Christ in the OT #8

HAVING THE WISDOM TO BELIEVE

Suppose that our worship this morning really touched you. Whether or not the choice of songs was to your liking or the sermon touched you doesn’t matter. You worshiped God and loved him. Later, during your afternoon nap you have a dream. God speaks to you in this dream and says, “My heart was filled with joy because of your devotion to me. Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.”

            Can you imagine such an offer? What would you ask for that only God could give? Would you ask for wealth so that you could be more charitable? Would you ask for a successful business and give the excess to the community and to the poor? Would you want to be more popular and have everyone hang on your every word? Think of the influence you could have if people actually listened to you.

            I know this sounds like a “genie in the lamp” kind of situation and I don’t want to give the impression that God is like that. But just imagine if God offered to grant you anything.

            In 1 Kings 3 this happened to Solomon. He had worshiped God; sacrificed 1000 of his cattle to God. Such devotion touched the Lord and he offered to give Solomon anything he asked for – wealth, fame, etc. Solomon considered the great task before him of sitting on the throne of his father David and felt inadequate. So Solomon took this opportunity to ask God for discernment to govern Israel. Wisdom! And God gave Solomon wisdom and so much more.

            Our journey to discover Christ in the OT focuses on Solomon today. He is a template for Christ, an imperfect image of the coming Messiah, a foreshadow of the true Son of David. We want to look this morning at Solomon’s wisdom through the eyes of the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10. Please be alert for the parallels to Christ in this first part. Then be prepared to have this lesson turned on you. Jesus’ wisdom is greater than Solomon’s wisdom. What does that matter?

1. How great was Solomon’s wisdom?

God gave Solomon incredible wisdom and discernment. What that actually looked like is hard to know apart from Scripture. We can assume that he had keen powers of observation, a scientific mind if you will, and the ability to put knowledge into action. 1 Kings 10 tells us a little about the magnitude of Solomon’s wisdom.

a) Solomon’s wisdom was world-famous – In the age of Tweeting and Facebook information travels faster than you can think it. The Arab Spring revolution owes its success in large part to texting and tweeting. Consider then how slow information traveled in Solomon’s day. Slow camel caravans carried the news of the day and word of mouth was equally slow. Imagine then, how electric the news was about Solomon that it traveled as quickly as it did. Check out 1 Kings 4:29-31.

            Among the inquirers was the queen of Sheba. We can deduce that she came from about 1000 miles away. “When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon…she came,” (10:1a) and “The report I heard in my own country…” (10:6).

b) Solomon’s wisdom was sufficient for every question – The queen came with a hint of skepticism. She wanted to know for herself if the legend was true. We read that “she came to test Solomon with hard questions…she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her,” (10:1b, 2b-3).

            Solomon seemed to know about everything. Go back to 1 Kings 4:32-34. You will recall the story about the two prostitutes fighting over the baby and how Solomon ordered the baby cut in two thus revealing the true mother. This was that knowledge put into action.

            There are also legends about the queen of Sheba’s visit and the tests she put to Solomon. One mythical story says that she brought in several boys and girls around 9-years old, same haircuts, same clothes. She then asked Solomon to tell her who the boys were and who the girls were. According to legend Solomon brought in basins of water and had them wash. One group rolled up their sleeves while the other group sort of played with the water but didn’t really wash. The former were girls and the latter were boys, Solomon said.

c) Solomon’s wisdom was visible – If you look at verses 4-5 you get a description that seemingly only women could appreciate – nice home, good food, beautiful table setting, and spotless uniforms for servants. And the queen called this wisdom. She was overwhelmed.

            We have all heard the expression that a clean desk is the sign of a disturbed or sick mind. I keep my desk messy so that no one will find out how disturbed I am. But apparently, a well-ordered life was a sign of wisdom.

d) Solomon’s wisdom went deeper than hearsay – The queen of Sheba declared, “…I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes…” (7b). News travels fast, but is it always accurate? Hardly ever. But the Wisdom of Solomon was greater than the stories people were hearing.

e) Solomon’s wisdom brought joy to his people – A wise leader is a joy to his people. The queen saw the connection between wise leadership and the harmony of the people. She said, “How happy your people must be!...” (8-9). Solomon was full of wisdom and wise sayings for his people. The book of Proverbs contains some of that wisdom.

            One proverb that stuck out for me this week was Proverbs 26:17: “Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.” I remembered an image in my mind of a U.S. President holding a dog by its ears. It was Lyndon B. Johnson, the same man who began sending young Americans to Vietnam to be slaughtered in a war that made no sense. How wise and prophetic was Solomon?

            Solomon was a delight to his people, keeping peace with other nations and prosperity for his own. Unfortunately he compromised his faith in God by worshiping idols due to his many influential wives. He is, however, forever known as a paragon of wisdom.

2. “Something greater than Solomon is here”

Jesus is greater than Solomon and his wisdom; Jesus is God’s wisdom personified. Consider the parallels and contrasts of Jesus and Solomon:

a) Jesus’ wisdom is world-famous. Unbelievers quote him all the time without thinking about it (Golden rule).

b) Jesus’ wisdom is sufficient for every question. Solomon knew about plants and animals; Jesus made everything (John 1:3).

c) Jesus’ wisdom was visible.

d) Jesus’ wisdom went deeper than hearsay. Consider the Sermon on the Mount (“You have heard it said…but I say”).’

e) Jesus’ wisdom brings joy to his people (compare Is. 9:6-7).

