TEXT: I Kings 3

SUBJECT: Christ in the Old Testament #16: The Wise King

Today, with God’s help, we’ll continue our study of Christ in the Old Testament. Last time, we saw the Lord pre-figured (or, pointed to) in the powerful and unifying reign of King David. What David did for God’s people then, Jesus Christ does for us now—only more and better.

In Christ, the Lord’s people are one, secure, and victorious. Why? Because the Son of David is like His father, a powerful and unifying King.

David is a Type of Christ. But he is not the only one. Solomon is another. His whole life does not point to the Lord Jesus—for parts of it were shameful. But in some ways, he was a hint of what God was going to give us in His own good time.

Solomon was the wisest king Israel ever had. And in this way, He pointed to a King, even wiser.

Solomon became king at the age of thirty. To some of you that sounds pretty old, but if you’re on the other side of it, you know better. At thirty, most people are ignorant and immature.

Most people won’t admit that, but Solomon did. The Lord came to him in a dream one night asking him what he wanted most. The new king didn’t hesitate at all. He wanted wisdom. Why? Because he knew how much he needed it and how little he had of it. To God he confessed,

Solomon felt his dependence on God. If his kingdom would be ruled in wisdom, the wisdom would not be his own! It must be

Here Solomon is like Christ. No one is more sufficient than the Lord Jesus. Yet He doesn’t depend on His native abilities. He relies on God for wisdom. He seeks it in the regular ways of study and prayer and meditation.

Can you imagine that? The Word of God lowering Himself to read the Bible? Or to pray for knowledge? Or to listen to His teachers? Yet He did all of the above.

In becoming a man, Jesus Christ assumed our ignorance and got wisdom the same way we do: By hard work.

Solomon needed wisdom to rule God’s Kingdom. So does the Lord Jesus.

We all agree that wisdom is a good thing. But to Solomon it was more than a good thing. It was the best thing of all. He wrote,

To Solomon’s way of thinking, wisdom was better than anything else. That’s why, when God gave him a blank check, he filled in Wisdom.

I wonder if anyone here would do the same thing? Would I? Would you? Just think of how great it would be to have all the money you could use—and more. Or the promise of a long life without sickness. Or popularity. Or power. Or success. Or comfort. Or fun. Or even revenge on your enemies. Would you choose wisdom first?

You don’t have to wonder. Every day you make that choice. And on most days, I fear,

It was for Solomon, however. And even more for Christ. Although He worked for a living, had a family to take care of, and so on, He found time to ponder God’s Word and grow in wisdom.

What was the trick? There wasn’t any. Psalm 1 makes it very clear. It says, the "Blessed man…

"Meditates in [God’s Word] day and night"

How does he find the time and privacy to do that? He doesn’t have to!

Jesus Christ so loved the Word of God that He thought of it when He

He had many things to do. But they didn’t distract Him from "the principal thing". Jesus Christ chose wisdom. First.

That’s the promise of God. It was proven true in the life of Solomon. He asked for wisdom. God gave it to him. In superabundance.

By God’s grace, Solomon became the wisest man in the world. His subjects knew that. When two women fought over who’s baby was alive and who’s baby was dead, they were brought to Solomon. No other man could have answered the riddle as he did. The wisdom amazed the People of God—then and now,

It wasn’t only the Israelites who felt that way. Another verse says,

The best known example was the Queen of Sheba. She came "from the ends of the earth to hear his wisdom". When she did, she was not disappointed,

The same wisdom was given to Christ. Only more of it. In fact, all of it. Colossians 2:3 says in Him,

Review His life. As a boy, He "astonished the doctors of the Law with His understanding". Unlike Americans, the Jews have always respected learning. Have you seen Fiddler on the Roof? It’s main character wishes that God would curse him with wealth. And do you know why? So he could…study. The old rabbis—men who’d studied the Bible all their lives—found in Christ a Wisdom they’d never seen before.

As a Man, He taught with a wisdom never before heard. Matthew 13:35 says He

Even His enemies confessed that.

as this Man speaks".

Scribes and lawyers came to Him with every trick question in the book. He answered them all in ways that confounded the hypocrites and filled the ordinary people with wonder.

Jesus Christ was clearly the wisest Man Israel ever knew. But not only Israel. Paul was a classical scholar, able to quote the Greek playwrights, for example. He knew all the big philosophers of his day and before. But compared to Christ, he says, the best men the Greeks can produce are "fools".

He dares us to name the accomplishments of these men.

There is simply no comparison. The branches of human knowledge are nothing compared to the Wisdom of Christ.

How did Christ obtain His Wisdom? I told you He studied and prayed and meditated, of course. But it wasn’t by these things only that He got His Wisdom. No, it was by a special gift of the Holy Spirit.

It was foreseen in the Old Testament.

John the Baptist explained it all. He would not rival the Messiah—and could not. For John was a great man himself and a mighty prophet, but, he said,

God measured out the Spirit to others. But not to Christ. He got the Holy Spirit in all His fullness. It is by the Spirit of God that Jesus Christ became the sum of all Wisdom.

Israel had a wise king in Solomon. They praised the Lord for him. In Christ, though, we have a King even Wiser. He said so Himself,

We ought to be thankful for the wise Savior God has given us. I know you thank Him for His mercy, His grace, His patience, and power. But do you praise Him for His Wisdom? Do you adore Him for His understanding? If you knew Him better, you would.

Gratitude is the first response to everything God has done for us in Christ.

We should also be mindful of His Word. If Jesus Christ has all wisdom in all matter for all people, we ought to consult His Word first. And take it before any other. Proverbs 3:5.

If Christ has all wisdom and the Bible is His Word, we ought to study it more and harder than we do. This Book is not a fine collection of human wisdom. It’s the very mind of Christ. You should study it as though it were.

If Christ is the Wisdom of God, and we represent Him in the world, we ought to live wisely ourselves. When we are foolish, unbelievers don’t blame us only; they also laugh at Christ. It’s time we take the Word seriously,

Can the world listen to our words and hear the Wisdom of Christ in them? Can it look at the way we spend our money and see the Wisdom of Christ in that? Or what we do in our spare time? Or how we relate to our wives or husbands or children?

If Christ is wise, then we ought to be wise.

One last word. It goes to the unbeliever. Christians are often very stupid. But Jesus Christ is not. I beg you to not judge Him by us. But to carefully look into His Word and pray God would show you His wisdom. And make you a Subject of the King Wiser than Solomon.

What the Queen of Sheba said of Solomon, we say—even more of Christ—