If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5
Throughout our new sermon series that we began this week, we are studying the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon. Now, we know that Solomon was the son of King David, who became king after David’s death. Of all of the things King Solomon is known for, perhaps the thing he is most known for is his wisdom. That is because when Solomon asked God for wisdom to lead and rule well, God granted his request, making him known worldwide, still to this day, for his great wisdom. Solomon’s wisdom today is a reminder to us that when we ask God for wisdom, He will grant our requests.
We left off our Bible study together yesterday in 1st Kings 3. In this chapter, we saw that when God invited Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom. He wanted wisdom so that he could be a good king, knowing that the task of being king was going to be challenging. This request for wisdom pleased God greatly, and he granted Solomon’s request. He gave Solomon the wisdom that he desperately needed. Our story today picks up in 1st Kings 3, after Solomon’s request for wisdom, where Solomon’s great wisdom was on display. This passage of Scripture reveals that two women came to Solomon to help settle quite an interesting dispute. These two women lived together. Both of the women had newborn babies. Tragically, one of the babies had died. They were fighting over the living child, both claiming to be the mother. Now, during this time, there were no paternity tests to reveal who a child was related to. Settling this dispute would not be easy. With the wisdom given to him from God, Solomon made a bold statement, knowing that the responses of these women would reveal who was the mother to the baby. He said, knowing the true mother would refuse this instruction, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other” (verse 25). Now, it is important to understand Solomon never intended this to happen. He said this to see which mother would refuse this command. As he anticipated, the true mother said, “Oh no, my lord! Give her the child–please do not kill him” while the other woman agreed to Solomon’s request (verse 26). Immediately, Solomon declared that the woman who wanted the child to live, even if it meant giving the child up to the other woman, was the true mother to this child (verse 27). After this ruling, Scripture declares that all of Israel was in awe over Solomon’s wisdom (verse 28). Why were they in awe of his wisdom? Scripture tells us that they knew that this wisdom had come from God alone (verse 28).
It is clear that God honored Solomon’s request for wisdom, giving him wisdom that left people with no doubt that his wisdom came straight from God. Solomon is certainly not the only one who can ask for wisdom. We saw in our Bible study yesterday that God invites us to ask for wisdom in James 1, which says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God” (verse 5a). The verse does not end there, however. The verse continues with a promise as James wrote, “and He will give it to you” (verse 5b). Make no mistake. When we ask God for wisdom, He will give us the wisdom that we need. What an incredible promise we have to claim!
Your challenge yesterday was to ask God for wisdom. Continue to do that today, asking Him again for the wisdom you desperately need. This time, as you pray, thank God. Thank Him for His graciousness and generosity to you. Thank Him that when we come to Him for wisdom, He promises to give us that wisdom we desperately need. We serve a gracious, generous, and compassionate God!
“God, You promise to provide wisdom when I ask for it. I thank You for…”
1 Kings 3:16-28
16 Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. 17 “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. 18 Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house.
19 “But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. 20 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. 21 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.”
22 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.
23 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. 24 All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king.
25 Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!”
26 Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and 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!”
27 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!”
28 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.
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