Solomon Asks for Wisdom
It’s a matter of the heart!
When Mathieu and I met a few weeks ago to read the Solomon scriptures and plan for this service, one of the first things Mathieu said was ‘I don’t like the character of Solomon. He seems pompous and showy and flaunts his wealth. There is not a lot of redeeming qualities in him.’ We were off to a great start! I have found myself having a hard time this week as well to know what to do with the character of Solomon, especially when you read his whole story, the whole span of his life and his kingship, when you read all the way from chapters 3 to 11 in 1 Kings. It would be tempting to just stick to some of the early stories of young Solomon, and to focus on the value and virtue of wisdom, which Solomon was blessed with in spades, and for which he is so well known. But that would reduce Solomon to one aspect of his life and legacy and that wouldn’t give the full picture. This is a messy story, with all the intrigue and twists and nuances and scenarios that come with the story of a king, a ruler, with anyone who is given that much power in our world.
Last week Don Penner did a masterful job telling some of the story of King David, and his relationship with Jonathon’s son, and Saul’s grandson Mephibosheth – I had to try that name once outloud publicly – and we could see some of the power dynamics and vulnerabilities, the search for control, the political intrigue and posturing, and for David, the wisdom that came when he gave up control and turned to compassion, connection, curiosity and courage. But the story of David too is complex and nuanced. We see a strong and faithful leader, one who is held up as an example all the way through the Solomon story, but we also see all his flaws and sins. We could have spent a Sunday on Bathsheba, David’s ultimate low point, and the confrontation to his power by the prophet Nathan – a story we have preached on in other seasons here at SJMC. The roots of much of the story of Solomon, his son, is set up already with what David leaves him – the expectations, the struggle for succession against the older brother Adonijah who claims the role of king before Solomon, the family dynamics of the 12 tribes, of which 10 separate from Judah and Benjamin right after Solomon’s death, and the uneasy relationships with the nations around Israel.
We just heard three excepts from the longer story of Solomon – from three different ages in his life, and the three times when the Lord spoke to Solomon. Let me do a quick review of his life in these three stages. In my memory of Solomon, the church has mostly focused on young Solomon and his gift of wisdom, the time soon after he becomes King. In a dream, God asks Solomon for whatever he wishes. Rather than asking for long life, or wealth or victory over his enemies, Solomon asks for the gift of wisdom, or literally, a wise and understanding heart or mind. I’ll come back to that word heart in a minute. This is what he will need to govern and lead this vast kingdom. This pleased the Lord, and this wish is granted, and Solomon becomes known as the wisest man around – his reputation spreading around the world. One of the famous stories is that of the two woman who both gave birth, one baby died, and both claimed he was theirs, until Solmon brought out a sword to divide the baby in half, to which the real mother was willing to give up the baby to save his life, thus proving she was the real mother. Wisdom is the gift given to Solomon by God. Chapter 3 goes on to say that because God liked his request, Solomon will also be given wealth and fame and IF you walk in my ways and obey my laws and commandments, just as your father David did, then I will give you a very long life. Notice the conditional nature already introduced. You could ask why God added these and if this promise of wealth and fame … of power… is a blessing or a curse. It is here that Solomon’s struggles begin, that his temptations grow, and ultimately, when even his wisdom fails him and he and his family fall from grace.
I do want to point out this word ‘heart.’ Some of the time in our translations of 1 Kings and for different verses we will alternatively read heart, sometime mind, or understanding or knowledge. In the original Hebrew, it is all the same word – ‘leb.’ In Hebrew thought, you did not separate out your mind from your heart, your understanding from your compassion, your inner reflection from your moral character and conscience or even your will. One expansive word captured them all. The heart, the ‘leb’ was considered the centre of your being, from which all of your thinking and feeling, decisions and actions emerged. So when we hear that God gave Solomon a wise and understanding heart, it incorporates all of these layers of meaning; it envelops his whole being.
We hear God speak a second time in mid life for Solomon. He has been King for a long time already and secured his power and control within the country, and ushered in a time of security and peace. He has made alliances through marriage and set up a solid and loyal administration. There is peace in the land. It also says that he composed 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs, and knew all about the trees and animals, birds, reptiles and fish – a real artist, botanist and biologist – his wisdom and fame spreading to all the surrounding nations. His big mid-life project is to build the magnificent temple – a 7-year project, and his own palace – an additional 13-year project, with several chapters describing all the gold and massive costly stones and furnishings and stunning designs – a show of power and might for all to see. Make Judah great again! Even if it takes forced labour to do it. The Queen of Sheba even comes for a visit. But the Temple is also his way to honour his God. At the dedication to the Temple, the beloved ark of the covenant is brought into its special place. There is an expansive vision given in Solomon’s prayer of dedication that even includes blessings for the foreigner, and a call for everyone to incline their hearts to God and walk in God’s ways, keeping the commandments. When God speaks there is affirmation for Solomon’s dedication and for the Temple… but there are stronger words of warning, of what will happen if there is not purity of heart and action – notice that word heart again, and a stronger use of the conditional word ‘if’… if you live as your father David did, and the warning – if you ignore my guidance and judgements, if you follow other gods… Israel will become nothing.
The third time we hear God speak, near the end of Solomon’s life, its says that the Lord was angry, for Solomon’s heart… his whole being, understanding, mind, conscience, will, his very being at the centre of who he is, has turned away from the Lord. He has married countless foreign women and concubines and turned to and worshipped other gods – his heart was turned away and his heart was not true to the Lord his God. He has abused his power; he has not kept the covenant. For surely, I will take the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. The story of Solomon does not end well, and as soon as he is gone, things fall apart completely.
