Discerning Mind and Listening Heart: The Wisdom of Solomon

Our series has moved on to Bathsheba and King David's son Solomon with a note for our anxious political times today

Read 1st Kings 

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Transcript

Sermons from Mission Hills UCC

San Diego, California

Rev. Dr. David Bahr

david.bahr@missionhillsucc.org

September 8, 2024

“Discerning Mind and Listening Heart”

1st Kings 2:1-12, 3: 5, 9 – The Message

Then David joined his ancestors. He was buried in the City of David. David ruled Israel for forty years—seven years in Hebron and another thirty-three in Jerusalem. Solomon took over on the throne of his father David; he had a firm grip on the kingdom.

God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “What can I give you? Ask.”

9 “Here’s what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who on their own is capable of leading your glorious people?”

It was a bloodbath on the way to the coronation.  King David had reigned for 40 years.  Who is going to succeed him?  You heard this story last week.  Amnon was the heir apparent, the oldest, the logical next king – until he was murdered by his half-brother Absalom, as pay back because Amnon violated his brother’s sister.  So, Absalom was then next in line.  He was one of David’s favorite sons, but Absalom violated David’s wives and died in a “tragic accident” involving, as I explained, his beautiful long flowing hair and some low hanging tree branches.  

So, number 1 and 2 are out.  Number 3 isn’t even named.  Number 4 decides to close down this circus.  Adonijah simply proclaimed himself the new king and the priests and generals jumped right on board.  Until Bathsheba went to David with a strategy to eliminate number 4 and skip over 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 so that her son, number 10, still just a teenager, would immediately be crowned King of Israel, after which son number 4 is killed for treason and 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 probably went into hiding.  It was a bloodbath on the way to the coronation of King Solomon.  But now, here we are.

Who is Solomon?  You’ve likely heard his name many times before but you may not know much about his story – other than now you know it was a bloodbath on the way to his coronation.  Solomon was not like Israel’s first two kings.  Unlike Saul and David, he had never been a warrior.  He hadn’t fought in battle nor led any troops.  Unlike David, he never had to work for a living.  He hadn’t killed a giant.  He hadn’t needed to hide from his wildly jealous, mad, father-in-law intent on killing him.  

No, Solomon is like the wealthy son privileged enough to travel around Europe drinking coffee on the streets of Paris one week and Rome the next, taking art classes and writing their thoughts in a journal.  I don’t have anything against that.  It’s just to say, Solomon’s upbringing was filled with ease until suddenly he found himself thrust onto the throne.  As son number 10, he hadn’t been prepared for the responsibility of leading a relatively peaceful and prosperous kingdom other than having experienced a peaceful and prosperous life, until Bathsheba pulled off this incredible upset.  

But there is one more very important difference.  God had chosen Saul and David to be kings, not a clever mother.  You may recall from earlier this summer, when God relented to the people’s demand to have a king of their own like everyone else, God directed the prophet Samuel to choose Saul, a very handsome man a foot taller than everyone else.  God, however, later regretted that choice, which led Samuel to the home of Jesse to find the next king.  You will remember that his 7 oldest boys were passed over one by one until Jesse was prompted to remember, “Oh yeah, I have one more son.”  David was summoned from his shepherds life of daydreaming and ran home from the pasture, tripping over a rock and landing right in front of Samuel.  David stood up red-faced and heard Samuel, “God says this one!”  But what did God think of the choice of Solomon?

Here’s what.  David is now sleeping with the ancestors – also known as dead.  Solomon had a dream in which God said, “Ask whatever you wish, and I’ll give it to you.”  Sounds like my kind of dream!

Solomon responded by complimenting his father and thanking God for having been so good to him.  Solomon extolled how David had lived faithfully, how his heart was right and how his relationships had been just, (I might want to add a disclaimer about how his mother had been treated, but I don’t want to be petty).  

So, after offering genuine flattery for his father, he humbly told God, “I’m too young for this.  I’m inexperienced and I know next to nothing.  But here I am, ready and willing.  Here’s what I want:  Give me a discerning mind and a listening heart so I can lead your people well.  No one is able to govern without your help.”

God was delighted with this request and responded:  “Since you haven’t asked for a long life and since you didn’t ask to become rich or that I smite your enemies, I’ll give you what you want.  And as a bonus, I’m also going to give you wealth and glory you didn’t ask for.  There will never be another king like you again.  And if you stay on course and follow my ways, I’ll give you a long life, just like your father.”  Solomon woke up and immediately went to Jerusalem to make offerings and sacrifices to God and then threw a feast for his servants.  

