Wherever the Bible is known, Solomon is famous for his exceptional wisdom. Alas, that one so profoundly wise should have degenerated into a great fool. In the Book of Ecclesiastes, he expressed the fear that his son might be a fool (as indeed he was), but he did not appear to have been apprehensive for himself (Eccl. 2:1010And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor. (Ecclesiastes 2:10)). Well does the Apostle Paul say, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).
Job, in his last discourse, speaks of the excellency of wisdom (Job 28:12-2812But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? 13Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. 14The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. 15It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. 16It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. 17The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. 18No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. 19The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. 20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? 21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. 22Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. 23God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. 24For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; 25To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. 26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: 27Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. 28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28:12‑28)). Having spoken of men’s skill in mining and engineering and their diligent search for the treasures of the earth, he exclaimed, “Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:2020Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? (Job 28:20)). The bowels of the earth will not reveal it, and its value far exceeds that of gold and rubies. God alone can declare its true nature and value. “Unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:2828And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28:28)). Solomon added to this later: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Prov. 9:1010The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)). Therefore, until God gets His rightful place in a man’s mind and heart, he is incapable of viewing anything wisely. His beginning is all wrong.
The Son of God
Since the days of Job and Solomon, the eternal Wisdom has come into the world in the person of the Son of God. Everything must now be considered in relation to Him. “Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). What can man show in the way of power in comparison with the “exceeding greatness” of the power of God “which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:2020Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 1:20))? What wisdom can man show, with all his research, that will compare with what God revealed when He turned Calvary’s cross into the means of salvation and blessing for countless myriads? Men denied His beloved Son the kingship over the Jews, and God has given Him the headship of the universe; all that has come to Christ and will yet come to Him was settled in the counsels of infinite love ages before men were created! His enemies will yet be confounded at their own folly and be constrained to acknowledge the surpassing wisdom of God. “The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Cor. 3:18-19). The man who leaves God and Christ out of his life’s scheme is as hopelessly adrift as a vessel in a storm without chart and rudder.
Solomon
Solomon was probably the most versatile monarch that has ever lived. Many of the kings who have ruled since Solomon could neither read nor write. But no subject seemed outside the range of Solomon’s knowledge. “He spoke three thousand proverbs,” many of which the Holy Spirit has preserved for us. “His songs were a thousand and five,” but only one remains. It is indeed “the Song of Songs”; no other metrical composition will compare with it. The believer in Jesus, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, reads it with sacred joy.
Solomon spoke of trees, from the stately cedar of Lebanon to the humble “hyssop that springeth out of the wall.” Beasts, birds, creeping things and fishes also came into his discourses. He surrounded himself with all the wise men he heard of. Several outstanding ones are named in 1 Kings 4:31, some now unknown to us. But God’s unique servant surpassed them all, being a type of Him with whom none in heaven or earth will compare! “Never man spake like this man” was said of Him even in the days of His humiliation (John 7:4646The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. (John 7:46)).
At this point, let us listen to Solomon’s own testimony. “I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments and live. Get wisdom, get understanding; forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee” (Prov. 4:3-93For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. 4He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. 5Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 6Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 7Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. 9She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. (Proverbs 4:3‑9)). To this we must add the young king’s comment, “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding” (Prov. 3:1313Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. (Proverbs 3:13)).
David
David’s earnest counsel accounts, at least in measure, for Solomon’s answer to Jehovah in Gibeon. How remarkably He met his desire! Solomon pleaded that Israel was “so great”: How could he carry the responsibility of guiding such a nation? Now compare verses 20 and 29 of 1 Kings 4: “Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude”; “God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart even as the sand which is on the seashore.” Wisdom according to the need!
A great lesson is here. The greater the responsibility and need, the greater the divine provision to meet it. Let us take courage! Solomon’s God is ours, and He may be trusted to stand by us in all the sufficiency of His wisdom and grace in any position in which He is pleased to set us, however difficult it may be. Faith can say, “I have strength for all things in Him that gives me power” (Phil. 4:1313I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13) JND).
Grief and Sorrow
“In much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow” (Eccl. 1:1818For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. (Ecclesiastes 1:18)). There is truth in his words. The thinking man necessarily suffers more than the frivolous multitude. His studies give him an understanding of the evils that operate around him which others lack! Men sometimes say, “Ignorance is bliss.” The man who increases his knowledge increases his capacity for suffering. But is this true where God is concerned? No! The better we know our God, the more we enhance our joy, and the better we understand His purposes for this poor devastated world, the more fit we are to live and testify in it.
W. W. Fereday