1 Kings 4

The wisdom to build a life

And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. ~ 1 Kings 4:29

What if the greatest thing God could give you today isn’t more money, a bigger house, a better job, or even an easier life? What if it’s the wisdom to know what to do with everything you already have?

We live in a world that constantly tells us we need more. More success, more followers, more opportunities, more possessions, more recognition. Today’s scripture reading gives us a picture of a man who had been given extreme responsibility and needed something greater than wealth to manage it well. Solomon needed wisdom.

God had blessed Solomon with an enormous kingdom, and this chapter gives us a glimpse of what that looked like. There were officials, responsibilities, provisions, servants, peace, prosperity, and people to lead. Solomon wasn’t simply sitting on a throne enjoying the view. He had a lot to manage! Right in the middle of all this, Scripture tells us that God gave Solomon wisdom and a great heart.

That got me thinking. Maybe God’s blessings in our lives aren’t just about what He gives us. Maybe they’re also about giving us the wisdom to steward what He places in our hands.

As we look at this chapter, there are three important truths about building a life that honors God to consider today.

1. Ask God for wisdom to manage what He has given you

Solomon’s kingdom required organization. He had responsibilities, people, resources, and decisions that had to be made every day. God didn’t simply give him the position. He gave him wisdom to carry the responsibility.

That’s important for us because sometimes we pray for God to give us more while we’re struggling to manage what we already have.

We ask for a bigger ministry when we’re having trouble managing the one we’re already serving in. We ask for financial increase when we haven’t learned how to manage what we currently have. We ask God for more opportunities while our calendar is already screaming for mercy! God cares about how we steward what He puts in our hands.

Here are some ways you can put this truth into action in your daily life:

• Ask God each morning, “Lord, give me wisdom for what You have placed in front of me today.”
• Look at your responsibilities and identify one area that needs better stewardship.
• Before making an important decision, stop and ask God for wisdom instead of immediately reacting.
• Don’t despise the small things you’re responsible for. Faithfulness in small things prepares us for greater responsibility.

Maybe your responsibility right now is your family, your job, your home, a ministry assignment, your finances, or a relationship that needs attention. Instead of constantly wishing for something different, ask God how to faithfully handle what He has already placed in your hands.

2. Wisdom isn’t just knowledge, it’s having a heart that cares about people

One phrase in this chapter really stands out to me. God gave Solomon not only wisdom, but “largeness of heart.”

I love that. God didn’t just make Solomon smart. He gave him a heart big enough to carry the responsibility of leading people. There’s a difference between knowing what to do and caring enough about people to do it God’s way. You can have knowledge without compassion. You can have leadership skills without love. You can know Scripture and still be difficult to live with.

Ouch! God wants His wisdom to affect our hearts, not just our heads.

Here are some ways you can put this truth into action in your daily life:

• Before responding to someone who is difficult, ask God to give you wisdom and compassion.
• When you’re leading others, remember that people aren’t projects. They’re people God loves.
• When someone comes to you with a problem, listen before immediately trying to fix it.
• Ask God to give you a greater capacity to love people who aren’t always easy to understand.

Think about your family, coworkers, church relationships, or the people you serve. Maybe the wisdom you need today isn’t knowing what to say. Maybe it’s knowing when to be quiet and listen. Sometimes wisdom sounds like a great speech. Sometimes wisdom sounds like, “Tell me more.”

3. God’s blessing is meant to influence the world around you

By the end of this chapter, Solomon’s wisdom had become widely known. People came from other places to hear his wisdom. His influence wasn’t contained within the walls of his palace.

God had given Solomon something that became a blessing to others. That gives us something to think about. God has placed gifts, experiences, wisdom, resources, and opportunities in every one of our lives. What are we doing with them to share with and help others?

Maybe you have walked through something difficult and now you can encourage someone else who is going through the same thing. Maybe you’ve learned something through years of experience that someone younger desperately needs to hear. Maybe God has given you a gift for teaching, serving, organizing, encouraging, leading, creating, writing, or simply making people feel welcome. Don’t underestimate what God has placed in you.

Here are some ways you can start today:

• Ask God who needs what He has grown in you.
• Look for one person you can encourage this week.
• Share your experience instead of assuming it isn’t valuable.
• Use your gifts in your church, workplace, family, or community.
• Pray, “Lord, show me where I can be a blessing today.”

You don’t have to stand on a stage to make an impact. Sometimes ministry looks like sitting at a kitchen table with someone who needs encouragement. Sometimes it’s making a phone call, serving a meal, opening your home, praying for someone, or sharing something God has walked you through to victory. You may never know how far one act of obedience travels.

The story of Solomon reminds us that God’s wisdom isn’t given simply so we can have better lives. It’s given so we can fulfill the responsibilities He’s entrusted to us and become a blessing to others.

One last thing I don’t want us to miss, Solomon’s wisdom came from God. It wasn’t something he manufactured or downloaded from the latest leadership podcast. It was a gift from God. The same God who gave Solomon wisdom wants to lead us today. We don’t have to figure everything out on our own. We can ask, listen, seek His Word and we can invite the Holy Spirit to guide our decisions.

James 1:5 tells us that if anyone lacks wisdom, we should ask God, who gives generously. That’s an invitation! So when you don’t know what to do, ask. When you’re overwhelmed, ask. When you’re facing a difficult relationship, ask. When you have a big decision, ask. When you don’t know how to manage what God has placed in your hands, ask.

Today I want to encourage you to ask God for wisdom and then put that wisdom into action. Don’t just ask Him to bless what you’re doing. Ask Him what He wants to do through you. Ask Him how to manage your time, your relationships, your resources, your responsibilities, and your influence. Let Him enlarge not only your understanding, but also your heart.

You don’t have to have everything figured out today. You simply need to be willing to listen and obey the next thing He tells you to do. God has already placed something in your hands. Now ask Him for the wisdom to build something beautiful with it.

Today’s scripture reading: 1 Kings 4

1 So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 

2 And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 

3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 

4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and Abiathar, the priests; 

5 Azariah the son of Nathan, over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest and the king’s friend; 

6 Ahishar, over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.

7 And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. 

8 These are their names: Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; 

9 Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 

10 Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 

11 Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 

12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; 

13 Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged the region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 

14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 

15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 

16 Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth; 

17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 

18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; 

19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.

20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. 

21 So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Now Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, 

23 ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.

24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on every side all around him. 

25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 

27 And these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. 

28 They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.

29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 

30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. 

31 For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 

32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. 

33 Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 

34 And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Journal:

• What area of my life needs God’s wisdom the most right now?
• Am I asking God for more while struggling to faithfully manage what He has already given me?
• Where do I need God to enlarge my heart toward someone?
• What gifts, experiences, or resources has God placed in my hands that I could use to bless someone else?
• What is one decision I need to stop trying to figure out on my own and bring to God?
• What is the next thing I believe God is asking me to do?