Divine Wisdom - 1 Kings 3:16-28
SERMON TRANSCRIPT
Well it's good to be back with you. If you don't know, we were gone last week driving back home from San Diego. It's good to be back, enjoyed seeing some of you guys midweek this week at the Conversations event. I love, I just love that time. More time with church family, right? We see each other every Sunday, but glad we get to see some of each other in the midweek too. And this week we pondered and processed the pastor's approach and the congregation's approach to church and asked the question, who is at the center of our hearts and minds when we go to church? Is it us or is it God? So I just really enjoy that conversation. We're looking forward to the next one next month. But this morning, we're continuing in our Impossible Moments series. Last week, Pastor Lauren had a great message about Gideon from Judges. We watched it on our drive. We had our phone up there safely. It was totally fine. And I love this question that she asked, talking about being available for God. But then, are we willing to follow up that availability with obedience? That question just kept popping up in my head this week. And so, if you haven't listened to it, I would encourage you to do so. Go back and watch.
Today, we're gonna be in a different scene in the Bible. I love the format of this series, this little vignettes of the Old Testament that we're just kind of hopping around and seeing God work. And so, today we're gonna be talking about King Solomon in a career-defining moment that he had early on in his reign. Solomon, as many of you know, is considered Israel's wisest king, maybe the greatest king. And he was known for his wisdom. Even people who are not raised up in the church still have heard of Solomon in some way, whether they believe he was true or a fictional figure. But Solomon is a character known for his wisdom. And toward the beginning of his reign, the Bible tells us that Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given to him by David. In other words, he was walking with God. And I love what the Bible uses this imagery of, this illustration of walking with God multiple times to show when someone is living in righteousness, is living according to God's will and purpose. And so even from the very beginning, we have this image of Adam walking in the garden with God. That's a beautiful moment right there. We have Noah, who at that time was the only one walking with God. Or Abraham and Moses and even the Israelites when they were being good, 'cause they weren't always good, but they were walking with God at times. And so we see here Solomon is walking with God. Well as he's doing so, at the beginning of his reign, there's a moment where he's offering sacrifices to God, and God appears before him saying, Solomon, whatever you want, ask me for it, and I'll give it to you. Now that is a pretty sweet blank check from God, just like, hey, Solomon, whatever you want, ask and I will give. I'm hoping that God says that to me someday.
But how many of us in this moment, if asked by God, would our minds go directly to something that's maybe right in front of us, right? We just had a prayer time this morning and maybe that would be what we ask God. Hey God, I'm having relationship issues. Please bring restoration to that. Or God, finances are a huge hurt right now and more money would be really helpful. If you could give me that, that would be great. Or God, my health, or someone else that's close to me. Those are all good things, not wrong with asking, there's nothing wrong with asking for that. But Solomon asks for something else. And in chapter three of 1 Kings, Solomon responds, 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 here is 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 these great people of yours? Now, a couple things. Solomon isn't actually a boy at this time. He's actually a father at this point. But it's an idiom in the Hebrew language to show the inexperience that he has, to recognize with humility that, hey, I don't know how to do perfectly what you've called me to do. And so God, you do. And so in comparison to you, I'm just a little boy when it comes to this matter of ruling over Israel. And if we can bring that verse back up actually, verse eight and nine in that passage is just so rich. Solomon here has the purest heart. There's moments of his reign that are up and down. And this is one of the highest moments of his reign. This is so good. We can, this could be a whole other sermon for another time but it's not, it's not, so we're just gonna breeze through this really quick, but the phrasing here, people too numerous to count, and the phrase, who is able to govern this great people of yours? There's a couple things, one is that it touches the covenant that God made back in time with Abraham, with Moses and Israel, too numerous to count, right? That's the covenant of I will give you a people that is greater than the sand. And so it communicates that Solomon is in touch to some degree with God's plan and direction, looking back over Israel's history, and also that other phrase of who is able to govern this great people of yours. God was meant to be king over Israel. And it wasn't until the people demanded that they have an earthly king, a human king, that God gave that to them, and then Saul became king. But this line acknowledges, Solomon acknowledging with humility that, "Hey, you've appointed me to this position, "but God, you are the one who can truly govern your people, perfectly. Even me, who you've called to this position, God, you are the true king. So it's just an amazing response to God's offer. And God is so pleased with Solomon in this moment. God is saying, yes, a ruler who gets it, right? Someone who knows their boundaries and their limits. Someone who wants to depend on me, Yahweh, depend on my qualities and my character. And so God responds to Solomon by giving him what he asked for.
