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To
govern well and wisely is a dream claimed by many, but
an ability possessed only by a very few who are blessed
with a listening heart (1 Kings 3:5, 7-12). It requires
a continual ordering of values and a centering of
energies to really follow Jesus Christ in the reign of
God (Matthew 13:44-46).
The
wisdom of Solomon
To a
people in exile needing heroes, the authors of the Books
of Kings idealized certain figures and aspects of their
past in recounting stories of better times. King
Solomon, for all his faults and foibles, is portrayed
larger than life, a repository of God’s wisdom. In the
story that may well be a description of the ancient
ritual of incubation, where a person seeking guidance
sleeps in a sanctuary or holy spot in the hope of a
divine visitation in a dream, Solomon went to the large
open shrine at Gideon, northwest of Jerusalem. He
offered holocausts, and at night he was favored with a
dream wherein God generously asked him what he would
want to be given.
Solomon,
in response, humbled himself before God. Everything is
due to God’s generosity and initiative. He identified
himself as God’s servant, a king only because of God’s
favor. Of all the sons of David, God chose him as
successor. Solomon confessed himself to be a youth
without experience in leadership.
To rule
God’s people
Solomon
asked God for “an understanding heart to judge your
people and to distinguish right from wrong.” Selected to
rule God’s own chosen and vast people, Solomon was fully
aware of his serious responsibilities. He did not ask
for long life, or riches, or victory over his enemies,
but for a wise and discerning mind to judge the people
appropriately and decide what is good for them. He was
concerned with the welfare of God’s people, and not
merely with his own self-interests.
Solomon
wanted an “understanding heart.” Lev shome’a in Hebrew
means a listening, obedient heart, a heart docile to the
word or instruction of another. God was pleased that
Solomon asked for discernment in dispensing justice
among the people, and the man was given wisdom beyond
comparison with anyone before him or anyone after him.
Moreover, Solomon’s request for wisdom earned him from
God precisely what he did not ask for—riches and glory
all his life, and a long life if he would walk in God’s
ways and observe the commandments.
A
treasure beyond all price
The twin
parables of the treasure hidden in a field and the pearl
of great price both have the element of a surprising and
joyous discovery, and the result of the discoverers (a
laborer in one, and a wealthy merchant in the other)
selling all to acquire the precious find. To belong to
the Kingdom of God is a treasure beyond price and
demands of every believer seeking it the gift of all a
person is or has, whether one be rich or poor.
The
Kingdom of God is suggested as being there present,
though, at first, unperceived. To the shrewd and
diligent, it is there to be found and worth offering
everything for it. It is drastic and seemingly
overzealous, to sink all one’s capital and collateral
into a single investment. But it takes more than just
business acumen, when it is the Kingdom of Heaven that
is to be invested on and when the transaction has
eternal repercussions. It is the gift of divine wisdom
that governs the acquisition of eternal life.
Alálaong
bagá,
the kingdom of God is ours for the asking. Not only
Solomon, but all of us are invited by God to ask for
whatever we would like. It is God’s gift to us, an
instance of divine generosity. Tragic is when we do not
recognize it and, therefore, do not ask for it. But if
we do appreciate this one real treasure and ask God for
it, as we do constantly in the Lord’s Prayer: “Your
kingdom come,” then ours is the joy of knowing that we
belong to God, and that we are loved and cared for. It
brings the elation of realizing that we are called to
commit ourselves to nothing less than the noblest values
of the human heart. The Kingdom of Heaven and the way of
Jesus feed our hunger and satisfy our thirst, and
fulfill our being’s deepest desires and hopes. We know
it is beyond price and nothing in the whole world can
compare with it, and, therefore, it does not come
without sacrifice. That is why we are willing to offer
everything to attain it. And as God was pleased that
Solomon opted to be of service to others by having a
“listening heart,” and to esteem it, his blessing, to be
a blessing to the people, so also to be disciples of
Jesus is to give to others in return what we have been
given. In the Kingdom of God, in giving we lose nothing;
instead, we gain the only treasure in life that counts.
For more
of my reflections and works, visit my blogsite: http://alalaongbaga.multiply.com. |
