Year 4, Day 365: 2 Kings 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Calling

• Calling asks whether or not God has called the person to the particular work at this point in their life.

There can be little doubt that Elisha is called to not only be a prophet, but to be Elijah’s immediate successor.  Immediately after Elijah leaves, Elisha picks up Elijah’s cloak and performs the same miraculous parting of the Jordan that Elijah had just done.  Furthermore, Elisha is mocked by the pagan people in Bethel, indicating that they likewise sense Elisha’s spiritual calling.  Yes, Elisha is called to be a prophet.

But let’s look at what Elisha does before his calling.  First of all, Elisha follows Elijah.  Even when Elijah gives him space enough to go away, Elisha stays close.  Elisha knows where he can learn best, and he doesn’t give it up even where the option to leave is extended.  Elisha experiences calling because he is faithful.

Second, Elisha asks Elijah for a “double portion.”  This is not greed; it is a sign that Elisha considers himself to be Elijah’s first-born spiritual child.  Elisha has voluntarily placed himself in a place of submission underneath Elijah.  Elisha experiences calling because he is humble.

Third, we return to the first miracle of Elisha and the last miracle of Elijah.  Elisha is called because he is willing to imitate.  Elisha is willing to learn from others before going out and innovating his own way.

Elisha is certainly called.  But Elisha was called because his character was also in a good place.  He was willing to lead by following first and submitting to God.

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Year 4, Day 364: 2 Kings 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Authority

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

The story of the captains always amuses me.  It takes three captains before one of them comes humbly before Elijah.  Remember, this is the man who called down fire from God and consumed an altar.  This is the man who brought about the slaughter of 450 priests of Ba’al.  This is the man who through the power of God caused a famine to happen in Israel for at least three years.  This is no back-woods flunky.  This is God’s prophet, whom the Hebrew people consider the greatest prophet to have ever lived.  How do you not go out in humbleness before him?

This is why the third captain gets my respect.  He goes out with fifty armed guards to catch a single man of God.  What does he do when he gets there?  He begs for mercy.  He understands the authority that God has given to Elijah.  He has all the authority of the king behind him and he still begs for mercy because he knows God’s authority is far superior to the authority of the king.

We have much to learn from this third captain.  Because of his humbleness before God, his life – and the lives of those entrusted to him – are spared.  Because of his humbleness he is allowed to see the gracious side of God’s authority rather than the wrathful side of God’s authority.  When we are faced with God’s authority we have a simple choice to make.  Humbleness is always the right answer.

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Year 4, Day 363: 1 Kings 22

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: In

• In: This is the word we use to express our relationships with our spiritual family.  These are often the people who hold us spiritually accountable.  They are the ones to whom we typically go for discussion and discernment.  These are the ones with whom we learn to share leadership.  They are the ones with whom we become family on mission.

Yesterday we talked about Ahab and his appetite.  The spiritual opposite of appetite is In.  Appetite is all about doing what I want, when I want it, and as much as I want it.  The purpose of In is to help me discern what is really good for me and what I need to let go.  So while we saw a huge dose of appetite yesterday, let’s look for In today.

At the beginning of this passage we see Ahab go to meet with Jehoshaphat.  Here we see Jehoshaphat do something really cool.  In the face of all the prophets that are telling Ahab what he wants to hear, Jehoshaphat asks if there is a prophet of the Lord.  Jehoshaphat seeks out In in the midst of Ahab’s appetite.

Unfortunately, Jehoshaphat doesn’t seem to listen to Micaiah and he still goes out to war with Ahab.  Human beings don’t always get it right, and that’s important to note.  But Jehoshaphat does still seek out an In.  We can learn from his example at least part-way.  We can learn by the ideal of his action rather than the full outcome of his choices.

In general, the epitaph of Jehoshaphat mimics this principle.  In general, Jehoshaphat was a righteous king in the practice of Asa.  He wasn’t able to purge the whole of the land.  But He was still obedient to God and seeking His ways.  We get a very human perspective of Christian leadership in Jehoshaphat here.  He’s not perfect, but he has the ideal within him to be his guide even when he’s not perfect.

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Year 4, Day 362: 1 Kings 21

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Appetite

• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.

