1 Kings 4:26-34
Solomon owned forty thousand
chariot horses and employed twelve thousand charioteers. Each month the
tax officials provided food for King Solomon and his court, also the
barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.
God gave
Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and a mind with broad interests.
In fact, his wisdom excelled that of any of the wise men of the East,
including those in Egypt. He was wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite and
Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he was famous among all
the surrounding nations. He was the author of 3,000 proverbs and wrote
1,005 songs. He was a great naturalist, with interest in animals, birds,
snakes, fish, and trees—from the great cedars of Lebanon down to the
tiny hyssop which grows in cracks in the wall. And kings from many lands
sent their ambassadors to him for his advice.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Unless you live under a
rock, you’ve undoubtedly heard more than one person talk about how great
he/she is lately. The “news” has been filled with such
proclamations…from a rapper who thinks he can “bring beautiful ideas to
the world” if he can acquire $53 million and change from donors…to
politicians who claim that God has blessed and ordained them to save our
country…to countless pastors who are asking their congregants – and the
world at large – to make “offerings” to enable them to purchase jets,
homes, jewelry and other material luxuries that will “further the
Kingdom of God” in some way.
I know…I don’t get it either! But
here’s the thing. Look at all that King Solomon possessed. He was
wealthy and prestigious. He was brilliant…well-rounded…and he
apparently had common sense and understanding! Yes, Solomon was human –
and if you study his life through the scriptures, you will see that he
got a little too big for his britches and had to be taken down a notch
or two at times. But God ordained Solomon and used him in spite of his
occasional arrogance and foolishness.
If you have time, read the
first few chapters of Ecclesiastes. King Solomon writes about all of
the “virtues” and “things” that God gave him, such as wisdom,
prosperity, work to do (and slaves to do it!), and more. And he
concludes that these are all meaningless. In particular, start reading
in Ecclesiastes 9, as Solomon begins to summarize what he has
determined.
In Ecclesiastes 11:4-6, Solomon writes “If you wait
for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. God’s ways
are as mysterious as the pathway of the wind and as the manner in which a
human spirit is infused into the little body of a baby while it is yet
in its mother’s womb. Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which
will grow—perhaps it all will.” And that is the point for today. God
may not give us the wealth and wisdom of King Solomon, but He has
planted seed in us that will grow according to His will – if we will
allow it and do the work that God has ordained. We may never be
celebrities on any scale. But God uses ordinary people to do
extraordinary things!
We don’t have to wait until we are out of
school…married and/or settled in a relationship. We don’t have to have
been a Christian for so many days/weeks/months/years…be debt free or
have a decent amount of money to pay our bills with a little left over.
We must start here…now…with what we have at this moment…and trust that
God will make the difference. Because He WILL!
We may never be
in the “King Solomon” category…but that doesn’t matter to God. He made
us who we are and can use us to do great things in His name, regardless
of our “status.” Are you ready to start “sowing seed” and let God work
in and through you? Isn’t it time you were?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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