When the Wise Act Like Fools
Consider the wisdom of Solomon described in 1 Kings 4:29-34.
“God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt . He was wiser than any other man...and his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.”
Solomon reigned during the golden era of Israel . During his 40 year reign Israel enjoyed peace all around and untold prosperity. The Bible says that when the queen of Sheba came and had seen all the wisdom of Solomon and the glory of his administration “there was no more spirit in her.” She was overwhelmed by it all! The wisdom of Solomon was indeed great!
Yet in 1 Kings 11 we read, “But King Solomon loved many foreign women.” He was influenced by these pagan women. They turned his heart after other gods and the Bible says, “his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God.” (vs. 4) He did the unthinkable! He erected altars all over the land of Israel and worshipped many false gods in the sight of all Israel . This man of great wisdom began to act like a fool.
“The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel , who had appeared to him twice.” 1 Kings 11:9
So here is a man God gave great wisdom to. He even appeared to Solomon (that is, in a physical way, can you imagine?) Yet Solomon chose to turn away from Him! How could this possibly happen?
Even when we have God’s wisdom we can still choose to turn away from it. God gives us the freedom to make that choice. No matter where we are in our walk with God...no matter how many blessings we have received from Him our hearts are still capable of gross stupidity. A stray thought here, a compromise with the truth there and all of a sudden a carnality and foolishness is released from the depths of our wicked hearts and we begin to play the fool. Sin is that powerful!
The good news is God’s grace is more powerful than sin and we know that “God gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) Perhaps Solomon became proud. Perhaps his fame and fortune corrupted his simple faith. But somewhere along the line the wisest man who ever lived started acting like a fool! Let us not underestimate the power of our own depraved hearts. Let us remain close to our Lord and stay deeply in love with our Savior. Let us always find a place of humility before Him.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!
Pastor Dan
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