The Way Wisdom Works 智慧的运作方式

[Dexu Xia]

They held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice. 1 Kings 3:28 Today's Scripture. 1 Kings 3:24-28

Today's Insights  As King Solomon began his reign, “The Lord appeared to [him] during the night in a dream” and told him, “Ask for whatever you want” (1 Kings 3:5). He asked for “a discerning heart to govern [God’s] people” (v. 9). God granted his request (3:10-14; 4:29-34), and he began well (3:28). Yet his personal life became a shambles due to his habit of marrying women who practiced other religions (11:2). He “loved many foreign women” (v. 1) and “as [he] grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods” (v. 4). Despite what God had given him, he disregarded his own wisdom. Today, we can ask God to direct our paths and help us walk in the way of wisdom.

Today's Devotion  As a child, I brought home a report card with all S’s, which stood for Satisfactory. My sister, who was five years older than me, had a mixture of A’s and B’s. I thought our report cards proved I was smarter because I had what I thought was the equivalent of all A’s. My older brother then proceeded to offer us a test. He went to my parents’ bookshelf and pulled out a book. He asked me to read a passage. I stumbled, only recognizing a few words. My sister read the passage flawlessly. My brother declared her the smartest.

Lesson learned. His test proved to be wise.

The people in Israel learned a lesson on wisdom from King Solomon. Two women had delivered babies. One baby died when his mother accidentally “lay on him” (1 Kings 3:19). This mother then tried to claim the living baby as her own. The women went to Solomon to ask who should keep the baby. When he heard the complaint, he ordered that the living baby be cut in two so both women could have a half of the child (v. 25).

The woman who was not the mother agreed to this order, but the true mother said, “Give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” (v. 26). When she spoke up to save the child, Solomon ruled that she was the mother and said to give her the baby (v. 27). Solomon’s God-given wisdom was on full display.  As God helps us, our actions can show others the true wisdom that comes from Him too (Proverbs 2:6).

Reflect & Pray

What decisions do you need wisdom for today? How can you find wisdom?

All-wise God, please give me the wisdom I need to know which way to go. By Katara Paton

他们对王心存敬畏，因为看出他有从神而来的智慧去施行审判。——列王纪上 3:28

今日经文：列王纪上 3章24-28节

今日洞见：所罗门王刚即位时，上帝在梦中向他显现，对他说：“你愿我赐你什么，你可以求”（列王纪上 3:5）。所罗门就求“能辨别是非的心，好治理上帝的百姓”（9节）。神应允了他的请求（3:10-14；4:29-34），他也确实有了一个美好的开端（3:28）。然而，因他娶信奉别神的外邦女子为妻，他的个人生活最终变得一团糟（11:2）。他“喜爱许多外邦女子”（1节），“年老时他的妃嫔诱惑他的心去随从别神”（4节）。尽管神赐予了他极大的恩赐，他却违背了自己所拥有的智慧。今天，我们可以祈求神指引我们的道路，帮助我们行在智慧的道上。

 今日灵修分享 小时候我带回家的成绩单上全是“S”，这代表“满意”（Satisfactory）。我那大我五岁的姐姐，成绩单上不是“A”就是“B”。我以为我们的成绩单证明我比姐姐聪明，因为在我看来我的成绩相当于全都是“A”。于是，哥哥决定考考我们。他从父母的书架上抽出一本书，让我们读其中一段。我读得磕磕绊绊，只能认出几个字；而姐姐却能流利无误地读出来。哥哥便断定姐姐的学业比我好。哥哥的用这个法子测试，确实很有智慧。我从中吸取了教训。

  以色列百姓也从所罗门王身上学到了关于智慧的一课。当时有两个妇人生了孩子，其中一个婴儿因母亲不慎，“压死了他”而夭折（列王纪上 3:19）。那个母亲就偷偷替换，想把别人活着的婴儿据为己有。于是，这两个妇人来到所罗门面前，请他裁决究竟谁是这个孩子的生母。听到这起纠纷后，所罗门下令将那个活着的婴儿劈成两半，好让两个女人各得一半（25节）。 那个非生母的女人同意这个判决，但亲生母亲却说：“把活着的婴儿给她吧！千万别杀他！”（26节）。当她挺身而出挽救孩子时，所罗门判定她才是生母，并下令将孩子交给她（27节）。所罗门那源自神的智慧由此彰显无遗。 当神帮助我们时，我们的言行也能向他人展现那源自神的真正智慧（箴言 2:6）。

 反思与祷告 今天，你在哪些决定上需要智慧？你该如何寻求智慧？ 全智的神啊，求祢赐我智慧，指引我当行的路。

作者：卡塔拉·帕顿