Year 7, Day 365: 2 Kings 2

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In this chapter we say goodbye to Elijah and watch as Elisha takes over.  Elijah is considered the chief of the prophets according to the Hebrew scholars, but I personally find that many of Elisha’s stories are more intriguing.  I have to admit, though, that Elijah’s ascent into heaven while escaping death does make for a very cool ending to a very unusual life putting God’s power on display.

Elisha does something really cool when he sees Elijah leave.  Elisha tears his own cloak, picks u the mantle of Elijah, and puts it on.  Symbolically, there is something really neat here.  Elisha tears his own clothing and dons the clothing for Elijah as a symbol that he is becoming the prophet to take Elijah’s place.  He isn’t becoming Elijah, but he is taking Elijah’s place.  By tearing his clothes and putting on Elijah’s he’s making it clear to himself and others who knew what Elijah looked like.

Before we leave this point, lets also look at what this means for Elijah.  I’m not implying that he went to heaven nude (although one might make that inference).  What I am saying is that Elijah gives up all of the trappings of this world when going to be with God.  He doesn’t need clothing, status symbols, or signs of God’s power.  When Elijah goes to be with God, the things of this world stay here – as it should be.

Once Elisha takes over, we see miraculous demonstrations of God’s power come through him as well.  Bad water is turned clean.  People who mock him find themselves in dire circumstances.  God is with Elisha just as much as He was with Elijah.

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Year 7, Day 364: 2 Kings 1

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In this chapter we get a small perspective of Ahaziah, the son of Ahab.  We don’t hear much about this king other than the story of his death.  That in itself is telling.  Ahaziah was among the evilest of the kings, but he certainly wasn’t among the good ones, either.

Ahaziah falls through a lattice in his garden and injures himself badly enough that he is going to die.  When he does, he sends word to inquire of the prophets of one of the false gods that Israel has chosen to worship.  This offends god, who sends Elijah to him to tell him that he will not recover.

First of all, learn this lesson.  When we are God’s people, He notices when we worship other things.  Even when we have knowledge of God and don’t claim to worship Him, He takes notice.  Ahaziah never claimed to follow God, yet God is still offended when Ahaziah seeks the prophets of his god.  God expects us to follow Him and see that His ways are better than our ways and is offended when we don’t.

Second, we get a bit of a perspective on Ahaziah’s character.  Unlike his father, Ahab, who repented when he was told he was going to die, Ahaziah does no such thing.  Ahaziah receives the message from God and the next thing we know is that he dies.  He may not have been among the evilest of kings, but he certainly has no respect for God, His ways, and His wisdom.

Then we have the story of the captain of the guard.  Two captains mimic Ahaziah’s lack of faith and make demands of Elijah.  Those captains die – their men with them.  Leaders need to be careful how their decisions affect those under them!  Unlike the first two, the third captain comes humbly and asks for mercy.  We aren’t told that this captain was a God-fearer, but at the very least he has respect for God and His power.  His life is spared and God takes notice.  It is amazing what a little humbleness can get a person.

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Year 7, Day 363: 1 Kings 22

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1 Kings 22 is another interesting chapter.  In this chapter we can see the death of Ahab and the plan leading up to it.   As we analyze this chapter, we will come to moral and ethical debate.  We will wonder God and His working.

Israel and Judah make a plan to work together to stand u against their enemies.  Ahab’s prophets all tell Ahab to go about the plan.  However, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, wants to hear from a prophet of God.  When Micaiah is found, Micaiah tells the kings that if they go up to battle that it will end poorly.  The kings go up to battle anyways and Ahab is indeed killed in battle as predicted.

The interesting part of this chapter is in what Micaiah speaks when asked about how the plan came together.  In his vision, Micaiah says that he saw into the throne room of God and heard God ask, “Who will go entice Ahab, that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?”  The spirit who responds to God says that he will be a “lying spirit” in the mouth of his prophets.

Here is an interesting point to ponder.  I have no trouble asserting that Ahab was evil.  His prophets were false.  There is no debating that Ahab and his prophets were no legitimate authorities administering God’s righteous judgment.  All of this aside, this passage tells us that God uses a lying spirit to work through these illegitimate prophets!  Is it right to lie to those who exercise illegitimate authority?  Perhaps more simply stated, is it right to lie?

There is no easy answer to this question.  We can try to dismiss this passage by saying that it isn’t God who lied, but a spirit in His presence.  However, that’s a bit like saying that a person who orders someone to be killed isn’t guilty of the death because they didn’t actually do the act that resulted in death.

For me, I believe that the best answer lies in accepting that we cannot know the scope of God’s ways.  When I come across chapters like this, I like to think back to the advice given by God to Job?  Where was I when God created the world or the great creatures like the Leviathan?  Do I understand how the winds are held back or called forth?  Who am I to sit in judgment?