As we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in political leaders, in Ahab we see appetite at work.  He wants the vineyard of another man.  This is no different than David wanting Bathsheba or Solomon wanting wealth.  Ahab wants something that isn’t his and belongs to another.

Quite simply, this is violating at least three of the Ten Commandments.  Ahab is desiring something more than God, so he’s guilty of idol worship (II) and having something before God (I).  He’s also coveting (X).  So there are three of the ten broken because Ahab chooses his own personal appetite over God.

But it gets worse from there.  Enter Jezebel.  Jezebel schemes against Naboth and entices others to lie (IX).  And then Jezebel gets the community to put Naboth to death through her lies (VI).  There’s another two commandments broken.  That brings the tally up to five.

Finally, Ahab takes Naboth’s vineyard.  Since Naboth is dead, he doesn’t even need to pay for it.  Quite literally, Ahab steals (VIII).  There’s another commandment.  Six of the Ten Commandments broken simply because Ahab’s appetite is out of check.

It makes me wonder how many commandments I break on a daily basis when I let my appetite get out of control.  For that matter, how many commandments can I break when my need for approval or my need for ambition really get going?

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Year 4, Day 361: 1 Kings 20

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Invitation

• Invitation: God is always inviting us into relationship with Him. He desires that we know Him and that we know His desire for us.

As we read through this chapter, we see that God is incredibly gracious to the people of Israel.  He allows them to be victorious against a superior force of the Syrians.  He is gracious and allows Ahab to truly see that He is God – far more God than Ba’al could ever be.  Even though Ahab doesn’t deserve it, God is still inviting him into His grace.

What does Ahab do with this invitation?  He certainly doesn’t recognize God.  He certainly doesn’t judge the Syrians as God gave them into his hands to be judged.  Neither does he take the opportunity to talk to the Syrians about how God is stronger than the god of the Syrians.  No, Ahab turns it into an opportunity to make money.  Ahab gets a treaty out of it.  Ahab turns God’s invitation into his own personal gain.

What do we do with God’s invitation to know Him more deeply?  Do we turn His blessings upon us into avenues for proclamation of God’s name?  I know I could certainly do much better responding to God’s invitation to relationship.  Far too often I take God’s invitation and merrily go on my way.  I need to do a better job responding to God.

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Year 4, Day 360: 1 Kings 19

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Grace

• Grace: Grace comes to us when we make mistakes and have a failing of character.  Grace comes to us when we have a typical D₂ moment.  Grace comes to us when we need space to recognize a mistake, repent of it, and allow God to redeem it while calling us back into His will.  Grace is partnered by Time and Vision.

What a wonderful chapter in which to study grace.  Elijah, perhaps the greatest prophet ever known, gives us an opportunity to learn from his example.  His boldness in faith in the last chapter turns into a bold rebuttal from Ahab and Jezebel.  They vow to kill him.  So he runs away and asks God to die. 

I can’t help but hear Jonah in Elijah as he begs to die.  I can’t help but wonder if that aspect of humanity isn’t within us all.  When we’re in the moment of our life falling apart, don’t we all feel the temptation for despair?

But then God gives grace to Elijah.  God allows him the time to get through his temptation into despair.  God feeds Elijah and invites him into His presence where he can abide and learn and grow.  Then God gives Elijah a two-part vision: his enemies will be killed, but that’s God’s business; Elijah needs to focus on discipling Elisha.

That’s grace.  Elijah wants to die.  He’s followed God to the point that the world has come to hate him.  He’s been so faithful that he can no longer see any connection to this world and he wants his life to end.  But God comes along.  God gives Elijah grace.  He gives Elijah the ability to reconnect and have a purpose.  God graces Elijah with the ability to not worry about changing the world but instead changing a single person: Elisha.

That’s God’s grace.  Just when we think it’s over, we find out it is only just beginning.

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Year 4, Day 359: 1 Kings 18

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Is there any better day to talk about God as King besides December 25?  This is the day we celebrate the coming of our Lord.  This is the day we commemorate God’s plan of salvation taking literal shape.  So today we’ll talk about God as king, which isn’t hard to do.

