Day 111, or April 21, Solomon in all his glory. Our thoughts today are rooted in two chronicles,
chapter 1, verse 7. That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, Ask for whatever
you want me to give you. Now the big picture surrounding this verse. When Solomon replaced
his father David as King of Israel, on the face of it he had the world at his feet. He
was promised wisdom from God, and then went on to build the temple that had been the dream
and vision of his father David. The chronicler repeats many of the details that are recorded
earlier in the Bible, including lots of information about the furniture as well as the temple
itself. We have to remind ourselves that his record was made many years after the temple
had been built and later destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army. If, as many believe, the
chronicler was Ezra, he was heavily involved in seeing the temple rebuilt under Zerubbabel
when the Jews returned to the promised land after the exile.
And now today's action step. In our daydreaming moments how many of us will have wondered
what we would do if we had a genie in a bottle and were granted one wish. What would we ask
for and what would our motives be? Solomon made the most of his opportunity with God
and asked for wisdom and knowledge. His was a world where material wealth and the ostentatious
showing off of it were very important. Wealth and power were closely entwined. In our 21st
century world, where we are encouraged to think that the more we know the more we can
do, it's interesting that Solomon asked for wisdom and then knowledge. Knowing how
to use what you know is so much more important than simply knowing lots of stuff. It's
fascinating to ponder on this because what it tells us is that with wisdom from God we
can each be as useful to God as the most gifted academic. Why not ask God how you can better
use what you already know rather than simply trying to know more?