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Tag Archives: Wisdom

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom 1 Kings 3:9

12 Saturday Mar 2022

Posted by memoirandremains in 1 Kings

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1 Kings, Christ, Genesis 3, Prayer, Solomon, temptation, The Fall, Typology, Wisdom

1 Kings 3 records an appearance of God to Solomon with an interesting request, “What do you want?”

5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

1 Kings 3:5–9 (ESV)

There are many peculiar things about this passage, such as it involves God asking what someone wants – rather than God providing instruction. But what interests me here is Solomon’s request, “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

The commentators typically emphasis the direct nature of this request, Solomon asks for the ability to govern:

“Solomon’s desire for an obedient, listening heart is based on his wish to administer justice in Israel. Justice can only emerge when the king is able “to distinguish between right and wrong” (lit., “good and evil”). Justice can become a quite complicated goal, as 3:16–28 proves. Only knowledge of what God considers fair and unfair can guide the king to act justly with any consistency. Though Solomon has already exhibited political craftiness, he knows that long-term wisdom and success reside where David found it—in an ongoing relationship with the Lord.” Paul R. House, 1, 2 Kings, vol. 8, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 110–111.

“ ‘For judging thy people, discriminating between good and evil’: it is precisely the ability to distinguish good from evil, truth from falsehood, that is indispensable in the administration of justice. “For who is able to judge this thy difficult people (את־עמך הכבד הזה)”: not only was the civil life of Israel filled with strife and contention toward the end of David’s reign (cf. 2 Sam 15:1–4), but the political situation likewise continued unstable. This prayer was definitely answered in the sense that Solomon did find the means to suppress all outward show of rebelliousness to the end of his reign.” Simon J. DeVries, 1 Kings, 2nd ed., vol. 12, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Inc, 2003), 52–53.

The Pulpit commentary opens up an interesting cross reference to Hebrews 5:14, “That I may discern between good and bad [i.e., right and wrong, true and false; cf. Heb. 5:14).”

H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., 1 Kings, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 52.

But there is another cross-reference which think is far more instructive to understand Solomon’s prayer:

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Genesis 2:16–17 (ESV)

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:1–5 (ESV)

Peter Leithart picks up on this cross-reference:

“Solomon asks for wisdom, more specifically for “discernment of good and evil” (להבין בין־טוב לרע) (3:9), using a phrase similar to that found in Gen. 2–3 to describe the tree in the garden (עץ הדעת טוב ורע), a tree that gives wisdom (Deurloo 1989, 12). Solomon’s request can thus be described as a request for access to the tree forbidden to Adam.”

Peter J. Leithart, 1 & 2 Kings, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2006), 44.

I think Mr. Leithart is correct about the reference which underscores this prayer. But I think he got the allusion backwards (I will here quickly note that no one has requested that I publish a commentary and that Dr. Leithart is far better credentialed than I (D. Phil. Cambridge).)

And thus with appropriate trepidation, I make my case.

The immediate correspondence between his prayer and Genesis is the knowledge of good and evil. With that interesting phrase, we can begin to draw a comparison:

Before the FallAfter the Fall
Approached by the SerpentApproached by God
Speaks with Eve, Adam’s wifeSpeaks with Solomon, a type pointing at Christ & Adam
God does not want your goodWhat can I give you?
God has forbidden the tree of good and evilGod has forbidden nothing to ask
God does not want you to have wisdomGod is pleased Solomon asks for wisdom
The temptation is you will be like God and you will be able to determine for yourself good and evilGive me the ability to discern good and evil

Rather than Solomon asking to eat from the eat; I think it better to see this as Solomon asking to reverse the temptation of the Fall. The Serpent came to Eve and said God does not want you to have wisdom. But if you eat from this tree, you will be able to be like God and you will be able to independently exercise your moral judgment.

Solomon is approached by God. Solomon is well passed the Fall. Human beings have fully rebelled – in fact, the refrain of 1 & 2 Kings will be “he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.” (When I read through these books with my daughter and I came to another evil King who did evil in the eyes of the Lord, she said, “Oh no, not again!”)