I love the story of Elijah and the prophets.  In this story it is easy to see God as King.  The prophets of Ba’al cannot get their altar to light regardless of how much they pray, how much the plead, how much they worship, and how much they cut themselves.  But Elijah dumps all kinds of water all over the altar to God and holy fire consumes it.  That’s what being the king of the universe can do.  The king of the universe can prevent normal fire from occurring while at the same time providing enough fir to consume soaked wood and a soaked sacrifice enough so that the wood, sacrifice, and even the water is consumed!  God has dominion over the universe and its governing laws.

As King, God’s word is true.  In the last chapter we talked about how God promised there would be no rain and then sends Elijah away.  Today we discover that Elijah was away for three years!  God is a God of His word as a king should be.  But to demonstrate His kingship, God has Elijah return.  On the day Elijah returns, rain gathers and falls from the sky.  Again we see that God commands the universe.  The universe obeys the will of the King.

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Year 4, Day 358: 1 Kings 17

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Provision

• Provision: God gives us what we truly need.  God knows our needs better than we can know them.  We learn to trust God to provide for us.

I am always struck by this chapter.  On the surface, it seems so diabolical to have Elijah pronounce that there will not be any rain until he speaks for rain to happen and then God has Elijah leave so that he is not even present to speak the words.  Talk about removing all hope from the Hebrew people!  They can’t even find Elijah to try and get him to capitulate!  But it is not mean.  God is just giving the Hebrew people some time to think about their sinfulness.

What strikes me even more deeply is how the prophet is similarly affected by the punishment.  Sure, Elijah is sinful.  All human beings are sinful.  But Elijah was a godly man.  He listened to God and obeyed God.  We have every reason to believe that he was repentant in his times of sin.  Yet he gets caught up in the same drought that affects God’s people.

So what does this mean for Elijah?  Even though he is a prophet – perhaps the greatest prophet to have ever lived – he can still learn a lesson.  What is the lesson Elijah learns in the drought?  He gets the opportunity to learn to trust in the provision of the Lord.

First the Lord provides with a brook and the ravens.  Imagine having to humble yourself to the point of eating whatever ravens feel appropriate to bring to you!  I cannot imagine this was one of Elijah’s glorious moments in life.  Imagine the humbleness it would take in life to be willing to eat leftovers from birds!  But God provided; Elijah trusted.

Then God provides through the widow and her endless jar of flour.  While this might seem like an easier placement than eating after ravens, notice how this woman speaks.  Every time she talks about God to Elijah she says “your God.”  Elijah goes from having to eat after ravens to having to eat after Gentile hands have prepared him food.  While certainly different, I’m not sure which is worse from a kosher perspective!

But in either case, God’s provision is evident and ample.  The Hebrew people might be living under a drought, but Elijah can live through God’s provision.  Elijah has an opportunity to grow and trust in the Lord.

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Year 4, Day 357: 1 Kings 16

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

Ahab is to the northern kingdom as Lex Luther is to the people of Metropolis (Superman’s home city).  Here is a charismatic king that is all about doing what he desires and letting the people live as they want.  Ahab is like what happens when we eat too much sugar.  It really tastes good when you are eating it, but after a while you get the jitters and an upset stomach and maybe a headache.  On the outside, Ahab looks like a fun guy.  But the reality is that the effect of his leadership is continued decline.

We know is that the northern kingdom was in spiritual decline.  There have been political coups leading up to Ahab.  The authors of the Bible repeat again and again that the kings of the northern kingdom walked in the evil ways of Jeroboam.  While Asa, the king of Judah to the south, is reforming his kingdom back to God, the northern kingdom slides further and further away from God.

This leads us to the character of Ahab.  He wants his own selfish desires.  He does what is right in his own eyes and encourages his people to do likewise.  What does verse 33 tell us?  Ahab did more to provoke the lord to anger than any king before him. 

As we prepare for the next few chapters, keep this in mind.  Character is what we do when faced with hard decisions.  Character is what we do when nobody is looking.  Character is hearing from God and obeying.  As Ahab becomes king and as Elijah the prophet enters the life of the northern kingdom, watch and learn from what the Bible has to say about Ahab and his character.

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Year 4, Day 356: 1 Kings 15

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Challenge

• Challenge: God does not merely wish us to be in relationship with Him as we are.  He challenges us to grow, stretch, and transform as we take on the mantle of being His representatives to this world.