In verse 12 of chapter 3, God gives him a wise discerning heart. And he also gives him what Solomon did not ask for, wealth and honor. And God says, "If you continue to walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you long life." I don't know if there could be a better start to a reign for a king. You get God's favor, you're receiving God's promise and giftings, securing God's partnership and blessing over your reign. This is pretty amazing, right? You get wisdom, you're getting wealth and honor as a bonus here, and if you follow God's commandments, you will also have long life. That's amazing. Now, while Solomon's reign gets off to a great start, his entire life is, again, an interesting case study. And it seems that he may have started at the top and and kind of slowly went downhill. But he was the wisest king, and he brought Israel into its most flourishing season, amounting wealth for the nation, prosperity for the kingdom, and world-renowned reputation for God and for the people. And so you may be wondering, well, Andre, where's the impossible situation? Sounds like everything's perfect. Sounds like he's got everything he needs. Well, right after this incredible moment with God, we are given a unique scene where Solomon gets to demonstrate the wisdom given to him by God.
So if you would turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Kings 3, we're gonna start at verse 16. You guys can follow along as I read aloud. It says, "Now two prostitutes came to the king "and stood before him. "One of them said, 'Pardon me, my lord, "'this woman and I live in the same house, "'and I had a baby while she was there with me. "'The third day after my child was born, "'this woman also had a baby. "'We were alone. "There's no one in the house but the two of us. "During the night, this woman's son died "because she lay on him. "So she got up in the middle of the night "and took my son from my side "while I, your servant, was asleep. "She put him by her breast "and put her dead son by my breast. "The next morning, I got up to nurse my son and he was dead. "But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, "I saw that it wasn't the son that I had born. "The other woman said, 'No, no, no, no, "'the living son is my son. "'The dead one is yours.' "But the first one insisted, 'No, the dead one is yours. "'The living one is mine.' And so they argued before the king. And the king said, "This one says my son is alive "and your son is dead. "Well, that one says, no, your son is dead "and mine is alive." So, maybe you have heard of this scene before. And if you haven't, it's a startling scene. Yeah, this is in the Bible. Two women have babies and one sadly dies in the night and the mother takes the living baby to try and pass it off as her own, swap the dead child for the living. And in this situation, this is just a terrible, awful scenario full of sorrow and distress. In the morning, that mother recognized that it wasn't her child that was dead and put together what had happened. And today, if this were to happen, we have ways of figuring this out. There's DNA testing. This is not an impossible situation for us today. But back in that time, this is an impossible scenario. It is simply one woman's word against another woman. this story or that story? Which one will Solomon believe? How will he know who is telling the truth?
So our predicament also reveals a couple other things. Just for some context here, as king, king gets to hear a lot of the big cases that are happening in his kingdom. There are judges for lesser cases. Not every single issue came before the king, but ones that were more difficult or ones having to deal with human life did get the attention of the king. And so we see Solomon's care here. From the social positions of these women, they're prostitutes, the simple fact that this case, given its nature, came to him shows that Solomon believes injustice and sound judgment be applied to all cases and made available to all subjects regardless of gender or social status. It's a very God-like quality that Solomon is exercising here. But the impossible situation remains, right? Who is the real mother? Now, of course, as the readers, we know, we get to read this, and we're reading it knowing who is who. But Solomon has to distinguish this harlot or that harlot. And so let's read what happens next in verse 24. "Then the king said, 'Bring me a sword.' So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order. cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other. The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, 'Please, my lord, give her the living baby. Don't kill him.' But the other said, 'Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two.' And then the king gave his ruling, 'Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him. She is the mother.’"
