Who is the wisest person to ever live?
We're going to stay here until somebody answers.
Solomon.
I heard Angie Hester say, Brian Hester.
You can stop laughing now.
Wisest person to ever live?
King Solomon.
Now, when you read what various Bible writers say about him
and what he personally wrote in the book of Proverbs in particular,
there is no doubt that he was smart and well-educated.
But Solomon's wisdom was due to more than just his natural intellect.
Solomon had a God-given wisdom that provided him with the spiritual insight to understand how God intends for life to work in this world.
Now, think about it.
Solomon was a highly intelligent individual.
He had a great education.
He had all kinds of life experiences.
But it was because God gave him this special endowment of wisdom that he was able to write the kind of things that he did in the book of Proverbs that deal with how we really live our lives.
I mean, he gave us wisdom as we've seen over the last several weeks about how God intends for us to use our tongue
and how he intends for us not to use it.
We've seen such things of how to value money, how to value money, how not to value it.
There's a lot that Solomon taught about having healthy relationships.
Having healthy relationships with people you're close to, family members, neighbors.
He wrote a lot about developing a strong, healthy work ethic, not being lazy.
Proverbs, the major wisdom writing of the Old Testament, was written by someone that God had given him something special.
Special insight and wisdom.
Now, how did that happen?
How did it come about that God gave this man such wisdom?
Well, we read about it in the book of 1 Kings.
I want you to turn with me, and we're going to stay there throughout this message.
The book of 1 Kings, chapter 3.
What we're going to do today and next week,
we're going to conclude our study of the book of Proverbs
by looking at Solomon.
We're going to look a little bit at his life,
do a sort of a brief character study today and next week.
Today, we're going to look at Solomon as a model of the kind of person God blesses with wisdom.
Today, this is a very positive message.
We're holding Solomon up as a model, as an example of the kind of person God blesses with wisdom.
Next week, we're going to take a totally different look at this same man.
Now, we need to understand here at the beginning, Solomon was unique.
We're not going to be little Solomons no matter what.
God chose him to be king over his chosen people, the people of Israel.
You are not going to be king.
You are not going to be queen in the days to come.
I don't want to burst anybody's bubble.
That's just not going to happen.
Solomon also was, what you might say,
specially endowed with God-given wisdom.
I mean, he was so favored by God, so gifted,
that he really is considered the wisest man who ever lived.
You nor I are ever going to acquire that kind of wisdom.
No one's going to ever go out and write books about your and my wisdom.
We're not going to be like Solomon in this respect.
But we can.
We can be wise to some degree.
That's why God gave us the book of Proverbs and the other 65 books of the Bible
God wants us to grow in our knowledge, our wisdom, our understanding of him and life
and how to live life in a way that pleases him.
I want us to look this morning in 1 Kings 3, verses 1 through 15,
some of the character qualities found in Solomon that were an obvious prerequisite
to his receiving this special wisdom from God.
And as we go through this,
we need to understand that these same character qualities
need to be found in our lives if we expect to receive God's wisdom
or grow in the development of wisdom.
So let's go ahead and read 1 Kings 3, verses 1 through 15.
Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David
until he had finished building his own house
and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.
The people were sacrificing at the high places, however,
because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.
Solomon loved the Lord.
Walking in the statutes of David his father,
only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places.
And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there,
for that was the great high place.
Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
At Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night,
and God said,
Ask what I shall give you.
In other words, ask what do you want me to give you?
And Solomon said,
You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David, my father,
because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness,
and in uprightness of heart towards you.
Let's just pause for a moment.
Most of you here are familiar with the life of David.
David was not a perfect model of any of those things.
David is known for some major moral failures in his life.
But David never ceased to be known as the man after God's own heart.
David is still considered here as one who walked in faithfulness,
in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart before God.
That should give us hope.
That should give us an encouragement.
We do fail God, but God doesn't disqualify His people when they fail,
if they're truly His,
because they'll repent.
They'll come back to Him.
They'll renew their faith and their commitment.
David did such things.
Let's read on.
