Wisdom From a Listening Heart

In 1 Kings 3:9 you read of Solomon’s request for wisdom. God had spoken to him and said, “…ask me for what I will give you.” Solomon’s prayer in 3:6 – 9 is a study of prayer. Before his request, Solomon reviews with God all that God had done leading up to putting him on the throne of his father, David.

When he finally got to his request, he asked for a leb shomeah, a listening heart, for the purpose of leading God’s people with bayin, with discernment between good and evil. Discernment between good and evil is the meaning of the little word bayin. Do you remember the name of the Tree in the midst of the Garden along side of the Tree of Life? See Genesis 2:9 for help.

But Solomon did not ask for bayin, he asked for a listening heart so that he could govern with bayin, with discernment between good and evil. He asked for a listening heart tuned to receive God’s word. God’s word produces the fruit of bayin, for the purpose of seeing clearly good from evil, in order to know and do God's good, pleasing, and perfect will, in worshiping the Father in spirit and truth.

The root of the word bayin means to cut and separate. This is something that only God can do and has been doing from the very beginning. In creation God did a lot of separation. He separated light from darkness, He separated the waters above from the waters below and He separated the land from the sea, by gathering. When God delivered the nation of Israel from Pharaoh and his army, He separated, cut, the Red Sea, and Israel walked through the sea on dry land!

Only God can separate good from evil, and He does it with His word; bayin is the result. There is a declaration in Psalm 119:104, which states, “Through your precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.” The word bayin is translated “understanding.” But can you see from this verse where bayin comes from and the purpose for it?

Today, ask God for a listening heart tuned to His word. Memorize Psalm 119:104 and pray it throughout the day. Spend time in the Father's presence listening to Him from His word. Let Him know that according to His word, through faith in Christ, you will also be given bayin, understanding between good and evil, in order to choose the good, the pleasing, the perfect, and to hate the evil false ways of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Tomorrow, more on the blessings of bayin.