The wisdom of Solomon is probably the best-known story of the great king. In 1 Kings 3, the Lord appeared to Solomon and granted him the opportunity to ask for anything that he wanted. Most people may have asked for power or riches or long life, but Solomon understood the enormity of the task of being the king of Israel. He wanted wisdom to guide the people, “Therefore give to your servant and understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9). Because his request was made humbly and in view of pleasing God, the request was granted AND God gave Solomon that which he did not ask for, “Both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days” (1 Kings 3:13).

Solomon’s wisdom is immediately put to the test when two women, who here harlots, came to the king with a problem. They had both given birth, and one woman killed her child by lying on the child in the night. The mother quickly swapped the children and claimed to be the mother of the living child. We recall the wisdom of Solomon, declaring that the living child should be divided in half and each mother receive half the child. Of course, the real mother of the child would rather see her son given to the lying woman than have her child killed and wisdom proved the love a mother has for their child. The story ends with this statement, “And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered, and they feared the king, for they saw the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice” (1 Kings 3:28).

The news of the wisdom and riches of Solomon spread not only throughout Israel, but other nations heard as well. Ethiopia’s queen, the queen of Sheba, prepared a caravan to travel to Jerusalem to see and talk with Solomon. “So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her” (2 Chronicles 9:2). We can only imagine what it must have been like to have all your questions answered, no matter how difficult they are. To sit and listen to the man that received exceptional wisdom from God explaining all the issues of your life would cause us to react as the queen did. She had some idea about Solomon, but when she finally got to speak to him, she acknowledged that not even the half had been told to her…Solomon was more impressive in person!

The application for the Christian is found in the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:42, “The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.” The effort the queen of Sheba went through to travel and hear the wisdom of Solomon put to shame the people that heard the words of Jesus and rejected Him. She would condemn them in the judgment because she accepted Solomon and the greater than Solomon, Jesus, was rejected. 

When talking about Jesus being greater than Solomon, we think about Jesus’ wisdom. Isaiah 9:6 calls the Messiah our Counselor. As our Counselor, it is His words that can guide and give our life meaning and direction. As Jesus grew, the Bible says He “Increased in wisdom…” (Luke 2:52). The experiences He had with sorrows and joys, the ups and downs, gave Him the wisdom to be the Counselor He was meant to be. 

There was a time in the life of the Lord that He had to deal with a situation that was similar to Solomon, a situation He was questioned about but did not witness. John 8:3-11 is the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. Her accusers question Jesus about the death penalty under the law trying to find something in His words that they could use to accuse Jesus of sin. The wisdom of the Lord is greater than Solomon in how He handled the situation, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7). Jesus diffused the situation and taught us a lesson on forgiveness and second chances. 

From Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom to salvation to how we treat others, the wisdom of the Lord IS greater than that of Solomon. While Solomon’s wisdom was able to answer the questions about life in general, the wisdom of Jesus answers the questions about spiritual life! “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). 

By: Justin Odom