And the book of Judges recording the horror human sin ends with this epitath:

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Judges 21:25 (ESV)

As Paul will write summarizing the degradation of human beings:

“21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Romans 1:21–23 (ESV)

The act of making one’s own decisions of good and evil lies there at the heart of the horror of human history. (Even the most depraved actions are always justified in the eyes of the perpetrator.)

But Solomon prays for a reversal of the noetic effect of sin: God, I am not going to strike out on my own. In fact, I recognize my inability to judge. Rather than a tree to just know good and evil; I am asking for your intervention that I may discern good and evil.

And in this we see an aspect of how Solomon typifies the Christ to come.

The News and Pick-Pockets

30 Saturday Oct 2021

Posted by memoirandremains in Uncategorized

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Apollo Robins, Fake News, News, Pick Pockets, Wisdom

Another half-conceived proposition, that perhaps I will work out in full, later.

Today, someone about whom I have great affection and count as a friend was quite concerned with criminal trial 2,000 miles away involving people neither of us know. While the conduct alleged in the trial is rather disturbing, I could not come up with a reason to be interested beyond the sort perverse attention we pay to criminal cases. I heard about and ceased to care about this particular event-there being too many matters which actually concern the life which I will have to lead.

I know that at a trial, everything depends upon happens between the particular lawyers, the arguments made, the evidence presented, the particular jurors and the judge. Whatever the outcome the trial, I cannot see how it will change my life.

My friend seems to me almost incredulous and perhaps even morally appalled that I do not care more. I said I hope anyone who has done wrong is convicted (someone did die, the matter of guilty is to be decided). What I did not go on to say is that even if the guilty goes free on this instance, it will not immediately (or likely in any possible world tangentially) affect my life.

But my friend was very much taken by the news. The news has taken hold of his attention. The reporters have told him what to think. And it is not just one friend. That is the real troubling thing. It is many friends. It is right and left. It is the trouble the availability heuristic: having seen this or that, the conclusion is drawn is that all that is relevant is known. If it is one the news, it must be true.

There is a way in which this news is utterly fake, even if no one ever lied. There is a kind of falsity which stems from outright fabrication. I imagine that utter lying is relatively rare (at least I hope so).

There is a kind of falsity which stems from the way in which a thing is characterized. This is far more common. It is the press secretary slant, or spin as it used to be called. There is a level at which spin is impossible to avoid, you have to use some word, you have to select some element.

But there third kind of falsity which is far more pernicious. When the X-media — how does one refer to the source for most reporting? The cost of reporting nationally and even more internationally must be astounding. The most honest and careful solo journalist simply cannot interview a senator and then fact check the condition in the senator’s home state and everything else: or if it is done, the work is slow and laborious. A corporate media organization can have reporters in three states and can obtain the information in one day.

There seems to be limited intellectual competition among the organizations, which is understandable since the reporters have the same education and the same economic pressures. There is a homogeneity which comes from being in a club and having certain acquaintances and contacts.

And so to the falsity: because of the bias we have to think that what we have seen or heard is representative of the whole and that we have a sufficient understanding of all that could be necessarily known, we draw the conclusion that what we know is pertinent. When my preferred media outlet tells me about something which I would otherwise know nothing about (and let’s face it, if it were not for the news, we would only know our own lives as we experience them in interaction with others), I automatically draw the conclusion that this matters the same way a mountain lion in my backyard or a package on step matters.

But that is simply untrue.

The fact that I give so much attention to this singular matter and think it pertinent to my life is itself a kind of falsity.

Here is where wisdom matters. The ability to not merely judge the veracity of what I am being told but also the importance of what I am being told.

The news teaches no wisdom: it would be bad business to have wise consumers. News is an entertainment product designed to inflame passions and direct attention. And when attention is directed in one way, it is necessarily unconcerned with other matters. That is a kind of lie.

A pick-pocket steals you blind by first stealing your attention and then stealing your money.

Compare and Contrast: Job 11 & Romans 11 (The Wisdom of God)

12 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by memoirandremains in Job, Mercy, Romans, Uncategorized

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Compare and Contrast, comparison, Job 11, mercy, Romans 11, Wisdom

Romans 11:33-26:

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

And Job 11:6-9:

For he is manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves. 7 Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? 8 It is higher than heaven-what can you do? Deeper than Sheol-what can you know? 9 Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.

