How Wise Was Solomon?

Solomon's Court

 

'So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: walk in obedience to Him and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and regulations...' 1 King 2:2-3

The wisdom of King Solomon was dramatically evident by the judgement he made on the custody of a child disputed by two mothers. It is a well-known account of sound judgement found in the Bible in 1 King 3:16-28. 

Two women living in the same house gave birth to a child each but one died soon after. The two mothers claimed the living baby as their own, resulting in a child custody dispute brought before the king. Solomon called for the living child to be cut into two giving each half to the mothers. The false claimant did not contest the verdict agreeing that if she could not have the baby then no other person should. In contrast the true mother, protested against this action and asked for the child to be kept alive and be given to the other woman. The King declared her to be the true mother because she was prepared to give up her claim if it meant that the child could be kept alive.    

This was a moment of profound wisdom that marveled many and became an epitome of sound judgement. That wisdom came from God. Early in King Solomon's reign, God asked the King what he wanted and Solomon replied,  

'Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?' 2 Chronicles 1:10

God answered, 

"Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you." 2 Chronicles 1:11-12a

It was a brilliant and unselfish request from Solomon, so much so that God promised Solomon great wealth and prestige along with wisdom. 

"And I will give you wealth, possessions and honour, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have." 2 Chronicles 1:12b  

Under Solomon's wise leadership Israel reached its zenith but it all went wrong subsequently. The strong united kingdom broke into two under Solomon's successors, decayed until the Jews were driven from their land first by the Assyrians (733 BC) later by the Babylonians (598 BC). Finally, in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by Rome, the remnant Jews were scattered. The State of Israel ceased to exist until 1948 when it was established after the British Mandate of Palestine.

Why did Solomon self-destruct? Kevin and Lynette Teo (Ref 1) in analysing 1 King 11:1-11 gave the reasons

• Distraction. Solomon had many wives and concubines, nearly 1000 in all, many of them foreigners. It was recorded that these wives led Solomon astray. 

'As Solomon's grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.' 1 King 11:4

• Disobedience. Solomon was disobedient in having many foreign wives and of worshipping other gods and idols. He built places of worship to these other gods causing God to be angry with him

 'Although He had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord's command.' 1 King 11:10

• Drift. In time, Solomon drifted and turned away from God. His beliefs and faith became nominal and compromised.

'So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.' 1 King 11:6

• Decline. Solomon's relationship with God went downhill. It is not only in his actions but in his attitude too. Thus the kingdom that was established by his father King David went into a tailspin decline.

'So the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinate." ' 1 King 11:11

Kevin and Lynette put it plainly and bluntly, "The wisest man on earth became the greatest fool."

What about us? The Christian Life begins with Salvation but it should continue to Sanctification. Like Solomon we can start off well but many falter in a continuing journey to righteousness by being distracted and disobedient. To avoid the pitfalls of a compromised Christian Life, let us wisely learn from the Solomon blunder.

The journey of sanctification requires a undivided devotion for God as the hymn 'Be Thou My Vision' articulates. Notice how Kristyn Getty sang with much prayerfulness. Isn't this like the prayer of Solomon at the start of his reign?

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art

Thou my best thought, by day or by night

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord

Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son

Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one

Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise

Thou mine inheritance, now and always

Thou and Thou only first in my heart

High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art

High King of heaven, my victory won

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall

Still be my vision, O ruler of all

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall

Still be my vision, O ruler of all

   

Lionel

Ref1: Kevin and Lynette Teo, Passion with Purpose: A weekly devotional 38.2 2023/6

Sleep Easy At Night

 

Sleeping Soundly

 'When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.' Proverbs 3:24 

Having difficulty with sleeping? It seems that getting a good sleep preoccupies health conscious people these days. The general advice is to get about 7-9 hours of good sleep at night. However many people, stressed by the pressures of modern day living, hardly get the sleep they need. 

The Singapore Ministry of Health's web portal, Health Hub, noted that Singapore is the 3rd most sleep deprived city, after Tokyo and Seoul, in a study of 43 cities. The Singaporeans' lack of sleep is partly due to a culture of working long hours and that this drive may impinge on our ability to get good sleep. 