What a wonderful passage to look at this idea of challenge.  Look at the position that Asa finds himself as we open up God’s Word today.  Asa follows kings who were falling away from God.  It hasn’t been that long since David was king, but his family was already moving away from God.

Asa has a simple choice.  Asa can define his family by the human beings that raised him or he can define family by the God who loves him.  I don’t know how it is that Asa learns about the faith, but I love that Asa rises up against his biological family and pursues God.  I give him all the credit in the world for pursuing God over his biological family.

Look deeply at the challenge that was before him.  Asa didn’t just have to believe in God.  Asa had to remove his mother from office.  Asa had to pull down her images.  Asa had to destroy public worship spaces – even if he didn’t get them all.  Asa didn’t just choose God.  Asa rose to the challenge and did his best to bring Judah back to God.  Asa responded to the challenge in a very good way.

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Year 4, Day 355: 1 Kings 14

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

Both of the stories of Jeroboam and Rehoboam speak to character in a negative way.  First, let’s look at the hypocrite Jeroboam.  Let’s see how he puts his character on display.

When the chips are down and life really matters, look at what Jeroboam does.  He tells his wife to go and seek out a a prophet of God.  Remember that Jeroboam had set up false temples in the northern kingdom so that his people wouldn’t need to go into Judah to worship.  Jeroboam set up false places of worship to keep his people in his own country, but when he really needs to know something he himself goes to a true prophet!  That’s hypocrisy.  Jeroboam’s character is not about doing what the people need from him.  Jeroboam’s character is all about getting what he wants, being in control, and only turning to God when he can’t get himself out of trouble.

By the way, notice how God responds to Jeroboam here.  God casts him aside.   He isn’t fooled by Jeroboam.  God brings down judgment upon his head.

Then we have Rehoboam.  Here is the man who split the kingdom by telling them that he was going to be a harsh ruler.  No doubt that when the kingdom split Egypt saw them as an even easier prey.  So in the first military campaign against them, the Hebrew people lose their wealth.  Egypt strips the gold from their significant places and Rehoboam has to replace them with bronze.  Rehoboam’s character is on display.  His ambition brought judgment upon the land and he lost even more than he could have held onto had he just obeyed God from the beginning and listened to the people.

It is interesting to see what the character of people brings into their own life.  I know I have my own struggles, too.  Jeroboam and Rehoboam are not the only people who are afflicted by their deficits in character!  There are plenty of places for me to examine my character and see where my own deficiencies bring trouble to my life.  It is a good lesson to learn as I should be striving for godliness.

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Year 4, Day 354: 1 Kings 13

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Calling

• Calling asks whether or not God has called the person to the particular work at this point in their life.

1 Kings 13 gives us a fairly unusual story to follow.  Here we get to experience a prophet deliver the word of God.  Then we get to see a king’s hand withered and then just as miraculously restored!  Then we hear how the prophet turns from obedience into disobedience and ultimately loses his life over that decision.  What is at the heart of all of these things?  Calling.

You see, God called the prophet.  The voice of the Lord came to the prophet and instructed him.  So long as the prophet obeyed the calling, he found himself under the Lord’s protection.  The prophet under God’s protection could go into a foreign country, challenge the foreign king, and live to tell about it!  When we hear God calling and are obedient, God watches over us closely.

But then the prophet slips up.  The prophet is confronted by a man who is willing to lie to him to get him to come over for dinner, essentially.  The lying man tells the prophet that an angel told him to get the man.  The prophet wavers in his obedience and has a lapse in judgment.  He listens to the lie without questioning why God would change his mind.  Ultimately he loses his life because of that lapse in judgment.  While the prophet was obedient to the calling, he had God’s protection.  But when the prophet stopped being obedient, the prophet went from God’s protection to God’s judgment in a hurry.

There is a serious point to this story.  When we hear God speak to us, we need to listen.  We need to listen and stand firm to what God tells us.  It’s really that simple.  When God calls us into action, it is up to us to be obedient and trust in Him.

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Year 4, Day 353: 1 Kings 12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Ambition

• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.

It seems like I’m talking more about ambition, appetite, and approval more and more lately.  But given where we are in God’s Word, this really makes sense.  The period of the Kings is largely about the downfall of the kingdom.  It is about the sinfulness of the leaders of the Hebrew people.  It is about decline.  It makes sense that we’ll see ambition, appetite, and approval all over these pages.

