Bible Question: In 1 Kings 3:12 God says to Soloman "I will give you a wise and dicerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be." Now we know that Soloman turned and followed other Gods (1 Kings 11:5). Proverbs 2:10-12 says "For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowlege will be pleasant to your soul. DISCRETION will protect you and understanding will gaurd you. WISDOM will save you from the ways of wicked men...." My question is at what time of Solomas life did he right this and if it was before, why didn't it save him from turning to other Gods, if he was the wisest man ever?. Did Soloman turn back to God befor he died? Did he write Proverbes and Ecclesiastes after he came back to God from following other Gods. That might me be why he thinks wisdom is so meaningless, and God is the only thing that matters? What do you think? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Seanster, Vanity is defined as conceit, self-praise, immodesty, boasting.. Solomon was a very young man (1 Kings 3:7) when he not only became a leader of a nation, but the leader of God's chosen people! Correct me if I am wrong, but Solomon does not strike me as a person who was ever 'needy' or in want.. He prayed for wisdom, which showed that his heart was in the right place to start with (and he used this wisdom to judge Israel, become world famous and write three books of the Bible!). But his heart turned from the Lord (1 Kings 11:4-13). I believe that a man's beginnings tell a lot about the character of a man. David, his father, had humble beginnings (2 Sam. 7:8- as opposed to Solomon) and became the 2nd greatest King the Israelites ever had (Jesus being the Supreme King!). After building God's temple and fulfilling his destiny, there wasn't a whole lot for him to do since Israel enjoyed peace on all sides.. When you are the richest, wisest, most powerful, most respected, and have more wives than anyone else could ever imagine, then I can see where Solomon would view everything as vanity! But he could not resist the temptation to indulge in it (since that was constantly all around him), and that eventually led his heart away from God, who was the Source of all his blessings. Blessings to you, Nolan |