Wisdom Without Application
Bob Yandian
Jesus said of Solomon that there had never been a wiser man than him, except Himself. In other words, next to Jesus, Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. That’s quite a statement. Yet for all that wisdom, Solomon’s life stands as one of the greatest warnings in the Bible. The issue with Solomon was not that he lacked wisdom. The problem was that he didn’t apply what he knew.
He wrote Proverbs—a book overflowing with divine wisdom, practical instruction, and insight into life. He contributed to Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon. And yet, when you read Proverbs, you can’t help but ask, “Solomon, why didn’t you live this?” Solomon knew truth. David loved truth. Solomon could teach wisdom. David walked in it.
God said of David, “He is a man after My own heart.” David did not have the same level of wisdom as Solomon, but he had something far more valuable: a heart that was quick to repent, quick to humble itself, and quick to run back to God.
Solomon shows us how far a man can fall when he tries to fill a spiritual emptiness with outward success, riches, and show. David shows us how far a man can go with a repentant heart and simple faith in God.
The Queen of Sheba and the Overwhelming Wisdom of Solomon
“Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions…” 2 Chronicles 9:1
The Hebrew says these were trick questions. She came like an investigative reporter, with loaded questions designed to trap him, expose him, and see if the stories were true. She brought a huge entourage—camels loaded with spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. This wasn’t a casual visit. It was a carefully planned royal expedition.
“So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her.” 2 Chronicles 9:2
Every question she asked, he answered. Every angle she tried, he turned back with wisdom. And it wasn’t just his words that stunned her. She saw the house he had built. The food on his table. The seating of his servants. The service and attire of his waiters. His cupbearers and their apparel. His entryway into the house of the Lord.
Verse 4 tells us, “There was no more spirit in her.”
Literally, the breath left her. Her will, her drive, her self-confidence—all drained. She came prepared to impress and test Solomon. Instead, Solomon’s wisdom overwhelmed her. She said, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However, I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me…” (vv. 5–6).
She had been to other kingdoms. Everywhere she went, the stories were bigger than the reality. She had been underwhelmed by kings who oversold themselves. But with Solomon it was the opposite. What she had been told didn’t even reach half of what she saw. For once in her life, she met a king whose reality surpassed his reputation.
This encounter didn’t just impress her; it brought her to faith in God. She blessed the Lord, acknowledged that God set Solomon on the throne, and rejoiced that God loved Israel enough to give them such a king to do justice and righteousness. She left not just impressed with Solomon but believing in the Lord.
Jesus, Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba
“The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.” Matthew 12:41
Jonah preached to a Gentile city—Nineveh, enemies of Israel—and they repented at his simple message: “Repent.” From the king down to the lowest person in the streets, they turned to God. Jesus said those Gentile Ninevites will stand at the judgment as a testimony against the Jews of His day who rejected Him.
“The queen of the South (Queen of Sheba) will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.” Matthew 12:42
The Queen of Sheba was a Gentile. The men of Nineveh were Gentiles. Yet both responded in faith—to the light they had. Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah. The Queen of Sheba believed in the God of Israel through Solomon’s wisdom and kingdom.
Jesus says, “On judgment day, these Gentiles—who responded to much less revelation—will stand and testify against you Jews, who rejected Me, even though I am greater than Jonah and greater than Solomon.”
Jesus delighted in pointing out Gentiles who responded in faith: The widow Elijah ministered to. Naaman the leper. The Roman centurion. The one leper out of ten who came back to give thanks.
The Queen of Sheba came a long distance, at great expense, just to hear wisdom. And when she saw it and heard it, she believed in the God who gave it.
The Other Side of Solomon: Wisdom Without Obedience
Solomon was, in many ways, a walking contradiction. On one side he wrote Proverbs. Possibly the greatest collection of practical wisdom ever penned. He astonished the Queen of Sheba. Kings of the earth sought his wisdom.