Let’s look at Rehoboam.  Rehoboam is all about ambition.  He wants a greater kingdom than Solomon.  He wants a greater reputation than Solomon.  He doesn’t want to settle for less, he wants to reach for more.  He challenges the leaders of the people who come before him.  He tells them that he plans on being a hard king that asks for much.  He overreaches in his ambition.  The people rebel.  Rather than a modest leader of a united kingdom of God’s people, Rehoboam is remembered as the cruel leader under whom the kingdom becomes cut in two.  Misplaced ambition seldom gets us anywhere good.

Then we get a glance at Jeroboam.  He came back with decent intentions.  He came back to lead the people of the northern 10 tribes when it was suspected that Rehoboam was going to be a tough task-master.  But Jeroboam also displays ambition.  He wants to be seen as a legitimate leader, not an alternate.  So in his ambition, he sets up places to worship so that the people don’t have to go to Jerusalem, which was in Rehoboam’s territory.  Because Rehoboam seeks after his own place, name, and power he puts himself between the people and true worship of God.  Here we see that when we seek after our own ambition we often find ourselves at odds with God.

Ambition is a dangerous thing.  We should desperately want what God wants for us.  But when we overreach and start wanting the lust of our own hearts, things go wrong for us.  As we see in both Rehoboam and Jeroboam, ambition that is pushed beyond the godly leads into sin, corruption, and offense with God.

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Year 4, Day 352: 1 Kings 11

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

There is so much to learn from this chapter.  I would recommend looking at the post I wrote three years ago, to which I put a link at the beginning of this post.  In that post I enumerate three flaws in Solomon’s character that aid him in falling away from God.

As we look at those flaws, the thread we truly see running through each point is approval.  Solomon had many wives and he cared about what they thought.  Because Solomon sought their approval above God’s approval, his heart was led away from God.  Because Solomon was not as focused on God’s approval more than the approval of others, we never truly see Solomon repentant when confronted – or reminded – of His sin.  Much of Solomon’s life is wrapped up in the approval of people rather than the approval of God.

To make this point even more clear, we follow this sad ending to Solomon by reading about the set-up for Jeroboam.  Jeroboam is to be the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel after the kingdom splits.  So what is the word that God sends to Jeroboam before his reign even begins?  God tells Jereboam in verse 38 that if Jereboam follows God and God’s ways that He will be with him.  In other words, if Jereboam is obedient and if Jereboam cares more about God’s approval than his own approval and the approval of others around him then God will be with him.

It’s the same for us.  It’s so easy to follow our own course.  It’s also easy to follow the course that people around us want us to follow.  But our hearts should seek out the approval of God.

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Year 4, Day 351: 1 Kings 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Appetite, Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.
• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.

I remember really studying the account of Solomon three years ago and being surprised by what I found.  You see, growing up I had been taught again and again that Solomon was a great man.  He was wise.  He was rich.  He was a great example.  It would be good for me to be like Him.  Then I read commentary after commentary about Solomon.  I read how God blessed Solomon unlike any other king and Solomon ultimately turned away from the Lord.  I remember being in shock as I looked upon scripture in a new way with respect to Solomon.

As I revisit these passages three years later, I can’t believe I ever saw them as I did when I was younger.  When the Queen of Sheba visits Solomon all we hear is how impressed she is with Solomon’s wisdom, his splendor, his ability to have grand sacrifices, the amount of people who come to seek his counsel etc.  The Queen of Sheba isn’t impressed with Solomon’s faith or his walk with God.  She’s impressed with the external signs of prosperity.  She impressed with his reputation, his stuff, and his magnificence.

Then we hear about Solomon’s trading partners.  We hear about how Solomon increases his own wealth.  We hear about how Solomon trades with Egypt – something forbidden by God in Deuteronomy 17:16-20.  We hear how Solomon obtains so much gold through his own efforts that silver is like nothing in his kingdom.  We hear how Solomon increases his own wealth rather than learning to rely and depend upon God.