And you have kept for Him this great and steadfast love,
and have given Him a son to sit on His throne this day.
And now, O Lord my God,
you have made your servant king in place of my father David,
in place of David my father.
Although I am but a little child,
I do not know how to go out or come in.
And your servant is in the midst of your people,
whom you have chosen a great people,
too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.
Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind
to govern your people,
that I may discern between good and evil.
For who is able to govern this, your great people?
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.
And God said to him,
Because you have asked this,
and have not asked for yourself long life or riches,
or the life of your enemies,
but have asked for yourself understanding
to discern what is right,
behold, I now do according to your word.
Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind,
so that none like you has ever been before you,
and none like you shall arise after you.
I give you also what you have not asked,
both riches and honor,
so that no other king shall compare with you all your days.
And if you will walk in my ways,
notice here,
there's a requirement.
And if you will walk in my ways,
keeping my statutes and my commandments,
as your father David walked,
then I will lengthen your days.
And Solomon awoke,
and behold,
it was a dream.
Then he came to Jerusalem
and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings,
and made a feast for all of his servants.
What we're going to look for in these verses
are the character qualities
that we should consider to be prerequisites
for receiving God's gift of wisdom.
Number one,
God's wisdom is a gift
given to those who love God wholeheartedly.
That's what we see in verses 3 through 6.
Look at verse 3 in particular.
It says that Solomon loved the Lord,
walking in the statutes of David, his father.
This is a more powerful statement
than it really appears to be,
as Philip Ryken,
who's now president of Wheaton College,
points out in his book on Solomon.
Look at what he's saying.
He's describing how Solomon loved the Lord.
He says,
this is virtually the highest praise
that any person could ever receive.
In fact,
Solomon is the only man in the entire Bible
who is said to have loved the Lord
in so many words.
He's not saying that Solomon's the only person in the Bible
who ever loved God,
who ever talked about loving God,
but he is saying
this is a unique way of describing Solomon,
saying that Solomon,
just real simply,
Solomon loved the Lord.
He's describing a genuine,
heartfelt love that this man had for God,
and it wasn't just an emotional feeling.
You know,
a lot of people have emotional feelings
related to God or spiritual things.
Something happens in their life,
and it causes an emotional crisis.
Some people maybe hear a certain song,
and it affects them emotionally.
Some people come to a worship service,
maybe something that's said touches them in the moment.
A lot of people have emotional feelings,
and they'll talk about their love for God
or their belief in God,
but when the emotions subside,
that love can't be found.
Those feelings don't remain.
Solomon had a genuine, heartfelt love for God
that he expressed in tangible ways.
Note in verse 4,
he is described as worshiping God,
and as a part of his worship,
he offered costly sacrifices.
Look at it in verse 4.
The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there,
for that was the great high place.
Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings
on that altar.
Now, I want you to think about this.
He's just been described as loving God,
He's now being described as worshiping God.
As a part of his worship,
he offered an extravagant, costly sacrifice,
or numerous sacrifices, actually.
I want you to think about the great expense
that would have been.
Think about how much trouble the labor involved
in sacrificing a thousand animals.
But this was intentional.
Solomon wanted to demonstrate his love to God
by offering to God something that was valuable to him,
something that cost him something.
You know, it appears that God accepted Solomon's worship
as an expression of genuine love
by the way God responds in verse 5.
Look at that.
At Gibeon,
the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night,
and God said,
Ask what I shall give you.
Ask what you want.
If God was not pleased with the sacrifice Solomon has made,
sacrifices he's been making,
why would he offer such?
Well, Solomon continues his heartfelt worship
and prayer to God in verse 6.
Look at that.
And Solomon said,
You have shown great and steadfast love
to your servant David my father,
because he walked before you in faithfulness,
in righteousness,
and in uprightness of heart towards you.
And you've kept for him this great and steadfast love,
and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.
He's talking about himself.
Solomon is praising God
for the faithful love that God has shown
to his father David
in allowing Solomon to take over,
in allowing Solomon to succeed his father
as king over all of Israel.