In the end, the reality is that Ahab’s time had come.  Ahab’s advisors, false prophets of malevolent gods, advise Ahab to go into battle.  God’s prophet, Micaiah, tells Ahab the truth about what was said in the presence of God.  Ahab is given the full perspective in the end, and Ahab chooses to listen to the false prophets anyways.  In the end, this chapter has more to do with humanity’s desire to listen to what it wants to hear regardless of how the message is delivered. 

For me, that’s the real takeaway here.  Once Ahab heard everything, he still went out to battle.  He tried to cheat death by disguising himself and lost anyways.  Human beings will do what we want to do and hear what we want to hear.

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Year 7, Day 362: 1 Kings 21

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Naboth’s Vineyard is an interesting story.  Here is a clear-cut case of anger, selfishness, manipulation, abuse of power, and ultimately murder.  There are few stories in the Bible so ripe with clearly sinful behavior as this story.

We should make sure that we understand where the power resides in this story.  Ahab does go out and speak to Naboth.  Ahab even makes a legitimate offer for the vineyard.  His logic is even reasonable.  He tells Naboth that he wants the vineyard because it is closer to his home.  Ahab even volunteers to give Naboth a different garden – a better garden, even – so long and Naboth agrees.  Naboth disagrees and the sale falls apart.  Ahab goes home and sulks.

Up until now, Ahab hasn’t done anything wrong.  A person is welcome to make an offer for another’s property.  Naboth has the right to refuse the offer.  Ahab has the right to go home and be disappointed.  There isn’t any sinfulness done here.

Jezebel, however, takes matters into her own hands.  Whether to please her husband, to pay Naboth back for having the gall to refuse the request of a king, or to gain the sheer enjoyment of wielding enough power to have a man killed we’ll never know.  What we do know is that Jezebel sets forth a plan in Ahab’s name to have a man killed.  Jezebel is the source of evil in this story.  It is Jezebel who sets the story on the dark path.

Naboth is invited, set at a place of honor, accused falsely, and killed.  Jezebel’s plan goes off without a hitch.  She remains guilty.

Ahab’s guilt comes into play when we discover his reaction.  There is no grief or mourning when he learns that Naboth has been killed.  Ahab does not question Jezebel’s use of his name or power.  Ahab simply goes out, claims the land for himself, and continues on with his life.

Ahab cannot hide from God.  God sends Elijah and condemns the act.  He tells Ahab that he and his whole household will die.  Those who die in the city will be eaten by dogs; those who die outside the city will be eaten by birds.

Up until now, this sounds like a very straightforward story with straightforward justice.  Then, Ahab does something remarkable.  Ahab repents.  We aren’t told that Ahab relinquishes the land, but he does repent and dress in sackcloth.

This is where the story turns fascinating.  God forgives.  Remember, this is a story with incredibly clear-cut sin.  This is a story where a man is murdered simply because he stands up for what is rightfully his.  This is a story where his passing isn’t mourned.  What is mourned is that Ahab got caught by God!  Yet, God forgives even this.

What makes this story so interesting is that it is a great story to demonstrate the scope of God’s forgiveness.  God is willing to forgive us even after we have been judged by Him and the consequences of our actions are already laid out. It is never too late to come to God.  It is never too late to know God’s compassion.

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Year 7, Day 361: 1 Kings 20

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I’m going to start with a fairly obvious point here in this chapter.  God doesn’t seem to be as bothered by human violence as much as we think He is and make Him out to be.  After all, God twice ordains that the Hebrew people beat back the army that comes upon the Israelites.  Over a hundred thousand people die in a result that God ordains.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that God brings in the enemies so that they would die – although there are stories in the Old Testament like the Assyrian occupation that do teach this lesson.  I am saying that God doesn’t seem to have an issue with allowing human beings who are bent on violence to meet the consequence that they seek.

In fact, this leads us to a deeper lesson.  Do you hear what happens at the end of this chapter?  King Ahab spares Ban-Hadad.  You would think that such an act of grace would find favor, although it is possible to argue that this has more to do with tribute than grace.  Whatever Ahab’s reason, God doesn’t approve.  God is furious that Ahab allowed Ben-Hadad to live!  God ordained Ben-Hadad’s death and Ahab goes against God’s wish.

There are several lessons to learn here.  First, let’s acknowledge that we shouldn’t go against what God ordains.  When God ordains something to happen, we should be obedient.  If we don’t, there will be consequences.

Second, God is bigger than the box we would care to put Him in.  For the vast majority of time, God does appreciate grace, mercy, and compassion.  However, that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t have a side that ordains judgment, consequence, or even death.  After all, will not this world end in judgment and destruction before the next world is created and set in motion?  God is larger than our box.  God’s righteousness is larger and has far more dimensions than our understanding of righteousness.

