And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. Also, he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. (1 Kings 4:29-34)

Wiser Than Solomon

When the Lord allowed the son of David to ask of anything he desired, the newly appointed king of Israel asked to have an understanding heart to judge the people of God in a righteous and holy manner. The request pleased God and Solomon was blessed by the hand of the Lord to have a wise and understanding heart as no man in history had possessed. The story of Solomon has filled the imagination of history for centuries with his opulent wealth, incredible wisdom and ruling over the zenith of Israel’s splendor as a powerful nation.

The Queen of Sheba came to inquire of the wisdom of Solomon and found she could not take in all the wisdom of the king and to see all of his vast wealth was only telling half the story of the immensity of the king’s gift. There was no man like Solomon in all the world. No man before him had such great wisdom and no man since has possessed the unfathomable knowledge of one man.

Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 hymns. He built the temple of the Lord as instructed by his father David in less than seven years. Palaces, citadels, and the walls of Jerusalem were built and fortified. Solomon built up a huge force of chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. And valuable cedar timber was as common as the sycamore-fig trees that grew in the foothills of Judah. The nation of Israel was an incredible display of wealth, power, prestige and worship to the one true God.

With all the knowledge and power of Solomon, he allowed the love of many foreign women to turn his heart away from the Lord. When he was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God. The divine wisdom given to Solomon had served him well but he could not see the spiritual side of righteousness and truth. Writing in his older age, the king lamented the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge as nothing more than grasping for the wind. It brought nothing but grief and sorrow.

When the Jews challenged Jesus to show them a sign, the Lord used the story of the queen of Sheba visiting Solomon to show that a greater one than Solomon stood in their midst. He declared Himself a greater one than Solomon in all of his wisdom and glory. The knowledge of Jesus Christ is far beyond the wisdom found in Solomon. The Lord was not suggesting the wisdom of the world is not of value but He points men to the knowledge that will set them free from the bondage of sin. Jesus came to release men from the bondage of the adversary and the knowledge found in the word of God is greater than all the knowledge given to Solomon. Men can exalt others to be as wise as Solomon but when a humble heart understands and obeys the gospel of Jesus Christ, their wisdom exceeds the wisdom of Solomon.

The wisdom possessed by Solomon was of great value but he failed to make the application of that truth to keep him from the influences of the evil women. Jesus came to bring men the water of life that will give them hope, promise, and godliness in this life. This knowledge is greater than all Solomon possessed. The soul who obeys the word of God, and seeks the knowledge of grace in their daily walk will find greater reward than the passing fancy of carnal knowledge. All the wisdom of the world will fade away in death but the knowledge of Jesus Christ will find adoration in death as one stands before the throne of God to receive eternal life. To be wiser than Solomon is to repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you through the love of God.