Friday April 8,2011

I have been under a wrong assumption for 40+ years. This truth has blown me away and from what I gathered when I asked a couple of very mature Christians it surprised them too. I asked each of them what Solomon wanted when God asked him as he was beginning his reign as king if Israel, and they both responded exactly like I have responded for forty years. The response has always been, “Solomon asked for wisdom!”. I have heard this passage preached over the years and the same response from pastors has been that Solomon asked for wisdom. Unfortunately that is not all that Solomon asked for. It’s like growing up and always thinking that the three wise men came to the stable where Jesus lay in a manger–I know this is going to blow some of your minds what I am about to say. These wise men didn’t go to Bethlehem where Jesus was born but they came to the hometown of Jesus. They didn’t come when the sheep herders came to greet Him. Well back to our story.

When God asked Solomon what he wanted, he responded by saying,
“Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (II Chronicles 2:10). Solomon asked for wisdom AND knowledge, not just wisdom. What is significant about the two being asked together centers on this. If you have all the knowledge in the world, but you don’t have wisdom to use that knowledge, you lose some and turn others off. Knowledge without wisdom causes individuals to become misguided in their quest for the right road to follow.

On the other hand if you have all wisdom, but you don’t have knowledge of the situation, you give direction to those without fully understanding all the pieces of the puzzle and cause a similar problem of misguding those you are giving wisdom to. But the combination of wisdom with knowledge is a perfect combination that gives clear and direct guidance to stay on the right track.

In our journey we do need wisdom from on high along with knowledge of every situation which our Lord wants to give his children as James 1 states, “If anyone lacks wisdom let him ask of God. . .”