The Very Dumb Wise Man

The book of Proverbs has never made me cry before, until today. This is a book of "wisdom", wise sayings by King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. He learned many of these wise things from his daddy, King David, the "man after God's own heart". (Prov. 4:3)

He addressed "my son" many times, so I assume he was a relatively young man when he wrote these bits of wisdom. I read the first four chapters this morning and wished that Solomon had read his own writing when he was old, because it appears he forgot all he knew.

Here are two of his many "wise bits": 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7 nasb

My son, if sinners entice you,

Do not consent.

Proverbs 1:10 nasb

For the upright will live in the land;

And the blameless will remain in it;

But the wicked will be cut off from the land; 

And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.

Proverbs 2:21-22 nasb

As I read those words, I remembered all that happened when Solomon was old. His foreign wives enticed him to idolatry and he consented. (1 Kings 11:1-4) He built shrines for the idols and worshiped at them. He even worshiped Molech (the god to whom child sacrifices were made). 

He forgot his own wisdom.

Sinners enticed him and he followed like a lamb going to slaughter. Solomon became one of the wicked whose descendants were cut off from the land; he became one of the treacherous whose offspring were uprooted.

His sin led to a civil war that split the nation and accelerated Israel's descent into idolatry and eventual captivity by the Assyrians.

Solomon, like the church in Ephesus mentioned in the Revelation, had "lost his first love", and it cost his family and an entire nation a terrible price.

At Bible study Wednesday night, a man mentioned something he did when he was young. "Somehow, along the way, I'd quit doing that." He told of how he'd returned to his initial fervor for Christ. 

I wish that Solomon had regained his fervor. But he didn't. 

He was wiser in his own eyes than he was in God's eyes, and that arrogance came with an awful price.

This morning, I'm sobered by Solomon's experience and praying that I will embrace the wisdom from above, not from this world. Praying that, even when I'm older than I am now, I'll cling to Christ. Hold to my initial fervor. Love Him more than at the start.

Bill Gaither wrote a song that sums up how the Christian life should be. The Longer I Serve Him, the Sweeter He Grows.

Today, let's take a close look at our own lives. Have we lost our fervor? Are we wise in our own eyes or in the eyes of God? Let's turn back to the wisdom of God alone. Take a step closer if we've strayed away.

Let's determine to live for God every day for the rest of our lives. When "sinners entice", let's say no and press on. 

The decisions we make, day by day, determine the direction our lives take, down the road. Let's choose God's path and continue on that path for the rest of our lives.

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Sam the Snake Handler and the Big Adventure 
( http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2016/05/sam-snake-handler-and-big-adventure.html)
#wisdom #Solomon #faithlife