"GIVE ME WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE"
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Preached by: Carolyn Sissom
Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God.
11 Chronicles 1:10: 'Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this your people, that are so great?
1 Kings 3: 9-10: “Give your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this You’re so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.”
The Bible mentions 44 appearances of God. (Adam and Eve, Cain, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Miriam, Aaron, Balaam, Joshua, Gideon, Manoah, Samuel, David, Job, Amos, Stephen, John, Paul, the Apostles and wicked priests, Besides the 44 specific appearances, the prophets saw God, His shape, His body (like that of a man), His hair, eyes, and other bodily parts, his clothing, and his chariot throne drawn by cherubim in visions. Ezekiel saw Him. Daniel saw Him. Zachariah saw Him. Enoch, Noah and others saw God, for they walked with Him and received specific instructions from Him. On a number of occasions the glory of the Lord appeared to Moses and Israel and they saw it and heard God’s voice from the cloud. This was more than an invisible presence. 1 Kings 3:11-14: And God said to him, Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life; neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies; but have asked for yourself understanding to discern judgment; behold I have done according to your words; los I have give you a wise and understanding heart; so that there was none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like to you. And I have also give you that which you have not asked, both riches, and honor; sot that there shall not be any among the kings like to you all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David did walk, and then I will lengthen your days.”
This appearance of the Lord was at the Brazen Altar at Gibeon. “In Gibeon (the little hill) the Lord appeared to Solomon.” (3:5) The Brazen Altar is a type of the Cross in the Outer Court.
In 11 Chron 1: 1-1 says that Solomon:
(a) Was strengthened (“bind fast”) in his Kingdom.(b) And the Lord his God was with him (the Anointing) (the Presence)
(c) And magnified (“become great”) him exceedingly.
Solomon built his empire through peaceful commerce. This era of David and of Solomon was the Golden Age of Hebrew history. David was a warrior. Solomon was a builder. David made the Kingdom. Solomon built the Temple. In the outside world, this was the age of Homer, the beginning of Greek history. The nations of Egypt, Assyrian and Babylon were weak at the time. So Israel was the most powerful Kingdom in the entire world. Jerusalem was the most magnificent city and the Temple the most splendid building on earth. Men traveled from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom and to see his glory. The Queen of Sheba was one of those rulers. Queens ruled large tribal confederacies in Northern Arabia. This is prophetic of the nations bringing their praise and their wealth into the Kingdom of God. Sheba means seven. Jesus blessed her in Matthew 12:42: Matthew 12:42: The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment of this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold a greater than Solomon is here.
According to this blessing by Jesus, the Queen of Sheba would have received from Solomon an “understanding heart to judge.” Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees and Scribes. They had not sought the Lord for this “understanding heart”. They would have known what he meant.
1 Kings 10:13: “And King Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked.” 1 Kings 10:16: The Queen of Sheba came because she heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, and she came to prove him with hard questions. She communed with Solomon all her heart, and he told her all her questions. There was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not…And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom…”behold the half was not told me; your wisdom and prosperity exceeds the fame which I heard. Happy are your men, happy are your servants, which stand continually before you, and hear your wisdom. Blessed be the Lord your God, which delights in you, to set you on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loves Israel forever, therefore he made you king to do judgment and justice.” 1 Kings 10:24: “And all the earth sought Solomon to hear his wisdom which God put in his heart. I considered the Wisdom of Solomon and the great Glory the Lord poured out on Solomon’s Temple through this Wisdom. From the perspective of typology, the Kingdom reached its zenith during the reign of Solomon. The Glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. (8:11) The Glory fell at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. Isaiah prophesied of Jesus: (53:11): “By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many.” Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God. The Hebrew root word for Knowledge means “to ascertain by seeing.” This is the revelation of the ways of the Lord. This knowledge is a result of a personal relationship with the Lord. John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Through thisKnowledge and Wisdom which are part of the 7-fold Spirits of God, Jesus revealed the Glory. 11 Cor. 4:6: " For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 1 Co. 2:6: We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. Now we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 1 Co. 1:39: It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus who has become for us wisdom from God---that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.Jesus went to Jerusalem to the temple at the time of Feast of Tabernacles. “Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How does this man know letters, having never learned? Col. 2: 1b-3:… “the mystery of God, and of the Father and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” It seems to me since the Lord used Wisdom to usher in the Glory of Solomon’s Temple and the Wisdom of Jesus to usher in a Greater Glory of the New Testament Church, then the Lord will again use Wisdom with Faith to usher in the Glory that will cover the whole earth in the Harvest. Wisdom is the power by which human personality reaches its highest spiritual perfection, by which all lower elements are brought into harmony with the highest, and is personified as being life-giving and creative. Matt. 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the entire world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” 1 Kings 10:1– The nations will hear. “(Rom. 11:18: “…their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.) 10:2 – The nations will come. (Isa. 2:3 – And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.)” 10:2– The nations will commune. (Jn. 4 “The hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the father seeks such to Worship him. God is a spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in sprit and in truth.”) 10:4:– The nations will see. (1 Cor. 2: 9-10 – Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him.”)
10:6 – The nations will speak.- (3:9 –Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of satan, which say they are Jews, and are not ,but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved you.”)
10:10 – The nations will give. – (Isa. 60: 1-5 “And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”)10:13 - The nations will return. (Acts. 8:39 “And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip that the eunuch(from Ethiopia) saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.” Wisdom is the application of truth to one’s life. It is based upon the authority and majesty of God –Reverence for God. It recognizes the authority and sanctity of the home – Respect for parents. It acknowledges the authority and moral standards of society –regard for law. Proverbs 1:1-3: The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; to know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment and equity;. Wisdom, Knowledge and UnderstandingWisdom, will give your power over evil: Proverbs 2:10-15: When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto your soul; discretion shall preserve you, understanding shall keep you. To deliver you from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaks froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil and delight in the forwardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths; To deliver you from the strange woman, even from he stranger which flatters with her words. Who forsakes the guide of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.” Morality is rotted in religion and in a right relatinship with God. there is no wisdom without trust in God. there can be no real righteousness without devotion to God. It goes deeper than the outward conduct and reaches the secrets of the heart. That is why we should pray for an “Understanding Heart”. Wisdom is rooted in the fear of the Lord, and folly in self-will. All the virtues spring from wisdom and the fear of God. All of this is embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ. Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
www.eastgateministries.com
Scripture from K.J.V. Bibliography, Principles of Present Truth from 1 Kings and Proverbs by Kelly Varner. Comments and conclusions are my own.We stream our messages weekly