So here we have our ruling, right? This is Solomon giving his answer. He asks for a sword to be brought out to cut the baby in two, to give a half to each mother, which is very extreme. Each woman has a different reaction to Solomon's order. The first, the one we know to be the true mother, she's overwhelmed with compassion and love for her child. The Hebrew here in this phrase literally means that her bowels or her womb grew hot, which in ancient times is what they thought the emotions came from, from this the gut. And so she is feeling the verdict of Solomon's order. She's feeling the outcome in every fiber of her being. She is so moved out of love that she would rather surrender her child than have that baby die. It's another moment of someone in this story having godly character, an act of sacrifice, an act of love. The second woman sadly has a very different reaction. She's okay with this second baby dying, which is, again, a very extreme response, but we have to remember that she's already lost her child. Her state of mind is dealing with all sorts of emotions, anger, hurt, loss, pain, jealousy, and even a false sense of justice. In her mind, it's fair that the other mother also lose her child. Now, you may say, "How does that make sense?" Well, let's take this into a different scenario that maybe we can all relate to. Okay, we're going into a figurative story here. Let's say there are two little siblings. I didn't come up with names. So there's a little boy and a little girl, and their brother and sister. And on a summer day, they both get a popsicle, right? And one of them accidentally drops the popsicle. It's melting on the ground. And they're like, well, what do I do now? Well, my sibling has a popsicle. Let me ask if they'll share. Can I have some of yours? The other's like, no, this is mine. You lost yours. I get to keep mine. Well, now that first sibling who lost the popsicle is feeling, well, this is not fair. They're enjoying something, and I can't have it. So what do they do? They knock that one out of their hand. They knock it to the ground. And that one's like, what are you doing? He's like, "Well, if I can't have it, you can't have it." And in their minds, that is justice. That is fair. And I think... Now, given this context much more serious, but I think that's what is happening here. This mother is saying, "If I can't live the life as a mother, you can't either." It's a false sense of justice, but it's what makes sense to her in that moment. That's held in contrast. Her thinking is held in contrast to real justice and fairness and wisdom.
Solomon's verdict represented God's justice and wisdom. He was able to discern both of these women's hearts. Their reaction to this scenario was a glimpse into their hearts. The heart is typically something, the Bible tells us, that only God can know, only God can discern and understand what is going inside of a person's heart. But in this moment, Solomon, through God's wisdom and discernment, can see into their hearts. Maybe you too have had moments where you've been able to see into someone's heart, you've seen their motivations, their reasons for what they're doing. And sometimes it reveals the good. You see that that person was trying to love, that person was trying to care or be kind, compassionate. And other times you see in that person's heart the sin, the evilness, where there's jealousy or pride, selfishness. story is an illustration of Solomon's wisdom. He's a man who can see beneath the surface and discern people's motives and character. This impossible moment, impossible for everyone else except this man bestowed with the wisdom of God, who's able to see what usually only God can see, beneath the surface. And by God's wisdom, Solomon is able to discern who the the real mother is and give the baby back to her. Let's look at the aftermath of this ruling. Verse 28 says, "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." So the aftermath of this decision is that Solomon's reputation grows, and therefore so does God's because people know that God is the one who gave Solomon the ability to be able to do that. It was thought at that time that kings had a supernatural ability and wisdom. They had a connection to the divine. And this reinforces that their king, Solomon, truly did have a connection with God. Divine wisdom is more than just knowledge, which Solomon possessed in abundance, but it includes the ability to render difficult judgments. Solomon presented that he, as a king, had that ability. True wisdom is from God, and Israel knew this, and soon the whole world began to know this too. God, wisdom to help govern God's people is used perfectly here by Solomon.
