At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (NIV)
Solomon realises he has a big job to do after becoming King of Israel after David his father. He asks for wisdom to do it. Wisdom is not knowledge. Wisdom is discerning how to apply knowledge. A wise person not only has information but knows what to do with it. A wise person not only knows the truth but knows when and how and where to apply it. We live in an information saturated society, but it doesn’t necessarily make life better. Wisdom is needed for that to occur. Wisdom does come through experience but ultimately is a gift of God. So we can ask for it as per JAMES 1:5-8.
v.13 above reminds us God is well able to bless us more than we ask or imagine. Put God first and he may surprise us with all sorts of “bonus” blessings.
Like all God’s good gifts, wisdom needs to be cultivated and used and guarded. Solomon lacked wisdom when he married lots of pagan women. His God given wealth also made him arrogant. God’s good blessings need to be worked at, because each of them can have a “dark side”.
Wisdom is a necessary companion to love. To love well we must love wisely. Wisdom is a necessary companion to life. To live well, we must live wisely.
Blessings,
David
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