1 Kings 4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.

Solomon is celebrated for his wisdom, but that is terribly marred for me by his stupidity when it came to women and faithfulness to God. The evidence in verses 32 and 33 would indicate he was what today we would call a scientist, as well as being a brilliant administrator. However, by failing to impart wisdom – common sense, really – to his sons, and particularly his heir, he caused the kingdom to be split. However, that was part and parcel with his allowing and even participating in idolatry with his numerous wives. The world today is filled with people who follow his example, squandering God’s gift of intellect by failing to recognize its source. Ecclesiastes is a very sad book to me, because it is the testimony of someone who started well and finished poorly. It has some real and even deep truth in it, but it was written by a man who had lost the peace and joy of childlike dependence on and delight in God. Even Solomon in all his wisdom was not at all wise compared to God, and in forgetting that, he proved it conclusively.

I have always been taken with the story of Solomon because of my own intellectual gifts, and the fact that I come from a highly intellectual family. Sadly, several of my highly intelligent relatives have made shipwrecks of their lives in essentially the same way Solomon did. They have been a reminder to me that any gift, no matter how splendid, is worthless, even of negative value, if it is not submitted to God who gave it, and exercised in the context of faith. Like them I delight to know stuff, but God in His grace has gotten through to me to help me grasp that He’s smart and I’m not, whatever my IQ might be. I am profoundly grateful for that revelation. That doesn’t mean I’m not to exercise my intellectual gifts; quite the contrary. It does mean that I am to exercise them in humility and gratitude, seeking always for what God would have me do with them. At this point the Internet is a real temptation to me, because it is a library beyond the wildest dreams of past generations, and I love spending time in libraries! However, God wants me to make use of the information I have, and not just continually soak up more. Also, whereas knowledge of the physical world is good and useful, it doesn’t hold a candle to knowledge of God. That must be my primary focus, and true knowledge of God comes only to an obedient heart.

Father, thank You for this reminder this morning. Help me apply it as I should. As You know even better than I do, application is my weak point! Keep me from thinking for a moment that head knowledge is sufficient by itself. May I be one who puts into practice all that You have taught me, so that I won’t deceive myself. Thank You. Praise God!