Solomon seems to be bitten by the appetite bug as well as the approval bug.  He is growing his own wealth rather than being content in the Lord – a definite sign of an appetite out of control.  He is also seeking the approval of people like the Queen of Sheba.  He is seeking approval of the surrounding nations through the means of trade and treaties.  He is wandering away from God.  We’ll see the end result tomorrow of what happens to Solomon when his appetite and his desire for approval get the better of him.

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Year 4, Day 350: 1 Kings 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Authority

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

This passage opens with God’s response to Solomon.  Even after all that happened in the last few chapters – God still feels it necessary to remind Solomon that what is important is obedience to His ways.  God isn’t impressed with the lavish sacrifices and the opulent building.  He is impressed by a contrite heart – something which Solomon has yet to demonstrate giving.

I think that at this time it is fair to ask where Solomon considers authority to come from.  If Solomon truly thought authority was coming from God, why would God always have to remind Solomon about the right way to do things?  If Solomon was truly getting his authority from God, we should see more of what we see between God and David rather than God’s consistent reminder about what it takes to really please Him.

In fact, let’s look at what we see in the end of this chapter with respect to authority.  Solomon makes a pact with Hiram.  Then we hear Solomon making a pact with Pharaoh and taking his daughter to dwell among the Hebrew people.  We hear about other pacts made by Solomon.  Solomon isn’t deriving his authority from God.  Solomon is using human political maneuvering to gain authority.

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Year 4, Day 349: 1 Kings 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

There was a sentence in my blog from three years ago that haunts me even today.  I think it is worth exploring.  Here it is: Do I actually think that I can please Him with anything until I have given Him everything?

I derived this question as I looked at the lavishness of Solomon’s dedication to the Lord.  We’ve gotten the sense over the last few chapters that God isn’t really convinced by Solomon’s affection.  God is always reminding Solomon that what is important is the contrition of his heart and keeping the statutes of the Lord front and center.  But it’s not fair for me to stand as judge over Solomon.  That’s God’s job.  So instead I stand as judge over myself.  Do I do the same thing as Solomon?  Do I go through the motions of what I think God wants without actually giving Him what He wants: my whole life?

You see, I can put on all the trappings of a good spiritual life.  I can pray out loud with all the right words.  I can give of my time to all kinds of causes.  I can spend my Sundays in church singing all the latest and greatest songs.  But if it isn’t genuine, what good is it?  If I am just going through the motions rather than actually giving God my all, what’s the point?

Fundamentally, this really is just a question character.  Do I have what it takes to be legitimately found in God?  Do I have the character within to match the outward trappings that I can so easily create as a façade?  This is fundamentally the question that threads its way through Solomon’s story.  This really is the question that works its way through my life and your life, too.

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Year 4, Day 348: 1 Kings 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Challenge

• Challenge: God does not merely wish us to be in relationship with Him as we are.  He challenges us to grow, stretch, and transform as we take on the mantle of being His representatives to this world.

Every time I read this chapter I am struck by the fact that Solomon names the pillars.  Who names parts of buildings, right?  In my blog post three years ago, I mention that the pillars are aptly named.  Jachin means “He shall uphold” and Boaz means “May strength be in Him.”

Those are names of challenge.  “He shall uphold” is a challenge to remember that God is the one who holds the power.  So often I like to think I can solve my own problems.  So often I like to think that I can save myself.  So often I think that I can handle the things of this world and I relegate God to handling the eternal part that I know I can’t take care of.  But the reality is that God should uphold me both in this world and the world to come.  The challenge is to give God control of everything.

“May strength be in Him” is a similar note of challenge.  How often do we want the focus?  How often do I want to be seen as the person who saves the day, has the brilliant idea, or is the rock of strength upon whom others can lean?  But that’s a position best left to God.  He is the savior.  He is the brilliant mind behind His plan.  He is the rock of strength upon whom others can lean.  The challenge is to let God be the strength of the world and instead be humble and fill the role He desires of me.

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Year 4, Day 347: 1 Kings 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Calling

• Calling asks whether or not God has called the person to the particular work at this point in their life.

1 Kings 6 appears to be a fairly mundane chapter on first read.  It is verse after verse of construction manuals.  Solomon built the temple.  There was stone.  There was wood.  Then there was gold overlay.  I’m sure that it was splendid.  I’m sure that it was a sight to behold. 

