Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends on this leap year day!
So, what do you do when you receive a gift of TIME? Today happens only once every four years… February 29th, leap year day! So how will you and I spend this EXTRA day wisely? How do we give God thanks, all through this day, that HE controls TIME? We can’t speed it up, we can’t slow time down, but once every four years, at least the calendar gives us 24 extra hours! I urge us all to spend these 24 hours wisely and with great gratitude to God!
When you hear the word ‘WISELY’ what does it mean to you? Who are some of the wisest people who’ve ever impacted your life? Who is the wisest living person you know today and where did that person gain their wisdom? In the past few days, we’ve been introduced to, and are following the life of the man God declares to have been the wisest man who has ever lived! His name was Solomon, and his wisdom was not learned in a great university, nor was he taught or mentored by a genius. Solomon’s wisdom was God given and it appears it began with a remarkable encounter God had with Solomon, which we looked at a couple of days ago and is recorded in 1 Kings 3:4-12.
But it seems evident to me that God continued pouring Godly wisdom and discernment into Solomon’s mind and heart for much of his adult life! Yesterday we watched in amazement as King Solomon dealt wisely with two women who both claimed to be the mother of the same infant child. Today, let’s continue the remarkable record of 1 Kings 4 and witness some things written about Solomon that will simply amaze you! I hope you have your Bible open so you can see these things with your own eyes.
First, in 1 Kings 4:1-6 we have a short list of those King Solomon identifies as his “Chief Officials”. Two names and roles grab my attention. In verse 1 “Azaraiah son of Zadok – the priest” is evidently the highest-ranking spiritual man and I think King Solomon is making a value statement by placing him first in line. It’s Solomon’s way of saying Spirituality is the highest priority in his kingship and hopefully in the land of Israel under his reign! Wow, that impacts me, my friends.
If the Monarch or President of your country listed those ‘chief officials’ in your country who are most important, who would be first and how far down the line would you and I finally find a spiritual leader? Does that perhaps explain why your country and mine are in the moral condition they are today?
Remember Zadok was the spiritual leader for King David, (2 Samuel 8:15-18) and as the kingship was passed from father to son; so, it appears the spiritual leadership role was passed from father to son.
Second, I also notice this important ‘chief official’ in Solomon’s court: “Zabud son of Nathan – a priest and personal adviser to the king…” (1 Kings 4:5) Of course we recognize the name Nathan for he was a prophet of God and King David’s close advisor. (2 Samuel 7:1-4) So it appears Solomon, having seen the wisdom of a Godly man as his father’s personal advisor, selected Nathan’s son to be personal advisor to him, King Solomon, during his reign as Israel’s king.
Now pause with me for a moment. Think about your parents and those people whom you remember were significantly influential in the lives of your parents. Have you ever considered how their influence in your parents’ lives affected how your parents treated you? Now who have been those people most influential in your life and how have they affected how you have lived your life and treated your kids and grandkids?
I also notice a very interesting name, the first of those Solomon tasked with the role of “District Governor”. Do you see him? Mr. Ben-Hur in 1 Kings 4:8? Now I wonder if that’s where the producers of that famous movie got the name of their hero?? Now look with me at 1 Kings 4:21 “And King Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon’s subjects all his life… Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms west of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.” (1 Kings 4:21-25)
Oh my friends, do you hear the contemporary significance of this statement? A few weeks ago, in America there was a cry rising up from ‘pro-Palestinian’ supporters reacting to the Israel-Hamas war. Do you remember what that cry was? “From the river to the sea!!” they shouted and painted on billboards. These protesters were demanding a Palestinian state which would be free of all Jews and would stretch from what they called the “river”, which is the Jordan river, to the “Sea”, which is the Mediterranean Sea. That of course is today the land of Israel and what is called the “West Bank” and “Gaza Strip”.
But the land described as coming under the rule of King Solomon was much, much larger than the modern cry ‘from the river to the Sea’. The ‘River’ in 1 Kings 4:21 & 25 is the great Euphrates River, which runs from the tip of the Persian Gulf, through modern Iraq and through modern Syria and into the nation of modern-day Turkey! The area of land under the rule of King Solomon in 1 Kings 4:21-25 would have included the following on our modern world map in 2024: the western 1/2 of Iraq; the western 1/2 of Syria; all the nation of Lebanon; all the nation of Jordan; all of modern Israel including the “West Bank and Gaza” territories; some of the land of Egypt from the Nile river to the current southern border of Israel; and possibly all the nation of Saudi Arabia!! Now think about the vastness of that region!
Now let’s be careful, 1 Kings 4 is NOT saying that was, at that time, all the territory of the nation of Israel with Solomon as King. No, did you notice 1 Kings 4:21 says “King Solomon ruled over the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines.” That little phrase “the kingdoms” means the region outside the land of Israel were other kingdoms, as today, but they were subject to King Solomon, with his palace in Jerusalem, and these other kingdoms brought Solomon tribute, every year. This was therefore the period of time in history which fulfilled the Covenant of Land promise given by God to Abraham in Genesis 15:18-20; and repeated to Isaac in Genesis 26:2-5; and repeated to Jacob in Genesis 35:12.
Did you notice in 1 Kings 4:25 the region of Israel and Judah was identified as the traditional region of Israel from the city of Dan in the north, which was just south of the current Lebanon/Israel border; to town of Beersheba in the south, which was located 1/2 way between the southern tip of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The eastern border of Israel, at that time, would have been the Jordan river, connecting the Sea of Galilee in the north, with the Dead Sea in the south; and of course, the Mediterranean Sea on the west.
What 1 Kings 4 describes as the “land of the Philistines” was the region from the Egyptian border along the Mediterranean Sea, north to near Joppa which is a suburb of modern-day Tel-Aviv. That “land of the Philistines” then included the region today known as the Gaza Strip, and modern towns of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron, the 5 major cities of the Philistines, the ancestors of modern Hamas and Hezbollah. But did you notice my friends that during the 40 year reign of King Solomon “Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.” (1 Kings 4:25)
It means there was peace from one end of the land to the other, and every Israelite was well provided for by the bounty of the land and each had their own God blessed property, during the reign of King Solomon! It almost sounds like utopia, doesn’t it?
Finally, more than 1000 years after God had first made His Covenant of Land and People with Abraham, before the birth of Ishmael or Isaac; finally, God’s covenant promise was being lived each day by the descendants of Abraham in this land of Israel, under the reign of King Solomon in all his God given wisdom. From that day to the present, there has never again been a time in that region of the middle east where such peace and prosperity has been reality for all the people living there! Notice please, it was not only peaceful for Israel, but also for all the surrounding kingdoms under the rule of King Solomon!
Oh, what a contrast with today’s middle east region in such horrific turmoil! How was it possible? The next verse makes it clear: “God gave King Solomon wisdom and very great insight, (discernment) and a breath of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than all the wisdom of the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. Solomon was wiser than any other man…” (1 Kings 4:29-31)
There it is my friends, when God’s wisdom is poured out into the heart and mind of a person, peace follows for that person and those under his or her influence! Now we need to pause and reflect on that don’t we, as we consider the magnitude and source of your wisdom and mine, and the amount of peace in your life and mine, and those we influence!? What is God showing us today? Here’s a worship song to help us consider these powerful truths…”The Perfect Wisdom of our God”.
Today’s Scripture: 1 Kings 4:1-30.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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