could’ve requested a variety of things like power, money, and fame. But, he didn’t. Because of that, not only did God grant him wisdom beyond what anyone had ever had before, God also granted him riches and fame. Can you even imagine?
This story is a great example of how valuable and necessary wisdom is. A king who ruled an entire nation could have asked God for anything, and the one thing he chose was wisdom. He saw that wisdom would enrich not only his life, but the lives of the people he led. In a world where good and bad seem to be mixed up, walking in the wisdom of God will help us make decisions that will protect and sustain us.
Think about your life and what you consider important. Is it the treasures of this world, or is it having godly wisdom so that you can live a victorious life here on earth? Just be honest with God, and if you don’t see the value in having wisdom in your life, ask God to reveal His truth to you.