But don’t miss 1 Kings 6:11-13.  Look at God’s response to the initial building effort.  Before Solomon can finish the temple God reminds Solomon about what his true calling happens to be.  Solomon isn’t called to be some great builder.  God didn’t call Solomon to build an incredible temple so that Solomon’s name would be remembered forever.  God called Solomon to be obedient to His word and to model that in his life.

Notice what is important to God.  God never says, “Wow, Solomon, that’s an impressive place to worship!”  God doesn’t say, “Oh, I really like the choice of cedar here.”  No, God calls Solomon into a life of obedience.  He says, “Solomon, don’t get caught up in the building.  What is important is that you keep my commandments.  What is important is that you are humble and submitted before me.”

The same is true for me.  What are my accomplishments in the presence of a God that created the world?  God doesn’t call me to have a life of splendor.  God calls me to have a life of obedience.

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Year 4, Day 346: 1 Kings 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

 As I reread my blog post from 3 years ago, I was struck once more by the lesson that hit me then.  It takes Gentiles and Jews to build the temple of God.  Solomon enlists Jewish help but he also requests workers from Tyre and Sidon.  The most holy place on earth from the Jewish mindset is a product of Gentile and Jewish hands.

Of course, what a beautiful place to point us to the work of Christ!  His church is build from Jewish and Gentile hands.  Jesus’ disciples were Jews.  Most of the first few decades of the church were filled with Jews.  Paul comes around and begins to include Gentiles and the church grows by leaps and bound.  Suddenly both Jews and Gentiles alike are able to be included.

What this brings us to is God’s sovereignty.  He is sovereign over us.  But He is sovereign over Jews and Gentiles alike.  He is not just the God of the Jews.  He is the King over creation.  He will rule over all, and all those who humble themselves before His presence will abide in the very presence of the king.

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Year 4, Day 345: 1 Kings 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Appetite

• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.

Yesterday I spend a good bit of time praising Solomon and his choice for wisdom.  Unfortunately, that praise lasts one day before we begin to see issues with Solomon.  Solomon’s issues seem to stem from his appetite.

This shouldn’t really surprise us.  David suffered from an issue of appetite.  David’s appetite was predominantly with respect to women.  Solomon certainly has this issue – 300 wives and 700 concubines.  The sins of the father are often seen in the son.  But Solomon’s issue with appetite is really more than that.  His issue is with respect to resources and demands upon the people.

Look at how much food had to be supplied to Solomon to sustain his bureaucracy.  Look at how many chariots he had to maintain on a regular basis.  Of course, chariots require horses, which come from Egypt and likewise need to be maintained, too.  Solomon was consuming the resources of the land.

Solomon’s appetite seems to revolve around the things of the world.  Solomon wants stuff.  This is costly to the kingdom.  And it is only going to get worse as Solomon’s kingdom expands, his reputation grows, and he gets more and more reputation in the ancient world.  Is there any wonder why the kingdom splits after Solomon’s reign?  Solomon’s appetite for the things of the world put an unnecessary strain upon the kingdom.

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Year 4, Day 344: 1 Kings 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Competency

• Competency: Being able to accomplish what one is called to do.

I absolutely love the question that Solomon poses to God at the end of his request for wisdom: “For who can govern your people?”  Solomon knows the truth.  Trying to lead people gets harder as the amount of people increases.  It’s hard enough to lead a family.  It’s even harder to lead a team or group.  It’s even harder to lead a ministry or business.  It’s even harder to lead a nation or country.  Solomon understands the near-impossibility of his task.  And he asks for help in the form of wisdom.

I want to praise Solomon from another perspective, too.  Solomon could have fallen into the pit of ambition and asked to be famous and filled with renown.  Solomon could have fallen to his appetite and asked for riches beyond measure or treasure unlike anyone else has ever known.  Solomon could have fallen into the pit of needing approval and asked for followers or servants who lift up how great and necessary he is.

But the truth is that Solomon was up to God’s challenge in this moment.  He is a competent leader - so long as he remains humble and faithful to God.  So long as Solomon understands that he isn’t ruling the kingdom under his own authority he can be a competent leader.  It is amazing to see Solomon’s humble attitude in the presence of God so naturally lead to competence.

