A King’s Request

In the story of Aladdin, a young man finds a mysterious and tarnished golden lamp. When he rubs it, a genie appears, granting him three wishes. In that moment, Aladdin’s world is changed because he has the ability to receive whatever his heart desires.

Maybe you have wondered what you would request if you had the opportunity to receive anything your heart desired. In today’s passage, God gave King Solomon the opportunity to make such a request. His answer may surprise you: Solomon asked for wisdom.

Solomon was now king, taking over from David his father. The people he would lead were “as numerous as the dust of the earth” (2 Chron. 1:9). Surely the prospect of this responsibility was daunting, so Solomon asked: “Give me wisdom and knowledge” (2 Chron. 2:10). Wisdom is referred to throughout Scripture, and it is not just another word for knowledge. Wisdom is marked by obedience to God. “Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city” (Eccl. 7:19). Knowledge refers to the accumulation of facts. As one person said, if you have knowledge but no wisdom, you are merely a walking encyclopedia. While knowledge might help you win at the game Trivial Pursuit, wisdom brings discernment and helps put knowledge into action.

God granted Solomon’s request: “wisdom and knowledge will be given you” (2 Chron. 1:12). But God also gave the new king unprecedented wealth, possessions, and honor: 1,400 chariots, 12,000 horses. Gold and silver were “as common in Jerusalem as stones” (2 Chron. 1:15). The request for wisdom was met with great pleasure by God. It was an indication (at least in the beginning) that this king not only wanted to rule but that He wanted to follow God.

Pray with Us

Greg Thornton, senior vice president of Media, will be grateful for your prayer support today. Ask the Lord to guide his efforts and bless the fruit of his ministry at Moody. May many know the love of the Lord because of Greg’s faithful work.

BY Jamie Janosz

Jamie Janosz serves as a content development manager for Moody Bible Institute. She writes monthly devotionals for Today in the Word and has published non-fiction essays with Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics blog. Recently Jamie wrote a book titled When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up (Moody Publishers). Jamie studied theology and writing at Moody Bible Institute, Columbia College, and Illinois State University. She lives on the Atlantic coast of Florida with her husband, Milt, and daughter, Sabrina.