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Wisest Among Men, July 4
1 Kings 4:29-34
And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto
the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of
fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
1 Kings 4:33
.
As the years went by and Solomon’s fame increased, he sought to honor
God by adding to his mental and spiritual strength, and by continuing to impart
to others the blessings he received. None understood better than he that it was
through the favor of Jehovah that he had come into possession of power and
wisdom and understanding, and that these gifts were bestowed that he might
give to the world a knowledge of the King of kings.
Solomon took an especial interest in natural history, but his researches were
not confined to any one branch of learning. Through a diligent study of all
created things, both animate and inanimate, he gained a clear conception of the
Creator. In the forces of nature, in the mineral and the animal world, and in
every tree and shrub and flower, he saw a revelation of God’s wisdom; and as
he sought to learn more and more, his knowledge of God and his love for Him
constantly increased.
Solomon’s divinely inspired wisdom found expression in songs of praise
and in many proverbs.... In the proverbs of Solomon are outlined principles
of holy living and high endeavor, principles that are heaven-born and that lead
to godliness, principles that should govern every act of life. It was the wide
dissemination of these principles, and the recognition of God as the One to
whom all praise and honor belong, that made Solomon’s early reign a time of
moral uplift as well as of material prosperity....
O that in later years Solomon had heeded these wonderful words of wis-
dom! O that he who had declared, “The lips of the wise disperse knowledge”
(
Proverbs 15:7
), and who had himself taught the kings of the earth to render to
the King of kings the praise they desired to give to an earthly ruler, had never
with a “froward mouth,” in “pride and arrogancy,” taken to himself the glory due
to God alone
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Prophets and Kings, 33, 34
.
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