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Year 7, Day 360: 1 Kings 19

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One of my favorite aspects about God’s Word is that it shows us human imperfection in the midst of God’s perfection.  Yesterday we got to see God’s power on display.  This led us to see the greater point of the chapter, which is that we should worship God.  The sacrifice story is all about reminding us that we should worship God.

Yet, what happens in this chapter?  Jezebel, Ahab’s wife and the greater follower of Ba’al, hears about the sacrifice story and the slaughter of the prophets of Ba’al.  She vows to kill Elijah. 

What does Elijah do?  He runs away.  He fears for his life.  He flees and begins to despair.  His fear completely gets the better of him!  He just saw the power of God on display in dramatic fashion, and the very next moment we see him running away from a simple pagan queen.

Further proof to me that yesterday’s chapter isn’t about the power as much as it is about worshipping God.

Elijah goes and meets God in a cave.  Notice that Elijah hasn’t lost his faith, though.  He’s just afraid.  He can recognize God.  God isn’t in the powerful earthquake.  He isn’t in the powerful storm.  He isn’t in powerful fire.  Where is God?  Elijah recognizes God in the peaceful calm.  In the midst of his fear, God gives Elijah exactly what he needs: peace.

This is what I find so inspirational about reading God’s Word.  First, God is perfect and He deserves to be the subject of our worship.  Second, God calls imperfect people.  Elijah doesn’t lose his faith, but he does react imperfectly.  He reacts out of his humanity. Time and time again we see that the people that God chooses are human beings like you and me.

God forgives Elijah because he doesn’t lose his faith.  God isn’t looking for perfection, He is looking for faithfulness.  When we make mistakes, God simple wants us to remain in relationship with Him and seek His ways – even if it means we have to fix a mistake that we make in our humanity.

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Year 7, Day 359: 1 Kings 18

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Here is another powerful story in the message of Kings.  Israel is in the midst of a drought.  God sends Elijah to Ahab to announce that the drought will be over and He will restore rain to the land.  Don’t miss this point.  Tis chapter is about the preeminence of God far more than it is about the miraculous ability of God to supersede nature.

How can we be sure that this story is more about the preeminence of God than it is about His power?  Look at the challenge that he puts before the people as they get ready tom make the sacrifice.  Elijah challenges the people thusly: “How long will you waver between two options?”  While the power of God is impossibly impressive, the most important dynamic here is that God is the one who should be worshipped.

In this context, Elijah does come to Ahab.  Before the rain comes, though, Elijah has Ahab gather the prophets of Ba’al.  Elijah wants to show them why it is God who should be worshiped instead of Ba’al.  Again, this story is about the preeminence of God.

The prophets of Ba’al send practically all day calling to Ba’al.  They cannot get the sacrifice to light.  They cannot convince Ba’al to consume his sacrifice.  Elijah even sees cause to mock them as they try their various means of calling to Ba’al and have no success.

When Elijah has given the prophets of Ba’al time to rove that Ba’al is an inept god, Elijah prays to God.  Elijah even dumps water all over the sacrifice just to make a point.  Fire comes down from heaven and utterly consumes the sacrifice.  In fact, the fire even burns up the ground and the stones of the altar!  Elijah takes the opportunity to convince the gathered crowd to kill the prophets of Ba’al.

Then, the rains come.  As God said to Elijah, the land receives rain.  God keeps His promises.

God is more powerful than Ba’al.  God is more powerful than nature.  God is certainly more powerful than us.  It is indeed Him who deserves our worship.  We should stop wavering between options and choose to worship Him.

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Year 7, Day 358: 1 Kings 17

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Remember what I wrote yesterday.  The kings of Israel live evil lives and promote ungodliness.  The political leadership of the land is rotten to its core.

At this moment in time, Elijah steps up on the scene.  Elijah is considered to be the greatest of all prophets from a Hebrew perspective.  He listens to God.  He has intimate conversations with God!  He is fed by God’s hands through ravens.  Through God’s power he can even be a part of raising the dead!

I think that it is really cool to see how God sends an incredibly holy leader into a scene of incredible unholiness.  The greatest prophet comes to a people who certainly doesn’t deserve him and likely don’t even appreciate him.  Yet, God sends him because that is where he is most needed.

This is such a great point.  God doesn’t call His people to lives of ease.  God doesn’t send His holiest of people into situations where their skills and gifts are not needed.  God sends his people into places and times where they are desperately needed!  Elijah the prophet goes to Israel so that he can be a prophet against Ahab – one of the most vile leaders of the northern kingdom.

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Year 7, Day 357: 1 Kings 16

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For today’s blog, I’m going to use the procession of kings to look at a more obscure topic.  To begin, though, understand that we area talking about several kings of Israel – the northern kingdom.  Some reign a long time, some reign a short time.  The point is that all of these kings are kings of Israel.

