1 Kings 4:29-31
When young Solomon sought God for wisdom, he did not request riches and fame for himself. He felt that as king of a great nation, he needed wisdom to govern; understanding to relate to people and their needs; and largeness of heart to show the compassion befitting a man of God. God granted him all of these things, and the riches and fame to boot.
When the author of 1 Kings relates to us the wisdom of King Solomon, he tells us that Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the children of the east country, of which the wise men would come at the birth of Christ, bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh. He was even wiser than all of those in Egypt, who were world renowned for their intellect in all things, including architecture and science.
More telling than his comparison to the wise men of the east or to the intellectual giants of Egypt is the author’s comparison of Solomon to the characters in verse 31 of chapter 29. It tells us that he was “wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about”.
Who are these wise men that are named by the Holy Spirit? What made them so wise? Notice their occupations: Ethan the Ezrahite was the author of Psalm 89, which spoke of the arrival of the Holy One; Heman was the author of Psalm 88, “O Lord God of my salvation”, and the choir director under King David; Mahol is the father of three of these men named, and his name means “dancer” in the Hebrew. Two of these men are song writers, one of them a choir director and a third one, a dancer. Solomon’s wisdom is being compared to worshippers! God viewed those who wrote of His greatness and glory and danced before Him as the wisest men in the world before Solomon.
When the believer worships the Lord, they do it, “in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23). Jesus takes the worship away from an object and a formula and makes it personal, coming from the heart of man. No worship is proper worship that does not have at its core, the truth, which is Jesus. He is the truth, so to lift up Him and His finished work is to worship in truth, and that is to worship in wisdom.
God viewed the wisest people in the world as those who sang and danced of His goodness. You and I as believers can worship Him for His goodness every moment of every day, in our hearts. True wisdom is found in true worship. Do you have a pressing need today? Worship Him, and watch wisdom flow in your heart of understanding.
Be as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove today. Remove an unholy fear of God and replace it, like Jesus did in the wilderness, with worship. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Luke 4:8). Go in grace and favor!
When young Solomon sought God for wisdom, he did not request riches and fame for himself. He felt that as king of a great nation, he needed wisdom to govern; understanding to relate to people and their needs; and largeness of heart to show the compassion befitting a man of God. God granted him all of these things, and the riches and fame to boot.
When the author of 1 Kings relates to us the wisdom of King Solomon, he tells us that Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the children of the east country, of which the wise men would come at the birth of Christ, bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh. He was even wiser than all of those in Egypt, who were world renowned for their intellect in all things, including architecture and science.
More telling than his comparison to the wise men of the east or to the intellectual giants of Egypt is the author’s comparison of Solomon to the characters in verse 31 of chapter 29. It tells us that he was “wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about”.
Who are these wise men that are named by the Holy Spirit? What made them so wise? Notice their occupations: Ethan the Ezrahite was the author of Psalm 89, which spoke of the arrival of the Holy One; Heman was the author of Psalm 88, “O Lord God of my salvation”, and the choir director under King David; Mahol is the father of three of these men named, and his name means “dancer” in the Hebrew. Two of these men are song writers, one of them a choir director and a third one, a dancer. Solomon’s wisdom is being compared to worshippers! God viewed those who wrote of His greatness and glory and danced before Him as the wisest men in the world before Solomon.
When the believer worships the Lord, they do it, “in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23). Jesus takes the worship away from an object and a formula and makes it personal, coming from the heart of man. No worship is proper worship that does not have at its core, the truth, which is Jesus. He is the truth, so to lift up Him and His finished work is to worship in truth, and that is to worship in wisdom.
God viewed the wisest people in the world as those who sang and danced of His goodness. You and I as believers can worship Him for His goodness every moment of every day, in our hearts. True wisdom is found in true worship. Do you have a pressing need today? Worship Him, and watch wisdom flow in your heart of understanding.
Be as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove today. Remove an unholy fear of God and replace it, like Jesus did in the wilderness, with worship. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Luke 4:8). Go in grace and favor!
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