This is a great scene, impossible scene at the beginning, undone by God's wisdom and a great picture of what God's kingdom could have looked like. Israel now sees this and says, "All right, this is our king. This is our king, that if he follows God, look at what can happen. We can have true justice. We can have an amazing era in Israel's history." Solomon navigated an impossible situation at the time in a cunning way finding the solution to determine the true mother and His wisdom and relationship with God are an example for us today. How do we like Solomon walk in wisdom? Well, we may not be Rulers over Israel. We're not I know all of you. We're here We're not over there and but you guys still have you in a sense you rule over your life and you have a responsibility to people in your lives, maybe your families, friends, maybe your kids. And so wisdom is still an essential part of living for God, something that we should all be striving for. Proverbs 9 10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." So it starts, walking in wisdom starts with fearing and believing God. Now, wisdom is a term with... It's a big term. It's got a large scope. And so from the Bible, we kind of see these different sides of wisdom. We see that there's perceiving wisdom, which is along the lines of what we read today, being able to discern situations around us through the lens of God. There's also action-related wisdom, which focuses on the right behavior. In everyday life, how are we gonna apply God's word and live like Jesus in every moment? There's also a communicating wisdom, which is focused on teaching and learning wisdom, like the book of Proverbs. So just as Solomon said in the book of Proverbs, we wanna live according to the wisdom of God, which is all those types of wisdom. So how do we do that? Well, here's a couple things. First, pray and ask God for wisdom. Simple step. Pray and ask God for wisdom. This goes back to early in the chapter, that example that Solomon gave us when he asked God for discernment. We are inexperienced, right, just like Solomon. And only God knows how to live this life in the best way. So let's ask God on how to do it. Let's ask Him for that wisdom. Pray every morning, "God, give me the wisdom to get through the day in a way that honors You. Give me wisdom to love and have compassion on those around me. Give me wisdom to be like Jesus in every situation I find myself in. Solomon writes in Proverbs 3.5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." In order to not lean on our own understanding, we need to have God's understanding, right? We have to ask for that. If we believe that God is perfect in every way, that He is all-wise and all-knowing and and perfect in love, then why would we lean on our own understanding when we can fully depend on Him? He is the source of true wisdom. It comes from God. It's something that God gives, just like He gave to Solomon. And oftentimes when someone is able to give something, what they want is for someone to ask. So God is waiting for us to ask for wisdom. I love this quote about the connection between wisdom and God. It says, "In the Bible, intimacy with wisdom is not distinguished from intimacy with God. Divine wisdom is a communication of God showing the path to life.”
It starts with knowing God, having a relationship with Jesus. with God will lead to wisdom from God. We know that we cannot live righteously without Him. We need Jesus in our lives. We need the guiding work of the Holy Spirit and we need God's wisdom. So let's ask for it. Secondly, exercise wisdom in your life. After we've asked for that wisdom that we are assuming and we trust that God will give us that wisdom to help us honor Him and help us obey Him. Now we've got to live that out. Proverbs 8.20 says, "I walk in the way of righteousness along the paths of justice." Ephesians 5, 15-16 says, "Be careful then how you live, not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." When approaching situations in life, it's easy to go through them quickly, relying on our own knowledge and our own wisdom. But what would it look like to pause and pray and discern what God might want us to do in that situation, to understand what the Lord's will is in that moment? There was a question back when I was growing up that kind of became gimmicky, but I think it still applies. WWJD, anyone know? Yeah? Do you anyone have a bracelet? Or like 10 on your wrist? What would Jesus do? Honestly, still a great question to ask. When trying to exercise wisdom in life, when trying to discern what God's will is, how to honor Him and live like Jesus, what would Jesus do?
At the board meeting we had this past week, the elders were talking about how as one gets older, the decision time becomes longer. At a younger age, we're so quick to just pull the trigger and keep going, almost like out of reflex, like just go, go, go, life is happening at a fast pace. But as one gets older, they realize in most cases that there is no need for a rush, and it's okay to sit and ponder and think about what might be the best way forward. I think that's what God wants us to do. Maybe we still do that quickly, but he wants us to take a moment to pause, breathe, and pray as we exercise wisdom in life. Exercising wisdom also means a submission to God's plan, realizing that I don't have it all figured out, but I do have the desire to apply God's truth, His word, to this situation. If we don't submit to God's plan, if we lean on our own understanding, then we are falling deeper into sin. Our own way, what we naturally think is best, is actually selfish and sinful. And thankfully, Jesus came to save us, "and He is the truth, the way, and the life." When I think of the wisest people that I've ever known, one of them being my father, it's not that he knew a lot, well, he does know a lot, but it's that he took the time, it was his approach. He did his best to apply God's word to every situation. That's still an example to me today. As frustrated as I was as a little kid as to why we haven't done this, and he's talking about it and thinking about it, I see now that he was just trying to best honor God in those situations. I also want to say this though, wisdom is often associated with age, right? The older someone is, the wiser they are, and generally that is true. But there are also younger people who apply God's truth and commands and decrees to life and are considered wise beyond their years. I think of the young people in this room who I think are personally very wise for just graduated and still in high school. 'Cause I know that you guys are trying to apply God's word to your life, and that is wisdom. Keep doing that. In our lives, how can we exercise more wisdom? How can we live more according to God's truth and will every moment?