You have probably heard the phrase ‘Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ The words were penned by nineteenth century English historian Lord Acton in a letter to Catholic Bishop Mandell Creighton on April 5, 1887. ‘Lord Acton cared deeply about religious and political freedom. His observation was that the more power someone has, the more their sense of morality can be weakened. He was especially concerned about popes and the monarchy. Just because a leader has power doesn’t mean the actions they take are automatically right or good.’ (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/power-tends-to-corrupt-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely)
In fact, he writes, ‘If there is any presumption it is the other way against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. (and then his famous phrases) Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ (https://oll.libertyfund.org/quotes/lord-acton-writes-to-bishop-creighton-that-the-same-moral-standards-should-be-applied-to-all-men-political-and-religious-leaders-included-especially-since-power-tends-to-corrupt-and-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely-1887) The more absolute the power, the more the chance that the power gets corrupted. Is this what happened to King Solomon? Even all his wisdom could not prevent his wealth and fame and power from getting him into trouble and bringing him to a place of arrogance and ultimately a Fall where his legacy is lost. This is how the story of Solomon finishes. He is not so likeable anymore and there are not a lot of redeeming qualities left.
So what do we take from this story of Solomon that ends so badly? Maybe the prime takeaway is that this is a story of warning to all of us, and that none of us are immune. Solomon had a lot going for him, including this gift of wisdom and the promises and support of God, and yet over time, he lost his way. We too know how tricky wealth and success and fame can be – it can change you. It’s temptations and its easy rewards can change one’s character and one’s values. We also know the complexities of life and how hard it is to maintain faithfulness over time.
We also need to name the reality of power. Power comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. We all have power in different forms – power that is given to us through our official roles and responsibilities and titles, power simply through our personality and character and charisma, it might be power through our wisdom, through the knowledge and gifts and skills we have, and how they are respected and treated by others. We have power through the agency we take in life to do things, to influence others, to make things happen, even the power to resist other’s power. At times we have power that can be exercised and used well and appropriately. At other times, we can feel powerless in a situation. We also have power that is harder to quantify or sometimes even recognize – the power that comes through things like education, status, race, gender, finances, the country and setting and family and culture, and even the time period we were born into, and so on. Power simply is. It can be used for good, and it can be very destructive.
Our whole fall we have been looking at Leaders in the Land, and we have been listing and naming and exploring various attributes of good leaders – writing them down and putting them on our tree. So often we have seen leaders who have led well and contributed so much to the community. Yet we are also aware of leaders who have failed and fallen short – both in our world and in the church. There are many stories of bullying, financial scandal, abuse and crossing of boundaries, and other ways leaders have mis-used their power. It is interesting that this letter from Lord Acton about absolute power corrupting was primarily written as a response to the church and the power and corruption of church leaders he was seeing.
So maybe one of the responses to the story of Solomon is to ask how it is that power can grow so out of proportion. What are the checks and balances that can be put into place to control and confront power, to work towards power and leadership that is shared, to find appropriate ways for power to have its place to do good, and to name abuse of power when it happens. We tend to go off the rails when absolute power is given. What might this mean within the church, within community structures, within politics, within elections – of which I hear there is an important one this week in the States. November is Family Violence Prevention Month, which is one way of drawing attention to runaway violence and mis-use of power within family systems. There is lots more we could think and discern about around power and control coming out of the story of Solomon.
But this story also leaves me pondering about that central image that keeps coming up with Solomon about the heart, about the centre of our being that encompasses our emotions and mind and understanding and will and character and inner reflection. In the end it was Solomon’s heart that turned. So I wonder what might be the practices that keep our hearts strong, our inner being strong, that keep our hearts nourished and sustained and thriving, and that keep our hearts tuned to God. It’s all about our heart health. What can keep us centred and grounded in the core of our being. There are all sorts of things we could name here, from worship and prayer, to spending time in the arts and music and creative endeavours, to good exercise and healthy eating, to forming healthy relationships, to spending time with family if they are healthy, to holding babies, to having a community and church around you for support and accountability, to engaging in things that create meaning and purpose in life, to intentionally reflecting on what nurtures your heart, that core of your being. It is also about addressing the hurts and vulnerabilities of our lives, the things that have cut into our hearts, and being honest with our shortcomings and misplaced ambitions and the places that could lead us astray. It is about being self-aware of the temptations of power. It is about finding balance in life. Maybe this is something we can reflect on more in our worship response time and what has been important to you, and nurtured your heart. We read about Solomon at one point spending time composing music and writing proverbs and spending time in nature with the animal and plant life around him. Maybe it was when he left that behind, that his heart began to turn. Nurturing our hearts, in that broadest meaning of the Hebrew word, is a pursuit for one’s whole lifetime, and the key for how to stay grounded in God’s wisdom. Yes, it’s a matter of the heart. This is what it means to walk in God’s ways.
Mathieu and I choose a song of response entitled Wisdom from on High is Dawning (VT 238). We liked that image of God’s wisdom dawning on us from on high, as it says, shining into a world of shadows from the realms of endless day. In her heart the joy of heaven, in her hands the poor of the earth, on her back, all human sorrow, in her laugh all human mirth. May this be the kind of Wisdom we receive as a gift from God, and that guides our hearts and our lives. Amen.