Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Proverbs 9:1-6
Pastor: Pastor Horton
Sermon Date:  August 18, 2024

Solomon.  Are you familiar with Solomon?  Solomon is one of those Old Testament names that are recognized by believers and unbelievers alike.  Even if you don’t consider yourself to be a Bible scholar, you probably know a thing or two about Solomon.  He had wealth, wisdom, and wonder (according to the sermon title)…but what else about him?  But how well do you really know him?  How about with the start of the school year: we have a pop quiz on Solomon?  Grade yourself.

Question #1: Who were Solomon’s parents?  If you have been around this part of the Bible recently, you may remember the answer: David, Israel’s greatest king and Bathsheba, the woman with whom David committed adultery, had her husband (Uriah) killed, and then took her as his wife.  Question #2 is a little tougher:  What was Solomon’s other name, the name the Lord gave him through the prophet Nathan?  According to 2 Samuel 12:25, the answer is: Jedidiah, a name that means “loved by the LORD”.  Question #3: what in the Bible, did Solomon write?  Answer: He is the inspired author of two psalms (72 and 127), much of Proverbs, and there is strong evidence that he wrote Songs of Songs and Ecclesiastes as well.  Known as “wisdom literature,” these different books of the Old Testament give God-fearing advice to a believer at different stages of their life.  And Solomon had much wisdom to share from his real-life lessons through his real-life experiences.

You may remember that when it came to his wisdom, that at the beginning of his reign the Lord appeared to Solomon while he was sleeping and told the young king: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” (I Kings 3:5).   Can you imagine?  God was essentially handing Solomon a blank check.  No limits.  No restrictions.  No catches.  Solomon could have absolutely anything he wanted.  So, what did he ask for?

Solomon’s answer: “O Lord my God, now you have made your servant king in the place of my father David, but I am a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in.  And I, your servant, am among your people whom you have chosen, a great people, who cannot be counted or numbered because they are so many.  Now give to your servant a perceptive heart to judge your people, to distinguish between good and evil.”  (I Kings 3:7-9).  With such a request he wasn’t thinking of himself.  His primary concern was for God and for God’s people.  And so Solomon asked God for a discerning heart (literally a “listening” heart) so that he could govern God’s people wisely.

You may also remember that the Lord was so pleased with Solomon’s request that he gave him what he asked for and a whole lot more.  He gave Solomon riches and honor the likes of which the world had never seen before.  And God promised to give Solomon a long life as long as he continued to follow in the footsteps of his father David.

How wise was Solomon?  His proverbs numbered in the thousands.  He was knowledgeable about all kinds of plant life and animals.  His wisdom was greater than the wisdom of the East and of Egypt combined.  Solomon’s reputation had spread all around the world, and people came from all different nations to study at his feet.  He was essentially a walking, talking university of knowledge.

A direct result of such great wisdom was the enormous wealth he and the nation of Israel were able to gain during his reign.  25 tons of gold poured into his treasury every year (I Kings 10:14).  That’s hard to picture.  Just as challenging is the monumental building project this wealth would finance.  The Lord gave Solomon the privilege of building the gorgeous temple in Jerusalem.  Large and lavish, it has been described as the eighth wonder of the ancient world.

Out of all our August Old Testament heroes of faith, Solomon seemed to have all the world could offer a person.  The Lord richly gave him everything a king could want: wisdom and wealth and peace and prosperity.  The borders of the nation extended to an all-time high, trade was booming beyond belief, and Israel’s international influence was a marvel to behold.  This era of time was what the people during Jesus’ day wanted to return to.  They wanted the Messiah to bring back the glory days of Solomon’s Israel.

The only thing God asked for in return was for Solomon to follow him with his whole heart, a command that proved to be a bit too difficult for Solomon to obey.  You may remember that Solomon also loved women, lots of women, and foreign women who worshiped foreign gods.  I’d like to try to frame this as though all the marriages were for the sake of cohesive political alliances, but with 700 wives and 300 concubines, we would be hard pressed to make that argument.  We do see that time and time again, when Bible figures don’t follow God’s instruction concerning his gift of marriage between one man and one women, that problems arrive in those relationships.  For as wise as Solomon was, we are told in 1 Kings 11:4 that “when Solomon became old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, so that his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord.”  Up went high places of worship to false gods even around the hills of Jerusalem, and we hear that “Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD” (I Kings 11:6). 

Solomon was indeed a King of Wealth and of Wisdom and also, a king of Wonder.  We wonder what happened to his soul after he died.  We don’t know if he fell away from the faith or if the book of Ecclesiastes was his personal memoir in which he looked back on his life and confessed that life apart from the Lord is utterly “meaningless” (the word appears at least 35 times in the book)?  God knows as God knew his heart.  I do hope you and I get to meet Solomon one day in heavenly glory.

Far more certainly, I do know that God spoke inspired words through Solomon in our lesson from today in Proverbs 9:1-6.  Knowing Solomon’s history, this portion of Scripture rings all the more true in our consideration this morning.

In Proverbs chapter 9, “Wisdom” is capitalized as a name and personified in our lesson.  The word for “wisdom” is one that underlines practical wisdom.  It’s important to note that this isn’t the Hebrew word for wisdom that comes from earning an advanced degree.  You don’t need to equal Solomon’s wisdom in order to hear God share his saving gospel with your heart.  Even the youngest of us can hear and believe and rejoice that we have been saved by Jesus.  In verse 10 of this chapter, we hear that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” 

And Wisdom has been busy making preparations: Listen to all it’s been up to, Wisdom “built her house, carved out her seven pillars (a number of completion), prepared her meat, mixed her wine, and she has already set her table.”  The feast is ready.  The feast is the Word of God, and the Word of God’s main course is built completely around the promised Savior of salvation in Jesus.  Jesus is for you.  Salvation is yours through him.  His gospel is ours – and ours to share.

After all it is Wisdom pictured announcing such great news with an open invitation.  Wisdom even sends out messages with this free invitation to the feast.  We’re told in verse 3 that, “She calls from the highest point in the city.”  Wisdom is not shy but wants more to hear and to believe and to eat and be fed and have life.  “Come and get it.  Come and know that you are saved through Jesus.  Life is yours, free of charge.”

Born into sin, we were born naïve to the gospel and how we were saved.  We had to be told good news about Jesus.  Wandering around in ignorance would not and could not lead us to heaven on our own.  The danger is amplified, as at the end of Proverbs 9 as we find competition for your soul.  “Folly” is also there: loud, boisterous, on a throne and tempting the masses to attend her banquet instead.  She lures people into seductive sins and in worldly ways.  Her treats look appealing, but they are treacherous – even Solomon found that out.  Attend her banquet and find inside a house of death.  The inspired author is clear: sin leads to hell.

Who then can save us?  Forgive us? And give to us a right relationship with God, and life with him in heaven?  Such a status only comes through one person, a man who spoke with divine wisdom when he pointed to himself and declared in Matthew 12:42 that “one greater than Solomon is here”, the God-man whose blood is more precious than all the gold in the world.

Jesus shed his blood on the cross to take away the sins of the world, Solomon’s sins, your sins, my sins, every sin.  The Holy Spirit works through the Word to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  The Lord has prepared for us an eternal inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.

Because God has lavished upon us the riches of his grace, because God has filled our hearts with wisdom from on high, we believe.  We believe that we are forgiven.  We believe that we will live forever in heaven.  Learn from Solomon.  And continue to feast on the wisdom which comes from the Word of God and grow ever closer to Jesus.  There is no need to wonder, the Bread of Life is yours today in Jesus.  Amen.