1 Kings 4:29-30. (The Message)
God gave Solomon wisdom - the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts. There was nothing beyond him, nothing he couldn’t handle. Solomon’s wisdom outclassed the vaunted wisdom of wise men of the East, outshone the famous wisdom of Egypt.
The transition of the government from David to Solomon tests anyone who reads the Bible seriously. David’s last words (musically) are not like David’s last words in 1 Kings. His very last words to Solomon are about settling old scores and Solomon settles them (eventually) with execution. His executioner (by the way) is a priest. Like ours, Israel was not a kinder, gentler nation. It was filled with intrigue mostly because David’s family (brought about by many sons from different wives) wreaked havoc on the treasury, the religious establishment, and (ultimately) one another.
In the list of David’s mighty men - his most trusted and loyal friends - the last one mentioned is Uriah the Hittite. Yep. That Uriah the Hittite; who David had killed to cover up the illicit affair with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, who became Solomon’s mother. But, once again, all of this in the Bible for our reading pleasure.
Later on in 1 Kings 4, Solomon’s wisdom is extolled in that he knew all about plants; from the greatest of trees to the smallest of shrubs. I found THAT interesting because nature teaches us a LOT. But it is with wisdom that we will have to live through these next days of Advent. It is with restraint and selflessness that we will have to celebrate the birth of Christ. We will have to be wise with our theology as well as our finances. We will have to be generous with our hearts and our words. Wisdom will teach us to be happy with less, to be grateful for the unseen, to be comfortable with what is most familiar. My Christmas wish for all of us....is an extra dose...of wisdom.
Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is alpha and omega, He the source, the ending he;
Of the things that are that have been, And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore. Amen.
Pastor Rick Moser
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