Lent 26

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. -1 Kings 3:5-12

If I examine my prayer life and think about all the things I pray about and for the things I pray for myself, I most frequently pray for wisdom. God, give me your wisdom, give me a discerning heart. I want to make good decisions, to know the right thing to do. When thinking about wisdom, the biblical figure who most readily comes to mind is Solomon. I’ve heard sermons and bible studies on this story, and often I’ve heard of the great shining example of faithfulness and selflessness of Solomon, but in reading the whole story of the wise king, I’m left a bit troubled. That’s because Solomon, like his father, David, before him is a complicated character. That guy screwed up as many things as he got right. He is a struggling combination of both saint and sinner. I mean, when we read about Solomon dreaming at Gibeon, the story follows right after the account of him sacrificing on another god's altar.

And even still, God comes to him, questions him, listens to him, receives him, and blesses him. The reason I bring this up is that in Solomon's dream it is God's response, rather than Solomon's, that is worthy of praise. This was not Solomon's aha moment in which he turned a corner and made all wise choices from here on out. Solomon’s life was a mixture of both wise and very unwise moments. However, the good news for Solomon is that in spite of every action God did not leave him alone or leave a promise unfulfilled. Time and time again God speaks with Solomon about his actions both faithful and unfaithful. And God continued to use Solomon to accomplish God’s plan for the Israelites. See, what I love about this story is not that Solomon gave the right answer, but that as Solomon struggled and so often got it wrong, God continued to be the God of grace and forgiveness.

I pray for wisdom and I get it right and I screw it up in probably equal measure. But God still uses me, a broken human being. Praise be to God whose wisdom passes all my own understanding.