Sometimes in life we have to make tough decisions and we don’t always know what is the best decision.
The following are some of the questions I have asked myself or discussed with people:
Do I continue in the job I am in or is it time for a change?
How can I help my friend when I don’t fully understand their problem and I am not an expert in their problem and no solution seems adequate?
Should I go to school or should I work?
If I go to school, which course should I take?
Am I ready to make a lifetime commitment to my boyfriend/girlfriend?
I have been diagnosed with “x” disease, now what?
How should I parent my children who are having “x” problem?
How can we help our parents because they shouldn’t be driving any more or because they need more care than they are getting where they are living now?
In these situations, we are desperately seeking after wisdom!
The text we will look at today is II Chronicles 1-9 and contains the story of Solomon. Although Kings has stories not included here, this is the description of his life in Chronicles. In it there are two major events described – Solomon’s wisdom and the building of the temple. As we examine these chapters, we will discover a path for finding wisdom.
The book of II Chronicles begins in a most encouraging way when it says that God was with Solomon and made him great.
The story continues to describe how Solomon approached God in worship. Solomon and the people offered sacrifices to God at Gibeon, where the tent Moses had made still existed.
It was in the context of worshipping that God came to Solomon and spoke to him. In verse 7 we read, “That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, ‘Ask whatever you want me to give you.’”
Talk about a blank cheque! Talk about getting “three wishes!” If God made such an offer to you, what would you ask God for? Would you ask for health? I suspect many of us would. When our children ask Carla what she wants for Christmas or her birthday, she sometimes answers, “Artige Kinder,” which is something she learned growing up. Perhaps that is what we would ask for – children who are obedient and who follow the Lord. I remember a movie in which there is a scene in which contestants in a beauty pageant are making speeches and part of the humour is that people only clap for their speech when they indicate that they are supporters of “world peace.” Who doesn’t want that? Would you ask God for world peace? Perhaps you have something much more personal in mind and would ask God for a big screen TV or a new car or enough money so you could retire. I wonder if there would be some among us who would ask God that we would be loved and respected by the people we know. What did Solomon ask for and why?
Solomon didn’t ask for any of these things, although in verse 11, God comments on the possibility when he commends Solomon saying, “Since … you have not asked for wealth, riches or honour, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life…”
What Solomon did ask for was wisdom. Notice verse 10 in which Solomon states his request when he says, “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
This verse also includes the reason why Solomon wanted wisdom. God refers to his “heart’s desire,” in 1:11, and realizes that it is out of his heart’s desire that he has requested wisdom. What was his heart’s desire? It was to be able to govern the people of Israel over whom he had been made king. He realized that it was a huge responsibility as he says in verse 10, “who is able to govern…” He also realized that he was not doing it for himself, but for God because he speaks of these “people of yours.”
Solomon asked for wisdom from God because he wanted to do what God wanted him to do in the best way possible and he knew that it was beyond him.
In response, God promised Solomon that he would give him wisdom. But he extended that promise to also include wealth, riches and honour as we see in verse 12.
Did God keep his promise?
In the rest of the story about Solomon in II Chronicles 1-9, a number of passages are specifically written to demonstrate how God fulfilled this promise.
This is particularly true in II Chronicles 9 when the queen of Sheba visited him. Please notice the number of times in which it speaks about his wisdom:
9:1 – “When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came…to test him with hard questions.”
9:2 – “Solomon answered all her questions, nothing was to hard for him…”
9:3 – “…the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon…”
9:5 – “The report I heard…about…your wisdom is true…”
9:6 – “not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me…”
9:7 – “your officials…stand before you and hear your wisdom.”
9:22 – “King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.”
9:23 – “All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.”
A number of verses throughout this passage also indicate that God fulfilled the other part of this promise. In 1:14-17 we have a description of Solomon’s wealth and the livestock he had. For example, 1:15 says, “The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones…”
Then in chapter 9 we again have indications of his wealth. Please note a few examples. In verse 13 it says, “the weight of gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents.” Then in verse 17, it describes the throne which Solomon had made for himself, which is an indication of the honour he received, the wisdom he dispensed and the wealth he had at his disposal. In verse 20 we have the interesting comment that “Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day.”
The question is, “Was Solomon’s experience unique?” He was clearly a unique individual, he was unique in the history of God’s people, but was he unique in being able to receive wisdom from God?
Solomon himself answers that question when he says in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” In other words, wisdom comes from God. This brings us to the second major event of Solomon’s life as described in I Chronicles 1-9.
The key event in chapters 2-7 is the building of the temple. In chapter 2 we see all kinds of preparations for the building project. Wood is contracted out to Hiram king of Tyre. It is also interesting that Solomon looked for someone who had the skills to do the artistic work. He was concerned, as he built the temple for God, to make it a beautiful building and it was completely in place to hire a skilful artistic worker to accomplish this goal.
Then the building began and we have a description of the dimensions and the layout of the temple and also descriptions of all the furnishings provided. I Kings 6:37, 38 indicates that it took 7 years to build. It was built well and it was built beautifully. But why was it built?
Why did he want to build a temple for God? In 6:18 he says, “But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you.” What was the purpose of this temple? The answer to this question is revealed in the dedication of the temple and in Solomon’s dedicatory prayer.
In chapter 5 we notice that the ark of the covenant was brought into the temple and then worship was established and sacrifices were made at this new location. It must have been a wonderful time of celebrating in the presence of God. Remember the excitement of the day when we dedicated the addition to this building? Can you remember thanksgiving celebrations that included a special worship service and a meal together? The day of celebrating the dedication of the temple must have been like that and even greater!
