Stating the Obvious

1 Kings 3:5-12
Romans 8:26-39
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52


In 1 Kings 3 King Solomon’s reign is in its infancy. The first two chapters speak of the last days of King David and the advice he gave to Solomon about whom to trust, whom to watch, and whom to punish. After David’s death, King Solomon goes about “cleaning house” and, at least in his mind, administering justice according to his father’s advice. He also had to deal with an errant brother who had previously taken it upon himself to claim the throne of the kingdom when he learned that King David’s days were numbered. And here we thought our own “to-do” lists were overwhelming!

Sooner or later our lives will catch up with us if we refuse to slow down and think things through, but too often we run and rely on instinct and habit to get our “stuff” done. And while we may say there is no fair comparison between our “list” and King Solomon’s “list”, I will submit to you that even as Solomon’s “list” involved people’s lives, so do ours. It just is that we tend to get so caught up in our own private little world that we fail to take into account that every moment spent completely self-absorbed is another moment that could have perhaps been put to better use for the sake of the Kingdom. We may also reasonably come to the conclusion that our natural inclinations or instincts are not God-breathed and are not necessarily divinely inspired. Still, we go according to what seems right for the moment.

Solomon is obeying his father’s instructions in carrying out some perhaps questionable executions. The wisdom of Solomon’s rule thus far has been by the edge of the sword, and why not? King David was a righteous man and was faithful to the Lord to the very end as it is written, so following his advice would seem the thing to do. Nevertheless, as David’s life was coming to an end it had already been told to him that Adonijah – David’s son by a woman other than Bathsheba but still the eldest surviving son of the king nonetheless – had already proclaimed himself king which was not in keeping with what the Lord had shared with David as written in 1 Chronicles 22:9-13 which promised that David’s son, whose name shall be Solomon, will succeed him to rule AND build the Temple that King David had wanted to build.

Building a Temple dedicated to worship of the Lord God of Israel seemed perfectly right and good to King David, but he was a man of war. By his hand blood had been shed, and so it would not be fitting to the Lord that a man of war would build a temple dedicated to the Lord God. The desire that King David had was simply not enough. According to the word of the Lord, it was not time.

Isn’t it always the way, though, that after we have done all that we thought we needed to do, there is always something left over that REALLY needed to be done but was overlooked because we were running on “auto-pilot” just to hurry and finish? This almost seems to be what King Solomon has concluded, judging by the prayer he offers to the Lord when asked to name what he needs. Though Solomon will eventually have problems of his own as king, it is evident by his request at this stage in his life and reign that he does at least acknowledge his limitations as a human being and that he is going to need divine wisdom in order to govern the Lord’s “chosen” people, seeming to comprehend the task of “the chosen”.


Do we ever admit our short-comings and acknowledge the limitations of our own humanity often enough so as to humble ourselves before the Lord in asking for His help instead of running on instinct or just doing what feels right or blaming someone for our failure to do all we wanted – or thought we needed – to do? I admit that this is perhaps one of my biggest failures – among many, I’m sad to report!

It seems to me that the limitations of our humanity are exactly the reason why Jesus spoke so often of the Kingdom of Heaven in parables. It is along the same line as teaching a child that 2 + 2 = 4. It is not enough to simply know this to be true; one must also know WHY this is true, how such a conclusion is reached. Memorization may be a good thing on a certain level, but without the why’s and how’s of a particularly tough subject, the memorization will never be internalized nor personalized. It will never make sense and so will never be relevant in any real way except to maybe pass a math test.

So King Solomon’s prayer is a sincere prayer which recognizes that sound reasoning, rational thought, and divine guidance are all ingredients required of being able to minister to those who are entrusted to his care. It is no less so for those of us entrusted with the Good News of the New Covenant, but nothing will make sense to us until we think AND reason AND pray through it. Jesus is offering exactly that by speaking to His disciples in parables.

These parables may not make sense right off the bat, but they require that we think through them and pray through them. Even before that, we need a time of prayer and reflection so that divine wisdom may be imparted to us. I don’t know that it will “just happen”. The answer to any prayer will come only in the Lord’s time and not our own - which we readily acknowledge when we’re not in any big hurry - but we also have to be ready and willing to receive what is offered to us regardless of the answer or advice.

I think maybe this is the very reason why prayer is the single, most difficult of all the spiritual disciplines, to pray without speaking a word so that answers and guidance can be received. Even more difficult than this, however, is the acquisition of a willing heart enabled to hear an answer we did not wish for.

Being a disciple of Christ is no easy thing. It is not for the faint-hearted or the weak-minded. This is partly why I take exception to those who dismiss Christianity as a “crutch” for the weak-minded who cannot or will not deal with “real life”. There is nothing weak about being enabled to swallow pride, admit limitations, and lean toward the Lord for help BEFORE we insert foot in mouth or otherwise make fools of ourselves. Sometimes silence is the better option, but our instincts will not always allow for that, will they?

Reading Scripture is important for spiritual growth, but scripture is nothing more than ancient literature if there is no divine wisdom to help guide us toward the ultimate Truth. And this should be the struggle of every disciple, young or old, because if we ever reach a point when we come to believe that we have it all figured out, it is then when we will stop growing and will actually move backward, “for My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

Pray that we never “figure it out”. Amen