THE Book of Proverbs is packed with advice, with the overwhelming theme being that of ‘gaining wisdom’.
It’s believed to have been written by Solomon, one of Israel’s greatest kings, but sadly also one of Israel’s greatest failures.
He was the man who asked God for wisdom to rule well, when he could have asked for anything. More about him a bit later.
Chapter 4 speaks about:
– listening to a father’s instruction
– not forsaking wisdom
– not setting foot on the path of evil
It adds that wisdom will:
– protect you
– watch over you
– exalt you
– honour you
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Further, it says that wisdom and God’s words are:
– sound learning
– life to those who find them
– health to their whole body
Chapter 3 says the following: For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother.
This could provide one clue as to why Solomon lost track later in life.
I know this is speculative at best, but is it possible that after his mother Bathsheba died or grew older (not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, that I could find), that he lost his spiritual mentor, or pulled away from her influence.
Perhaps after that his spiritual strength waned, he grew fearful, and he disobeyed a clear command not to take ‘foreign wives’.
(Taking foreign wives was often as a result of a treaty with kings of other countries, an alliance, or peace treaty, which Israel was not supposed to do).
The Bibles records that because of the foreign wives – and there were many – his heart turned away from loving God the way he had.
So while it’s important to seek wisdom and apply it, it’s also important for a modern day Christian, and especially one in such a position of power, to have others around who will speak truth into that person’s life.
Sometimes it’s hard to see our own errors.
It’s possible Solomon had lost this, and so began his drift away from wisdom.
However, although Ecclesiastes, which follows not long after Proverbs, is a fairly morbid book, there’s enough to suggest that Solomon realised the error of his ways and returned to the faith he once had.
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