We also see proof of what I indicated yesterday.  These kings all do evil.  Every single one of them.  None of the kings of Israel walk in the ways of the Lord.

Let’s blend these two concepts together.  Every single one of these kings is evil.  Yet, they all rule for different length – everything from a few days to several decades!

Why is this important?  Human beings have a tendency to believe that the fact that a leader continues to be in leadership as proof of their righteousness!  Another way of considering this concept is that we assume that God disposes of the unrighteous leaders while prospering the righteous ones.

That line of thinking is simply bogus.  All of these kings are evil.  Some of them reign for decades!  A person’s time in leadership is not proof of God’s acceptance or approval of them.

To bring this into the New Testament, remember what happened to the vast majority of the early followers of Christ.  Most of them were martyred.  Those who weren’t were especially persecuted.  Certainly, God loved those early followers, yet they were usually martyred well before their due time to die of a more natural timing!

We need to learn this lesson well.  Evil prospers in this world.  While God dos cause those He loves to prosper, His blessing falls upon the good and the evil!

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Year 7, Day 356: 1 Kings 15

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As we read through the history of the kings, there are a few trends that will appear.  First of all, notice that the kings of Israel have an irrepressible string of evil.  Every single king who comes to the throne does evil in the sight of the Lord. They are focused on themselves and doing what is right in their own eyes.  When leaders come into power because of their own ambition, it isn’t likely that they are going to put on an amazing display of humbleness.  Humbleness doesn’t come from self-centered beginnings.

On the other hand, another trend that we’ll see is that the kings from the line of David will ebb and flow with respect to their faithfulness.  In the kingdom of Judah, the kings rise to power from their heritage.  They won’t squabble of the throne, they will inherit it.  This doesn’t naturally make them any better.  After all, we’ll see more bad kings than we do good kings.

Yet, we will see good kings.  We will see that some of the kings in the Davidic line do pursue the ways of the Lord.  They aren’t going to be perfect, but there will be glimmers of hope.  There will be kings who pursue God’s ways and try to invite their constituents to do the same.

When we put this altogether, we do come up with a picture of hope with respect to leadership.  In the case of leaders who claw and scrap to get into leadership, we have little hope of humble leadership.  However, in cases where leadership is bestowed rather than sought, we do see that the occasional leader will have what it takes to be godly.  In fact, notice that among the kings of Judah that quite often a good king will follow an incredibly evil king!  There is always reason to hope that leadership will humble themselves before God and submit to His ways.

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Year 7, Day 355: 1 Kings 14

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I have two thoughts as I read through this chapter: one from each section of the chapter.

First, let’s look at the nation of Israel.  I find it interesting to see how long it takes for the nation to completely erode.  The country has fallen into God’s wrath during the first king after Solomon.  Perhaps even more interesting is the focus of God’s wrath.  God s wrath burns against the leadership.  It is King Jeroboam that has earned the wrath of God.  Jeroboam has led the people into the worship of other gods, and that is about the worst offense that you can commit against God.  One leader after Solomon and the people have already turned their back on God.

The news doesn’t get much better when we consider Judah to the south.  The Bible is clear that under Rehoboam the people are also doing evil. They begin worshipping other gods in high places.  There sin is no better than their kin to the north!  As a result, God sends the Egyptians up to plunder Judah.  We see once more that sin leads to consequences.

There is a deeper lesson to be learned through the consequences given to Judah, though.  Notice that neither the people of Judah nor its leadership repents.  They don’t turn back to God.  In fact, Rehoboam puts the mindset of the people on display when he makes bronze shields to replace the gold ones that the Egyptians took as plunder.  Rather than repent, they accept lesser quality.

This is the danger of sin.  Once we fall into its temptation, we disobey God.  In our disobedience, we end up settling for less and convincing ourselves that we happier.  So often, we’re even blind to the fact that we are settling for less!  That’s a huge lesson to learn.

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Year 7, Day 354: 1 Kings 13

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This is an interesting chapter in which we have an unnamed prophet stumble, another prophet lies, and a king refuse to repent.  As I said yesterday, it doesn’t take long for human civilization to begin its downward spiral.

To start, I’m going to talk about the prophet who gets mauled by a lion.  In one respect, I think this is the least offensive story.  Here is a man who listened to God for the most part and God sustained him.  This is a prophet who went on a journey without food or water and God absolutely kept him from his need.  He prophesied against the worship of false gods happening within the reign of Jeroboam and again God sustained his prophecy.  His only error was believing a lie.  Granted, it is an error that leads to God’s judgment and the death of the prophet.

I honestly can’t fault the prophet too much for being human.  Certainly, he chose poorly and met the consequences for his action.  However, I have been in his shoes.  I have heard Christians speak as though they have a message from God.  In some cases, the message even seems legitimate!  In can be hard to discern.  I can’t fault the prophet for being confused by the lie when a man comes and tells him that God gave him a change in plan.