They both see the God’s wisdom as unsearchable, but they go in different directions. Zophar tells Job that if Job makes himself good enough, God will reward him:

Job 11:10–20 (ESV)

10  If he passes through and imprisons

and summons the court, who can turn him back?

11  For he knows worthless men;

when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?

12  But a stupid man will get understanding

when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man!

13  “If you prepare your heart,

you will stretch out your hands toward him.

14  If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,

and let not injustice dwell in your tents.

15  Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish;

you will be secure and will not fear.

16  You will forget your misery;

you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

17  And your life will be brighter than the noonday;

its darkness will be like the morning.

18  And you will feel secure, because there is hope;

you will look around and take your rest in security.

19  You will lie down, and none will make you afraid;

many will court your favor.

20  But the eyes of the wicked will fail;

all way of escape will be lost to them,

and their hope is to breathe their last.”

Paul sees precisely the opposite in the wisdom of God. It the mercy of God toward the disobedient  which causes Paul to praise the wisdom of God:

Romans 11:25–36 (ESV)

25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

“The Deliverer will come from Zion,

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;

27  “and this will be my covenant with them

when I take away their sins.”

28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34  “For who has known the mind of the Lord,

or who has been his counselor?”

35  “Or who has given a gift to him

that he might be repaid?”

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

 

 

Anne Bradstreet, Meditation XXII

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by memoirandremains in Anne Bradstreet, Culture, Uncategorized

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Anne Bradstreet, Meditations, Piety, prudence, Wisdom

Moments in '70s Television (15)

Want of prudence, as well as piety
Hath brought men into great controversy;
But he that is well stored in both
Seldom is so ensnared

Anne Bradstreet, Meditations

Thales’ Song: Don’t Suppose that Many Word

16 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in Diogenes Laetrius, Greek Translation, Hebrew, Philosophy, Thesis, Uncategorized

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Greek, Greek Translation, Philosophy, Thales, Thesis, Wisdom

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More concerning Thales (circa 585 B.C.), from Diogenes Laertius, The Lives of Eminent Philosophers. Today, a song:

Of the songs about him is this:

Don’t suppose that many words
Will prove the thoughtful heart
Search for that wisdom
Seek for that good
For that will tie the endless, prating tongues of men

Greek Text and Notes:

Continue reading →

John Newton’s Advice to Young Man

30 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in Biblical Counseling, John Newton, Prayer

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Advice, Biblical Counseling, Christ, John Newton, Prayer, Wisdom

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On August 24, 1774, John Newton sent a letter to a young who left out in life. First, as a wise counselor, Newton begins by seeking engagement with the young man. He does not merely throw advice at him from a distance, but Newton draws up close and shows a personal concern for this man at this time.

Newton begins with the circumstances of their parting. Newton is careful enough to note even the manner of speech and his own conduct at the meeting:

THE lowness of your voice, and a blameable absence of mind on my part, prevented me from understanding what you said when you took your leave of me; nor did I just at that instant recollect that you were so soon going away.

Such careful involvement with the life of the person addressed is a necessary aspect of love in counseling. One must not merely offer information. Rather an honest concern with the life of the other is necessary, or the knowledge has been given without love.

Next, Newton notes the natural advantages of the young man, both a fortune and a good upbringing by his part. Newton notes a thing which is invisible to young men — the necessity of a wise restraint to obtain that which is good:

How many at your years, who have been brought up in affluence, are unprincipled, uninstructed, and have already entered upon a course of dissipation and folly, in which it is impossible they themselves can find satisfaction, and which (unless they are reclaimed from it by an Almighty arm) will infallibly preclude them from usefulness or esteem!

He then commends to the young the gift of God in the manner of the young man’s life:

What may I not then further hope from these beginnings, especially as it is easy to observe that He has given you an amiable and promising disposition of spirit,

It is easy to forget that our very lives, including our intelligence and disposition, are gifts from God. Moreover, Newton points to God as the source of the restraint from foolishness as a gift of God.

Having noted the grace of his prior restrain from foolishness, Newton briefly addresses the vanity of the creature — but not as an end in itself, but rather as a stepping stone to the satisfaction of the Creator:

[perhaps] you feel a vanity in science, an emptiness in creatures, and find that you have desires which only He who gave them can satisfy

Restraint is not a negative move; rather it is a necessary step to obtain that which is greater. By getting on an airplane, we restrain our options for the moment so as to obtain the greater good of the destination. Newton quickly moves through possible infidelities and distractions which may meet the young man on the way.

