A Really Bright Ruler Shows A Very Dark Side

In a world full of much good and evil, there is also no lack 
of wise and foolish.

If there was ever a time when humanity desperately needed the kind of wisdom that would save it from destroying itself, this is the time. Growing signs of violence, lies, corruption, injustice, pollution, waste and the ever present danger of wars and insurrections are everywhere, threatening the very survival of the planet and the security of its people.

None of these threats are new, of course, but the scale and scope of the world's current crises seem enormous, often resulting in masses of people being drawn to authoritarian leaders they feel will ensure their safety and survival. 

Millennia ago the citizens of the newly formed nation of Israel asked God to give them an autocratic king like those of their surrounding nations, according to I Samuel 8. God reluctantly allowed them to replace their more grass roots and God-led form of government to that of a monarchy, but warned them that a king with the ability to save them would also have the power to exploit them, as in imposing heavy taxes and conscripting them into forced labor, much like they had suffered under the Pharaohs in Egypt.

Sometimes we have to learn the hard way to learn to be careful what we wish for.

The reign of Israel's third king, Solomon, son and successor of David (who had been one of Israel's more beloved and benevolent rulers) got off to a great start, but David's favorite son proved to be a fulfillment of God's warning. Solomon's massive temple building project, which took seven years to complete, required raising huge amounts of revenue and the forced labor of thousands. This was followed by Solomon's even more ambitions construction project, a palace for himself that was far larger and more elaborate than the temple, and required thirteen years, massive funds and even more conscripted labor to complete. 

Which leaves us with needing to gain as much wisdom from reflecting on Solomon's foolishness as we do from the parts of his life in which he did actually honor God, as in, "Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David." We are also blessed with the legacy of his extended and eloquent prayer of dedication for the new temple, and with the collection of wise sayings attributed to him in the book of Proverbs. 

In the dream in which God asked him what he wished for as the newly anointed king, Solomon gets credit for asking for an "understanding mind... able to discern between good and evil," rather than for "riches and honor." God appears to have given him both. But Solomon's weaker side couldn't resist the temptation to use his brilliant mind and his newly acquired power for his own ends. His vast wealth and his many wives become his undoing, "for his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not true to the Lord his God as was the heart of his father David."

In the end the story of his life ends with God raising up neighboring adversaries against Solomon and with the nation tragically divided in two.

In Carl P. Daw, Jr.'s, hymn "Hear the Turmoil of the Nations," we find these timely words, reminding us to draw on the wisdom of the ultimate "Son of David."

Listen, all who govern nations! Rulers of the earth, take heed,

Trust no human scheme or system to determine how you lead.

("Hear the Turmoil of the Nations" Voices Together #201)