Revival: Stronger Than Ever
The Gift of Wisdom
CCCAG January 17th, 2021
1 Kings 4, 2 Chronicles 1:7-12
Good morning everybody! Continuing our series about revival
If you’d like to open your Bible to 2 Chronicles 1 and bookmark it, I encourage you to do so. Then, please turn to 1 Kings 4.
Last week we began learning lessons about how to restart our lives after being shut down by a national crisis.
If you were not here last week, I want to introduce you to our teacher for this series- his name is Ezra. Ezra is the first spiritual leader of Israel after they returned from exile, and he described himself as “a scribe skilled in the law of Moses.”
To review, God’s people had messed up big time, and God allowed the nation of Babylon to conquer them and carry many of them away into exile over 700 miles from their homeland. After 70 years of exile in Babylon, and being set free to restart their nation, Ezra compiled a selective account of the history of his people.
We call his account, “The Book of Chronicles.”
In it, Ezra teaches scores of lessons from the lives of kings on what to do and what not to do when you get a chance to do things over.
REVIEW
Last week, we learned a lesson from David, one was about faith.
We learned that God relents when we repent. And that repentance involves remorse for our wrongs and turning towards what’s right and giving something costly to God.
Today, we are going to learn a lesson from Solomon about wisdom.
Prayer
PREMISE
The Bible says that, apart from Jesus Christ, Solomon was the wisest man in history.
We read about just how wise Solomon was in 1 Kings 4.
Listen as it describes Solomon’s wisdom:
1 Kings 4:29-34
29 God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations.
32 Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005. 33 He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.
Pretty impressive, right?
Even with all of this Wisdom, when you study the life of Solomon, you quickly realize he did many things wrong. The Book of 1st and 2nd Kings highlights many of those things.
But Ezra wrote Chronicles to highlight the positive side of Israel’s kings just to encourage us that restoration is possible.
So he’s going to talk about what Solomon did right. And what Solomon did right benefited an entire nation.
What he did right started in the very first year of his reign.
Background- Solomon was replacing his personal hero- his father David.
David was the greatest king in Israel’s history. Huge shoes to fill and it had to be very intimating for this young man to think about.
As he thought out how to begin his kingship, Solomon did something we might not have thought of. He went to Israel’s holiest place, a mountain not far from his home. He took with him 1,000 sheep, goats and cattle. He built a fire on an altar, and he made a thousand-animal-offering to God.
In our way of thinking today in 2021, it would be like he gave away 100 million dollars to a Christian charity. If you’re scratching your head wondering why he did that, let me read to you want happened as a result:
2 Chron 1:7-12
That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask. What should I give you?” 8 And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and faithful love to my father David, and you have made me king in his place. 9 Lord God, let your promise to my father David now come true. For you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people, for who can judge this great people of yours?” 11 God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge my people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I will also give you riches, wealth, and glory, unlike what was given to the kings who were before you, or will be given to those after you.”
2 Chronicles 1:7-12
CONTEXT
That is a pretty big and awesome prayer and thing to ask God to bestow upon him.
Why do I think that? Consider this-
He was 14 years old when he became king.
If given a personal audience with God, and having the ability to get anything they want from God, most 14 year olds do not ask for wisdom.
He easily could have asked for money, fame, woman, property.
But instead he asks for God to give him Wisdom.
NEED
Have you ever been put into a situation like this- all the sudden people are looking to you for guidance. It never happens when you are at your best. It’s usually when you are at your lowest- tired, hungry, emotionally, spiritually, and physically exhausted.
You feel like you have nothing to give, yet someone is expecting you at your best.
Think of Solomon- he is mourning his father while being appointed the next king of Israel.
However, his older brothers are all jockeying for position to become king instead. He can’t just give it up- in ancient times whoever became the king would remove any threat to their rule, usually in a very final way. (finger across throat)
Solomon is probably feeling pretty small and helpless. He knows his claim and ability to hold onto his kingship is tenuous at best.
Have you been there?
Have you ever been assigned a huge task, or been shoved suddenly into a place of responsibility or leadership? Have you ever wondered if you could do the thing you were being asked to do, if you’ve ever wished your dad or somebody else was there to help you?
If so, you know what Solomon was feeling that day.
Solomon found himself responsible and caring for 2 million people who all needed leadership, care, and protection.
Since this was a huge assignment, he makes the biggest sacrifice he can imagine. One after another, 1,000 herd animals are slaughtered and hoisted onto the altar.
One after another, their ashes rise upward to God.