Newton notes that the life of Christian is the only possible way to fit one for a fruitful life in this world — but he does not stop there. All the things of this life are not worth comparison to the goodness of Christ:

But then, the religion, which only deserves the name, must come from above; it must be suited to the state and wants of a sinner; it must be capable of comforting the heart; it must take away the sting and dread of death; and fix our confidence upon One who is always able to help us. Such is the religion of Jesus, such are its effects, and such are the criteria whereby we are to judge of the various forms and schemes under which it is proposed to us. But I forbear; I am only reminding you of what you know, and what you have known to be verified by living and dying examples.

This happiness, my dear sir, is open to you, to all who seek. He is enthroned in heaven, but prayer will bring him down to the heart. Indeed, he is always before-hand with us; and if we feel one desire towards him, we may accept it as a token that he gave it us to encourage us to ask for more.

Newton keeps his own on the end: there will be death, there will be judgment. No degree of distraction of foolishness in this world can avoid that end. Only Christ is a sufficient ground for our life and happiness.

I wish to underscore especially two elements of Newton’s commending Christ. First, Christ is brought near by prayer:

He is enthroned in heaven, but prayer will bring him down to the heart.

Our need commends us to Christ and draws Christ to our heart.

Second, the fact that we desire Christ is evidence that Christ desires our company — and thus should encourage us to come to Him:

if we feel one desire towards him, we may accept it as a token that he gave it us to encourage us to ask for more.

In the end, this letter brings comfort to all by reminding us that Christ will come to our heart — and that our desire for Christ is a proof that Christ will come to us.

John Newton, Richard Cecil, The Works of the John Newton, vol. 1 (London: Hamilton, Adams & Co., 1824), 633.

Lecture on Ecclesiastes 2:12-17

15 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in Ecclesiastes, Lectures

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Death, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 2, Ecclesiastes 2:12-17, Fool, Lecture, Lectures, Wisdom

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Ecclesiastes 2:12–17 (ESV)

12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

The notes for this lecture will be found here.

https://memoirandremains.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/20120513.mp3

 

What is His Wisdom

06 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in Bibliology

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Bibliology, ignorance, R.C. Chapman, Reading, Sayings, Scripture, Wisdom

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Spread the Bible before the Lord; ask Him to teach you what [is] your ignorance and what [is] His wisdom.

R.C. Chapman, Sayings

Oppression and Wisdom

06 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by memoirandremains in Ecclesiastes, Literature

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Con, Conman, David Mamet, Ecclesiastes 4, Ecclesiastes 4:1-4, Oppression, power, Skepticism, Wisdom

The con trick has a still more abiding pull on Mamet’s imagination: it reverses the parental situation. In the con, the public is put in the role of the helpless child, while the con artist is the parent who knows the game and controls all the rules and the information. The whole enterprise is an assertion of omnipotence and a refusal to admit helplessness, which speaks to something deep in Mamet’s nature. At the finale of “House of Games,” Mike is held at gunpoint by Ford, who has shot him twice. Ford says, “Beg me for your life.” But Mike, a con man to the last, won’t. He’d rather die than be infantilized and surrender his sense of autonomy. Ford shoots him again. “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” Mike says as Ford fires three more shots into him. ….. [and] “The Spanish Prisoner,” in which a con trick played on a credulous company man becomes a moral lesson about how the getting of wisdom equals the getting of skepticism.

1 Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.
2 And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive.
3 But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:1-4

Anne Bradstreet, A Ship That Bears Much Sail

27 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by memoirandremains in Anne Bradstreet, Humility

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Anne Bradstreet, Grace, humility, knowledge, Pride, Ship, Wisdom

The previous post in this series may be found here: https://memoirandremains.wordpress.com/2014/04/29/anne-bradstreet-meditations-3/

 

A ship that bears much sail,

and little or no ballast

             is easily overset;

and that man whose head hath great abilities,

and his heart little or no grace,

              is in danger of foundering.

 

Overset: turned over, hence, sinking.

Foundering: crashing against the rocks, sinking, disabled.

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