On the other hand, I often don’t hear a direct command from God.  What makes life difficult is that I am constantly discerning God’s will from among the voices of people around me.  This prophet who dies was responding to a direct charge from God – at least as far as we know.  While I can’t fault the prophet for being confused, the reality is that he is still disobedient to God’s charge to him.  He is guilty, although certainly understandably so.  He meets the righteous consequence of his disobedience.

Now we turn to Jeroboam.  Jeroboam experiences his hand withering into disfunction and then being restored by a prophet of God.  In my book, that is enough to convince me that God is the one I should be worshiping.  However, that is not the case with Jeroboam.  In spite of seeing his hand wither and his alter being torn apart supernaturally, he refuses to change.  Jeroboam lifts up new priests and appoints them over the worship of the foreign gods in the high places.  In his quest to do what is right in his own eyes, he ignores the warning signs of God.  Jeroboam is more concerned with pleasing himself than paying attention to what God is trying to say to him.

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Year 7, Day 353: 1 Kings 12

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Ah!  The period of the kings starts with a bang.  In some respects, this is one of my favorite areas of the Bible to study because it is a great example of how society declines when we focus simply on what pleases the individual.  In other respects, this is a hard place to study because the story spirals deeper and darker throughout the next few hundred years of history with only the occasional bright spot of relationship with God.  Ultimately, to study the book of Kings we must be prepared to see the downward spiral while knowing that God never abandons the faithful.  In that truth can we keep our sanity while studying human society.

Start with Rehoboam today.  Here is a man who inherits his father’s – Solomon’s – throne.  The people come before him with a simple request.  Solomon’s building campaigns have been hard.  They just want a reprieve.  The tell Rehoboam that if he will lighten the load they will serve him.  It seems like a simple request.

I have two points about this respect.  First, I am skeptical of the people.  They say that they will follow Rehoboam, but I doubt that they will.  In the end, people always feel the need to rebel and be the master of their own life.  I do think that if Rehoboam would have lightened the load that he could have kept the country together.  But to think that the country would have been an idyllic state of cooperation would go too far.  The people might have complied and followed Rehoboam, but it would not have been perfect.  Things weren’t perfect under Solomon or David, either.

The second thought is that my prior conjecture really doesn’t matter because the impudence of youth wins out in Rehoboam anyways.  Rehoboam promises to make things worse!  This is the follow of some leadership.  There is a theory out there that the best way to rule is fear.  In some circumstances, that model does work.  You can motivate people quite far through fear.  However, all people have a breaking point.  There is a point where the motivation of fear is weaker than the motivation for overthrowing the regime.  Rehoboam finds that out here.  He presses the people hard and they revolt against him.  Leadership must seek to find the balance of how hard the people need to be pressed to sustain the society but not press too hard so that revolt happens.

Before ending, I do want to talk a little about the consequences of Rehoboam’s leadership.  The country splits, which is going to have lasting implications for hundreds of years.  However, I think there are greater consequences than the geopolitical ones.  The people in the north establish new places of worship because they no longer have access to Jerusalem.  However, this is not what annoys God.  If you read through the chapter carefully, what annoys God is that Jeroboam establishes new gods to worship.  It isn’t the place that annoys God, it is wat is happening at the place!

I think that it is sad that the poor leadership choice leads directly to a whole nation finding new gods to worship.  I doubt that Rehoboam sought that outcome when he made his decision.  Yet, it is still a consequence of the act.  Our  sinfulness often has both intended and unintended consequences.

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Year 7, Day 352: 1 Kings 11

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In 1 Kings 11 we see the consequences of the warnings over the past few chapters.  Solomon falls into sinfulness.  We’ve seen the slide gradually; now it snowballs and the fall comes hard.

As I said yesterday, it begins with the wealth and the notice of the nations.  Because of his wisdom, Solomon gets a taste of the world’s attention.  He buys into it.  His temples become splendid.  His furnishings become splendid. He draws more and more attention from the other nations and he begins to look more and more like them.

He begins to take wives from nations that God has warned him about.  It’s likely that these wives start by being political arrangements.  However, at some point it becomes more than that.  The wives become personal enough to Solomon that they begin to teach him about the gods from their own people.  Solomon even begins to erect places of worship for them.  Soon there are significant places of worship of foreign gods among God’s own people.

God comes to Solomon and rightly accuses him.  He tells Solomon that the kingdom will be torn because of this treachery.  It’s one thing for the people to worship foreign gods and for Solomon to fight against it.  That doesn’t happen, though.  The people start worshipping foreign gods because Solomon encourages it.

