And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the sons of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
Solomon's fame rested on something he never trained for. His wisdom outclassed the two great centres of learning in the ancient world. Two questions follow: who was he measured against, and what does a man do with a gift that size?
Verses 29-33 describe the gift God gave Solomon. This verse measures that gift against two rivals.
In 1 Kings 4:29-33 we learn something more of the wisdom that God gave to Solomon, for it surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. The east has long been famed for its wisdom, as was also Egypt, but the wisdom given to Solomon surpassed all.
Why single out Egypt? One writer explains what Egypt relied on, and what it left out.
No country in the early history of men was so distinguished for the wisdom of nature as Egypt. Greece and Rome rose later, long after the time in view here... Egypt depended mainly on good counsel, as if there were no living God. It depended on the counsel of man sharpened by long experience, for it was one of the oldest powers to reach greatness.
Solomon did not out-study these men. The wisdom came to him from outside himself. The record can name the great experts of his own day and then leave them behind.
Solomon's wisdom was a gift that came straight from God. It surpassed all the wisdom of men of the east and of Egypt, for there were men of outstanding wisdom in these places (v.30). The chapter names four men whose wisdom must have been great, but all of them ranked below Solomon. Ethan the Ezrahite wrote Psalm 89, and Heman the Ezrahite wrote Psalm 88.
What did that wisdom actually cover? The answer reaches back to the first man.
Solomon had asked God for wisdom and an understanding heart to judge God's people, and to tell good from bad. We see in the details mentioned here the breadth of this wisdom. Solomon's understanding of biology reminds us of Adam. God gave Adam dominion over the earth, and Adam's first task was to name the animals. In Scripture, naming someone or something usually goes with knowing that person or thing and holding a position above it. How interesting it would be to have a biology textbook written by Solomon. It would certainly have given glory to the great Creator-God.
Word of this wisdom did not stay inside Israel. Commentators see in its spread a preview of something larger.
Solomon's wisdom was not limited to a few subjects, for he spoke of trees, from the greatest to the lowest, and of animals, birds, creeping things and fish (v.33). The fame of his wisdom spread throughout the world. People came from all nations with one object — to hear the wisdom of Solomon (v.34). The nations will be drawn far more when the Lord Jesus, the King of kings, takes His great power and reigns in His thousand-year kingdom! Jerusalem will be the centre. The nations will come there to worship Him and learn the wonders of His unsurpassed wisdom (Zech. 14:16).
The queen of Sheba brought Solomon her hardest questions and got answers. Commentators point past him to One who is greater and who is alive now.
Now He lives as greater than Solomon. He is the One to whom we may turn for all direction in life, the very wisdom of God for us. He can solve all our hard questions, as Solomon solved the Queen of Sheba's. And He can so captivate our hearts by His personal greatness and glory that we desire nothing apart from Him.
The greatest wisdom on earth did not keep Solomon safe. That raises a question about what wisdom really is.
What is wisdom? Wisdom is not mere knowledge. The more knowledge a man has, if he has not wisdom, the greater mess he can make of things. Wisdom is the right use of knowledge in the circumstances of life. Learning a lesson from Solomon, we find that even wisdom is not a strong enough safeguard.
- Given — the wisdom came straight from God. Solomon never earned it, and the famous experts of his day were left behind.
- Greater — it passed the two great centres of learning, the east and Egypt. Egypt stood for counsel that runs as if there were no living God.
- Wide — it covered creation itself, from trees to fish. Like Adam naming the animals, it pointed glory back to the Creator.
- Global — the nations travelled to hear it. That was a preview of the day when the King of kings reigns and the nations come to Jerusalem.
- Not Enough — knowledge is not wisdom, and even Solomon's wisdom did not keep him. The One greater than Solomon is Himself the wisdom of God for us.
For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations round about.
The verse measures Solomon against four named wise men — Ethan, Heman, Calcol and Darda — and finds him greater than all of them. Two questions follow: where did such wisdom come from, and why did his fame travel so far past his own borders?