Singaporeans trade sleep for more work, thinking that the wealth we can bring with more work will allow us to live life fully with great satisfaction. Never mind if we lose sleep. Some even see the ability to function with less sleep as a badge of honour. The MOH Health Hub warns that 'if you think that you are doing fine with less sleep, you are probably wrong. And if you work in a profession where it's important to be able to judge your level of functioning, this can be a big problem.' 

Sleep affects decisions but the reverse is also true, decisions affects sleep. This is what the Bible says in Proverbs 3:21-24 

 'Preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.' 

No one can guarantee that we will make good decisions all the time. The trick is to try to make those decisions in the will of God. Then peace of mind will come, when we learn to exercise sound judgement using the wisdom God provides.

This is the same observation and advice that St Paul gave in Philippians 4:6-7:

'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.' 

Notice that St Paul spoke not only of peace of mind but also the peace of heart. This is transcendental peace, a peace that comes from above, a peace that only Jesus can give.

'Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.' John 14:27 

There is a dramatic account of a storm on the Lake of Galilee in the Gospel of Mark,

'Late that day, He said to them, "Let's go across to the other side." They took Him in a boat. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, "Teacher is it nothing to you that we are going down?" Awake now, He told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, "Quiet! Settle down!" The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples:  "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?" They were in absolute awe, staggered. "Who is this, anyway?" they asked. "Wind and sea at His beck and call!" Mark 4:35-41 (The Message)

Sleep in the midst of a storm? How is that possible? It is possible with the transcendental peace that Jesus gives. Then we will be  

• At Peace with God
• At peace with ourselves
• At peace with othaers 

This is the same message brought to us by the Christmas carol, Silent Night with its gentle refrain 'Sleep in Heavenly Peace.'

Sleep Well! 

Lionel

Speak, O Lord

'My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.' Proverbs 3:21-24

In the 1980s, a systems approach to decision making and solutions for complex problem became fashionable. Predating the Artificial Intelligence era, computer scientists with psychologists derived methods, processes and systems to help decision making in complex situations. This systematic solutioning approach is called Sensemaking. 

How do we make good decisions? These days the art of decision making has become a science. Tools are being developed to help big businesses, corporations and governments to arrive at good decisions via computer aids, algorithms, data fusion and artificial intelligence.  Karl Weick, the 'father of Sensemaking' suggested that the term means simply 'the making of sense.' 

The Bible calls this Wisdom that comes from God as we discern His will for our lives and our decisions. Proverbs 3 contained many terse advice about exercising wisdom and receiving Godly guidance in decision making. It states in Proverbs 3:13-14

'Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold' 

If we want to avoid a bad decision, the best is to ask the Lord for wisdom and discernment. Who else can be to us a sound resource and a wellspring of guidance for the choices we have to make of our lives? 

Ask questions like: Will it bring honour to God? Will God like it? Can the Bible guide us? Will what we do bring dishonour to Jesus’ name? Will we have the blessing of parents? Will God be pleased with us?

I do not think we need to use systems like sensemaking. All we need is to discern God's will and listen to His voice. This is the era of information overload. The folly will be in listening to the many voices around us but failing to listen to that one voice that really matters. There is a song 'Speak, O Lord' by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend asking God to speak to our minds and hearts so we can grasp the great plan He has for us. 

1. Speak, O Lord, as we come to You

   To receive the food of Your Holy Word

   Take Your truth, plant it deep in us

   Shape and fashion us in Your likeness

   That the light of Christ might be seen today

   In our acts of love and our deeds of faith

   Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us

   All Your purposes for Your glory

   Teach us Lord, full obedience

   Holy reverence, true humility

   Test our thoughts and our attitudes

   In the radiance of Your purity

   Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see

   Your majestic love and authority

   Words of pow'r that can never fail

   Let their truth prevail over unbelief

   Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds

   Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us

   Truths unchanged from the dawn of time

   That will echo down through eternity

   And by grace we'll stand on Your promises

   And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us

   Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
2. And the earth is filled with Your glory

Lionel