What we see in the way that Solomon declared
and demonstrated his love for God
is a model for how we should express our love for God.
I want you to think about
how you express your love to God.
Rehearse.
Think about it for a moment.
Do you regularly express your love to God in words?
Do you talk to God,
and do you say to him things like,
I love you?
I love you, Lord.
I love you, Jesus.
If you have a relationship with someone,
I mean, if you have a real relationship
with your spouse, your children,
different people,
don't you tell them,
at least every now and then,
that you love them?
Isn't it natural
to look at someone that you really do love,
you really do care about,
and say to them,
I love you.
You want to communicate that verbally
what Solomon did in his relationship with God.
And I think if we really and truly
have a relationship with our Heavenly Father,
with Almighty God,
if He is our Heavenly Father,
if Jesus Christ really is our Savior and our Lord,
it should just be natural
for us to want to say to the Lord Jesus,
to our Heavenly Father,
I love you.
Do you regularly do that?
If you don't,
why don't you?
Do you regularly express your love to God
in your actions?
Solomon did by the way he worshipped God.
He worshipped God privately.
He worshipped God publicly.
Do you?
I mean, we're here in a worship service.
Is this something that you normally do,
you want to do,
gather together with God's people
and join together
to worship and praise God
because you love Him?
Do you do this privately?
Get up in the morning,
around lunchtime,
at night?
Do you regularly
just get before the Lord,
maybe driving down the road for you
or walking somewhere,
and you just have a time of personal worship,
praise,
thanking God?
Do you do like Solomon?
Do you faithfully give to God offerings,
offerings that cost you something?
I've been in church all my life.
There's never been a time
when I didn't go to church as a kid.
Some of my earliest remembrances of people,
preachers preaching on giving,
I remember being,
hearing something like this.
A preacher described our giving
in terms of giving a tithe
or a tip to God.
For some reason,
it's always stuck in my mind.
Is your giving
a tithe
or is it a tip?
Which most accurately
describes you?
But I don't want you to think
that giving offerings
is the only way we can visibly
express our love to God.
It is one way,
but it's certainly not
even the
most primary way,
the most important way.
Jesus made it clear
that the most important way
we can express our love to God
is by
obeying Him.
Look with me.
There's three verses
I want to look at real quickly
from John chapter 14.
I mean,
how much
clearer
and forcefully
could He say this
than
bam, bam, bam?
If you love me,
you'll keep my commandments.
Whoever has my commandments
and keeps them,
he it is who loves me.
Jesus answered him,
if anyone loves me,
he will keep my word.
It's good
if you have a heartfelt
love for the Lord Jesus.
It's good
if you spend time
praising Him.
It's good
that you want to give
offerings that cost you
something to Him.
But bottom line,
Jesus is saying,
if you love me,
you'll make it a habit
of obeying me.
you'll make it a habit
of knowing
how I expect you
to live
which is revealed
in His word.
And it'll be your desire
to do God's will,
to put into practice
the things that He teaches us
in His word
that please Him,
that serve His purpose.
God's gift of wisdom
is given to those
who truly love God.
That was true
about Solomon.
It's true about anyone
who's going to experience
God's wisdom.
But we also see
from Solomon's
example that
God's wisdom
is a gift
given to those
who humbly seek it.
Verses 7 through 9,
we see that again.
God responded
to Solomon's expression
of love
and worship
by inviting him.
God invited him
to ask for anything.
Look again in verse 5.
Ask what I shall give you.
Now Solomon responded
with one of the most
well-known expressions
in the Bible
in verse 9.
Look at it.
Give your servant,
therefore,
an understanding mind
to govern your people
that I may discern
between good and evil.
For who is able
to govern this,
your great people?
Solomon, when asked,
you can have
whatever you want.
He responds here,
I want an understanding mind.
Other translations say
an understanding heart
or a discerning heart.
What's happening here
in 1 Kings 3
is summarized
in 2 Chronicles.
In chapter 1,
verse 10,
this statement
or Solomon's response
is summarized like this.
Give me now
wisdom
and knowledge.
That's what Solomon wanted.