Let’s talk about the significance of this offering
In the Old Testament, there were several types of offerings. One of them was called “The Fellowship Offering.” With a Fellowship Offering, you roasted a part the animal to the Lord and you roasted the other part for yourself. When your portion was cooked just the way you liked it, you sat down and ate it “in fellowship” with the Lord – like a meal eaten between two friends.
Another type of offering was a Burnt Offering. With a Burnt Offering, you ate nothing. You burned it all up. God got it all. The offering was totally consumed, symbolizing that you were giving everything to God.
Solomon’s offering was a Burnt Offering. Solomon was saying, “God, all I have is yours, and all I am is yours.”
1,000 times he said that. “All I am is yours. All I have is yours. All I am is yours. All I have is yours.”
GOD’S QUESTION
That evening, God came to him and asked, “Solomon, ‘What should I give you? You’ve given me your best gift. What would you want in return?”
In all humility, Solomon answers, “I only want one thing, Lord. I want the wisdom to be able to fulfill the calling You’ve given me.”
It’s the perfect request. “Grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people…” of yours.
I have to imagine that there was a swelling in God’s heart when He heard this request. If you have ever had a child or someone you are mentoring in some way do the exact right thing under extreme duress, you have a small idea of how God felt in that moment.
Without hesitation, our gracious God responded, “Solomon, since you’ve asked me for something that will benefit others, and not for things that will benefit you, I’m going to give you what you asked for, and I’m going to give you what you did not ask for.
I’m going to shower you with riches and wealth and glory unlike any other king before you.”
[Pause]
Ezra, who is telling us this story, is teaching us a lesson about rebooting our lives. He’s saying,
“The best way to have a fulfilled life, is to follow God’s purpose for your life. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all the things you’re hoping for will be added to you as well.”
When I first became a paramedic, I used to love to go to work. in fact I would often work 48 to 72 hours in roll just because I love my job so much.
I was getting all kinds of experience and starting to think about maybe becoming a flight medic or like one my coworkers, maybe going to physician’s assistant school.
Then in the spring of 1999, I had a rare Sunday off and was sitting in church listening to the message when I received my call to ministry. at first I thought I was hearing things because there's no way God is going to use me in ministry. My whole life had been a mess. Before I became a Christian, I had been a very selfish and hedonistic person that should never be allowed anywhere near a pulpit.
Yet God's call repeated itself and I was reminded of the scripture that God uses the foolish things of the world the shame the wise and I was the ultimate foolish thing.
So I put aside my dreams and started off in a new direction. Less than a year later, because of some huge issues that surfaced and led to the senior pastor leaving, I was serving as the interim pastor of that church
Talk about a baptism in fire.
But you know what, I would not have traded it for anything. I wasn’t easy. It was very hard on me and my family. There was a lot of gut wrenching and hard times that we all went through, but because of that, I can tell you this- having the knowledge that you are in the will of God means everything.
It was a completely new start for me.
SOLOMON
Just like me, on the day of Solomon’s sacrifice, he was starting his life over.
One moment he was a prince, but now he is a king.
As a prince- you have little responsibility and can play and pursue your own wishes.
However, kings have to put aside that, and Kings must lead.
So Solomon asks for this incredible thing called wisdom.
Now, Wisdom is not to be confused with simple knowledge
Knowledge is knowing facts and figures and principles.
Wisdom is knowing what to do with those facts and figures and principles.
Knowledge is about information.
Wisdom is about application. It’s about knowing what to do in every situation and when to do it.
TRANSITION
I would encourage you to continue your reading about Solomon. Read through the next eight chapters and you’ll discover some incredible things that happened as a result of the wisdom of God gave Solomon.
For instance, right here in chapter 1, v. 14, Ezra tells us:
14 Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
Those numbers might not mean much to you, but 1,400 chariots was a lot of chariots for a single, smaller nation. When Pharaoh with his vast army came riding after Moses and the children of Israel, he only had 600 chariots. - Solomon knew that if God blessed his country, he’d need a strong military to defend it.
The next verse says…
15 The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills.
Solomon knew how to generate wealth. Not only generate it, but help others generate it as well to keep his people well cared for.
Chapter 2 says,
Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself, 2 so he assigned 70,000 men as porters, 80,000 men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as supervisors over them. 2 Chronicles 2:1-2
Solomon knew the importance of having a place for people to worship God.
Solomon knew how to assign labor to build that place. Solomon’s wisdom endowed Israel with the most incredible temple or worship in the world at that time.
Chapters 3 through 8 describe how Solomon built that Temple, and how he fortified the cities of Israel, and how he settled people in those cities so that all of Israel prospered.
