WEBVTT 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:03.899 I am going to talk about wisdom, the purpose 00:00:03.899 --> 00:00:07.759 of wisdom. In 2 Chronicles chapter 1, at the 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:09.980 beginning of Solomon's reign, we see that he 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.939 goes to the tabernacle that David had built and 00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:16.199 sacrifices to the Lord. The Lord is pleased with 00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:19.399 this and visits Solomon that night. God tells 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:22.820 Solomon to ask what I shall give you. In verse 00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:31.399 9, Solomon responds, For you have made me king 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:34.020 over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. 00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:37.140 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, then I may 00:00:37.140 --> 00:00:40.420 go out and come in before this people. For who 00:00:40.420 --> 00:00:43.100 can judge this, thy people, that is so great? 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:46.500 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in 00:00:46.500 --> 00:00:49.079 thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, 00:00:49.340 --> 00:00:51.679 wealth, or honor. nor the life of your enemies, 00:00:51.859 --> 00:00:55.159 neither yet have asked long life, but has asked 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:58.119 wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:00.619 judge my people over whom I have made thee king. 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:03.820 Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee, and 00:01:03.820 --> 00:01:06.799 I will give thee riches and wealth and honor, 00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:08.959 such as none of the kings have had that have 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:12.280 been before thee. Neither shall there any after 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:15.540 thee have the like. Then Solomon determined to 00:01:15.540 --> 00:01:19.319 build a house for the Lord. Solomon took all 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:22.260 his wisdom and he built a thing that was physical. 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:26.340 He continued to make physical structures. He 00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:30.260 built palaces and fortresses, fortresses he didn't 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:33.719 need, and more temples and accumulated wealth, 00:01:34.299 --> 00:01:37.620 and failed to build spiritual structures. He 00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:41.299 wasn't building eternal structures. He built 00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:47.469 palaces and temples for his wives and their gods. 00:01:48.549 --> 00:01:51.670 And all of this caused a heavy burden upon the 00:01:51.670 --> 00:01:55.890 people. We know this because when he died, his 00:01:55.890 --> 00:01:58.530 son Rehoboam was advised to lift the burden on 00:01:58.530 --> 00:02:02.230 the people. When his wisdom was not used to benefit 00:02:02.230 --> 00:02:05.349 the Kingdom of Israel, it became a heavy burden 00:02:05.349 --> 00:02:10.169 on the people. His wisdom didn't lighten their 00:02:10.169 --> 00:02:13.060 load. Though we see they weren't upset, the Queen 00:02:13.060 --> 00:02:15.439 of Sheba noted that his servants were all happy 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:19.199 and the people were happy, but it couldn't be 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:23.620 sustained. His father built no physical building. 00:02:24.680 --> 00:02:28.439 David only built an eternal structure, the Tabernacle 00:02:28.439 --> 00:02:32.000 of David. It seems to me they both contributed 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:35.139 significantly to the scriptures, but somehow 00:02:35.139 --> 00:02:37.139 Solomon missed something in his relationship 00:02:37.139 --> 00:02:40.939 with God. The Apostles believed the rebuilding 00:02:40.939 --> 00:02:44.560 of the temple of David was fulfilled and confirmed 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:48.759 by the Gentiles receiving the gospel. Solomon 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:51.900 is not referred to by the Apostles as a patriarch 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:55.099 of faith. The only reference we have by the early 00:02:55.099 --> 00:02:59.419 church is Stephen saying, Solomon built God a 00:02:59.419 --> 00:03:03.699 house, but he doesn't dwell in houses. Proverbs 00:03:03.699 --> 00:03:07.379 4 -7 says, wisdom is the principal thing, therefore 00:03:07.379 --> 00:03:10.639 get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding. 00:03:11.580 --> 00:03:15.360 Proverbs 16 -16, how much better is it to get 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:18.520 wisdom than gold, and to get understanding rather 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:24.919 to be chosen than silver? Wisdom is tied to obedience. 