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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a
good thing and benefits those who see the sun. Wisdom is a shelter as money is
a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who
have it.
Wisdom makes one wise person more
powerful than ten rulers in a city.
All this I tested by wisdom and I
said, “I am determined to be wise”—but this was beyond me. Whatever exists is far
off and most profound—who can discover it?
So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.
Who is like the wise? Who knows the
explanation of things? A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes its
hard appearance.
Ecclesiastes
7:11-12, 19, 23-25, 8:1
This ends this reading from God's holy word.
Thanks be to God.
If
someone asked an audience to say the first thing that came to mind when the
name Solomon was mentioned, a majority of the responses would be the word “wisdom”.
It’s really what defined him, a gift from God granted by request.
You’ll
remember that as Solomon was about to assume the throne of Israel, God called
on him and offered anything he wanted. Solomon could have asked for riches. He
could have asked for an expanded kingdom. He could have asked for anything
possible, anything his heart desired.
What
would you ask for if God gave you that opportunity?
I doubt
that wisdom would be the first thing on your mind.
But that
is exactly what Solomon asked for, for wisdom to be able to discern the right
things to do so he could lead the people of Israel properly. And so God
delivered on His promise, granting not only wisdom to Solomon but wealth and
honor as well (1 Kings 3:5-13).
Seeking
and receiving wisdom brought blessings to Solomon and it will do the same for
us. Take a look at these verses from Ecclesiastes, Chapters 7 and 8:
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see
the sun. Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of
knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.
Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city.
All this I tested by wisdom and I said, “I am determined to be wise”—but
this was beyond me. Whatever exists is far off and most profound—who can
discover it? So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search
out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of
wickedness and the madness of folly.
Who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? A person’s
wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance. Ecclesiastes 7:11-12, 19, 23-25, 8:1
Within
just a few verses, we discover seven blessings we gain from wisdom. Let’s look
at each one now:
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing.
When we
receive an inheritance, we gain some good thing of value we didn’t have before.
The only way we gain wisdom is to inherit it from the One who is the source and
that is God and God alone. Next to a place in the very kingdom of God itself,
there is no greater inheritance we will receive from God than wisdom.
2. Wisdom is a
benefit.
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see
the sun.
There is
nothing on earth that gives us the benefit that wisdom does because no one on
earth has it to give out. Only God does and if any person gives us wise
counsel, it’s because the wisdom they speak first originated from God Himself.
We all seek to find the most advantageous benefits in life and we should look
no further than God’s wisdom to start with for His wisdom will always lead and
guide us to the other best benefits that God has to offer.
3. Wisdom is a
shelter.
Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter.
When we have
money, we have security, a shelter from indebtedness or poverty and a financial
assurance to go through life without worrying about finances. But no amount of
money we could ever possess will has the same worth as wisdom and the shelter
it brings in guiding us always toward righteousness and away from wickedness.
There is no price one can place on having the discernment to do the right
thing.
4. Wisdom preserves
life.
Wisdom preserves those who have it.
If we didn’t
have wisdom, we would fall into sin and folly, left to our own desires and lacking
the ability to do what is right. Our wickedness would posture us out of God’s
favor and in the crosshairs of His judgment. Not a place anyone should want to
be.
On the other
hand, wisdom always keeps us near to God because He is the only One who can
impart it on us. And the closer we stay to God, the more we are under His
protection and preservation.
5. Wisdom brings
power.
Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city.
What made
Solomon renowned during his rule?
It wasn’t his
riches but rather his wisdom which gave him a power no other ruler possessed
because no other ruler had a close and intimate relationship with the Lord God
Almighty, the Creator and Provider of wisdom. Look at these verses from 1 Kings
regarding a visit paid to Solomon by Queen of Sheba:
When the queen of Sheba heard about the
fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with
hard questions. Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan—with camels
carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to
Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions;
nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw all the
wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of
his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the
burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed. She said to the king, “The
report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is
true. 1 Kings 10:1-6
The queen of
Sheba had heard about Solomon’s wisdom but it wasn’t until she experienced it
herself that she saw the power of the Lord first hand. This led to her saying:
How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who
continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your
God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because
of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice
and righteousness. 1 Kings 10:8-9
Note that she
came to honor Solomon but in the end was praising God, the One who gave Solomon
the power he displayed through wisdom.
6. Wisdom exposes
foolishness and sin.
All this I tested by wisdom and I said, “I am determined to be wise”—but
this was beyond me. Whatever exists is far off and most profound—who can
discover it? So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search
out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of
wickedness and the madness of folly.
Wisdom shines
a bright light into the darkness of sin and illuminates the stupidity of wickedness
and madness of folly, convicting us if any evil way is within us. This is
because anyone who pursues and receives wisdom will always be led to
righteousness and away from transgression.
7. Wisdom brings
us joy and brightens our life.
A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance.
There is no
more happy place to be in life than knowing you are living in the favor of the
Lord and the path of wisdom will always lead us there. When we seek wisdom, we
seek God and when we seek God, we grow ever nearer in our relationship to Him,
a relationship that always brings peace and love and contentment and love.
These
scriptures highlight seven special blessings we gain from wisdom but there are
so many more. We’ll discover them all when we commit ourselves fully to live for
the God who made us and grants us the wisdom to live right with Him and with
one another.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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