And soon his wisdom was tested.  It’s a story you may even know:  Two prostitutes came before the king.  The first woman said, “My king, this woman and I live in the same house.  I had a baby and three days later, she also had a baby.  One night in her sleep she rolled over him and he died.  I was sound asleep when she got up and put her dead son at my breast and then put my son at her breast.  When I got up in the morning to nurse him, here was this dead baby!  But I could tell immediately that he wasn’t mine.”

22 “Not so!” said the other woman. “The living one’s mine; the dead one’s yours.”  “No! Your son’s the dead one; mine’s the living one.”  They went back and forth in front of the king.

23 The king said, “What are we to do?”  And they began arguing again, ‘The living son is mine and the dead one is yours,’ and the other woman said, ‘No, the dead one’s yours and the living one’s mine.’”

24 The king called, “Silence!”  He thought for a moment and declared:  “I’m going to give half to each of you.  Bring me a sword.  Cut the living baby in two.”  One said, “Good idea!”

26 The other said, “No, no!  Give her the whole baby; don’t kill him!”

27 The king said: “Obviously, she’s the real mother.  Give the living baby to the first woman.”  28 Then word got around and everyone in Israel was in awe of the king’s discernment.

King Solomon’s wisdom is the stuff of legend.  It fills the pages of the Bible, such as the Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs.  He didn’t actually write all of these, but the fact that they’re attributed to him speaks of his importance.

Solomon is said to have written 3,000 proverbs.  For example:

• The shrewd conceal their knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaim their stupidity.  
• Fools see their own way as right, but the wise listen to advice.
• People who watch their mouths guard their lives, but those who open their lips are ruined.  

The Book of Proverbs has more than 900 verses, some quite entertaining, some insightful.  Pick up your Bible one day and just put your finger on Proverbs and find some random verses.

However… There’s always a however, right?  There’s another side to Solomon.  We shouldn’t be surprised.  We’re all shadows and light.  It turns out he was also quite a terrorizing tyrant who didn’t rule very wisely.  He had some very grand, very ego driven building projects, like the largest palace in the known world, and some quite expensive tastes.  How did he fund all of these?  

He repeatedly squeezed each tribe and demanded ever increasing amounts of money from his people and when they ran out of money, he made them slaves.  It was one thing to make slaves out of conquered enemies – he had about 100,000 of those, not that it’s right – but it was quite another thing when he enslaved upwards of 30,000 of his own people.

He did employ one cost saving measure.  He wisely and prudently avoided going to war, a quite expensive endeavor.  Instead he created peace treaties by marrying the daughters and women of area kings and royalty.  His first wife was the daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh, which is highly ironic given the whole Moses thing.  But in this way, he was able to expand his territory and wealth one at a time until he famously had 700 wives plus 300 concubines – time for one night with each woman every 2 ½ years.  

But each new wife would have required a dowry, itself a crushing burden, also placed on the backs of the poor.  The wise king made some incredibly unwise decisions that caused his people to turn against him.  He was able to tamp down increasing rebellions, but upon his death, his foolish sons caused the kingdom to completely collapse and split apart.  The glorious United Monarchy created by their grandfather David was over.  

Solomon reigned for 40 years and died when he was the ripe old age of 55, remembered for his extraordinary accomplishments, tempered, like us all, by our blind spots.  

But there is something he did that we can do to help keep us on the right path:  To ask God, “give me a discerning mind and a listening heart.”  The essence of wisdom is both.  It doesn’t fix our problems, but it reminds us where to place our priorities.  And when I have acted unwisely, to return again, “Give me a discerning mind and a listening heart.”  

Wisdom is heart and mind, to which Jesus added, love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.  If we do, we are fulfilling the first of the two most important commands.  The second is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  And what could be more wise than love?  

Well, if we learn from Solomon’s example, it would be wise to think of all the ways he failed to recognize how love walks around in public.  That when love walks around in public, there is justice.  Widows and orphans and all who are vulnerable are protected, not crushed by the ego burdens of the privileged.  When love walks around in public, strangers are welcomed.  Love isn’t a feeling.  It makes wars to cease and brings peace among nations. 

Which makes me think, in this stressful political season, our best wisdom is to pray, “Give us all a discerning mind and a listening heart.”  And, please God, let wisdom prevail.