00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:29.919 We can know what to do, which is different than 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:35.210 doing what we know to do. 1 Samuel 15 -22 says, 00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:37.930 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord his great delight 00:03:37.930 --> 00:03:40.569 in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying 00:03:40.569 --> 00:03:43.509 the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better 00:03:43.509 --> 00:03:45.990 than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fad of 00:03:45.990 --> 00:03:49.409 rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, 00:03:49.830 --> 00:03:52.389 and stubbornness as the iniquity in idolatry. 00:03:52.689 --> 00:03:54.889 Because thou has rejected the word of the Lord, 00:03:55.009 --> 00:03:59.280 he has also rejected thee from being king. This 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:02.400 was written to Saul, the first king of Israel, 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:07.520 but it applies in this situation. Solomon was 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:11.520 misguided in spite of his wisdom because he didn't 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:16.920 obey. I feel like we've asked for wisdom, but 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:19.720 we haven't always sought it and we haven't always 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:24.759 made wise choices with the wisdom we have. We 00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:29.379 have to build eternal structures eternal buildings 00:04:29.379 --> 00:04:33.160 Few of David's children or grandchildren are 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:36.699 recorded as following the Lord But David had 00:04:36.699 --> 00:04:41.220 built a tabernacle an eternal structure David's 00:04:41.220 --> 00:04:46.410 life so pleased the Lord and that still has consequences 00:04:46.410 --> 00:04:50.069 for future generations in spite of his immediate 00:04:50.069 --> 00:04:53.790 children and grandchildren. He has blessed hundreds 00:04:53.790 --> 00:04:58.970 and thousands of people over the years after 00:04:58.970 --> 00:05:04.069 his death. Solomon was a shiny spot in history 00:05:04.069 --> 00:05:07.470 that we look back on and smile, but there's no 00:05:07.470 --> 00:05:10.949 lasting beam of light. He made a name for himself. 00:05:11.129 --> 00:05:13.930 His intentions were good, his beginning was right, 00:05:14.269 --> 00:05:18.149 but he didn't obey wisdom. Who more eloquently 00:05:18.149 --> 00:05:20.930 than he has talked about the downfall of infidelity? 00:05:21.670 --> 00:05:24.550 He paints a clear picture of the consequences 00:05:24.550 --> 00:05:27.610 of sin, death, and destruction, but he didn't 00:05:27.610 --> 00:05:31.870 obey wisdom. We see his depression and the end 00:05:31.870 --> 00:05:35.769 of man's philosophy in Ecclesiastes. He says, 00:05:35.769 --> 00:05:39.730 vanity, vanity, all is vanity, and it's true. 00:05:40.579 --> 00:05:45.540 Vanity, all is moth, moth, and rust. Vanity is 00:05:45.540 --> 00:05:49.379 emptiness. It's unsatisfactory. It's hopeless 00:05:49.379 --> 00:05:54.339 when you don't obey wisdom. Ecclesiastes 1 .1 00:05:54.339 --> 00:05:57.360 says, the words of the preacher, the son of David, 00:05:57.500 --> 00:06:00.620 king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:03.860 the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. 00:06:04.579 --> 00:06:07.759 What profit hath a man of all his labor, which 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:11.199 he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.079 away, and another generation cometh, but the 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:17.459 earth abideth forever. The sun also ariseth, 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:20.259 and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:23.620 where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, 00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:26.740 and turneth about unto the north. It whirleth 00:06:26.740 --> 00:06:29.620 about continually, and the wind returneth again 00:06:29.620 --> 00:06:33.079 according to his circuits. All the rivers run 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:36.430 into the sea. Yet the sea is