Solomon’s Legacy

 Michael Sprague

HOW DID THE WISEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED BECOME SO DUMB?

I was asked this question  while teaching on the Kings and in particular Solomon. Remember King Solomon? He came to power as a young man and knew he was in over his head. King David had been the man’s man with a wide breath of experience. Solomon was born with the silver spoon in his mouth and grew up in the palace. God gave Solomon one wish. It could be anything? Have you ever played that game? One Wish? What would you pick? Win the lottery? Saints win the Super Bowl? Solomon chose Wisdom. An understanding heart to serve the people. Scripture says Solomon became the wisest man who ever lived and led Israel to their glory days of splendor, strength, wealth, and worldwide acclaim.

God told Solomon as a King, he was not to multiply horses, wives, or gold (Deuteronomy 17:16-17). In other words, watch out for the temptations of money, sex, and power. What does the wisest man in the world do? He sets world records in each of those categories. Take the wives for example. He ended up with seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Think of that for a moment. His wives had to wear nametags so he could remember who they were. Could you imagine getting into the bathroom in the morning in that household? Sadly, “his wives turned his heart away after other gods and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God.”

So, I got the inevitable question, HOW DID THE WISEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED BECOME SO DUMB? My answer…I told them about Luke Goodrich. He was burning garbage in his backyard even though it was illegal. Things got out of control and over one thousand acres burned in San Jose, California. It took four hundred firefighters and six helicopters to get the blaze under control. Who was Mr. Goodrich? The chief of the San Jose Fire Department. He did not do what he knew to be true.

Likewise, Solomon did not live what he wrote. This is the same daily challenge for all of us. This is where the rubber meets the road. We are to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. The Bible is supposed to be a mirror, not binoculars. The natural tendency is to judge others and give ourselves all the breaks. We are to apply the Bible first to ourselves as a mirror.

The wisest man who ever lived ended up writing a book called Ecclesiastes. The book is like a neon flashing sign where Solomon says to learn from him. Solomon exhausted the sin spectrum. He tried it all looking for life apart from a personal relationship with God. He said, “Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. It is like chasing after the wind.” His conclusion, “Fear God and keep his commandments.” Everything minus God = Nothing. God plus Nothing = Everything.

May we all avoid paying “dumb tax” today. Oh God, we ask you for wisdom and the grace to act upon it.