Flip forward to chapter 9 and you’ll see this description:
2 Chronicles 9:13-14
The weight of gold that came to Solomon annually was twenty-five tons,14 besides what was brought by the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
THE POINT
The point Ezra is making is this: Wisdom is a great gift!
- Israel experienced fantastic blessings as a result of Solomon’s wisdom.
- Israel became the wealthiest nation in the world.
- Her people enjoyed safety on all their borders.
- And the whole world experienced blessing as a result of Solomon’s prayers.
TRANSITION
Solomon was wise enough to know that his wisdom couldn’t accomplish everything, so this really, really wise man, spent some serious time in prayer.
Chapter 6 contains an incredible prayer by Solomon.
And chapter 7 contains God’s response to Solomon’s prayer. This response may be the most famous response to prayer in all the Bible.
Let me read it to you. I think you’ll recognize it. We’ll start in 2 Chronicles 7:12 -
12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him:
I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple of sacrifice. 13 If I shut the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on my people, 14 and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Some of you have memorized this in one version or another.
It says “If my people, who are called by my name, will
(1) humble themselves and
(2) pray and
(3) seek my face and
(4) turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.”
When you read a passage of scripture, pay careful attention to the words “If”, and “Then”. They are conditional phrases meaning that something is required before something else happens.
In this case we see
(1) When you humble yourself, you admit you’re not big and you’re not God.
(2) When you pray, you talk to God about your hopes and dreams.
(3) When you seek God’s face, you think about Him and try to do your day with Him, so that His face and His thoughts are always with you and guiding you.
(4) And to turn from your wicked ways means… let me tell you the hidden meaning here in the Hebrew that you may never have seen or understood before and it can change everything-
It means….ready?
It means, exactly what it says- to turn from your wicked ways. It’s pretty black and white.
It means
– To not offer excuses and say, “Everybody’s doing it,” or
“What I’m doing isn’t all that bad.”
It’s to turn from those things that you know are wrong and to do the right thing.
These are the If’s that need to be done before God releases the “Then”- His promise to heal our land.
This is the key to personal health and healing
It’s the key to healing our land.
And most importantly to us as American’s in 2021-
It’s the key to revival.
To REVIEW
(1) Humble yourself.
(2) Pray.
(3) Seek God’s face.
(4) Turn from your wicked ways.
You know who needs to do that in order for God to heal our land?
Are we talking about Antifa?
The proud boys?
BLM
Republicans?
Democrats?
No, God says, “IF MY PEOPLE”
We don’t need to call other people to turn from their wicked ways.
God always has moved based on the actions of HIS people- the church. As followers of Jesus the Christ, we are the ones who determine God’s actions on this earth.
Jesus’ best friend on this earth has this to say to us this morning-
1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?
You and I hold this key on our hands- do we want God to heal our land, or just let it continue to slide into darkness?
How do we apply this today?
1. Make a burnt offering. 2 Chronicles 1:6
Not literally. I’m talking about declaring a do-over in your life, by building an altar somewhere, - maybe in your heart - and climbing onto it. Offer yourself 1,000 times over to God. Give Him your possessions and your position, your rights and your hopes, your goals and your dreams.
“Say, Lord, here I am. All I have is yours; and all I am, is yours.”
The second thing to do to live at a higher level is…
2. Ask God for wisdom. 2 Chronicles 1:10
The book of James says…If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God – who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly – and it will be given to him. James 1:5
Once you’ve asked for wisdom, continue to grow in wisdom.
A great place to start is Proverbs.
3. Pursue wisdom by reading the book of Proverbs.
The introduction to the book of Proverbs describes the book this way:
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 For learning wisdom and discipline;
for understanding insightful sayings;
3 for receiving prudent instruction
in righteousness, justice, and integrity;
4 for teaching shrewdness to the inexperienced,
knowledge and discretion to a young man—
5 let a wise person listen and increase learning,
and let a discerning person obtain guidance—
Proverbs 1:1-6
There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, which means you could read the whole book in one month by reading one chapter a day. Billy Graham did that for over 70 years of his life.
Every day, read the Proverb of the day. Every month, you’ll grow in wisdom.
To REVIEW
1. Make a burnt offering.
2. Ask for wisdom.
3. Pursue wisdom.
And then we will be able to
4. Walk in wisdom.
How do you do that? Well, Proverbs 13:20 says…The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.
It means- surround yourself with God’s people.
Altar Call
PRAYER
In Jesus’ name, Amen!