I fid this sad to see, but I also find it exceptionally believable.  The call of the world is strong.  Many human beings are easily wooed by what the world has to offer.  As the famous saying goes, “We all have a price.”  For some, that price is fame.  For others, it is wealth.  For others, it is popularity.  There are likely hundreds of more reasons for which we can be wooed. 

The story of Solomon is simple.  We must be vigilant against the call of the world.  David had his problems with sin, but he always remained focused upon God.  Solomon had his problems with sin and eventually Solomon found his heart turned in other directions.

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Year 7, Day 351: 1 Kings 10

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This chapter has a really interesting dichotomy to it.  Central to this dichotomy is the wisdom of Solomon and his ability to lead the people.  The Bible is clear on one point this wisdom comes from God; God is the reason for Solomon’s prosperity and renown.

One half of the dichotomy is seen in the story about the Queen of Sheba.  She comes for one reason.  She comes because she has heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship with the Lord.  When people have a meaningful relationship with the Lord, others will take notice.  In fact, some people may find it unbelievable that we have a relationship with God and they will need to see it for themselves.  When we are willing to put our gifts from God on display for others to experience, we find ourselves able to make impressions upon others and reveal the nature of God.  God’s gifts that He bestows upon us can be an opportunity for us to bring others into closer understanding and potentially relationship with God.

The other side of this dichotomy is the prosperity of Solomon.  The opulence of Solomon continues to be forefront.  He is making everything out of gold.  Even the chalices are all made out of gold!  The main problem that I have with this passage is that we hear nothing about generosity and benevolence.  I am reminded of the words of Jesus when he chastises His disciples in saying, “The poor will always be with you.”

Furthermore, look where this wealth leads Solomon.  Once more we hear about the chariots and horses that he is acquiring.  We hear another warning about how much like Egypt Solomon is becoming.

God isn’t to be blamed for Solomon’s wealth even though it is a natural consequence of his impressive wisdom.  The lesson to be learned here is that we are all accountable for what gives to us.  Solomon was given great opportunity with his wisdom.  In one case, he helps spread relationship with God to a foreign dignitary.  One the other hand, Solomon learns to accumulate wealth and emulate the other nations.  We should always be careful and mindful that our focus stays upon God, especially in the midst of His blessing.

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Year 7, Day 350: 1 Kings 9

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In this chapter we get to hear the Lord’s response to Solomon.  As we should expect, the Lord contains some surprises.  The first of the surprises is that the Lord doesn’t particularly show any recognition of the splendor and the sacrifices besides taking up residence within the temple.  Certainly, God doesn’t scorn the temple or the sacrifices.  He doesn’t overtly acknowledge them, either.

What does God have to say to Solomon?  God reminds Solomon what is truly important.  God reminds Solomon that he has been charged with a higher purpose.  What is important is what Solomon does from this point forward.  God wants Solomon to know that He will stay with him so long as he continues to walk in the ways of the Lord.  God also wants Solomon to know that should he choose to follow the desires of his own heart instead of the ways of the Lord that God will no longer promise to walk with him.

This is really important as we go back and reflect on the questions that we’ve been pondering about the temple and the sacrifices.  The splendor isn’t bad, but it just isn’t terribly important.  The sacrifices aren’t bad, but they aren’t what captures God’s concern.  God is concerned with Solomon’s heart.  God is concerned with the heart of the people.  God wants them to live justly far more than He wants to dwell in splendor.

For me, that is the significant learning of this chapter.  I am reminded of Psalm 51:15-17 and Hosea 6:6. God wants us to rend our heart, not our garments.  He wants our righteousness, not our sacrifices.

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Year 7, Day 349: 1 Kings 8

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When I read this chapter, I can’t help but feel the tension between my inner skeptic and my inner pragmatist.  First, hear from the cynic.  Is all of the sacrificing and the glory of the temple really necessary?  Is that what God truly desires?  Second, hear from the pragmatist.  Simple math shows that even if they were able to accomplish 1 of the 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep sacrifices per minute around the clock then the sacrificing would have still take almost 99 days of sacrificing!  Not that this is impossible, mind you.  But it does help us frame the scope of the event.

I’d like to look at each of these questions that I’ve raised.  First of all, there is the issue of the glory and the splendor of the temple.  Just how necessary is it?  The reality is that it isn’t necessary.  It isn’t wrong, mind you; it just isn’t necessary.  Even when Solomon is consecrating the temple, look at Solomon’s owns words.  Solomon knows what it is that will draw the Lord’s forgiveness.  When the people sin, it isn’t the splendor of the temple that will catch the eye of the Lord.  The people’s repentance and acknowledgement of what they’ve done is what will trigger the Lord’s forgiveness!

