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Kings 3: 5 - 14:At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a
dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I shall give you."
And Solomon said, "Thou hast shown great and steadfast love to
thy servant David my father, because he walked before thee in
faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward
thee; and thou hast kept for him this great and steadfast love, and
hast given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O LORD
my God, thou hast made thy servant king 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 thy servant is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast
chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for
multitude. Give thy servant therefore an understanding mind to govern
thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able
to govern this thy 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 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, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your
father David walked, then I will lengthen your days."
Because
Solomon asked for wisdom...“an understanding mind”... so that he
could discern between good and evil, right and wrong. God was pleased
and blessed him not only with wisdom, but also gave him
“what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other
king shall compare with you, all your days”.
What
a great blessing Solomon received from God! What great blessings we
would receive from God if we also followed the example of Solomon,
and asked for wisdom. Yet, we look for blessings in other ways, in
other things, and wonder why we fall short, why we fail to discern
between good and evil, right and wrong.
Is
that because we are too self-centered...too selfish? In some cases
that may be true, but I think in some other cases we already deem
ourselves “wise” in our own minds. We “think” we
have all the answers and need no other guidance.
I
think that we see that “know-it-all” attitude from far too
many of our political leaders and others in positions of
power and authority today.
Imagine
for a moment... if you... if I... if all of
us....humbled ourselves as Solomon did,
and fell to our knees and asked God for wisdom, especially
that wisdom that can only come from Jesus Christ. What
if our political leaders and those in positions of power and
authority would only humble themselves, fall to their knees and ask
God for that wisdom.
We
know from what happened to Solomon that you...that I... that all
of us and all of those in positions of power and authority would
receive many graces and blessings. Not just in this life but in the
life to come!
All
of our earthly troubles, all of our afflictions, all of sorrows would
be gone if we would only ask for the True Wisdom that comes from our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
You
will find below some scripture verses from the New Testament that
speak of wisdom:
"At the judgment, the Queen of the South will stand up and
condemn you. She came from the ends of the earth to listen to the
wisdom of Solomon, and here there is greater than Solomon."
- Matthew 12,42
"He himself will open the way to the Lord with the spirit and
power of the prophet Elijah; he will reconcile fathers and children,
and lead the disobedient to wisdom and righteousness, in order to
make ready for the Lord a people prepared.""
- Luke 1,17
"How deep are the riches, the wisdom and knowledge of God! His
decisions cannot be explained, nor his ways understood!"
- Romans 11,33
"But he is Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God for
those called by God among both Jews and Greeks."
- 1 Corinthians 1,24
"But, by God's grace you are in Christ Jesus, who has become our
wisdom from God, and who makes us just and holy and free."
- 1 Corinthians 1,30
"May the God of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Father of Glory,
reveal himself to you and give you a spirit of wisdom, that you may
know him."
- Ephesians 1,17
"Even the heavenly forces and powers will now discover through
the Church the wisdom of God in its manifold expression, as the plan
is being fulfilled"
- Ephesians 3,10
"Because of this, from the day we received news of you, we have
not ceased praying to God for you, that you may attain the full
knowledge of his will through all the gifts of wisdom and spiritual
understanding."
- Colossians 1,9
"This Christ we preach. We warn and teach everyone true wisdom,
aiming to make everyone perfect in Christ."
- Colossians 1,28
"For in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge."
- Colossians 2,3
"Let the word of God dwell in you in all its richness. Teach and
admonish one another with words of wisdom. With thankful hearts sing
to God psalms, hymns and spontaneous praise."
- Colossians 3,16
"Besides, you have known the Scriptures from childhood; they
will give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in
Christ Jesus."
- 2 Timothy 3,15
"Do not forget the comforting words that Wisdom addresses to you
as children: My son, pay attention when the Lord corrects you and do
not be discouraged when he punishes you."
- Hebrews 12,5
"If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God who gives to all
easily and unconditionally."
- James 1,5
"this kind of wisdom does not come from above but from the world
and it is earthly and devilish."
- James 3,15
"Instead, the wisdom which comes from above is pure and
peace-loving. Persons with this wisdom show understanding and listen
to advice; they are full of compassion and good works; they are
impartial and sincere."
- James 3,17
"But you have the anointing from the Holy One, so that all of
you have true wisdom."
- 1 John 2,20
