SCRIPTURE: 1 Kings 4
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. [1 Kings 4:20] This describes the blessing God promised Abraham: I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me. [Genesis 22:17-18] That blessing is also seen through Solomon’s God-given wisdom: Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom. [1 Kings 4:34]
God’s plan is to use His people to share His blessing to all people. Israel, David, Solomon, and the new testament church, are all to be agents of God’s blessing. But we cannot do this completely, we need help. Therefore God sends His perfect agent of blessing – Jesus, wiser and greater than the best old testament or new testament ‘saint’: The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. [Matthew 12:42]
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. [Luke 2:40] Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. [Matthew 15:34] Lord, I hear You challenging me today to pursue You and Your wisdom, like the people of Solomon’s day did his. For Your wisdom is God’s wisdom, Your way is God’s way, the only way. One day people that lived before Your coming will shake their heads at us, for missing the obvious in You. I need to heed Solomon’s wisdom (as recorded in Proverbs), to pursue wisdom above all else, as the greatest treasure.
As You taught in Your parable about the buried treasure, I need to seek You and Your wisdom more than anything else. Your wisdom is the key to a life of blessing and success. As You promised Abraham, so You promise me: in connection with You, I will be blessed, and will be a blessing to others.
PRAYER:
Lord, these words sound true, but how do I pursue You and wisdom, practically speaking. Show me how to come from the ends of the earth, like the Queen of Sheba, to listen to Your wisdom!