Solomon
Source (4)
•The influence of Solomon, however, extended far beyond the boundaries of
his kingdom. According to the biblical record, Solomon was “wiser than all
men… and his fame in all nations round about” (1 Kings 4:31). “And there
came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth,
which had heard of his wisdom” (1 Kings 4:34)
•All of these blessing had come from God, and Solomon was aware of this. For
a long time, “Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statues of David his
father”
( 1 Kings 3:3)
•Evidently both David and Bathsheba were diligent in teaching young Solomon,
and David especially emphasized the importance of seeking true wisdom in
his understanding of the world and its people.
•Much of Solomon’s own writings in the Book of Proverbs no doubt reflected
his father’s teaching, as well as the divinely inspired wisdom in his father’s
many psalms.
•Although the record never mentions it directly, it is reasonable to believe
Solomon spent time in traveling around his father’s kingdom learning to know
the land and its people as well as it plants and animals. It could well be that
he
even spent soe time tending his father’s flocks and herds, in order to experience
life of a shepherd, as his father had one with his grandfather’s (i.e. Jesse’s)
animals. All this is at least suggested as one reads between the lines in Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
•The first 20 years or more of Solomon’s reign were years of
unprecedented blessing. “Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which
is by the sea in
multitude…and Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land
of the Philistine, and unto the border of Egypt” (1 Kings 4:20-21)
•The knowledge and wisdom of King Solomon were legendary. “He spark
three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he
spoke of
trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyspot that springeth
out of the wall: he spake also of the beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things,
and of fishes. And there cam of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from
all kings of he earth; which heard of his wisdom” (1 Kings 4:32-34).
Wisdom
Source (2)
•According to Proverbs it was by wisdom that Yahwh founded the earth (Prov. 3:19).
The result is that his wisdom is woven into the wrap and woof of the very fabric of
creation.
•Contrary to popular opinion and much modern theory, therefore, wisdom is not
the same as “natural law” or “good technique” — as if we only need basic
discipline of getting in touch with ourselves and nature in order to be wise.
•Israel’s wisdom begins distinctively with “the fear of the Lord”. Her wisdom, therefore,
does not start with us or even with nature but with the Creator-Redeemer himself.
And
the starting point makes all the difference. History demonstrates that every human
culture has a tendency to distort and misuse the created world its water, its creatures, its
land and its culture) for its own interests. Genuine wisdom will be found only when we
recover God’s designs for His world.
•Wisdom is sometimes opposite of what our human reason and intuitions conclude.
•The word hokma (Hebrew for wisdom) and its synonyms in the Wisdom literature
(knowledge understanding, discretion) express a range of ideas associated with
order,
justice, discretion, and both moral and skillful types of behavior.
•Wisdom is concerned with the genera order and patterns of living in God’s creation.
Wisdom provides discernment for the particular order and circumstances of our
lives.
•Wisdom is the collection of learning we build from our experiences in the world (note:
Gerhard von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, trans. James D. Martin (London: SCM 1970), pp.3-4)
Source (1)
•Human survival depends upon an ability to study the complexity of human
relationships and to cope with reality as it presents itself in the ordinary circumstances
of daily existence.
•Although it may seem that th scope of Israelite wisdom is beyond dispute, that is not
the case. The highly informative passage and the most problematic I the wisdom literary
corpus is chapter 31 in the book of Job, a defense of Job’s ethical conduct constituting a
moral code that soars to lofty heights not even surpassed in the Sermon on the Mount.
This is a good text to use to identify wisdom.
•Within the Hebrew Bible wisdom expresses itself in several different forms: advice,
often from parents to children, in brief sayings and longer instructions.
•Although much of the early wisdom revolved around professional, or scribal interests—
a tupsarru wrote, copied, and taught literature—the content and tone varied with the
political and economic situation.
•The reasoned search for specific ways to ensure personal well-being in everday life, to
make sense of extreme adversity and vexing anomalies, and to transmit this hard-
earned knowledge so that successive generations will embody it—wisdom—is universal.
Bibliography
1. Crenshaw, James L. Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction, Third Edition. Louisville,
KY: Westminister John Knox Press, 2010.
2. Bartholomew, Craig G. and Ryan P. O’Dowd. Old Testament Wisdom Literature:
A Theological Introduction. Downers Grove, IL. Intervarsity Press. 2011.
3. Moore, Megan Bishop; Kelle, Brad E. Biblical History and Israel's Past: The Changing
Study of the Bible and History. Grand Rapids, MI. Wm. B. Erdmans Publishing Co.
2011
4. Morris, Henry M. The Remarkable Wisdom of Solomon. Forest, AR. Master Books,
Inc. 2001
5. Guthrie, Nancy. The Wisdom of God: Seeing Jesus in the Psalms and Wisdom Books.
Wheaton, IL. Published by Crossway. 2012
6. Pippert, Rebecca Manley. A Heart for God: Learning from David Through the Tough
Choices of Life. Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press. 1996.
7. Finkelstein, Israel and Neil Asher Silberman. David and Solomon: In Search of the
Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition. New York, NY. Free
Press. 2006.
8. Worthington, Everett L. Humility: The Quiet Virtue. West Conshohocken, PA.
Templeton Foundation Press. 2007.
9. Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Responsible (1 Kings): Being Good Stewards of God's Gifts.
Colorado Springs, CO. Published by David C. Cook. 2010
10. Wallace, Ronald. Readings in 1 Kings. Eugene, OR. Wipf and Stocks Publishers. 2004
11. Root, Edward T. “What is meant by Biblical “Hokma” or Wisdom” 9, no.1. (July
1989): 24-27. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3157807
