4:7 – Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.
4:8 – Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
4:9 – She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you.
Estimates of Solomon’s wealth range as high as $2.1 TRILLION!
Think of it. The second member of the House of David to sit on the throne of Israel, a tiny country, on the far edge of the Mediterranean, was, by far the, world’s richest man.
Solomon was worth more than 3 times the net worth of the next richest man – John D. Rockefeller ( mere $660+ billion) and more than 25 times the net worth of today’s richest man – Bill Gates.
Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived – not the most knowledgeable. Seriously, if he ws the most knowledgeable man, the Kingdom of Israel would have had the internet, interstellar space travel, and teleportation facilities – before Christ was born!
No, it wasn’t his knowledge – it was how he used his knowledge – his wisdom.
The world’s most powerful rulers, from the world’s wealthiest countries, traveled for weeks, and gave him HUGE gifts, just for the privilege of learning from this ruler of a tiny country.
So, what is wisdom? After looking at several definitions, it seems to me they all boil down to this:
Wisdom is the proper application of what we know to situations we face.
In today’s society, we place “experts” on the pedestal formerly reserved for the wise, and these “experts” have led us down a lot of wrong paths. It’s been said that “knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it into a fruit salad.”
If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, when we place Him first, and seek His guidance first, He will help us use the knowledge we have.
And, He will give us the courage to do what is wise, even when it is hard.