On the other side, he spent much of his life chasing happiness in everything except fellowship with God. He lived in luxury and excess that went far beyond what God intended. He drifted into idolatry and compromise through foreign wives and pagan practices.
The Book of Ecclesiastes is the record of a carnal believer, looking for meaning and satisfaction in every direction but God. It is, in many ways, one of the most depressing books in the Bible—until the very end, when Solomon finally comes to his conclusion, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth…” “…Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1,13)
After a lifetime of experiments with wealth, pleasure, projects, women, and fame, Solomon finally admits: “I should have followed God wholeheartedly from the beginning.” That’s a tragic revelation to have so late in life.
The Extravagance of Solomon: Apes, Peacocks, and Gold
Here we see the extravagant side of Solomon’s reign.
“The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold…” 2 Chronicles 9:13
He received massive amounts of gold every year, in the billions of dollars by today’s value. But then Scripture adds a key phrase: “Besides…”
In addition to this, traveling merchants, traders, kings of Arabia, and governors brought him more gold, silver, spices, and precious things (v. 14). Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, 300 smaller shields of beaten gold. These were beautiful—but useless in battle. Gold is soft. You could run a sword right through it. These shields were for show, not warfare.
He made a great throne of ivory, overlaid it with pure gold. Six steps led up to it, with lions of gold on each side. Armrests of gold, decorative lions, and carved details—not for comfort, not for practicality, but for spectacle.
Verse 20 tells us, “All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold… not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.”
Silver had become so common and despised in his eyes that it was treated like junk. He literally had silver dumps—places where it was thrown away. Poor people from other nations would have gladly taken what Solomon discarded.
And then this fascinating detail, “…the king’s ships went… bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.” (v. 21)
Why apes and peacocks? Because Israel didn’t have them. He imported exotic animals not for function, not for service, but to impress visitors with what no one else had. Solomon's life became a pursuit of novelty, rarity, and spectacle. Gold shields no one could use. Thrones almost too stiff to sit on. Rooms full of golden cups. Apes and peacocks paraded before visiting dignitaries. All of it shouted, “Look at me. Look at my wealth. Look at my uniqueness.”
A King Raised in Truth—but Restless in His Heart
Solomon was not raised in a pagan home. He wasn’t ignorant of God. He grew up in a home where his father was a believer, his mother was a believer, and the Word of God was honored. David, with all his failures, loved the Lord and loved His Word. Solomon would have grown up hearing psalms, promises, and stories of God’s faithfulness.
Yet somewhere in his heart, Solomon began to feel, “Maybe I missed something. Maybe a life sheltered by God’s Word and presence kept me from some kind of experience or satisfaction.” So he did what many believers do: he began to look outside the will of God for what only God can give.
Ecclesiastes is his testimony. He tried, pleasure, project after project, wine, women, music, architecture, gardens, wealth.
And after all the apes, peacocks, gold, silver dumps, thrones, palaces, wives, and concubines, he came to the end of himself and said, in essence: “Happiness isn’t in any of this. I could have had real joy and fulfillment all along, if I had just walked with God, obeyed His Word, and enjoyed what He gave me.”
What We Learn from Solomon
What does Solomon’s extravagance teach us? Wisdom is not enough if you don’t apply it. Knowing the Word, quoting verses, or even writing books about wisdom means nothing if you refuse to live what you know. Extravagance can hide emptiness.
The more Solomon drifted from God, the more he decorated his world—gold shields, golden cups, ivory thrones, exotic animals. Outward glitter often covers inward lack.
Upbringing is a blessing, not a prison. Being raised in a godly home is not something you “missed out” because of. It’s a gift. Solomon wasted years running from what he knew in his heart was true. Don’t wait until your hair is gray and your body is tired to discover that nothing in this world can satisfy you like walking with God. Choose David’s heart, not Solomon’s path.
Solomon stands as both an inspiration and a warning. Be inspired by the wisdom God gave him. Be warned by the way he often wasted it. Jesus is greater than Solomon. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And unlike Solomon, Jesus perfectly lived what He taught.
