Daily Devo: Wisdom Works for Good; 1 Kings 5:1-18

1. Pray, lifting your requests before God and praising Him for His goodness. Be sure to ask Him to speak to your heart during your devotional time.
2. Read today’s passage of Scripture in your Bible and be ready to journal.
3. Record your thoughts. What stands out to you?
4. How does today’s reading apply to your life? How does it reveal your insufficiencies? What change does God’s word call you to today?
5. Remember to have each member of your family share what God showed them during your family worship time today.
6. If you have any questions, please use the contact form on this site.

Below, you will find notes to aid you in your thoughts and prayers today.

Chapter 5

v. 1-12

Wisdom accomplishes more than mere administrative success. Godly wisdom, when exercised in discernment, seeks the good of people. Such must be the case even with God’s work of election, which is according to His will and purpose and knowledge alone, and by grace alone. Hell will be an agonizing place. For the reprobate, it will be the existence that their own depraved minds might expect. They will never be able to forsake their self-righteousness, admit that they can’t be good enough, or be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Those who are reprobate will continue to live as they did on this earth. Even descriptions of the afterlife from any source other than the Bible describe a basic continuation of people with the same nature and works-based sense of righteousness that we see in this world. It will be precisely what they sought according to their own depraved minds. Their existence will forever serve to make known the breadth of God’s power and the riches of His glory on those who are elect. In election, God is working out the good of those He has chosen for Himself and leaving others to be the captains of their own souls. Wisdom is not about pleasing people. It is about making decisions that genuinely benefit people. Sometimes we are wrong about what we think will genuinely benefit those around us. Practicing wisdom in discernment is not synonymous with people-pleasing.

v. 13-18

Scripture does not condemn or condone Solomon’s use of forced labor. It was not what we would refer to as slavery in our day. The people were citizens and they received generous benefits as laborers for the kingdom.