Now understand,
God didn't place
any conditions
on Solomon's request.
God didn't tell Solomon,
I want you to be
a good little Jewish boy.
I want you to act
like a king
and think like a king
as you respond.
I want you to be spiritual
with your response.
It was an open-ended request.
Solomon could ask
for anything.
Now of course,
we know
God would not have
answered his prayer
for just anything.
God never acts
contrary to his
holy character.
God's always
going to be faithful
to be who he is.
He's never going to
violate the truth
of his word.
He's never going
to do anything
that's contrary
to who he is,
our holy God.
God's offer
to Solomon
was genuine.
But it was also
a test
of Solomon's character.
Now note that Solomon
didn't just ask God
for wisdom.
He humbly
acknowledged
his own limitations.
Look at verse 7.
And now, O Lord,
my God,
you have made
your servant
king
in place of my father.
Although I am
but a little child,
I do not know
how to go out
or come in.
Now Solomon's
not being literal
here.
He's not a little
child.
We don't know
exactly how old
he was but probably
around 20.
He's a young man.
Solomon is saying
by making this
kind of statement,
he's just letting
God know,
I know that I'm
inexperienced.
I know that I
do not know
how to be king
over these people.
Solomon's saying,
Lord, you have
entrusted me
an awesome
responsibility
and I'm just
not equipped
to do it.
I need for you
to provide me
with the wisdom
to enable me
to be a good
and wise
and faithful king
to these people.
I need for you
to provide me
with the wisdom
so that I'll be able
to discern
between good
and evil
and provide
good government
for your
chosen people.
Solomon was praying.
Solomon was going
to God
with genuine
humility.
He knew
how limited
he was
but he had confidence
that God
could meet
his needs.
That's why he asked
God to supply him
with what he needed
and he would
do this job.
We can learn
a lot from Solomon's
example,
can't we?
We can learn
to admit
our limitations
and seek
God's
wisdom.
You know,
we have been
given an awesome
responsibility
to live in this
world,
the world today
as God's people
and as Jesus said,
we have a responsibility
to be salt
and light
in the world today.
I mean,
you and me
living in today's
world,
we have a responsibility
to have a preserving
effect.
We have a responsibility
to add flavor.
We have a responsibility
to shine
the light
of truth,
God's truth
in this
spiritually
dark
world.
How do you
do that?
Husbands,
how do you love
your wife
as Christ loved
the church?
That's what,
as Christian men,
we're commanded
to do.
We need to ask
God to give us
the wisdom
to know what
that looks like
as we live together
every day.
Wives,
you are told,
this is in Ephesians
5 and Colossians
3,
both of these
statements.
You've been told
to submit to your
husband as unto
the Lord.
What does that
look like
in 2017?
Do you ever
ask God for the
wisdom to help
you to be that
kind of godly
wife?
And you know,
as parents,
Scripture's very
clear that it's
our responsibility
to be the primary
spiritual teachers
of our children?
We need help,
don't we?
We need help to
know how to
train them
according to the
way that they
should go.
There is no
cookie-cutter
approach to
training children,
is there?
They're all
different.
And we need
God to help us
to do it in a way
that's appropriate
for each child
and it's true
to His Word.
And to do it in a way
that we don't
provoke our
children to anger,
one of the
passages says.
And that's
sometimes hard to
do, isn't it?
To be the right
kind of leader
in the home
as a parent,
the right kind
of attitude,
be the right
kind of example.
And you know,
a lot of you
work in a place
where you're
expected
to keep
your,
what we'll call
religious views
to yourself.
I mean,
in this day,
it is very,
very difficult
in some settings
for us to
actually talk
about what
the Bible
teaches
concerning
morality.
There's some
settings where
we really need
God's wisdom
to know
what to say
and the way
to say it.
And there's
just a lot of
settings where
we just need
God's wisdom
to know
if we should
say anything
at all.
See,
we've got a,
there's a fine
line we've got
to balance today.
We cannot
be afraid
of people.
We cannot
deny the truth
of God.