Solomon had built a bronze stage and in chapter 6:12 we read that he knelt on this stage in the presence of the whole assembly and he prayed a prayer of dedication for the building. It is in this prayer that we see the intended purpose of this place.
The theme which is repeated in each paragraph is one theme. It is introduced in 6:19-21 where we read, “…give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place…”
In each of the following paragraphs, Solomon makes a specific request, asking each time that God will hear prayer from this place. In 22-23, he asks God that if someone wrongs his neighbor, realizes his wrong and prays, that God will hear. In 24,25 he asks that when an enemy defeats Israel because of sin and when the people pray towards this place, that God will hear. In 26, 27 he prays about times of drought and when people confess and turn from their sin and pray towards the temple, that God will hear. The same request is made in the following verses in regards to famine, to foreigners who come to seek God in this place, in times of war and when they have sinned against God and have been sent into captivity. Whatever the situation, whenever people pray towards the temple, the request of Solomon is that this will be a place to seek God, to inquire of God. It will be a place to meet God and where God hears the prayers and requests of his people.
The history of a place to meet God and inquire of God is an interesting history. God met with Moses on Mt. Sinai and established a relationship with his people. Before they left that region, God had provided a tent with the ark of the covenant and the altar of sacrifice which would be the place where they were to meet God. As we have read already in Chronicles, the ark which represented the presence of God was separated from the tent and the altar of sacrifice. David had pitched a tent for this ark in the city of David. The tent which Moses had made, however, remained in Gibeon and it was at this location, where an altar for sacrifice still existed, where Solomon had worshipped and sought God, as we read in II Chronicles 1. We have also read that when David numbered the people and God sent a plague on the people, the plague was stopped on Mount Moriah, which is a little to the north of David’s city. David continued to offer sacrifices here, even though the tent from the wilderness days was still at Gibeon and the ark was in a tent in the city of David. When Solomon built the temple, all of these places of worship were brought together. The temple was built on Mount Moriah (3:1). The ark was brought from David’s city to the temple (5:4,5) and from then on this was the place where God would be present with his people and where they could meet God.
When the tent of meeting in the wilderness was dedicated, a very special thing happened to indicate God’s presence. In Exodus 40:34 we read that “the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting…” On this occasion, when the temple was completed we read something very similar in II Chronicles 7:1,2, “When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord…”
This event was confirmation to the people that this was indeed to be a place to meet God, to inquire of God and to seek God. It established that the temple was to be a house of prayer. Later Isaiah repeated the importance of this as the place where people could go to meet God in Isaiah 56:7, “…these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Much later, when Jesus visited the temple, which was now rebuilt after the Babylonian exile, he also recognized the importance of the temple as a place to meet God when he accused those buying and selling in Matthew 21;13, “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’”
God thus confirmed that this temple would be a place to meet God. He confirmed it by his glory which appeared in the temple. He also confirmed it when he answered Solomon’s prayer and actually spoke to him as we read in II Chronicles 7:12-22. In II Chronicles 7:14 there is a verse which many of us have probably memorized. There we read, “ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” This summarizes God’s answer and you can see how it speaks directly to the requests that Solomon made in chapter 6. Whenever God’s people needed help, whenever they needed wisdom, whenever they needed redemption, whenever they needed God to intervene, God promised that if they would humble themselves and repent and ask, that he would answer their prayers.
But what does all of this have to do with us today? The temple no longer exists. We do not pray towards Jerusalem. How does this story apply to us?
The common thread in this story is the idea of a place where people can go to meet God. Where is that place today?
Earlier I mentioned two occasions on which the glory of God appeared to indicate a place to meet God - when the tent of meeting was dedicated and, in this story, when the temple was dedicated. There is another significant occasion on which the glory of God appeared and that was in the dedication of the new temple of God. For this dedication, we need to reference Acts 1,2 when God’s Spirit came to indwell His people. Since that day, the place to meet God is no longer in a building, but that does not mean that we cannot meet God. The place to meet God is no longer in one particular physical location on the earth, but that does not mean that we cannot pray to God and seek Him. The temple which God now occupies, the new place to meet God is in those who are His people and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. For the day of Pentecost is precisely the same as the day when God’s glory appeared on the tent of meeting and the day God’s glory appeared in the temple in that it is the confirmation of the place where people can come to meet with God and seek Him and pray to Him. The promise of God given in II Chronicles 7:14 that if God’s people will humble themselves and pray and seek God’s face and turn from their wicked ways, that God will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and will give what is needed is still true today.
Earlier I mentioned that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That was true through the temple in Solomon’s day and it is still true today. It is when we fear the Lord, when we recognize His power and holiness and come to Him with our desperate need for wisdom and recognize that it is found in seeking Him and obeying Him that we will receive wisdom from God.
This is where we bring these two stories of Solomon together. He built the temple as a place to meet God and it was in seeking God and God’s way that he received the wisdom he needed to lead God’s people and to become a man whose wisdom was evident to all. The wisdom he had came from God and James 1:5 indicates that the wisdom we need to live and answer the questions of life comes from the same source. In James 1:5 we read, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe…”
Therefore, the offer made to Solomon still holds. If we lack wisdom, we can ask God for wisdom. How will that wisdom be found? It will be found in a relationship with God in which we seek Him, fear Him and inquire of Him.
May we learn daily to seek wisdom from the source of all wisdom!
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