Lastly, witness with your wisdom. Solomon's decision, his use of wisdom, became a witness and a testimony to God's role in his life in the nation of Israel. And the same can be true for us today. When we live a life that honors God, we exercise wisdom, sometimes through impossible situations that we face, people will notice. Whether we ever know about it or not, when we apply God's word to decisions we make, we are pointing people to God. It could just be one decision that someone witnesses and they see it and they turn towards him, or it may be a lifetime of decisions that exercise wisdom that finally make an impact on someone. But be aware and conscious that your wise decisions can be a way for the gospel to be spread. You know whose life was a great example of this? Someone who lived according to God's wisdom and pointed people to God? is Jesus. Sunday school answer, Jesus. One thing about Solomon is that he points to the need for Jesus. You see, even though Solomon was a great king, the wisest the world has ever seen, he could not, for the entirety of his life, walk perfectly with God. As wise as he was, he was unable to walk with God and live in the path of righteousness perfectly. And so Israel's wondering, well, if Solomon can't do it, Who can? Who is gonna be our perfect leader? And it points to the coming of Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment of perfect wisdom. Throughout his ministry, he is known as the wise teacher. He is the truth incarnate, and he communicates God's perfect will to humanity. What a blessing that we get to know Jesus, that we have his teachings through his word, and that we can seek to live like him. So, as we strive to live like Jesus, with God's wisdom, we can be a witness. Now, let me be clear. While sometimes our decisions that are wise decisions will point people to God, other times our wise decisions may be baffling to people. Know that what God considers wise, the world may consider foolish. It's still witnessing. It still points people to God, but it may not make a lot of sense to them. Ruth Haley Barton is an author and she has this to say about wisdom. She says, "Our ability to think things through and apply reason to our decision-making is a gift from God. However, the Scriptures are clear that human wisdom and the wisdom of God are not the same thing. Part of becoming more discerning is the ability to distinguish between the two." Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God." He also says, "Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many were influential. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
I love what both of those, the quote from Ruth Haley Barton and what Paul is saying here, reassure us that following God may not make sense to the world. We may be getting weird looks, puzzled answers of, "Why are you doing what you're doing?" That does not, that's not what you should be doing. But as you live your life for Jesus, walking in wisdom, you are living in His perfect will, and God could not be more happy or pleased. Follow Jesus. It may not make a lot of sense to people, but it is the wisest thing you can do. So in whatever impossible situation you find yourself in, or just in your day-to-day life, how will you walk in the wisdom of God? Are you asking God for wisdom daily? First thing when you wake up, a simple prayer, "God, give me the wisdom I need to honor you today." Are you exercising wisdom in your life? Not just in the biggest moments where it's maybe obvious to stop and pray, but even in the small mundane moments? Are we exercising God's wisdom? And are you aware that when you walk in true wisdom given by God, you are a witness to the people around you? Our prayer is that God would give us wisdom here at Spring Valley Church and use us for His glory and for His kingdom.
You guys pray with me. God, thank you for the example of Solomon. It is so encouraging to see how you want us to walk with you. You desire that for us. You will give us what we need that we don't have on our own to be able to do that. You will give us wisdom, God. We pray today, the days to come and the weeks to come, that you would pour out on us your wisdom. Our desire is to walk in your paths of righteousness. We need your help to do it. We just prayed earlier in our service, God, about all these situations that are going on in our lives. And in every one of those situations, we need wisdom. God, we don't want to lean on our own understanding. We don't want to be selfish and prideful and go down the path that leads to sin. We want to walk in Your righteous paths. So God, from the mundane and the small stuff of life to the biggest decisions that we have in front of us, we pray for Your discernment, We pray for your guidance. We pray that we'd be able to see with clarity what you are calling us to do, where you are calling us to go. Pray that we would have patience to wait until you give us that wisdom. God, encourage each and every person in this room as we seek to live a life that exercises wisdom. And may we be conscious of how we are a witness to others as we do so. Give us strength. It is hard sometimes to go against the current of the world, to do what does not make sense in the world's eyes. But I pray that you would give us courage. Help us be steadfast in our decision to follow you every day. We love you, Lord. We pray this in your name. Amen.