- So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. -
Once again, this verse is the worst side of Solomon, as far as his pride and arrogance are concerned. Despite its repulsiveness, we should ask ourselves an important question.
Is it true?
Undeniably so. Solomon built the Temple. My resume compared to his just doesn’t compare.
Not only did Solomon have high esteem in the religious sense, but he also had high esteem before man. He had all the wealth, women, and prestige that accompany success within this world.
Now here’s a fun question. How did Solomon exceed David?
I think there are a lot of interesting answers here. My favorite is that he was David’s son.
Think about it. David was a warrior surrounded by enemies. The wars he fought in would ensure the king who came after him would usher in an era of peace and prosperity.
David’s legacy would guarantee Solomon’s. In addition, the main reason God wouldn’t allow David to build the temple was the blood on his hands.
If you’re doing something God said David wasn’t “holy” enough to do, then who could deny your greatness?
This next part is a bit strange. Solomon’s wisdom remained with him. That’s right, during this entire time of achieving and pursuing earthly pleasures, Solomon wants us to understand the wisdom that he asked for never left.
Bizarre right?
I mean the answer is in his actions. How could someone so wise marry 700 people? How could someone so wise waste money on his own dumb house? How could someone so wise own slaves?
Well, I think this highlights a misconception a lot of us carry.
Wisdom is intuiting the end of your actions; it doesn’t mean you have the discipline to resist temptation.
We all think if we could know the end of a decision that we would keep adjusting that decision until we reached the outcome we desired. That presumes two errors.
One, that complete wisdom removes all risk, and two, that the end of a thing would be enough to dissuade us from a good time.
Solomon knew the promises of God, and, if he really wanted to, could’ve had a prophet over for an evening to chat. What did he do?
He married an absurd amount of women who turned him away from God.
In some way, we’re no different. When it comes to our desires, hobbies, and pastimes, we can use them to great effect to hide from the most important things in our life.
Have you helped the homeless this week? What about catching up on Squid Game?
Do you actually listen to the wisdom that resides in you, i.e the Holy Spirit? You only have to ask yourself two simple questions to find out.
What are you not doing that you know you should be?
What are you doing that you know you shouldn’t?
If you, by your own standards, consider yourself failing by your answers to either of these two questions, how are you different than Solomon?