Next, look at the massive amount of sacrificing happening.  Is all of that necessary?  Again, look at the prayer that Solomon lifts up.  When he speaks about the people and their sinfulness, is there any word of sacrifice that plays a part of their forgiveness?  Of course not.  Again, it is the repentance of the people that will trigger the Lord’s forgiveness.

What purpose does the splendor of the temple and the massive amount of sacrificing serve?  It serves a penultimate purpose.  The purpose of the splendor and the sacrifices is a demonstration of our gratitude towards the Lord.  The splendor of the temple doesn’t make God forgive them more.  The massive sacrifice doesn’t make God love them more.  What it does is to remind us and each other just what the Lord means to us.  This chapter isn’t about appeasing God at all.  It is about reminding us, who are likely to lose focus and forget, about the God who loves us and cares for us.

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Year 7, Day 348: 1 Kings 7

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As Solomon builds the temple, Solomon names the key pillars.  The names that he picks are Jachin and Boaz.  These are Hebrew names.  Jachin means “He shall uphold” and Boaz means “May strength be in Him.”

The significance of these names is pretty clear.  The pillars support the structure.  Remember what God said in the last chapter?  So long as the people keep their heart tuned to God, He will dwell with them.  That is the message of these pillars.  So long as the people remember the Lord, He will uphold them and be their strength!

We can arrive at the same analogy thinking top down instead of bottom up.  It is the pillars that keep the roof of the temple from collapsing down.  In the same way, it is God that keeps our life from crashing down around us!  It is God and His ways that provide the structure of our life.

Personally, I find this truth to be the focus of this chapter.  In the midst of the flashy grandeur of the construction, which in the last chapter God clearly said was secondary, we hear truth about the role of God in our life.  At the same time, this part of the chapter is easy to overlook.  It is so easy to live our life overlooking the fact that God is the one who upholds and keeps our life on track.

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Year 7, Day 347: 1 Kings 6

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This chapter is largely about the construction of the temple.  At the surface, unless you are an ancient builder or an interior designer this chapter isn’t all that important.  However, there is one really neat set of verses right in the middle of this passage.

In the midst of the building process, God comes to Solomon and imparts some wisdom into him.  God says, “If you follow my decrees, observe my laws, and keep all my commandments and obey them, I will full the promise I made to David your father.  I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.”

I think there are three levels of deepening importance to these words.  The first level is that God is showing Solomon what is really important.  The building pales in comparison to the hearts of the people.  God doesn’t say, “If you build me the nicest temple ever” or “If you build me the biggest space.”  God says that what will keep Him happy is if the hearts of the people stay focused upon God and His ways.  That’s what is truly important.

Second, we need to remember our history.  The people don’t stay focused on God.  The people will fall away.  God does bring the Babylonians and the Assyrians to conquer His own people.  God does send His own people into exile because they don’t stay focused upon Him.  God is not a God of threats.  He is a God of promises.

Third, note that even if we look upon point number two we need to remember that God doesn’t abandon His people completely.  When they repent, God allows them to return to the land and try again.  God is not just a God of promises, He is a God of forgiveness and repentance.  He is a God who cares more about restoring relationships the right way rather than the absolute execution of perfect justice.

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Year 7, Day 346: 1 Kings 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

This passage is a really neat passage to study.  Yes, it is neat to see Solomon build the temple.  It is even cooler to see Solomon fulfilling the request of his father and obeying his directives.  I personally think that there is something even more special going on here.

When it comes time for Solomon to build the temple, he needs help.  He gets help from multiple nationalities.  Solomon has to humble himself and acknowledge that there are skilled craftsmen in certain fields who are better and more experienced than the Hebrew craftsmen.  This is a neat moment in the life of Solomon.

This is the building of God’s temple.  This story is laying the cornerstone of the most important stationary building in Jewish history.  This building is built by both Gentiles and Jews.  I this story we see a foreshadowing of Christ’s work on earth.  When Christ comes to make us all temples of a living God, Christ works through both Jews and Gentiles.  There is a place for Jews and Gentiles in the work of the Lord.  What a wonderful expression of God’s love and His all-encompassing nature!

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Year 7, Day 345: 1 Kings 4

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I often look at 1 Kings 4 as the beginning of the end.  This is funny, because many people who read through 1 Kings 4 call this the beginning of Solomon’s golden age.  It’s really all a matter of perspective.  Both comments are looking to Solomon’s household provision.  I look upon it and raise questions.  Those who see it as a golden age look upon it with pleasure.

Here’s why I look upon this chapter and raise questions.  Remember God’s warning through Samuel when the people demand a king?  God says that a king will reign over them and make great demands for provision.  The king will live off the work of other people.  That’s exactly what we see happening here.  Solomon is living a life of luxury because he is king.  The only reason he’s living this life is because he’s the king, not because he’s done anything to deserve it.  Solomon seems content to be living off the hard work of other people.