not full, unto the 00:06:36.430 --> 00:06:39.069 place from whence the rivers come, thither they 00:06:39.069 --> 00:06:42.990 return again. All things are full of labor, men 00:06:42.990 --> 00:06:45.629 cannot utter it, the eye is not satisfied with 00:06:45.629 --> 00:06:48.730 seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The 00:06:48.730 --> 00:06:51.089 thing that hath been done it is that which shall 00:06:51.089 --> 00:06:53.790 be, and that which is done is that which shall 00:06:53.790 --> 00:06:56.689 be done, and there is no new thing under the 00:06:56.689 --> 00:07:00.250 sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, 00:07:00.569 --> 00:07:03.779 See, This is new. It hath been already of old 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:07.060 time, which was before us. There is no remembrance 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:10.079 of former things. Neither shall there be any 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:12.180 remembrance of things that are come to those 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:15.660 that shall come after." The words of the preacher. 00:07:16.100 --> 00:07:18.160 It could also be said the words of the teacher. 00:07:18.779 --> 00:07:22.889 And he finds emptiness because How can we really 00:07:22.889 --> 00:07:25.850 profit from our labor? We work our whole life. 00:07:26.250 --> 00:07:29.250 We finally are comfortable. We finally achieve 00:07:29.250 --> 00:07:32.170 and then we die and we give it to somebody else. 00:07:33.250 --> 00:07:37.389 We achieve things and nobody remembers. They 00:07:37.389 --> 00:07:40.810 say, oh, look, I invented this. It's new, but 00:07:40.810 --> 00:07:44.490 it isn't because somebody has invented it a long 00:07:44.490 --> 00:07:48.050 time ago. There's really nothing new. People 00:07:48.050 --> 00:07:52.180 are the same. We just don't remember. Verse 12 00:07:52.180 --> 00:07:54.879 says, I the preacher or I the teacher was king 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:57.800 over Israel and Jerusalem, and I gave my heart 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:00.480 to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:02.959 things that are done under heaven. This sore 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:05.939 travail hath God given to the sons of man to 00:08:05.939 --> 00:08:09.000 exercise their with. I have seen all the works 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:11.439 that are done under the sun and behold all is 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:15.160 vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:17.779 crooked cannot be made straight and that which 00:08:17.779 --> 00:08:20.790 is wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with 00:08:20.790 --> 00:08:23.149 mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great 00:08:23.149 --> 00:08:26.209 estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all 00:08:26.209 --> 00:08:28.949 they that have been before me in Jerusalem. Yea, 00:08:29.050 --> 00:08:31.689 my heart and great experience of wisdom and knowledge, 00:08:32.149 --> 00:08:34.490 and I gave my heart to know wisdom and to know 00:08:34.490 --> 00:08:37.549 madness and folly. I perceive that this also 00:08:37.549 --> 00:08:40.799 is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:43.200 much grief and he that increaseeth knowledge 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:46.840 increase this increase of sorrow So here he is. 00:08:46.840 --> 00:08:50.080 He's done all the right things and he's not satisfied. 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:54.500 So then he's like, well, I guess I will try Foolishness, 00:08:54.500 --> 00:08:58.779 I guess I'll try being crazy doing all the crazy 00:08:58.779 --> 00:09:02.200 things people do but he got to the bottom there 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:09.129 and Yeah, all was vanity all was empty And we 00:09:09.129 --> 00:09:12.470 see this is true. We see when people who have 00:09:12.470 --> 00:09:15.149 achieved, they're wealthy, they're famous, they 00:09:15.149 --> 00:09:18.370 have money, they have property, they have all 00:09:18.370 --> 00:09:20.509 these things and they still have all the same 00:09:20.509 --> 00:09:25.110 problems that we do. Their marriages fall apart, 00:09:26.009 --> 00:09:30.009 they have alcohol, they have drugs, they have 00:09:30.009 --> 00:09:33.809 depression, they commit suicide, their children 00:09:33.809 --> 00:09:37.340 are a mess. There's no difference between us 00:09:37.340 --> 00:09:41.519 and wealth and fame that is supposed to fix everything. 