![1 Kings 3:4-9, [10-15], 16-28, Solomon's Wisdom](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/8043690a-d891-4e4d-836c-1b1d39d350a3/22.10.30.jpg)
Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, October 30, 2022
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Solomon was not worthy because he was wise. He was worthy because he was God’s.
This may be one of the earliest chicken-or-the-egg puzzles. Did God grant Solomon wisdom because Solomon asked for wisdom? Or did Solomon ask for wisdom because he was already wise enough to do so?
Certainly Solomon respected the office to which God had appointed him, and took the job seriously. One of the first disputes he was asked to mediate was between two women who both claimed a child to be their own. Famously, Solomon threatened to chop the boy in half and give one half to each woman. It’s unlikely, given Solomon’s final ruling, that he actually intended to kill the child—more likely that he wanted to gauge the reactions of both women to determine which one truly had the boy’s best interest at heart. Regardless, Solomon did discern the boy’s mother and we all breathe a sigh of relief at the outcome.
Still, there’s that seed of doubt that creeps in—might Solomon have killed the baby if the mothers’ reactions had been different? When we take a look at Solomon’s entire story, there certainly are aspects of his life that were less than honorable. He often took wives from many surrounding lands, even worshiping idols and dedicating temple to his wives’ gods. He also built the temple on the backs of slaves—hard, cruel labor at times. Solomon seems to be a king like all other kings—flawed, selfish, cruel even. Yet we still lift him up as one of the Bible’s heroes.
Do we need biblical heroes so desperately that we fail to look at the terrible things they have done? Does acknowledging their sin shine too bright a light on our own sin?
Maybe there’s another way to look at this—that we can respect and honor God’s people—despite their flaws—because they are God’s people. Israel was in awe of Solomon, not just because he was wise, but because “they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him.” Ultimately, then, it was not Solomon that the people loved, but God they saw in Solomon.
Maybe that’s what makes us worthy, too. Not because we behave sinlessly (because we can’t). Not because we are wise or courageous or heroic. We’re worthy because we have God in us. We’re worthy because we are God’s. That is enough.