Furthermore, do you hear what the Bible uses to describe Solomon’s wealth?  The Bible focuses on Solomon’s horses and chariots.  In other words, Solomon has started to go the way of Egypt.  He is adopting other nations’ means of power.  God specifically warns the people not to return to the ways of Egypt, specifically warning them about reliance upon Egypt’s horses and chariots.  We see Solomon already heading down that path.

Perhaps the most telling sign of the need to raise questions is what we see in the festivities.  The people are eating, drinking, and merry-making.  Don’t get me wrong, life is best when enjoyed.  But do you notice what we don’t hear?  When we are talking about Solomon’s wealth, we don’t hear reflections upon God and God’s provision.  We don’t hear Solomon remembering God or being grateful to Him.  That’s a big red flag in my book.

We should learn from Solomon in this chapter.  If our tendency is to read a chapter like this and think how great it must have been, we need to look more closely at what is actually being said.  Solomon had a festive kingdom; the question remains to see just how godly it was.

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Year 7, Day 344: 1 Kings 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

This is the famous chapter where Solomon has a great wisdom bestowed upon him.  I’ve spoken about the wisdom and its impact before on this blog.  Today, I’m going to speak to what leads up to this moment.

This moment is born in David’s life.  David was so close to the Lord that God promised that his offspring would reign on the throne.  That doesn’t mean that heirs of David could live however they want and be blessed by God.  We’ll actually see how that isn’t true as we go through 1 & 2 Kings.  What is actually important in this line of thinking is to be mindful of the faithful people in our lives who have gone before us, earned God’s favor, and then passed along their faith to us.  We are to be mindful of the people who taught us the faith and raised us in God’s ways.  We are to be mindful of the people who showed us what relationship with God is really like.  Solomon is in this place first and foremost because of David.

That being said, it isn’t only because of David.  Solomon is in this place because he listened to the advice of his father.  The lesson here is that it is one thing to have faithful people in one’s life.  It is another thing to respond to the opportunity, learn, grow, imitate, and then own it.  It’s our job not simple to be around faithful people but to become faithful in our own right.

How does Solomon put this one display?  Listen to his testimony when he meets God in a dream.  Solomon is humble.  He is quick to remind himself that God is the reason that his life has worked out the way that it did.  He is humble, acknowledging that his youth has its limitations.  He is selfless, asking for something that will help him make the world around him a better pace.  In summary, Solomon follows the footsteps of his father and puts God’s ways ahead if his own.

When we put this all together, we see a grand picture.  Faithful people have faithful people around them.  Faithful people learn, imitate and own the faith they see in others, making it their own faith within them.  Faithful people are humble before God, acknowledge His power in their strengths, acknowledge their failings in their weaknesses, and work to be a godly influence in the world around them.

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Year 7, Day 343: 1 Kings 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In 1 Kings 2 we get the transition to Solomon. I’ll handle this in two parts.  First, we hear David’s charge to Solomon.  He reminds Solomon to pursue the Lord.  He makes sure that he understands that the most important thing to remember is to pursue the Lord.  As I’ve said frequently the last few weeks, this shouldn’t be read as an expectation of perfection.  David’s charge to Solomon is to make sure that God’s ways are forefront.  The times that Solomon manages to follow God, then God deserves the credit for allowing us to do so.  Those times that Solomon falls away and sins, repentance is what is expected.  This is the charge that governed David’s life.  It is a charge that David desires for Solomon to live by as well. 

It is a charge that all of us should hear.  It is a righteous standard.  When we do live up to God’s ways He deserves the praise.  When we don’t live up to God’s ways, He deserves our repentance.

In the second half of this passage we hear about the death of David’s final enemies.  Before we get to Solomon’s role in this, I have to speak a bit about David.  David has tasked Solomon with something that he would not do himself.  David is giving Solomon his own unfinished business to handle.  This is unfortunate.  We should be a people who handles our own business and doesn’t task other people with what they should so themselves.

Now let’s look at Solomon goes about the task.  Having been given his father’s unfinished business, I think Solomon handles himself with incredible grace.  Solomon makes deals to find ways to let people live instead of being killed.  Only Joab is killed outright, and having killed people in cold blood in times of peace, he is in a different context than the first.  Adonijah is allowed to live in peace; but Adonijah once more shows aspirations of taking the throne by taking a royal wife.  His transgression shows that Adonijah does not receive the grace that is extended and he dies for his sin.  Shimei is allowed to live so long as he stays within the confines of Jerusalem.  So long as he abides by the rule, Solomon keeps him alive.  Only when he casts Solomon’s grace aside does Solomon hold him accountable.

That’s the funny thing about grace.  Grace allows us to live when our circumstances should hold us guilty.  Grace covers us so long as we live under its umbrella.  But when we cast grace aside and chose to leave from under the umbrella of grace, we fall into judgment.

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