We turn now to Luke 11 where Jesus had healed a man with a demon. When the demon left the man began to speak because the demon had made him mute. The observers were divided. The authorities thought Jesus had a demon himself. Others were intrigued but not convinced. Matthew’s account (12:38-42) includes in the scene the Pharisees and lawyers saying, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”

            What this request indicates is a resistance to making a decision about Jesus. There are two factors that pop out:

            First, it was likely that the strong opposition of Israel’s religious leaders put pressure on the crowds not to decide for Jesus. The Pharisees were popular among the people and no one wanted to offend them or the other leaders. It would not go well for you if you challenged those in authority over you. So they may have been impressed with Jesus but another sign might help.

            Second, another reason for resisting choosing Jesus was that if you believed he was the Son of God as he said and demonstrated, that means you have to obey him. This is how Jesus answered the woman who declared the mother of Jesus blessed for having him (11:27). Jesus replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and believe it,” (11:28).

            To ask for a further sign is something we are inclined to do before making a commitment. We Google prices, makes and models before buying a car. We want evidence to make a good choice. It is the scientific method – to get all the facts before making a decision.

             Jesus, however, has a strong word for those seeking a heavenly sign. He said, (Read Luke 11:29-32). Asking for a sign that Jesus is the Son of God reveals their wickedness, Jesus says. He then gives two OT instances to further shame them. The first are the people of Nineveh who accepted the sign of Jonah and repented; the second is the Queen of the South (Sheba) who believed the reports about Solomon.

            These two signs say several things. The sign of Jonah is one that Jesus uses to describe his stay in the tomb after his crucifixion. Jonah was in the whale/fish for three days – when Jesus is crucified, they will know he is the Lord when he rises three days later. But what really shames the Jews who ask for a sign is this: both the Ninevites and the Queen of the South are Gentiles, and because they believed, their belief will condemn the unbelief of this generation of Israelites. They also believed with much less evidence than that which this generation had seen.

            Consider Jonah’s story. Jonah ran away when God told him to go and preach to the Ninevites. God caught him with a fish and spit him back on the right shore. Then he goes to Nineveh, disheveled and smelling like a fish market, and preaches the worst message ever. “Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” And they repented! He wasn’t even trying to convert them.

            So too with the Queen of the South when she heard Solomon’s words; she was convinced of his wisdom when she beheld its power. In both of these cases, Jesus points out that it is a belief based on words, not signs, that God is looking for in his followers.

            Obviously, signs were not enough, since they had just witnessed Jesus healing the demoniac. So too with the feeding of the 5000, the Jewish leaders come to Jesus and say, “What miraculous sign will you give that we may see it and believe you?” (Jn 6:30). The biggest problem with sign-seeking is that it does not find the words of God to be enough. Rather than encourage faith, it demands an ongoing stream of miraculous works. This is the age-old sin of putting God to the test.

            Don’t we do this too? We may not realize it but when we pray we are hoping for an answer that will bolster our faith. We want to see signs and miracles to rest our faith upon. I have done this too, even in preparation for a sermon. I pray sometimes, Lord do a marvelous thing with this sermon. Sometimes I am disappointed. What’s wrong with this? Well, for starters, why isn’t the preaching of the Word of God enough?

            Jesus said, “…now something greater than Solomon is here.” And the people who repented at the preaching of Jonah will stand up at the last day and say, “You had the scriptures. You had the prophecies. You had Jesus himself, greater than Solomon, and you did not repent? What’s the matter with you?”

            And I say to you too, is the Word of God not enough? Christians are looking for experiences these days. They want to see the healings, the signs and wonders, and they want to feel something in a service. They want to know that the Holy Spirit was there in that place. But the Ninevites and the Queen of the South will stand up on Judgment Day and say, “Look at what’s in your hands. Look at your bookshelves. They are full of Bibles, translations of every sort, and you wanted a sign? You had the wisdom of God at your fingertips. But you ignored it.”

            Perhaps the problem is the same as it ever was. If we accept Jesus’ words as is, no signs, no wonders, just the Word of God, we will actually have to commit to obeying it. Now something greater than Solomon is here, and he was pretty great. But Jesus is greater. His Word is enough for salvation.

I marvel at the stories of conversions where one word or phrase was enough to bring a transformation. That can only be born of the Holy Spirit. The Ninevites heard, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” Augustine heard, “Take up and read.” Charles Spurgeon heard, “Look to Jesus.” That was enough.

            Paul chided the Corinthians with these words: “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God,” (1 Cor 1:21-24).

            We preach Christ crucified. This is the power of God and the wisdom of God. It demands a response. We can wait for more evidence, prove the faith through our trials and prayers, or we can say that Christ’s Word is enough. And if we make that confession, we must obey the Lord’s commandments. The greatest is this: Love God. The second is like it: Love your neighbor.

            This is wisdom.

                                                                        AMEN