The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 3:28,
"When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice."
This observation from the text follows King Solomon's threat to cut a child in two when two women asked him to render judgment as to whose child the boy was. The true mother, as you recall, was determined by Solomon when she readily decided to give up her claim on the boy to spare his life.
The text tells us the wisdom Solomon had was from the Lord. We are told in 1 Kings 4:29-31, "God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else... And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations."
Solomon received this wisdom from the Lord because he asked the Lord for it. The Lord offered to give Solomon anything he wanted, and with the insight of an already wise and prudent man, he asked the Lord for wisdom to aid him in governing the Lord's people as king.
The Lord, likewise offers us wisdom. As personified as a woman, wisdom calls out to each of us, "Let all who are simple come to my house!" Proverbs 9:4. "Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed." Proverbs 9:5. In fact, the book of Proverbs is presented us as our textbook from the Lord to impart wisdom to us, "The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise." Proverbs 1:1-6.
There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, one for each day of the month. If you read the chapter for the day of the month, you would expose yourself to God's instruction in wisdom every month. Today is the seventh of December and so chapter seven would be the chapter to read today. It takes all of about ten minutes to read. Is wisdom worth ten minutes of my time each day?
Wisdom calls out to us, "Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: 'How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings." Proverbs 1:20-23.
We rightfully are in awe of the wisdom God gave Solomon. How much, as well, with the wisdom the Lord can impart to us... to someone as thick-headed as me!
Listen to these words:
My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you." Proverbs 2:1-11.
"When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice."
This observation from the text follows King Solomon's threat to cut a child in two when two women asked him to render judgment as to whose child the boy was. The true mother, as you recall, was determined by Solomon when she readily decided to give up her claim on the boy to spare his life.
The text tells us the wisdom Solomon had was from the Lord. We are told in 1 Kings 4:29-31, "God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else... And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations."
Solomon received this wisdom from the Lord because he asked the Lord for it. The Lord offered to give Solomon anything he wanted, and with the insight of an already wise and prudent man, he asked the Lord for wisdom to aid him in governing the Lord's people as king.
The Lord, likewise offers us wisdom. As personified as a woman, wisdom calls out to each of us, "Let all who are simple come to my house!" Proverbs 9:4. "Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed." Proverbs 9:5. In fact, the book of Proverbs is presented us as our textbook from the Lord to impart wisdom to us, "The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise." Proverbs 1:1-6.
There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, one for each day of the month. If you read the chapter for the day of the month, you would expose yourself to God's instruction in wisdom every month. Today is the seventh of December and so chapter seven would be the chapter to read today. It takes all of about ten minutes to read. Is wisdom worth ten minutes of my time each day?
Wisdom calls out to us, "Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: 'How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings." Proverbs 1:20-23.
We rightfully are in awe of the wisdom God gave Solomon. How much, as well, with the wisdom the Lord can impart to us... to someone as thick-headed as me!
Listen to these words:
My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you." Proverbs 2:1-11.
"For the Lord gives wisdom..."!!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment