By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Religion, Samford University
Solomon: Unfailing Wisdom
1 Kings 3:3–14; 4:29–34
Few characters present such a cautionary tale as Solomon. Famed for his wisdom, Solomon expanded the wealth, power and territory of Israel beyond even the accomplishments of his father, David. Along the way, though, he sowed seeds of trouble and dissension whose harvest his descendants would reap for generations to come.
Pray for wisdom and discernment. (3:3–9)
The dynamics of David’s family made Solomon an unlikely candidate to succeed his father to the throne. A number of older and more powerful brothers had better claims to kingship and unlike Solomon they were not the product of a scandalous marriage like the one between David and the Canaanite woman, Bathsheba. After his affair with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband, though, David’s family began to spiral out of control. His oldest son, Amnon, raped his half-sister, Tamar, and was killed by her brother, Absalom, for doing so. Absalom himself launched a full-scale civil war against his father, David, but was killed in the process. Solomon’s hands were not entirely clean in the matter either as he murdered his brother, Adonijah, when he suspected him of making a play for the throne. Solomon solidified his claim to kingship, but he did so at a tumultuous time and with very little experience for ruling.
It was at this time, though, that the author of the Book of Kings tells us Solomon found the most important ally for his rule. At a place called Gibeon, God himself appeared to Solomon in a dream and offered to give the young king whatever he would ask for. Perhaps recognizing his own youth and inexperience, Solomon is said to have asked not for wealth or power but for wisdom to govern God’s people well.
God give us wisdom. (3:10–14)
The text tells us that Solomon’s request was one that greatly pleased the God who had offered to grant it. God promised Solomon that He would give him “a wise and discerning mind,” so that “no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.” And as an added reward, God would add to this gift the great riches and honor Solomon had not asked for before.
Solomon’s peculiar wisdom was immediately evident as he solved the inscrutable case of two women who had laid claim to the same child. In an order that remains famous to this day, Solomon commanded that the child be cut in two and given half to one woman and half to the other. The real mother, of course, immediately begged the king not to do this and told the other woman she could take the child if it would save his life. The whole nation is said to have marveled at the king’s clever strategy for figuring out which woman was telling the truth and which was lying.
Others benefit when we share God’s wisdom. (4:29–34)
Scripture tells us Solomon’s wisdom was legendary well beyond the borders of Israel. Even foreign kings would come to marvel at this sage renowned for his proverbs, songs and observations of the natural world.
Sadly while Solomon’s great wisdom endured, the humility that first led him to ask for that wisdom did not. In time Solomon grew more tyrannical and less attentive to the needs of his people, with the result that his kingdom would split in two almost immediately upon his death. Wisdom alone was insufficient for Solomon to be a truly successful king. What he needed even more than wisdom was a humble heart that would pair wisdom with devotion to the God who had provided it to him in the first place.
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