This is Faith to Witness 99, motivating us to hear God and share the Shepherd. 

Season 3 Episode 198 Part 1 – Wisdom for Your Witness Is Not a Random Gift (ask for a discerning heart)

Here’s the gist, human. We’re sharing space with a king’s insights today. We are giving wisdom a longer leash as we consider a few words from the king who God made “wiser than all the people of the East.” I wasn’t preparing to focus on wisdom. Or, for a two-part episode. But God has a plan. So now I’m curious. And we need to hear it.

1 Kings 3:8-9

8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

Join us for a little heart to heart talk about wisdom.

E198

Wisdom is not a random gift. God did not grant King Solomon immeasurable wisdom and insights on a spirt-whim. He did not decree it, force it, or send an angel to deliver it to Solomon unannounced. 

I’m Kathryn Bise, your host.

Scholars generally agree that King Solomon became king at about age 20. At minimum, about ten years younger than his father, David. His royal heritage was what we would name in secular terms as “a hard act to follow” at any age; and, his royal path, as God had already outlined for him, was of epic proportion. To rebuild the temple, a city, a culture, a foundation on which God’s chosen people would “dwell with him.”

King Solomon loved the Lord by walking as his father David had instructed him. He heard a response from God that surely we have all wanted to hear. 

What happened?

1 Kings 3:1-15

3 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord. 3 Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

Wisdom Lives in a Discerning Heart

We know how this goes. We know how God answers him. God responds to King Solomon’s request within his immeasurable power to do so.

1 Kings 4:29–34

29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssopx that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

Solomon asked for a discerning heart, so God gave him wisdom. So now we know: wisdom lives in a discerning heart. 

What is Wisdom Again?

According to the topical Lexicon, wisdom, the Hebrew word, חָכְמָה (chokmah) is the comprehensive, God-centered quality of mind and life that discerns what is truly right and acts accordingly. While fundamentally moral and spiritual, it embraces practical insight, technical skill, administrative aptitude, and relational discernment. Appearing about 149 times in the Old Testament, it undergirds Israel’s worship, ethics, statecraft, and artistry.

Chokmah is used 40+ times in the book of Proverbs. In different contexts, to align with God’s nature and power. I’ll return to how wisdom reveals itself through God in part 2. 

King Solomon talks about wisdom throughout the book of Proverbs. He states in chapter one that wisdom is his purpose, and that those who are discerning will receive guidance. 

And chapters three and four go into more depth about wisdom. Today, I want to read chapter 4 to see how King Solomon outlines the benefits of wisdom, and what makes up good “heart soil” for wisdom to grow.

Proverbs 4

4 Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;

    pay attention and gain understanding.

2 I give you sound learning,

    so do not forsake my teaching.

3 For I too was a son to my father,

    still tender, and cherished by my mother.

4 Then he taught me, and he said to me,

    “Take hold of my words with all your heart;

    keep my commands, and you will live.

5 Get wisdom, get understanding;

    do not forget my words or turn away from them.

6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;

    love her, and she will watch over you.

7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.

    Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;

    embrace her, and she will honor you.

9 She will give you a garland to grace your head

    and present you with a glorious crown.”

10 Listen, my son, accept what I say,

    and the years of your life will be many.

11 I instruct you in the way of wisdom

    and lead you along straight paths.

12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;

    when you run, you will not stumble.

13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;

    guard it well, for it is your life.

14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked

    or walk in the way of evildoers.

15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;

    turn from it and go on your way.

16 For they cannot rest until they do evil;

    they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.

17 They eat the bread of wickedness

    and drink the wine of violence.

18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,

    shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;

    they do not know what makes them stumble.

20 My son, pay attention to what I say;

    turn your ear to my words.

21 Do not let them out of your sight,

    keep them within your heart;

22 for they are life to those who find them

    and health to one’s whole body.

23 Above all else, guard your heart,

    for everything you do flows from it.

24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;

    keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;

    fix your gaze directly before you.

26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet

    and be steadfast in all your ways.

27 Do not turn to the right or the left;

    keep your foot from evil.

Wisdom Benefits to Witness About

What does King Solomon tell us the benefits of wisdom are? 

• Protection
• Exaltation
• Honor
• A long life
• Straight paths
• Unhampered steps, no stumbling  

This sounds like the kind of life that is too good to be true. But I believe it is true. Because God’s Will preserves our purpose. He doesn’t promise we won’t have struggles, because we will. But he will preserve us on our path toward him. 

Sure footing on his divine path. Seeking wisdom puts us on this path.

Smart Heart Soil That Cultivates Wisdom

So just as King Solomon walked according to his love for God, as instructed by his father David, we are to offer good heart soil, for wisdom to grow. We are to offer up our free will to do what? Solomon gives each of us six ways to direct our free will in verses 23-27.

1. Guard your heart.
2. Distance yourself from corrupt talk.
3. Look straight ahead.
4. Give careful thought to your paths.
5. Be steadfast.
6. Keep your focus on your path. 

In verse 7, we are given an initial directive. Get wisdom.

Proverbs 4:7

7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.

    Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

King Solomon has already shown us where to get wisdom. Proverbs 2:6. From God’s mouth, his Word, comes wisdom. Solomon says: Get it. At any cost.

But what does this mean, and how does God manifest it in our lives, in our decisions, in our judgements, in forming within us a discerning heart?

And why does it cost all we have? This is not a rhetorical question, by the way. I don’t know the answer. But I know this: Wisdom for your witness is not a random gift.

Join us for Part 2, e199.