The Principal Thing – Part 1 – Wisdom: Begin Here

Put yourself in Solomon’s shoes, shortly after learning that his father, David, had died.

David had extended the borders of Israel as far and wide as they would ever be. Neighboring nations feared David and his armies.

He had amassed, from every city and village in Israel, an impressive stockpile of resources to build a spectacular temple for the Lord. The people were in a mood of high anticipation. The temple to be built as David had appointed was to be a wonder of the ancient world.

Already, even before Solomon had been anointed king, he had to deal with an incipient coup and a leftover thug. Neither was a bloodless situation.

It all sounded like a rough and perhaps unpromising start. Perhaps Solomon turned over in his mind a Hebrew version of the little ditty that goes:

They told the young man it couldn’t be done;
With a smile he went right to it.
He tackled the job that couldn’t be done,
And you know what, he couldn’t do it.

Then, in a dream, the Lord came to Solomon and invited him to ask whatever he might want. I wonder what you or I might have requested. A fast plane to somewhere else? A magically-assembled temple? Larger armies and better weapons?

Solomon asked for none of these. The chronicler reports, “And Solomon said to God: ‘You have shown great mercy to David my father, and have made me king in his place. Now, O LORD God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?’” (2 Chron. 1.8-10)

Let’s note a couple of things here. First, Solomon embraced his role. He was the lawful king and he would not shirk that responsibility. Moreover, his focus in doing so was on the people of Israel, that they might have the benefit of sound judgment to flourish before the Lord.

Next, we can also see that Solomon was asking God to fulfill what He had promised to David more than once, to be the head of a dynasty of kings under whose rule the people of God would know peace and blessing and, ultimately, salvation from the Lord. Solomon was banking on the Word of God as he stepped up to the plate to do his duty.

Finally, Solomon understood that he lacked the wherewithal to fulfill his calling, but he knew what he needed and where to acquire it. He would do his job. He would serve God’s people. He would bless the surrounding nations. But only by acquiring the gifts of wisdom and knowledge from the Lord.

God granted this request, but we must not suppose that Solomon woke up in the morning a changed man—full of all kinds of knowledge and the wisest man on earth. No, Solomon himself tells us that he had to work at gaining wisdom and knowledge, and that this would not be an easy road, as he wrote in Ecclesiastes 1.13: “And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.”

Solomon would make a good many mistakes along the way of gaining and using the wisdom of God. But though he sometimes lost his focus, he never forgot what mattered most. As he wrote in Proverbs 4.7, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.”

The principal thing. The first thing. The beginning thing. The top priority. That which stands at the head of everything else. Get wisdom. It’s the principal thing.

But this begs two questions for any such as ourselves who might like to follow in Solomon’s footsteps. What is wisdom? And, How does one get it? Further, looking at Solomon’s own example, Once wisdom is acquired, how to we keep it?

Before we try to answer those questions, however, two others must be addressed. First, do we want wisdom? Do we want to think like God thinks, do what God would do, keep the wellbeing of others primary, and find contentment solely in pleasing the Lord? And are we wiling to undertake the study and patience and trial-and-error learning that are necessary for acquiring wisdom? We must offer a resounding “Yes!” to these questions or wisdom will never be our possession. And the opposite of wisdom, Paul reminds us, is folly (Eph. 5.15-21). Or as Solomon put it throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, vanity.

Oh, and there’s one more thing before we get started in this quest for wisdom: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom….” (Ps. 111.10) Better make sure that’s in place as well.

So today, examine yourself: Do you fear the LORD? Not just revere Him, but fear Him? Are you willing to take on the quest for wisdom? Will you live by the principal thing, or live like a fool?