The 9th Sunday after Pentecost 2026
Texts: 1 Kings 3:5-12; Romans 8:26-39
By Reverend Marjorie Bevans
About a year ago one of our parishioners raised the issue of studying “The Wisdom Literature” in the Bible. He thought we never seem to read much of these lessons in church on Sundays—and he was right, so it’s rarely preached. These would be lessons from Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon from the Old Testament. But Wisdom Literature is also found in the Apocrypha in The Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, and Baruch. So, in the past year, we’ve studied all the Psalms and most of Proverbs. It’s no small thing to say it has been enlightening.
What is Wisdom? What makes the Wisdom Literature different from the Gospel, and Paul’s Letters, and all the other books of the Bible?
Well, in the Bible it all seemed to start with Solomon, known for his wisdom, and the lesson from 1st Kings this morning.
God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked Solomon what he would like from God. Solomon first expressed thankfulness for God’s love of his own father David. Then he admitted his own powerlessness
without God—saying, “I am only a little child.” And then he asked God to give him an understanding mind to
govern the people of Israel, to be able to discern between good and evil.
This weighty responsibility for humans to discern between good and evil was brought upon us by what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. The serpent enticed them saying, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of the apple your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So, Solomon knew that the source of this knowledge of good and evil was God, and he wanted to be connected to the source when he asked God for wisdom.
In the Old Testament wisdom is associated with God. God is the source of all wisdom, so to be close to
God is to be close to His wisdom. We notice that before asking God for wisdom, Solomon first appeared to be a simple, holy man, as shown by his thankfulness, his humility, and his desire to serve God and His people. Solomon’s wisdom would grow out of his holiness, out of his relationship with God.
It is important for us, in our time particularly—when we have so much knowledge, that wisdom not be
confused with knowledge. Wisdom is the use of knowledge toward a good end, toward a godly or holy end.
Wisdom helps us discern good and evil, and to establish what is ultimately most important.
A few years ago, I was praying for a little boy in England named Charlie. He was born with a serious genetic defect that made him not grow, I think they called it ‘failure to thrive.’ His parents wanted to do everything they could to help him, but the medical authorities argued it would not be in his best interest to travel to Italy or the U.S. to receive experimental treatment. It was offered free of charge and the travel too. The case ended up in court, and the parents—impoverished from their efforts to save Charlie, had to drop their case. Charlie stopped receiving the medical care he needed, and he sadly passed away a few days later.
Charlie’s case reminded me of Solomon and the two women who both claimed to be the mothers of a baby. Solomon suggested that the baby be cut in half so that each woman would receive a half, but the true mother of the baby pleaded with Solomon to give the baby to the other woman to save the baby’s life. To whom did Charlie belong?
What was God’s will for Charlie? Did anyone ask? In the end, did all the knowledge about his condition help him, or hurt him? What is the value of the life of a little boy loved unconditionally by his parents? Does
God still perform miracles? With all our knowledge, will we allow him?
When we rely on God to help us with these kinds of decisions we have access to His wisdom. But too often positions are taken, the wrong things considered, and no one consults God. We tend to operate out of our head only or out of our heart only, not both in connection to God’s revealed will in favor of love and life.
In C. S. Lewis’ book, The Screwtape Letters, he suggests that one of Satan’s primary tools is to keep us confused about knowledge and wisdom. First, he plants in us the arrogance to believe that human knowledge can actually replace God. This tool seems to be very effective. One would think that with so much human knowledge there would be more peace and happiness in the world, that someone would have determined a way to end the fighting in the Middle East. Perhaps this conundrum illustrates what happens when we humans try to play God ourselves.
Lewis also suggests that a second favorite tool of Satan is to encourage the use of limited reason. “Let
them think they are being logical and factual.” One line of thought described is “Since human knowledge
replaces God, then God is not real and neither is Satan.” So, there is no need to discern between good and
evil—that’s too simplistic, and everything is relative or situational. There is no such thing as objective truth.
Therefore, the ends justify the means, and the history of the 20th century and the current state of the world sadly reveal where this kind of thought leads. Human reason is imperfect, and the use of even our best knowledge, is inhibited by our sinful fears and desires.
The educated and accomplished Paul was not just knowledgeable, but after his encounter with Jesus, he
became holy and wise. Previously he had known about God, but he had not known God personally. After
meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, he understood the difference. He also understood that without God we are prone to getting things really mixed up. He wrote to the Romans that, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.”
Without consulting the Holy Spirit planted within us at our baptism, we do not even know how to pray. We
would not have known how to pray for Charlie.
Paul wrote, “If God is for us, who is against us? He did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right
hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.”
God created us and gifted us with reason and memory, but if we neglect to seek his wisdom, terrible things can happen. So, let us turn to God more often, and like Solomon, ask for an understanding mind.
Amen.
