1
1 Kings 3
King Solomon Makes His Choice
Who is the wisest person you've ever known?
I'm not talking about people like Albert Einstein, who was probably the most
brilliant person in the last 100 years or so.
No I'm talking about a “normal, common” person who was wise.
Sometimes it takes a child to reveal lasting wisdom.
For example:
· Patrick, age 10, said, “Never trust a dog to watch your food.”
· Michael, 14, said, “When your dad is mad and asks you, "Do I look
stupid?" don’t answer him.”
· Michael, wise man that he was also said, “Never tell your mom her diet’s
not working.”
· Randy, 9 years of age said, “Stay away from prunes.” I wonder how he
discovered that bit of wisdom.
· Naomi, 15 said, “If you want a kitten, start out by asking for a horse.”
· Lauren, age 9 said, “Felt markers are not good to use as lipstick.”
· 10 year old Joel said, “Don’t pick on your sister when she’s holding a
baseball bat.”
· Eileen, age 8 said, “Never try to baptize a cat.”
2
You may have even heard a few things about wisdom that aren’t
necessarily true.
For instance, “You have to have grey hair to be wise”
or “Wisdom comes with age and experience.”
Today we are going to look at a text from 1 Kings 3 in reference to
Solomon, who is said to be wisest man who ever to lived.
Solomon had been appointed king at about 20 years of age,
just prior to the death of King David, his father.
He was concerned about his youth, his inexperience, and his ability to lead
the people.
1 Kings 3
5…the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask
what I should give you.” 6 And Solomon said… 9 Give your servant
therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern
between good and evil…”
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 God said to him,
“Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or
riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself
3
understanding to discern what is right, 12 I now do according to your word.
Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been
before you and no one like you shall arise after you…
As a way of illustrating Solomon’s wisdom a story followed in the text:
16 Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood
before him. 17 The one woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I
live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 18
Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We
were together; there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of
us were in the house. 19 Then this woman’s son died in the night, because
she lay on him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son
from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and
laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my
son, I saw that he was dead; but when I looked at him closely in the
morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne.” 22 But the other woman
said, “No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours.” The first said,
“No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine.” So they argued
before the king.
4
23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your
son is dead’; while the other says, ‘Not so! Your son is dead, and my son is
the living one.’” 24 So the king said, “Bring me a sword,” and they brought
a sword before the king. 25 The king said, “Divide the living boy in two;
then give half to the one, and half to the other.” 26 But the woman whose
son was alive said to the king—because compassion for her son burned
within her—“Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill
him!” The other said, “It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.” 27 Then
the king responded: “Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him.
She is his mother.” 28 All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had
rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that
the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice.
You see Solomon was wise in knowing that the child’s true mother would
never allow her child to be killed.
When asked what God could give Solomon, he requested,
“Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to
distinguish between right and wrong…”
5
The story of Solomon’s wise judgment regarding the two prostitutes and the
child quickly spread throughout the land and established Solomon’s fame.
The Bible states categorically that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the
wisdom of all others.
Solomon has also been credited for composing 3000 proverbs and 1005
songs; and he could also dialog learnedly about all plants, animals, birds,
reptiles and fish.
God indeed granted Solomon’s request for a wise, discerning heart.
In the Old Testament the path to the good life was called wisdom.
But it is important to note that wisdom was not only associated with
knowledge, with the head, it also included the heart…”give me a discerning
or wise heart.”
For the ancients, the heart is the center of the self and the soul.
The heart is the place of thinking and feeling.
The heart is the place for discipline and will.
Solomon's request implies the desire for a reason that understands,
a heart with the skill to listen,
6
and then joining the two with the ability to judge wisely and discern with
integrity.
"Give your servant. . . an understanding mind, a discerning heart. . . that I
may discern between good and evil." (v. 9)
How would you define wisdom?
I think one of the best definitions for wisdom I have heard is the ability to
use knowledge, to be able to discern, to make good judgments, and
and to have understanding in order to come to a wise decision.
Many of us know folks who are intelligent but have no common sense
or folks who have a lot of common sense but not a lot of “book” knowledge.
Wisdom is combining good knowledge with common sense and
recognizing your options,
all the while understanding the implications your decision will have.
But as Christians we would take it a step further.
Proverbs 4:7 MSG “Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom!
Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding!”
7
Someone once said,
“If knowledge is the accumulation of facts,
and intelligence the development of reason,
wisdom is heavenly discernment.
It is insight into the heart of things.”
For Christians, wisdom also involves knowing God’s heart as well as the
subtleties of the human heart.
