The difference between a wise person and a wise guy is similar to the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. They may sound similar, but their potential differs greatly.
Not only was Solomon wise, but he was smart. Because he did not have to fight great battles, he had time to study and to think. Solomon understood plant and animal life at a deeper level than the people of his time.
I once read that the greatest mind of the colonial period in the United States belonged to a pastor named Jonathan Edwards. Edwards, too, studied the natural world. He also preached with supernatural power.
With the information explosion in our lifetime, I wonder where Solomon would have ranked in our world. There was at least one person in the Bible smarter than Solomon. Jesus preached about God’s provision for birds and flowers. Dallas Willard, a brilliant Philosopher who taught at USC, wrote that Jesus was the smartest man who ever lived.
At the end of the day, wise people not only acquire information but experience transformation in Christlikeness. It is possible to get a 4 point and miss the point. Solomon acquired knowledge. In the end, his wisdom failed at the point of worshiping God alone. Solomon might have taken heed to his own words, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
