If God were to ask you what you wanted most, what might that be? If he offered you one wish, what would you wish for? I can think of a lot of things. At 77, A new body would be nice! How cool would it be to win the lottery? I would ask my wife what she wanted, but I’m afraid she’d ask for a new husband. A lifetime supply of toasted almond fudge ice cream would be great, also. There’s a cute commercial out these days that first aired during the Super Bowl. A Toyota owner rubs the nose of his new car, and a genie appears (strangely enough, holding a Chihuahua). She offers him three wishes, and he asks for his “spare tire” to be gone. He was referring to the extra 20 pounds around his midsection, but the genie makes the one from the car disappear. Other wishes follow from each member of the family. It was one of the funnier commercials that year.
When Solomon inherited the reigns of the Kingdom of Israel from his father, David, In 1 Kings 3:5, God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you.” Solomon’s options were many. He could have asked for riches, long life, power, prestige, infinite wishes, and anything else you might think of. He was about 20 years old at the time, so it wasn’t a new body. Of all the things he could have asked for, in 1 Kings 3:9, Solomon says, “Give me the wisdom I need to rule your people…” In the next chapter, 1 Kings 4:29, we read, “God gave Solomon great wisdom so he could understand many things…His wisdom was greater than any wisdom…He was wiser than anyone on earth.” With his great wisdom came everything else he might have wished for in life. In 1 Kings 3:13, God tells Solomon that he will bless him with great wisdom, but “I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.”
In his commentary on the book of Proverbs, James Kitchen observes, “Suddenly, the value of wisdom is pressed home and made personal. Nothing you can ‘desire’ will ever compare with the value of wisdom. The human capacity for desire is vast, but the exclusivity of wisdom’s worth sets her apart as unique among all others.” Kitchen nails this truth! Indeed, we desire much! Unfortunately, we don’t desire what we need most. God makes it perfectly clear that we must truly want it, above all else, if we’re ever going to get it. Kitchen goes on to quote three Bible verses related to the proper wish: ‘Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth’ (Ps. 73:25). ‘Delight yourself in the LORD, And He will give you the desires of your heart’ (Ps. 37:4). ‘He satisfies my desires with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Ps. 103:5, NIV).” Wisdom is the greatest thing. Where do I get some! Solomon tells us where we can get started. At the beginning of the book, Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”