THE LARGE HEART
And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. (1 Kings 4:29)
I like the way the passage describes the kind of heart God gave Solomon; God gave him ‘largeness of heart’. The phrase means an extraordinary and expansive mental capacity. The heart in this instance does not refer to spirit but to soul, mind or emotions.
The passage speaks of the extent of what the Lord gave to Solomon. First, he had wisdom; and then exceedingly great understanding and finally largeness of heart. The largeness of Solomon’s heart is likened to the sand on the seashore; meaning, to an extraordinary extent.
The largeness of heart refers to the wide range of disciplines that Solomon’s wisdom covered. He was not a small-minded person with a narrow point of view. Some people have acquired specialized knowledge in a field and are only interested in issues related to that field.
Our God is the God of all wisdom and knowledge. He holds all wisdom and knowledge in Himself. God’s children are His image-carriers; He has given us the ability to function like Him. Though our wisdom will only be a fraction of His wisdom, it must also be manifold and broad.
We are encouraged in James 1:5 to ask God for wisdom when we need it, and the promise is that the Lord will give us wisdom liberally. God gives us wisdom liberally – profusely. That is what the Lord gave to Solomon when he asked for wisdom.
The largeness of heart also refers to the ability of Solomon to handle complex issues. We know how he was able to tell the true mother of a child without a blood or DNA test. Where people would be ordinarily overwhelmed by the intricacy of an issue, Solomon would effortlessly unravel it. People travelled from far and near to seek for solutions to their problems.
May the Lord bless each of us with extraordinary capacity as He gave Solomon. As a matter of fact, in Christ Jesus, we can have far more than Solomon had. We can confront complex and perplexing situations and find solutions to them.
Can you trust the Lord for an increase in wisdom and understanding?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are the source of all wisdom and knowledge. Increase me in wisdom and understanding. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 4:29-34