One writer traces that wisdom back to its source. He also notes that two of these men left psalms we still read.
Solomon's wisdom was a gift directly from God. It surpassed all the wisdom of the men of the east and of Egypt, for there were men of outstanding wisdom in those places (v.30). The verse names four men whose wisdom must have been great, but all of it was inferior to Solomon's. Ethan the Ezrahite wrote Psalm 89, and Heman the Ezrahite wrote Psalm 88. Psalm 88 shows the agonizing grief of one who feels the shame and sorrow of Israel's guilt before God and cries out for mercy.
The other two left nothing we can read. What survives of Solomon is only a fraction of what he wrote.
As to the other two men, Chalcol and Darda, we find no record of anything they did or wrote. They were clearly well known in the time of Solomon, whose wisdom surpassed all of these. The Book of Proverbs, inspired by God, is a wonderful witness to his wisdom. He wrote many more proverbs than these — 3000 in all (v.32).
The verse calls the four men the sons of Mahol. The same names appear elsewhere with a different parent:
A man whose sons were renowned for their wisdom, but whose wisdom was surpassed by that of Solomon. 1 Kings 4:31. Four men with similar names are in 1 Chronicles 2:6, said to be sons of Zerah. These four are possibly the same persons, the word 'son' meaning grandson in one of the passages.
So what kind of wisdom did these men have? Another writer turns to Ethan's psalm and finds grace at its centre.
In Psalm 89 the wisdom of Ethan instructs us. What does this other wise man speak of? Of grace! This Psalm is about the unchangeable promises of God and the sure mercies of David. On the footing of the law, the people's relationship to God can only lead to the darkness of judgment and death. On the basis of the covenant of grace made with David, their relationship leads to this: "Mercy will be built up forever; you will establish your faithfulness in the very heavens" (v. 2) — in the heavens, where nothing can ever touch it.
Solomon's rule had fixed borders. His fame had none.
Solomon's dominion was but a weak type of Christ's, who will have "the uttermost parts of the earth" (Ps. 2:8) for His possession. The king of Israel ruled "over all the region on this side of the river" — the limits the Lord had assigned to Israel in Joshua 1:4. But the wisdom of Solomon went far beyond those limits. All people came to hear him, and all the kings of the earth came to inquire of him (v. 34). In this we see a picture of what Scripture says of Christ: "I will … give you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
So why did his fame spread, and what happened to it later?
The queen of Sheba came "to test him with hard questions" because she heard of "the fame of Solomon concerning the Name of Jehovah." At the beginning of his long reign Solomon cared about the honour of Jehovah's Name, and that is why his fame spread far and wide. Sadly, "when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods … and Jehovah was angry with Solomon." As long as he cared for the interests of Jehovah, his fame and glory stayed untarnished. But when he forgot the honour of Jehovah's Name and let the brightness of his glory be stained, Jehovah stirred up adversaries for him.
Even the wisest man met questions he could not answer.
Solomon's wisdom was greater than that of all men. But its brightness fades before the excellence of the divine wisdom shown in the Son of God. Solomon answered all the hard questions the queen of Sheba asked. Yet both the Old and New Testaments record questions Solomon could not have answered — questions the Lord Jesus Christ answered. Agur son of Jakeh asks in Proverbs 30:4, "What is His name, and what is His Son's name?" The Person of Jesus answers it, for He revealed the Father's Name.
- Given — Solomon's wisdom was a gift directly from God. It surpassed the famous wisdom of the east and of Egypt.
- Measured — He is ranked against real men. Ethan wrote Psalm 89 and Heman Psalm 88; Calcol and Darda left no record we can read.
- Weighed — Their psalms carry real wisdom. Psalm 88 cries out under Israel's guilt; Psalm 89 rests on grace and the sure promises made to David.
- Spread — His kingdom had set borders; his fame had none. All the kings of the earth came to hear him — a picture of Christ, given as a light for the nations.
- Exceeded — His fame grew while he honoured the Lord's Name, and faded when he forgot it. The deepest questions waited for the Lord Jesus Christ to answer.