1 Kings 3:5-12 - The Wisdom of God ... Our Wildest Dreams
/1 Kings 3:5-12
5 The Lord appeared to Solomon in Gibeon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
6 Solomon said, “You have shown great mercy and faithfulness to your servant, my father David, just as he walked before you in truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward you. You have shown this great mercy and faithfulness to him and have given him a son who is seated on his throne to this very day. 7O Lord my God, now you have made your servant king in the place of my father David, but I am a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8And I, your servant, am among your people whom you have chosen, a great people, who cannot be counted or numbered because they are so many. 9Now give to your servant a perceptive heart to judge your people, to distinguish between good and evil, for who is able to judge this great people of yours?”
10 In the eyes of the Lord, Solomon's request was good. 11So God said to him, “Because you have asked for this, and you have not asked for a long life, nor have you asked for riches, nor have you asked for the lives of your enemies, but you have asked for discernment to reach just verdicts, 12therefore I will act according to your words. Yes, I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you before you, nor will anyone like you rise up after you.
Sermon Text:
Imagine for just a moment that it finally happens. That genie moment everyone secretly desires but knows will never happen. What do you want? I’m not looking for the canned answer or the beauty queen’s eye-batting “world peace”. Oh, and we are not going to make it easier to choose between self and others, no. You don’t get three wishes or even two. You only get one shot at this. I want you to ask yourself the question, “What is it that I really want?” If someone came up to you with a blank check in hand and said “Go, get it!”, what would you take home?
That’s a tough one, right? Personally, I love me some old Detroit muscle. An old school Shelby Mustang bored out, dropped down, growling down the road sure would be tempting in a moment like that. I could even justify it by pretending that it put another car in the fleet with six drivers in the family. Of course, I love my family. I could take care of the stresses of tuition in high school and college. I could be sensible too, I suppose. Pay off the mortgage, fill up the retirement account, be a blessing to others, bling out the church, the possibilities are limitless. Ah, but then that car would just cost more money (gas, repairs, insurance), I wouldn’t want to end up spoiling my kids; I want them to have a good work ethic and understanding of money too. Even the sensible choices could ultimately hide hidden snares of which I’m unaware at the moment. Analysis paralysis starts to set in too. Oh, what a joyous thing to be able to find the curse hidden in every blessing.
Solomon had just taken the throne of his father, David, not by force but as Israel’s first Father-to-Son transfer of power. In a dream, God actually poses our question to Solomon, “Ask for whatever you want Me to give you.” Solomon’s answer would focus us on something other than the earthly stuff, which all will ultimately disappear, as he presents us another option entirely, The Wisdom of God or Your Wildest Dreams.
Solomon’s job, just like the decision set in front of him, is massive. Solomon is supposed to lead a nation. But this is not just any nation; it is the people of God, His chosen nation. It’s also a prosperous nation, numerous and expansive; it has greatly increased under the leadership of David, a leadership that is now over. The people of Israel are also notoriously stiff-necked and stubborn, prone to rebellion and sin. David had seen plenty of that (self-inflicted or otherwise). Ruling them was not easy task … they had only two generations earlier told God Himself that they didn’t want Him doing it anymore but would instead prefer an earthly King just like everybody else (cf. 1 Samuel 8).
This is the job that has fallen squarely into the lap of Solomon. A young boy by his own estimation. He figures he doesn’t have the ability to lead this people. He confesses that he is too young, and when it comes to leading this people, this nation, he doesn’t even know where to start.
You know this feeling, right? God has placed a job squarely in your lap. You are guardians and guides of the truths of Scripture. Paul told Timothy, 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers (1 Timothy 4:16). Ah, but that’s advice to a pastor, not for the average Joe. Well, not so quick, remember Peter’s words to God’s people, “9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).” Guarding and proclaiming God’s truth is a job that belongs to each of us! Those Words tell us we are supposed to be different!
But this job is massive. How are we who struggle daily with sin and often are confused as we misapply God’s Word supposed to be guardians and guides for this truth? How are we supposed to succeed in holding God’s Word out to people when so many others have twisted it, corrupted it, completely mishandled and lost it? How are we supposed to speak God’s truth to a world more stiff-necked and stubborn than Israel was, no longer rejecting God for the desire to look like the world but having completely forgotten about Him and refusing to acknowledge that He even exists at all?
