“Now, Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern people of yours? – King Solomon, 1 Kings 3: 7-9 (NLT)
When Solomon asked the Lord to give him wisdom, the Bible says the Lord was pleased. He was so pleased with Solomon that He tells him, “I will also give you what you did not ask for – riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!”
Just a few verses later in chapter 3, Scripture quickly gives us a dramatic story that illustrates just how true Solomon’s wisdom was.
Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. “Please, my lord,” one of them began, “this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house.
“But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.”
“Then the other woman interrupted, “It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine.” “No,” the first woman said, “the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours.” And so they argued back and forth before the king.
“Then the king said, “Let’s get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other. All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king.
“Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!” Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, my lord! Give her the child – please do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!”
“Then the king said, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!” When all Israel heard the king’s decision, the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice. 1 Kings 3: 16-28 (NLT)
Friend, when we pray and earnestly ask the Lord to give us wisdom, He’s also pleased with us! He wants us to be wise. As the apostle James wrote in his letter to first-century Jewish Christians, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.” (1:5-7)
The wisdom James talks about is not only practical knowledge, but also the type of knowledge that enables us to make wise decisions in difficult circumstances. What good is wisdom if it cannot be applied under stressful conditions?
The wisdom Solomon displayed with resolving the matter between the two prostitutes was desperately needed; a child’s life was at stake! But he trusted the knowledge that God had given him and showed accurate judgment.
Have you prayed for God’s wisdom lately?
Lord, You are all-wise, the source of all true wisdom. With Your supreme wisdom, you have planned my life and the course I have to take. Lead me, Lord, to the way I have to go through and direct me to the path you have prepared for me. Help me Lord to make the right decisions and allow me to experience Your power and love in my life that I may, with a sound mind, carry out Your will for my life. Amen.
Former Blackout Artist 