Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom Is Answered

12. For what did Solomon pray?

¹² David’s son Solomon also prefigured Jesus.c When Solomon became king, Jehovah appeared to him in a dream and said that He would give him anything he asked for. Solomon could have asked for more wealth, power, or a longer life. Instead, he unselfishly asked Jehovah: “Give me now wisdom and knowledge that I may go out before this people and that I may come in, for who could judge this great people of yours?” (2 Chron. 1:7-10) Jehovah answered Solomon’s prayer.​—Read 2 Chronicles 1:11, 12.

13. How was Solomon’s wisdom unmatched, and what was its Source?

¹³ As long as Solomon was faithful to Jehovah, his words of wisdom were unmatched among his contemporaries. Solomon spoke “three thousand proverbs.” (1 Ki. 4:30, 32, 34) Many of these were written down and are still treasured by those who seek wisdom. The queen of Sheba traveled some 1,500 miles [2,400 km] to test Solomon’s wisdom with “perplexing questions.” She was impressed by what Solomon said and by the prosperity of his kingdom. (1 Ki. 10:1-9) The Bible identifies the Source of Solomon’s wisdom by stating: “All the people of the earth were seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God had put in his heart.”​—1 Ki. 10:24.

Follow the Wise King

14. In what ways was Jesus “something more than Solomon”?

¹⁴ Only one human clearly surpassed Solomon in wisdom. That was Jesus Christ, who described himself as “something more than Solomon.” (Matt. 12:42) Jesus spoke “sayings of everlasting life.” (John 6:68) For example, the Sermon on the Mount expands on the principles of some of Solomon’s proverbs. Solomon described a number of things that bring happiness to a worshipper of Jehovah. (Prov. 3:13; 8:32, 33; 14:21; 16:20) Jesus emphasized that true happiness stems from things that are related to the worship of Jehovah and the fulfillment of God’s promises. He said: “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.” (Matt. 5:3) Those who apply the principles found in Jesus’ teachings are drawn closer to Jehovah, “the source of life.” (Ps. 36:9; Prov. 22:11; Matt. 5:8) Christ embodies “the wisdom of God.” (1 Cor. 1:24, 30) As the Messianic King, Jesus Christ has “the spirit of wisdom.”​—Isa. 11:2.

15. How can we benefit from godly wisdom?

¹⁵ How can we, as followers of the Greater Solomon, benefit from godly wisdom? Since Jehovah’s wisdom is revealed in his Word, we must put forth the effort to find it by carefully studying the Bible, particularly the recorded words of Jesus, and by meditating on what we read. (Prov. 2:1-5) Further, we need to persevere in asking God for wisdom. God’s Word assures us that our sincere prayers for help will be answered. (Jas. 1:5) With the help of the holy spirit, we will find gems of wisdom in God’s Word that can help us to deal with challenges and make wise decisions. (Luke 11:13) Solomon was also called “the congregator” who “taught the people knowledge continually.” (Eccl. 12:9, 10) Jesus, as Head of the Christian congregation, is also a congregator of his people. (John 10:16; Col. 1:18) Therefore, we do well to attend congregation meetings, where we are ‘taught continually.’

16. What similarity is there between Solomon and Jesus?

¹⁶ Solomon was a very active king. He organized a nationwide construction program, overseeing the building of palaces, roads, waterworks, storage cities, chariot cities, and cities for the horsemen. (1 Ki. 9:17-19) The entire kingdom benefited from his building works. Jesus too is a builder. He built his congregation on the “rock-mass.” (Matt. 16:18) He will also oversee the building work to be carried out in the new world.​—Isa. 65:21, 22.

Follow the King of Peace

17. (a) What was an outstanding characteristic of Solomon’s rule? (b) What could Solomon not accomplish?

¹⁷ The name Solomon comes from a root meaning “peace.” King Solomon ruled from Jerusalem, the name of which means “Possession of Twofold Peace.” His 40-year reign was marked by unprecedented peace in the nation of Israel. The Bible states concerning those years: “Judah and Israel continued to dwell in security, everyone under his own vine and under his own fig tree, from Dan to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.” (1 Ki. 4:25) Still, Solomon, in all his wisdom, could not free his subjects from the shackles of sickness, sin, and death. The Greater Solomon, though, will free his subjects from all of that.​—Read Romans 8:19-21.

18. In the Christian congregation, what conditions do we enjoy?

¹⁸ Even now in the Christian congregation, we have peaceful conditions. Indeed, we are enjoying a true spiritual paradise. We have peace with God and with our fellow man. Note what Isaiah prophesied about the conditions that we are experiencing today: “They will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.” (Isa. 2:3, 4) By acting in harmony with God’s spirit, we contribute to the beauty of the spiritual paradise.

19, 20. What reasons do we have to rejoice?

¹⁹ However, the future will be even better. As obedient humans enjoy peace to an unprecedented degree under Jesus’ rule, they will gradually be “set free from enslavement to corruption” until they reach human perfection. (Rom. 8:21) After they pass the final test at the end of the Thousand Year Reign, “the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.” (Ps. 37:11; Rev. 20:7-10) Truly, Christ Jesus’ rule will surpass Solomon’s in ways we cannot yet imagine!