We cannot
compromise
who we are
as God's
people.
We can't
compromise
His Word.
But at the
same time,
we've got to
be there
and be salt
and light
and have as
good an influence
as we can.
And a lot of
times that means
we don't say
everything that
we think.
it means
that we say
things
precisely,
lovingly,
trying to
convince,
not beat
somebody over
the head
with it.
We need
God's wisdom
to know
how to live
in this world
today.
And if we
want it,
we need to
just ask Him
for it.
We need to
admit to God
our inability,
our limitations,
our weaknesses,
and ask God
to give it to us
because He promises
in James chapter
1 that He will
look at it.
James says,
if any of you
lacks wisdom,
let him ask God
who gives
generously to all
without reproach
and it will be
given to him.
James says that
in the context
of talking about
how to deal
with hardships
in life,
how to live
with difficulties,
how to live
with trials,
just like what
we're talking
about.
God will give
us the wisdom
to live in this
world in the
midst of hard
situations.
We've got to
learn to ask Him.
But also,
we need to ask
God the right
way.
James goes on
in this letter,
if you go ahead
and read,
say,
chapter 4,
to point out
that God
requires that
when we ask
for wisdom
or we ask
for anything,
we ask for
the right
motives.
We ask
for the right
purposes.
James
refers
what we
see in
1 Kings.
There are
prerequisites
for receiving
God's gift
of wisdom.
Let's look
at one more
real quickly
in verse 9.
God's wisdom
is a gift
given to
those who
want to
use it
to benefit
others.
Note what
he says
in verse 9.
Give your
servant,
therefore,
an understanding
mind to
govern your
people,
that I may
discern between
good and
evil.
For who
is able
to govern
this,
your great
people?
Solomon
asked for
wisdom so
that he
could be
a benefit,
a blessing
to God's
people.
He wanted
to be a
wise and
godly leader
for the
good of
his country,
for the
good of
God's
people,
for the
good of
families
that he
was responsible
for,
for the
good of
individuals.
Solomon
did not
ask for
wisdom so
that he
could become
a famous
wise man.
I want
you to
understand
that.
What's
happening in
1 Kings 3
has nothing
to do with
Solomon seeking
anything for
himself.
It's all
about the
glory of
God and
the good
of others.
God's.
What are
your prayers
focused on?
The glory
of God and
the good of
others like
Solomon.
Now this
does not mean
we can't pray
for ourselves.
Solomon in
doing all of
this, he was
praying for
himself but
he was not
being selfish.
He wasn't
being greedy.
He wasn't
being worldly
with his
request.
He was
asking God
to make
him a
wise leader
so that
God would
be honored.
So that
God's people
would be
taken care
of for
the good
of other
people.
That's what he
was praying
for.
We need to
learn to pray
like Solomon.
Openly admit
our limitations
and our needs
needs and
then ask
God to
meet those
needs in
a way that
will please
him and
be of benefit
to the people
around us
that God
has put in
our lives.
You know
after giving
Solomon this
wisdom, God
proceeded to
give him
even more
than he
asked for
or could
have imagined.
Look at
verses 13
and 14.
He says,
I give you
also what
you have
not asked,
both riches
and honor,
so that no
other king
shall compare
with you
all your
days.
And if you
will walk
in my ways,
keeping my
statutes
and my
commandments
as your
father David
walked,
then I
will lengthen
your days.
God just
blessed him.
Solomon
serves here
as an
example
of an
important
principle
that Jesus
stressed in
the Sermon
on the
Mount in
Matthew 6.
Look at
it.
Jesus said,
seek first
the kingdom
of God
and his
righteousness
and all
these things
will be
added to
you.
That's what
Solomon did.
Now as I
said at the
beginning of
this message,
Solomon is
unique.
Solomon is
totally
different than
you and
me.
We should
not expect
God to
make us
the wisest
and wealthiest
person in
Pickens
County.
That is
never a
request,
a proper
request.
It was just
a byproduct
in Solomon's
life of
God's grace.
But here's
what you need
to think.
God is
able to
surprise us
with his
generosity.