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:48.019 At the end of the book, in Ecclesiastes 12 -8, 00:09:48.299 --> 00:09:52.279 he still says, Vanity of vanity saith the preacher, 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:56.240 all is vanity. And moreover, because the preacher 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:59.259 or teacher was wise, he still taught the people 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:02.299 knowledge, yea, he gave good heed and sought 00:10:02.299 --> 00:10:06.669 out and set in order many proverbs. So, he still 00:10:06.669 --> 00:10:10.149 thought, this is meaningless. But because he 00:10:10.149 --> 00:10:14.590 was wise, he put it in a book and stored it for 00:10:14.590 --> 00:10:17.950 the people. He wrote the book of Proverbs. The 00:10:17.950 --> 00:10:20.330 preacher, in verse 10, the preacher sought to 00:10:20.330 --> 00:10:22.990 find out acceptable words, and that which was 00:10:22.990 --> 00:10:26.389 written was upright, even words of truth. The 00:10:26.389 --> 00:10:29.149 words of the wise are as goads, as nails fastened 00:10:29.149 --> 00:10:31.789 by the masters of assembly, which are given from 00:10:31.789 --> 00:10:36.899 one shepherd. Here's the thing, wisdom is generally 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:41.279 not pleasant. Wisdom is the hard thing. Wisdom 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:46.539 is the thing that goes against immediate gratification. 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:52.059 It's like a goat. A goat is a stick with a little 00:10:52.059 --> 00:10:54.759 pointy thing at the end, nail -like, that you 00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:57.460 use to prod animals to go where you want them 00:10:57.460 --> 00:11:04.059 to go, an ox or a goat or a sheep. And further, 00:11:04.179 --> 00:11:06.639 by these, my son, be admonished of making many 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:10.039 books there is no end, and much study is a weariness 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:13.019 of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:16.340 whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments. 00:11:16.860 --> 00:11:19.840 This is the whole duty of man. For God shall 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:22.399 bring every work into judgment, with every secret 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:25.519 thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:30.019 So he wrote the truth. The whole purpose of life 00:11:30.019 --> 00:11:33.360 is to be obedient. so that we can be judged by 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:37.940 God, but he doesn't talk about the next phase. 00:11:37.940 --> 00:11:41.299 He doesn't talk about eternity. He thinks it 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:47.200 ends with the judgment, not really pursuing the 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:51.419 eternal. We see David, his father, grappling 00:11:51.419 --> 00:11:55.600 with the hopelessness of life too. They both 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.179 dwell in the darker side of life, but his father 00:11:59.179 --> 00:12:02.480 finds his hope in the Lord. He never ends with 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:04.720 the judgment, right? He's like, I want to dwell 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:08.159 in the house of the Lord forever. Who can ascend 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:13.320 to that holy place? And Solomon doesn't keep 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:17.779 the commandments of God. He pursues pleasure 00:12:17.779 --> 00:12:21.580 and the emptiness of it all consumes him. He 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:24.399 didn't use his wisdom and access to the knowledge 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:29.269 of God to build eternal things. Solomon focuses 00:12:29.269 --> 00:12:33.350 on the byproduct of wisdom, riches, wealth, and 00:12:33.350 --> 00:12:37.009 honor, and he built physical structures. Because 00:12:37.009 --> 00:12:39.830 he was wise, he wrote the book of Proverbs, but 00:12:39.830 --> 00:12:42.110 he lacked the relationship with the Lord that 00:12:42.110 --> 00:12:45.269 brought eternal meaning. To obey is better than 00:12:45.269 --> 00:12:48.529 sacrifice, but sacrifice does please the Lord. 00:12:48.990 --> 00:12:52.370 We shouldn't leave either undone. Sacrifice is 00:12:52.370 --> 00:12:55.850 what drew the Lord to him, but his lack of obedience 00:12:55.850 --> 00:12:59.649 or his practice of wisdom was his downfall. Wisdom 00:12:59.649 --> 00:13:03.789 does not make us invincible or infallible, but 00:13:03.789 --> 00:13:06.889 if we obey it, it can make us acceptable and 00:13:06.889 --> 00:13:10.169 useful to God. If we are obedient in what we 00:13:10.169 --> 00:13:15.909 know, we will be established. Seek wisdom, knowledge, 00:13:16.110 --> 00:13:18.809 and understanding, and obey.