“The Lord had appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, saying, ‘Ask! What shall I give you?’” (1 Ki 3:5).
Solomon requested wisdom and an understanding heart. God was pleased and gave him the wisdom for which he asked.
But wisdom heard and known does not imply wisdom used. “For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David” (1 Ki 11:4).
God had said in His law to Israel, “Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly” (Deut 7:3-4). This was wisdom from above. But Solomon rejected it.
Wisdom is not an option if we want to please God; we are commanded to be wise: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph 5:15-17). But wisdom is to be lived, not just known.
The Lord had told Solomon, “So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days” (1 Ki 3:14).
Solomon chose not to live in accordance with the wisdom of God, and there were consequences. “So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant’” (1 Ki 11:9-11). We simply cannot live contrary to the wisdom of God without consequences.
Solomon, whose wisdom “excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt” (1 Ki 4:30), failed. He failed because of his choices – his choices to not walk – to not live – according to the wisdom he asked God for and was granted. The same will be true of us if we don’t live according to wisdom. The one who has heard wisdom from above and does not live it is foolish: “Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand” (Matt 7:26).
We can read all we can in the Bible, hear all the sermons preached we have time to hear, and participate in all the Bible classes available, but if we don’t live it, we’ve failed. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (Jas 1:22). -Larry Jones