Impact Week Eleven

Review

A couple of weeks ago, we examined the call of Moses. Moses spent the better part of his life in Midian with his wife and his father-in-law. He was tending his sheep the day God showed up in his life. God commanded Moses to lead the Hebrews (God’s chosen people) out of Egyptian captivity. Moses was a man who felt he was incapable of leading the people, and gave God a list of reasons why he couldn’t do what he was told to do. God silenced those excuses and reassured him that He would be with Moses and would show His power through Moses. Nevertheless, Moses still looked for a way out.

We need to remember that if God gives us a task, we can rest assured it will be accomplished. It’s not because we are qualified, schooled, or geniuses. According to I Corinthians 1:26-29, God takes pleasure in choosing the rejected to fulfill His plans. We need the humility of Moses, knowing that there isn’t a chance we can accomplish anything God has called us to do. But we also need the confidence and the faith to believe that God will supply everything we need, will open the doors, and give us favor with the people we need to interact with. We aren’t called because we are qualified; we are called because God wants to work through us. Go figure. He could do it Himself, but for some reason, He delights in using us. Guess it’s because He loves us.

Background

We’ll remain in the Old Testament this week to briefly touch on a story in Solomon’s life. Solomon was the son of David, a man who wrote a great many of the Psalms. Solomon himself is responsible for most of Song of Solomon (as one would assume), Ecclesiastes and most of Proverbs. If you have read Proverbs, you know that almost every verse is a new thought, and not necessarily related to the last one. But every verse is a snippet of wisdom.

When David died, the kingdom of Israel befell to his son, Solomon. How old Solomon was when he took the throne is a bit cloudy, but most seem to think he was in his late teens. Regardless, Solomon was a young man. God appeared to him in a dream and told Solomon he would give him anything Solomon asked of God. Sound familiar? It should; we are promised the same today. John 14:14 declares, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

But Solomon didn’t ask for a Lamborghini, riches, or recognition. He asked for the understanding and discernment to govern the people of Israel. He asked for wisdom. He understood the seriousness of the job he had been given.

You see, God never wanted to appoint a king over Israel in the first place. You can read about that in I Samuel 8. The problem with government is that man is corrupt. Israel’s very first king lost his vision and grieved the Holy Spirit so much that God rejected him. We’ll talk more about him in a couple of weeks. God wanted to govern His people; He wanted Israel to look to Him for guidance. And God did appoint prophets and judges; Israel wasn’t in total anarchy.

To clarify, I’m not suggesting by any stretch of the imagination that the U.S. or any country should exist without some form of government, preferably democracy. By all means, we need leaders. But man is evil in nature, and we have to put up with people who do not follow God, just as the kingdoms of Israel and Judah did in those days.

We begin reading just after Solomon’s dream.

Reading: 1 Kings 3:16-28

End

If only every leader in our country approached the duty of governing with that kind of wisdom. We would be living in a very different world. But we live in a fallen world with men who have fallen from grace. In turn, this means we have leaders that are not humble, that think they have all the answers for the U.S., and that they will make the world a better place with their own brand of religion, something that doesn’t even begin to resemble Christianity.

What Solomon did for the kingdom of Israel was truly unique: he sought God for guidance. He recognized that his earthly understanding wasn’t always enough. And because he looked to God to rule through him, and give him the wisdom he needed, God not only honored that request, He blessed him beyond what he had asked. Scripture says there was none before Solomon nor none after that had his wisdom. Although Solomon didn’t ask for wealth, God decided to give him riches anyway, more than that of any kingdom in Solomon’s lifetime.

The story we just read is one example of the issues brought before Solomon. I imagine a great many issues were brought before him during his lifetime, but this one in particular shows the gift God gave him.

Because we have the internet today, we have access to a seemingly endless supply of information. You can acquire a ridiculous amount of knowledge due to the advancements in technology. If you wanted to, you could take classes online without leaving your home very much, assuming you can learn for the most part on your own. There is a lot out there to learn. But knowledge alone doesn’t make you wise.

We need look no further than God’s Word for wisdom. Proverbs is filled with insight. And your daily walk with God should lead you to prayer. God has said that if we ask, he is willing to give us what we need, including the discernment and understanding to live this life. As a leader, I can read twenty books on leadership, take classes, and scour the internet for information. I might even ask others how they approach leadership. But even if I do all those things, it all falls short if God doesn’t give me the wisdom to apply that knowledge to the situations I might face.

Memory Verse: Proverbs 3:13-14
“Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, 14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.”

Solomon often referred to wisdom with a personification. In other words, he likened wisdom to a person or an entity, specifically a female. That's why he says "she" in verse 14 rather than "it".

Extra Note

We talked briefly in Impact about the Queen of Sheeba who brought Solomon riches simply because she had heard of his fame and his wisdom. I couldn't remember precisely where the account was at the time. Just wanted to list the actual scriptural account so it would be known that I wasn't pulling that one from out of the air. You can read it in 1 Kings 10:1-13.