The Wisdom of Age
And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him. -2 Chronicles 10:6-8
Above is a classic mistake: it consists of not respecting the wisdom of the counselors that God has placed all around us: the aged.
Rehoboam had just been made king of Israel in place of his father Solomon, and he was faced with a choice by the people: lighten their burdens (as was suggested by the old men), or increase them to an almost intolerable level (the suggestion of the young men, Rehoboam’s peers).
And unfortunately he heeded the advice of the young men, and as a result his kingdom was torn in half (more like 1/12), never to be officially unified again.
Jesus Christ, the true source of wisdom
God is ageless, but when it comes to wisdom, God has a divine wisdom that far excels all the wisdom of even the most aged men of the earth. Take a look at Jesus’ “age” in the following conversation with the Jews:
Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. -John 8:57-58
When Jesus said, “before Abraham was, I am” He was speaking very boldly of His own divinity. For Jehovah gave the very same answer to Moses when he asked God what His name was, to which God replied: “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:14).
And so when we lack wisdom, we have a counselor that excels all the wise men that have ever come before us: we have the Holy Spirit. And we need only to ask God to give us wisdom from this never-ending fountain for our every need.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. -James 1:5
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