More than knowledge, it is the right application of knowledge while seeking
God’s will and guidance…
it is often looking past the obvious into the heart of the matter.
I think we can all agree that wisdom is not always an easy thing to discern.
We’ve just experienced firsthand how little our own national leaders can
agree
on the wise course to take with regard to vital issues in our country.
Even Solomon who was granted great wisdom from God
made many poor choices.
For one thing, he married 900 wives.
8
Now that might simply seem like too much of a good thing to some of you,
but it was more than that.
Each of his wives brought with her foreign gods,
and soon the land was filled with pagan temples.
As a result, not long after Solomon's death, his nation,
which had once been so prosperous,
lay in ruins.
It would be awesome if we could make the right decision,
the best decision
every single time you had to decide something,
but it’s not reality.
How many of you have ever made a bad decision?
We’ve all heard the phrase, “Hindsight is always 20-20”?
It’s so true that after you’ve made a decision and have experienced the
consequences of that decision,
you can immediately recognize whether it was a good decision or not.
I’ve heard those referred to as times in our lives labeled the “What Was I
Thinking Moments.”
9
Or as Jeff Foxworthy would say, “Here’s your sign!”
These are the times where we were so blinded by feelings,
or peer pressure,
or what people thought about us,
that we based our decisions on everything but sound judgment.
At the time we were more concerned with how we felt or
what others thought
than what God thought.
We were so caught up in our desires
that we were unwilling or unable to be still and listen to anyone else,
especially God.
So, you might ask, how do we go about getting this wisdom?
The first thing you do to get wisdom is ASK!
That’s what Solomon did!
When God asked Solomon what he could give him, Solomon answers,
"An understanding mind,
and the ability to discern good from evil."
This request is literally for a hearing heart.
10
The Bible says, “The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.”
God’s concern is whether or not his people long to be a part of God’s
wisdom.
And it is only when we are willing to ask for this wisdom
does God see that we have ears to hear His words.
Solomon, in his request, was indicating his desire to listen to the wisdom
God had to offer.
James 1:5 NLT “If you need wisdom--if you want to know what God wants
you to do--ask him, and he will gladly tell you.”
That’s how Solomon got his great wisdom…he asked God to give him
wisdom.
The Bible promises that if you ask God for wisdom, He’ll give it to you.
It’s as simple as that.
But after you ask, you have to be on the lookout for it.
Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Luke 8:8)
Later on in this teaching he said, “Therefore consider carefully how you
listen.” (Luke 8:18 )
11
I knew of a man who had a terrible time in listening.
His family, friends, and even his boss would try to tell him something
and in his mind he would start thinking of his response
and therefore he listened to very little of what was said to him.
As a result, he was always in trouble and never had clear understanding of
what was expected of him.
I suspect we all know people like that; that may even describe you…
rather than listening,
we are too busy thinking about how we are
going to respond or defend our actions…
We do that with God too.
We are so focused on what we want to tell God
that we either miss His instruction
or we never really try to seek His counsel.
We must learn to ask, seek to listen, and then strive to obey
if we want to be wise according to God’s standards.
12
Let’s look at an example of what I am saying from the Old Testament.
When Abraham was called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance,
he obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”
(Hebrews 11:8)
Contrary to popular understanding,
wisdom is not having a full knowledge of what lies ahead…
wisdom it’s not having all the answers!
Wisdom is not about having God’s all-knowing and all-seeing power,
wisdom is not about having all the answers,
but rather it is having the proper response,
by that I mean the God honoring response in any given situation…
True wisdom is asking for guidance, listening for God’s response, and then
obeying.
God’s wisdom is one of our greatest spiritual resources…if we will just use
it.
Only God is truly able to see into the heart of a matter…
13
Once one gets into the habit of thinking this way,
of acknowledging God’s wisdom,
asking, listening, and obeying becomes a natural possess in seeking it…
Remember the bracelets with WWJD that were so popular several years
ago…what would Jesus do…
if we were more intentional in asking that question each time we were
discerning a decision or action…
we would definitely make wiser, more Godly decisions!!
Prayer….
Loving, all-knowing, wise God, we come to you today acknowledging that
we often seek your wisdom only after our decisions have failed. Lord as we
think about areas in our lives in which we need your wisdom, help us to
take a moment to ask for your guidance and help, to ask for your wisdom…
then Lord help us to be still and listen… finally Lord empower us to step out
boldly and to be obedient to your leadings. Help us to see past our needs
and desires and truly look into the heart of the matter, enable us to see
things from your perspective, through your eyes. Lord, as followers of
Christ may we always be intentional in seeking your wisdom and your
understanding. We pray these things in the name of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Amen.