But don't hear me giving Solomon the seal of approval, either.  We know how this story ends.  It is important that we learn the good from Solomon in this story, but not consider the story closed, either.

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Year 4, Day 343: 1 Kings 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Challenge

• Challenge: God does not merely wish us to be in relationship with Him as we are.  He challenges us to grow, stretch, and transform as we take on the mantle of being His representatives to this world.

I was reminded of something that I desperately needed to hear about Solomon as I read 1 Kings 2.  You see, it is very easy to read this chapter and think of Solomon as an incredibly cruel man.  He has several men slain in this chapter!  As forgiving as David was when people around him make mistakes, Solomon seems inherently cruel.

However, I was reminded of some words I said three years ago when I studied this passage.  Each of the men who are killed in this chapter had been extended grace already.  Solomon had already given them parameters in which they could continue to live and not have issues with Solomon.  But they all discard Solomon’s grace.  They all scorn Solomon’s forgiveness.

Adonijah tries to steal the kingdom through another means: political shenanigans via the harem of King David.  Shimei was allowed to live so long as he stayed in Jerusalem, and he violates this contract.  Joab had killed during peacetime and David knew he was living on borrowed time.

Yes, Solomon’s consequences are harsh.  The fact that he has three people killed is not an easy thing to overlook. But in extending grace to them Solomon had challenged them to rise above their earlier behavior.  He challenged them to rise above their human nature and choose a better and more godly path.  But the challenge wasn’t accepted.  These three men remained the men they always had been.

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Year 4, Day 342: 1 Kings 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

I think that this is a neat passage with which we can have a discussion on forgiveness.  There is forgiveness all throughout this chapter.  And this is neat, because in each case the forgiveness doesn’t necessarily serve the one who is doing the forgiving.  In my experience with humanity, people in power tend to be forgiving most when it is to their own benefit to do so.  That’s not what we see happening here.

Let’s deal with the first one – the obvious one.  Adonijah sets himself up as king and then hears about David going through the process of making Solomon the legitimate king over God’s people.  He immediately repents.  He runs to the altar and grabs the horns of the altar.  He’s trying to save his life, for Solomon could legitimately have him executed for treason.  Solomon forgives.  Solomon allows Adonijah the opportunity to convince him that the coup is over and Adonijah accepts Solomon’s leadership.  We don’t know how Adonijah did it, but we know that Solomon allows Adonijah to go to his own house.  Solomon is forgiving and allows a rival to live.

The second story of forgiveness that we have is David and Joab.  Now, this one isn’t exactly spelled out in words.  But think about how many times Joab has countermanded one of David’s orders.  Joab killed Abner.  Joab killed Absalom.  Now Joab joins Adonijah’s coup.  Yet through all of this David allows Joab to remain the general over his army.  David understands forgiveness.  David understands that people make mistakes.  David seeks genuine repentance over perfection.

The third story of forgiveness is perhaps my favorite because it deals with God.  Remember how angry God was at David for the whole David and Bathsheba incident?  Yet, here we see God lifting up a legitimate child of that relationship as the next king of Israel.  God is willing to take a child of that union and place him among the long list of grandparents for His own Son.  God forgave David and Bathsheba because their repentance was genuine.

We are in a relationship with a forgiving God.  I can’t tell you how many times God has had to forgive me.  Yet, He continues to do so.  We are to model that forgiveness as we see constantly in David and we also see here in Solomon.  We are to be a people modeling what we receive from God.

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Year 4, Day 341: 2 Samuel 24

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

In the theological commentary from three years ago, I set forth a fair explanation of how it is that this chapter can say that God told David to do a census but then got angry at him for doing a census in the first place.  For anyone struggling over that concept, I would recommend reading that post.

What I am going to focus in this post is the repentant heart of David.  You see, God may ask David to do a census.  But when David goes about it using the wrong method – forgetful of the requirement of the offering to God – David immediately repents.  He knows his guilt and is humble before the Lord.

God relents.  But look at what it is that causes the relenting of the Lord.  David goes and offers up a sacrifice.  The sacrifice costs something of David.  But David would have it no other way.  David insists on paying for the sacrificing.  His heart is genuinely repentant for his sin.  He disobeyed God, and rather than denying accountability he acknowledges his sin and asks for forgiveness.  And God is happy to relent.

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