And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. Ecclesiastes 1:17
Solomon is said by many to be the wisest man that ever lived. His wisdom and great wealth have become a Proverb in many cultures. Even Jesus spoke of Solomon's grandeur on several occasions. Wow, what a legacy!
Solomon's story is unique in that God himself appeared to Solomon, not once but twice, and offered him anything he wanted. We don't see that story repeated anywhere in the Bible. We know Solomon's answer well. He made a famous prayer for God to help him guide his kingdom. He prayed, "Lord you know I don't have the wisdom to rule these people. I need your wisdom." God was so pleased that Solomon had not asked for wealth or fame that he gave him all three. He was the wisest and richest king that ever lived. In time the fame of his wealth and wisdom spread throughout the world. Who could ask for more?
Yet Solomon, by his own admission, made a terrible mistake. He says that he "gave his heart to know wisdom" and perceived that it was all in vain. "Why?", you might ask. What is wrong with wisdom? Wasn't the Almighty pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom. He was, but Solomon let his wisdom become his downfall. He forgot the source of his wisdom and became proud of his own intellect. He forgot that it was the God he served who had blessed him with that wisdom. In time, Solomon realized that instead of pursuing wisdom he should have been pursuing a relationship with God.
I Kings 11:1 tells us that Solomon loved many foreign women. These wives and concubines from other nations did not serve YHWH. In order to pacify his wives and girlfriends, Solomon filled Jerusalem with idols to pagan gods. He became an expert on all of the religions of the nations around him. Yet he forgot one important thing. He could not serve God and bow down to idols. God forsook Israel because of this sin and the kingdom of Solomon was torn in two after his death. For many years afterward there were two Hebrew kingdoms, Israel and Judah, that constantly fought against each other. It wasn't meant to be but came about because Solomon loved wisdom and knowledge more than he loved God.
May I ask you a question? What are you pursuing today? Are you pursuing the knowledge and wisdom of man? It will fail. Are you pursuing riches? They too will eventually fail you. Are you pursuing pleasure and happiness. Happiness is fleeting and will eventually elude you. The one thing we should be pursuing above all else is a daily relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If he desires he might also give us material blessings; but these blessings must always be secondary to him. We must never be like Solomon and forget that all our blessing come from God. For if we do we might one day end up like Solomon - the wisest man who became the biggest fool.
In Pursuit of the King,
Sullivan Jones
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