It becomes clear quickly, we need God’s help. Solomon wasn’t afraid to admit that. He knew he was no better that those with whom he stood. He was aware that he like all others, lacked the perfection God had created in Adam and Eve. Solomon was conscious of his sins and all of his shortcomings.
Solomon humbly stood before His Lord, hand out for help. And as he stands humbly before his God, there is no pride as he talks about God’s blessings. There is only the plea that God would help with the task set before him, a task he could never perform on his own.
Christians always stand before God with penitent hearts. We know that we have failed to keep God’s Word in all Its truth and purity. We are aware that like all others, we were born into this world with sin wrapped tightly around our necks. We are conscious of our sins and the punishment they deserve.
Acknowledging our sinfulness and ineptitude, may we stand before our Lord, hands out for help. May we too set aside pride for God-given humility. All haughty attitudes vanish in the face of complete failure. There is only the plea that God will help not only with the task at hand but with our deep need for forgiveness.
To stand before God and admit that we can’t do something, to have to ask for that which we need most in our lives requires a humble confession. Repentance is not a moment of pride in the heart of a Christian. Still it is a moment most pleasing to our God. Prepared by the harsh realities of God’s Law, confronted with our failure, the Holy Spirit presents us with His Gospel.
Note the Lord’s response. God praises Solomon. He is happy that this child of His has, in faith, chosen wisely. There were other options for Solomon. He could have asked for his enemies to be leveled before him, for untold wealth, for riches beyond our wildest dreams.
Solomon requests none of those things and instead focuses on the needs of others. He chooses His people, his calling, and his Lord over worldly vices. He asks for wisdom and not just any old wisdom but rather the knowledge to discern between good and evil. Solomon asks for the wisdom that can only come from his God.
In our failure and in our sin, God comes to our aid as well. With our hands out in despair, God supplies our need too. God supplies our answer. He sends us His Son, Jesus Christ. He reveals Him to us as a baby in a manger, a boy growing in wisdom and stature, and as a man, holy and all-knowing, who lives, dies, and is risen just as Scripture said He would. His life, death, and resurrection are for us the wisdom we needed to overcome sin, death, and hell. This wisdom is for us the very key to heaven, the wildest of dreams for sinful human beings.
How is this wisdom granted? Through the power of God’s Gracious Means. The Holy Spirit works wisdom or faith in the hearts of men through the Gospel in Word and Sacraments. Solomon himself explains this in his book of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10).
Do you want the wisdom that only God can give? He has provided it for all in His Word. Where else would you go to learn about God than to God himself? He stands before us eager to teach every time we read our Bibles (Yes, here in corporate worship and Bible study, but in our homes, as well, in devotion and prayer), every Holy Supper received in faith, every Baptism remembered by believing hearts.
Each time those Means touch us, the Spirit uses them to connect us to the saving message of Jesus Christ. Faith is strengthened, forgiveness is granted, and new life is revived. Faith becomes for us the very conduit through which forgiveness is supplied. As we grow stronger in faith and remain connected to the Means of Grace, God will grant wisdom that surpasses all others in this world.
That wisdom in hand, heart, and mind, you’ll have the ability to guard and guide the Truth. You will be able to talk about Christ with others. You will be able to hold to the truths of Scripture. In short, God will supply all you need for the tasks He places upon your shoulders. He’ll even do the impossible, taking inept and often unruly sinners, and change them, forgive them, use them, as He guards and guides us all into glory.
As we behold our Old Testament lesson, we are left asking the question, “If God came to you in a dream, offered you whatever you wanted, how would you respond?” Ah, but it offers more than a question. It supplies us with the good and Godly answer. Dear friends Paul once told the Ephesians that they couldn’t even contemplate the full extent of what God can do for His people or all that He holds out to them (Ephesians 3:20). Sounds like He comes to us just as He did to Solomon. In faith, may our answer shock the world, not focused on self or wealth but humbly confessing our weaknesses and clinging to our God. “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection (Phil 3:10)”. Yes, Lord, focus us all on your Means of Grace! Or to put it a different way, “Lord, grant us, The Wisdom of God because it is Our Wildest Dream.” Amen!