The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 143: Solomon Asks for Wisdom (2025)
Fri, 23 May 2025
Fr. Mike starts to unpack the character of Solomon and explains how we can see the beginning of his downfall in today's readings. Although Solomon has been blessed with wisdom, he lacks obedience, which is much more important in maintaining a relationship with God. Today's readings are 1 Kings 1, 2 Chronicles 1, and Psalm 43. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
Chapter 1: What is the focus of today's readings?
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation.
Discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. We are on day 143, and we are reading from 1 Kings 1, 2 Chronicles 1, and we're praying Psalm 43, as always. The Bible translation that I am reading from is the Revised Standard Version, the Second Catholic Edition, and I am using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension.
If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year, and if you did, you would realize that we are on a new sheet of paper, which apparently I get very excited about, but I am getting very excited about it because it means that we are... trekking through the scriptures. And that is a gift.
If you want to subscribe to this podcast, you can click on subscribe and you will be subscribed. And that's subscriptions abound. As I said, today is day 143. We're reading from the first chapter of Kings, first Kings and the first chapter of second Chronicles.
We're praying Psalm 43. The first book of the Kings chapter one, the struggle for succession to the throne.
Now King David was old and advanced in years, and although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm. Therefore his servants said to him, Let a young maiden be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait upon the king and be his nurse, and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may be warm.
So they sought for a beautiful maiden throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The maiden was very beautiful, and she became the king's nurse and ministered to him. But the king knew her not. Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying, I will be king.
And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run before him. His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, Why have you done thus and so? He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom. He conferred with Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar, the priest, and they followed Adonijah and helped him.
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Chapter 2: Why is Solomon's wisdom significant?
but Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rehi, and David's mighty men were not with Adonijah. Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatlings by the serpent's stone, which is beside Enrogel.
And he invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet, or Benaiah, or the mighty men, or Solomon his brother. Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggath, has become king, and David our lord does not know it?
Now therefore come, let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in at once to king David, and say to him, Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your maidservant, saying, Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? "'Why then is Adonijah king?
"'Then while you are still speaking with the king, "'I also will come in after you and confirm your words.' "'So Bathsheba went to the king into his chamber. "'Now the king was very old, "'and Abishai the Shunammite was ministering to the king. "'Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance to the king, "'and the king said, "'What do you desire?'
"'She said to him, "'My lord, you swore to your maidservant "'by the lord your God, saying, "'Solomon your son shall reign after me, "'and he shall sit upon my throne.' And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it.
He has sacrificed oxen, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army. But Solomon, your servant, he has not invited. And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
Otherwise, it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders. While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. And they told the king, Here is Nathan the prophet. And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king with his face to the ground.
And Nathan said, My lord the king, have you said Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? For he has gone down this day and has sacrificed oxen, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, Joab the commander of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him and saying, Long live King Adonijah.
But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, he has not invited. Has this thing been brought about by my lord the king, and you have not told your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? Solomon is made king. Then King David said, Call Bathsheba to me.
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Chapter 3: What are the consequences of disobedience in Solomon's life?
What we have here is Adonijah making himself king and David, he knows nothing about this. What has to happen here then is that Bathsheba and Nathan have to kind of basically plot to get David to do the right thing, to announce Solomon as the king. Now, again, if he was paying attention to his family, David would have seen this coming. So what happens?
What happens is he announces, he does the right thing, but he has to be brought to that place because for as gifted as David is, as anointed as David is, When it comes to being a dad, when it comes to being a father, he in many ways is a failure. He doesn't know what's happening in his own home. And this is going to play out in the next number of chapters as we see Solomon.
Now, here we have Solomon in 1 Kings 1, and he's just beginning. He's just going to start in this whole thing. But in 2 Chronicles 1, we have this big moment. We're not going to get to in 1 Kings until chapter 3, but here we have 2 Chronicles 1 where God asks Solomon, Solomon, what do you want me to do for you? And Solomon asks for wisdom and God gives him wisdom.
Now, people will ask oftentimes, how is it that Solomon could be one of the wisest people at the beginning and is a great fool at the end? What we see is he doesn't even start out incredibly wise, at least when it comes to 2 Chronicles. What does he do immediately? In 2 Chronicles, Solomon gets wisdom, and then he begins to amass treasures.
He begins to amass, even this, it's a small point, but it's a pretty critical point. At the end of chapter one, it says that Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Coup. Now, remember that this is in direct disobedience to Deuteronomy chapter 17, verse 16, where it said about the king of Israel,
he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. For the Lord has said to you, you'll not return that way again. And yet here is Solomon, who right after he has been prayed for the gift of wisdom and been given the gift of wisdom is not good. You can be wise and disobedient. It's one of the reasons why Wisdom is a great gift.
Wisdom is a great virtue. But obedience is even more powerful. And this is what's going to happen. This is going to be the undoing of Solomon. He will have great wisdom. And there will be a number of times when he can demonstrate that wisdom on the stage. But he is wise and not obedient. He can be wise and not good. We realize this, like even think of Satan. Here's Lucifer.
Lucifer, who is one of the most powerful, most beautiful, most intelligent of all of the angels. And what does he do? He turns away from the Lord. It's possible to be wise, but not good. It's possible to be beautiful, but not good. It's possible to be strong and courageous, but not good. And here is Solomon, who at the very beginning of 2 Chronicles reveals himself.
Thus, he's been blessed by the Lord with wisdom, but he already shows a streak of disobedience. And this is what's going to play out for the rest of his life. Yes, there are moments of wisdom. That is a gift. So good. But also there is a streak of disobedience. and a streak where Solomon does not do the right.
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