-------Solomon: Wise Man or Fool?------

Solomon has been credited with being the wisest man that has ever lived and was probably the wealthiest man that has ever lived. Yet he may have played the part of being the world's biggest fool during certain times of his life.

The book of Psalms and the book of Proverbs, many of which were penned by Solomon, tells us that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Psalms 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10.

This tells us that people who deny God's existence can't be wise in any way because acknowledging the awesomeness and mightiness of God is only the beginning of wisdom, not wisdom itself. The Bible makes it clear that denying the existence of God will keep you from gaining wisdom. Psalms 14:1 and 53:1 both state, "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God." Atheists deny the existence of God. So, by the Biblical definition, they are fools.

Solomon believed in God. God did make Solomon wise and God did bless Solomon. How then could one of the wisest men in history also be one of the most foolish men in history?

What is wisdom anyway? I would define it as being able to make the right choices at the right times. All of us are guilty of making bad choices at some points in our lives. It is one thing to make a bad choice when you really didn't know what the right choice to make was. It is quite another to make a bad choice when you are fully aware you are making a bad choice but do it anyway. This is when we become fools. Our sin nature has a bad habit of making fools of us all.

Ignorance can cause you to make a bad choice. There are many professing Christians who remain in an ignorant state because they do not spend time with the source of wisdom God has provided to us: the Bible. Knowing what the word of God says goes a long way in helping us to make the right choices and avoid becoming fools.

Solomon had a good beginning and a good relationship with God at first but he did something stupid, he deliberately made a wrong choice when he knew better. A study of 1 Kings Chapter 11 shows that Solomon "loved many foreign women" (the flesh at work) even though God had warned Solomon "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods."

How could Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, have become so foolish? Jesus, both in the books of Mark and Matthew made the comment, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Solomon was the king. He could have any woman he wanted. Most heterosexual males have fantasized about this at some point in their lives. It comes from the lust of the flesh. Solomon, like his father David did with Bathsheba, succumbed to his fleshly desires. His flesh won over the spirit and made him a fool. None of us who still have fleshly bodies are exempt from doing the same thing.

You must understand that the Holy Spirit did not remain indwelt in the children of God then as He does today. It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which enables us to overcome the lusts of the flesh. The Holy Spirit did visit Solomon, but he did not have the indwelling that modern day believers have. His fleshly desires won out. Even with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that fleshly nature is also there.

Jesus admonished us to watch and pray so our fleshly nature would not win out. This is a lifelong struggle for all believers in Christ.

The scripture goes on to say that God became angry with Solomon and told Solomon his kingdom would be taken away from him but not while he was alive. Solomon's disobedience led to the captivity of Israel by foreign nations.

Solomon was a wise man but he was unable to make the right spiritual choices because he was ruled by his flesh. His flesh made him a fool and the kingdom of Israel was lost because of his foolishness. When we are ruled by our flesh, we always make bad choices.

Going to heaven or hell is our choice. Which one would you choose? I don't think anyone would say, "Well, I'm going to hell and I wouldn't have it any other way. Heaven would be too boring for me." Yet a great number of people make this choice. Is it wise to choose hell over heaven? Choosing hell over heaven is a bad choice and that choice makes fools out of all those who do so.

Don't become a wise fool like Solomon. Open up your heart and let the Holy Spirit guide you into all truth by putting your complete trust in Christ.

Copyright 2007 by Gary Goodworth