Wisdom
6 min read
1 So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 2 And these were his chief officials: Azariah son of Zadok—the priest;
— 1 Kings 4:1-2
Ruling over all Israel meant that he was active in governing every community in his kingdom. No easy task, considering that the Israelites were a rebellious and stiff-necked people.
And so Solomon’s wisdom continues to be on display, and two things stand out. First, the first person mentioned in the list of chief officials is a priest. In fact, among the first ten of the chief officials, four of them were priests. What this tells us is that spiritual matters were the top priority during Solomon’s reign. The kingdom of Solomon sought first the kingdom of God.
And so what about my “kingdom”? What is the top priority in the “kingdom of Sang,” if not spiritual matters? What is it that the “kingdom of Sang” seeks first, if not the kingdom of God? If my life is not guided by spiritual matters and by pursuing the purpose of God, first and foremost, at the very least, I am not acting in wisdom. And more than likely, I am just being plain stupid.
And it’s not that living the kind of life that is spiritually guided and in pursuit of the kingdom of God is difficult. It’s that the world, the devil, and the flesh are constantly trying to draw us away from such wise living. And so, we have to make every effort (Luke 13:24; Romans 14:19; Ephesians 4:3; Hebrews 4:11; 2 Peter 1:5, 10, 15; 3:14) to seek first (make it a priority) His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). That is wise living.
The second thing that stands out is how each official is identified as the “son of” such and such. Of course, identifying the father of a person is simply how individuals were distinguished in their culture. But this fact says something about their culture, and I believe it says something about the culture that God wants us to establish in the kingdom of God, as well.
On the one hand, the “son of” designation speaks to the importance of relationships in the kingdom of God. And these relationships are not just person to person (meaning, individualistic) but family to family (meaning, communal). The individualistic nature of our world today makes us blind to (that is, stupid with regard to) the communal nature of the instruction that God gives us in His word. The more we see this communal character of Scripture (and live it out), the wiser we become, and the healthier our families and churches will become.
On the other hand, the “son of” designation speaks to the importance of a generational perspective in the kingdom of God. The hard truth is that our church doesn’t belong to us so much as it does to the next generation; and that is always the case. If we are not constantly thinking about how to equip, train, and model for the next generation what it means to fill the earth with the glory of God in Jesus’s name through God-fearing, God-honoring, God-worshiping, God-loving communities and families, the church, then we are just being stupid. We are shooting ourselves in the foot. We are murdering the next generation simply to suit our own immediate needs.
We can do better. We can be smarter. The word of God gives us wisdom to not be stupid.
Father, as far as the east is from the west, so are Your ways than our ways. Your ways are high above, but You have not hidden them from us. You ways are high above and lead us to a higher calling to fill this earth with Your glory, because Your glory is reflected in us, a sinful, rebellious, and stiff-necked people who have been redeemed by grace. Blessed be Your name. In Jesus’s name. Amen.