Day 123: Discerning and Applying Knowledge

Today we read 1 Kings 4, 2 Chronicles 4-6, Psalm 62. This story comes after Solomon’s display of wisdom and obedience to God. In this story, God blessed Solomon and Israel. We read about the temple and the people - too many to be numbered. We hear Solomon's intercessory prayer to God on behalf of the people, remembering the story of God through his father David. Sometimes when we talk about wisdom, I think we assume it's a quality someone has or doesn't and the opposite is foolishness, but this story seems to be making us wrestle with the fact that Solomon makes some incredibly wise choices against the backdrop of also knowing he is making some very foolish ones. The word wisdom in the story of 1st Kings seems to be close to words like discernment and heart. If God is wisdom, than isn't the request for wisdom a request for a close relationship to God where he helps us to make discerning judgements and apply knowledge well, as He would have us do it. In this story we learn about Solomon's love of learning 1 Kings 4:29-34.

Resources:

https://bibleproject.com/podcast/solomon-wisest-fools/ 

Credits:

Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.