The Kind of Person God Blesses with Wisdom

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.

1 Kings 3 · chapter mention

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,

1 Kings 3:1–15

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.

1 Kings 3:1–15

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.

John 14 · chapter mention

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

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

James 1 · chapter mention

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.

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

Ephesians 3:20

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.