Even us
writing much,
much later
to the
church in
Ephesus.
Paul said
this.
It's in
Ephesians
chapter 3
verse 20.
It's really
an expression
of praise
worshiping
God.
A doxology.
He says,
now to
him who
is able
to do
far more
abundantly
than all
we ask
or think,
some translations
say,
or imagine,
according to
the power
at work
within us.
Paul,
as he
thought about
God,
as he
prayed,
he thought
about God
as being
able to do
far more
abundantly
than all
we ask
or imagine.
you know,
the best
way for us
to follow
Solomon's
example
is to
seek the
wisdom of
God in
its highest
form,
which is
the person
of Jesus
Christ.
As wise
as Solomon
was,
the Lord
Jesus Christ
is far
wiser,
for he is
the Son
of God.
The wisest
thing that
any person
can ever
do is to
give their
life,
to Jesus
Christ,
in total
surrender,
trusting him
as Savior
and Lord.
Have you
done that?
If you
haven't,
would you
like to?
You can,
if you will
do like
Solomon there
and admit
your need,
admit your
sin,
turn from
that,
change your
mind about
living that
way.
Put your
faith in
Jesus,
that as
God's
Son,
he came
into this
world,
lived a
perfect
life,
obeyed God
with no
flaws.
Then he
died on the
cross,
according to
God's purpose
from the
foundation of
the world,
he died on
the cross to
pay the
penalty for
your sins
if you'll
trust him.
Think about
him dying as
your substitute,
taking your
sin upon
himself,
experiencing the
punishment you
should have
experienced.
If you'll
trust him
and what he
did that
way and
call upon
him to
save you,
he will.
God will
forgive you
because the
penalty for
your sins
has been
paid in
Jesus.
God will
see you as
completely
right with
him because
of the
righteousness
of Jesus.
If you
don't know
him as
your Lord
and Savior,
I encourage
you,
right now,
the wisest
thing that
you could
do would
be to
call upon
Jesus for
your salvation.
But I
know that
Jesus Christ
is the
Lord and
Savior of
most people
in this
room,
but what I
want to ask
you is,
are you
looking to
him seriously
day by
day and
asking him
to give you
the wisdom
that you
need for
the day,
for the
family,
for the
workplace,
for school?
Are you
looking to
him to give
you the
wisdom you
need to
live like
a child
of God
in a
hard world
and really
be salt
and light?
If you're
not asking
him,
why not?
And what
would you
need to
change in
order to
start asking
him?
You know,
if there's
sin in your
life,
if there's
something in
your life
that you're
just bowing
up,
rebelling
against God
about before
anything ever
changes,
you've got to
confess that,
you've got to
repent of
that.
If there's
some priorities
in your
life that
you know
are not
right,
you've got to
admit that to
God and ask
him to help
you to
rearrange those
priorities.
But I want
to encourage
you now,
respond to
God in
loving
obedience as
he shows
you how he
wants you to
respond to
this message
about developing
the kind of
wisdom that
Solomon did.
Would you
pray with me?
Dear God,
help us to
see in
Solomon,
not someone
that we're
ever going
to be,
but help us
to see in
him,
Father,
someone who
had the
kind of
character,
the kind
of heart
that enabled
him to see
his need for
wisdom and
ask for it
so that he
could use it
in a way that
would please
you and help
people.
Help us to
see, dear God,
that we need
to be people
who love you
with all of
our heart,
soul,
mind,
and strength.
Help us to
see that
wisdom,
like what
we're talking
about,
this gift
from you
is something
that you
give to
your children.
It's a
loving gift.
Help us,
Father,
to desire it,
to ask for
it.
Help us,
Father,
to desire it
and ask for
it because we
want to please
you in how
we use it,
and we want
to be a
value.
We want to
be a
blessing to
people by
the way that
we use it.
In attitude of
prayer,
you just listen
to the Lord
and respond to
Him.
If I could pray
for you during
this time,
I'll be here at
the front and
be happy to do
that.
Let's just be
still and quiet
before the Lord
and then respond
to Him.