David and Solomon are a father and son duo that stands out with particular relevance to our theme on Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding. Both were kings of Israel and both anointed to be rulers of Israel according to the Word of GOD, but more than that, they were both great men of GOD, men after the heart of GOD. David taught Solomon the kingdom principle that wisdom was the principal thing to seek, to keep, to love, to elevate, and to behold above everything else; And that Solomon will have preservation, safety, promotion (prosperity), honor, grace, and glory when he seeks and attains wisdom and understanding. These were the teachings and the commands of a father (David) to his son (Solomon), urging him to heed and retain the teachings because there is life, prosperity, and blessings for his son in this teaching. It is easy to see why Solomon asked for what he asked for when GOD gave him a blank cheque to ask anything under the sun when we understand who his father is, how his father raised him, and the tutelage he received from his father. [—Proverbs 1:1; Proverbs 4:3-9; 1 Kings 3:5-11]
The father has taught the son well about the Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding that comes from above (GOD). David was an avid and active seeker of GOD and he imparted to his son the deposits that GOD had made into his life, he imparted to his son the importance of seeking and keeping the divine wisdom and the divine understanding. David was a man after GOD’s own heart [1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22]. He was not a man who was seeking after churches, prayers, deliverance, hands being laid upon him, blessings of GOD, riches from GOD, and fortunes of GOD. Unlike David, so many of us believers lack the David-like and Solomon-like wisdom to seek after the heart (the front) of GOD, but we first seek the things that come from seeking GOD (the back), and seeking GOD is just a means to an end for us. Yet true contentment with godliness is itself great wealth, this speaks of the heart of man that is truly seeking and is after the heart of GOD [—1 Timothy 6:6]; And an appreciation of this kingdom principle reflects true Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding of those who are active seekers of the heart of GOD.
David was a learner who never stopped learning from his teachers, he meditated on the Word and the instructions of GOD, and he was obedient to GOD’s command. And even though GOD had given him Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding far above that of his own teachers, the wise elders of his time [Psalms 119:99-100], David remained humble and never stopped learning or taking instructions from his teachers. Like his father before him, Solomon walks the same path in wisdom in how he continues to learn from his teachers and how he retains counsel from the wise and godly advice from others [Proverbs 1:5]. The Wisdom of David and Solomon is this— (i) they never stopped having regard for those who taught them the Word of GOD, the wise elders, their elders in the church [Psalms 119:99-100; Proverbs 1:5]; (ii) they were never too big to learn or to receive godly counsel from others [2 Samuel 12:1-7; Proverbs 1:7]; (iii) they submitted to GOD’s authority, correction and rebuke [2 Samuel 12:1-7; 1 Kings 11:11; Ecclesiastes 2:8-11, 13, 26].
The fact that he was a man after GOD’s own heart is what set David apart from everyone else, even from his own brothers. David genuinely loved GOD, he genuinely loved the Word of GOD, he revered the power and authority of GOD, and he genuinely feared GOD. Books in the Old Testament and in the New Testament refer to David as a man after GOD’s own heart. But what is said about you in heaven? What does GOD say about you, about where your heart is, and about how your heart is postured in the things of GOD? If you serve GOD without the heart after GOD’s own heart, all your service comes to naught. We inflict unnecessary pain on ourselves, fasting for days with no results, because the heart is not postured in the right way or the right place. The heart that GOD blesses is a heart that is content with just seeking GOD and GOD alone, a heart that is content with seeking godliness because it is the contentment with godliness that seeds great riches and prosperity. This is a clear pattern set in Scripture on how GOD blesses. There is absolutely no need for anyone to reinvent the wheel.
It is no wonder that our lives end up back-to-front in disarray because our hearts seek the back of GOD (the blessings and riches) instead of seeking the front of GOD (HIS own heart). Whether it be actively or passively seeking, our hearts reveal our truest motives and GOD knows our hearts. GOD knows exactly who of us seek HIM in earnest. GOD shows grace to— (i) those who listen to HIS command; (ii) those who have not closed their hearts from learning from others; (iii) those who can still hear the voice of GOD through the mouths of others (because GOD never uses the vessel that you would choose or the vessel that you like but HE always uses the vessels of HIS own choosing); and (iv) those humble enough to obey HIS correction and warnings. As great and as wise as David and Solomon were, they were never too great or too big not to still learn, receive instructions from teachers, come to church, sit down and listen, and receive the wisdom of elders. This Wisdom of David of Solomon is GOD-given wisdom, GOD-gifted wisdom.
At various stages of their lives, David and Solomon exemplified Proverbs 3:5-7, showing that they trusted GOD with all their hearts, that they did not lean and did not rely on their own understanding of things, that they feared the LORD, and that they accepted correction. The Wisdom of David and Solomon was such that they appreciated that they did not know everything and that they did not understand everything there is to know and understand. Now what those of us learning about the wisdom that comes from above must understand is that none of us know and understand everything, and none of us have all the wisdom; But one thing is for sure, the Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding of GOD dwells in all of us, in the church and in the body of Christ fully, and not just in one individual person alone. GOD gives different revelation from one person to another and it is not limited to any one preacher, pastor, or prophet; And it is because of this that we need each other as members of the body of Christ.
Our refusal to recognize that we need the other members of the body, that we do not know and understand everything, and that we do not have all the wisdom, is self-inflicted foolishness, myopy, and spiritual blindness [2 Peter 1:5-9 AMP]. A wise person knows that they can learn something from everyone because they judge according to GOD’s understanding and not their own. Fools on the other hand judge according to their own understanding and think they can only learn from certain people. As big and as great as David was in the eyes of GOD, he was wrong in his interpretation of what Prophet Nathan was telling him, and he was not beyond GOD’s correction [2 Samuel 12:1-7]. None of us are beyond correction, instruction, and warning. Thinking and acting otherwise means that we have become wise in our own eyes — that we think we can dissect, discern, interpret, and understand every teaching and every Scripture — but this way of thinking is ultimately foolishness because the proof of the Wisdom of David and Solomon is evidenced in believers’ lifestyle, moral character, and good deeds [Luke 7:35 CJB/AMP].
This Wisdom of David and Solomon is GOD given wisdom; The Wisdom of David and Solomon was such that they appreciated that they did not know everything and that they did not understand everything there is to know and understand
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