Year 7, Day 358: 1 Kings 17

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<>< 

Year 7, Day 357: 1 Kings 16

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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!

<><

Year 7, Day 356: 1 Kings 15

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

Year 7, Day 355: 1 Kings 14

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

Year 7, Day 354: 1 Kings 13

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

Year 7, Day 353: 1 Kings 12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

Year 7, Day 352: 1 Kings 11

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

Year 7, Day 351: 1 Kings 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

Year 7, Day 350: 1 Kings 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

Year 7, Day 349: 1 Kings 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

Year 7, Day 348: 1 Kings 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

Year 7, Day 347: 1 Kings 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

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!

<><

Year 7, Day 345: 1 Kings 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

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.

<><

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.

<><

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.

<><

Year 7, Day 342: 1 Kings 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

At first glance, 1 Kings 1 reads much like Absalom’s rebellion.  One of David’s sons rises up to try and become king when David isn’t paying attention.  Adonijah steps up to take his place upon the throne.

There are a couple of lessons to be learned here.  First of all, we should learn that we must be vigilant.  There are always people looking to step up into our roles.  There are always people who see us as the stepping stone to their next claim to fame.

This story also teaches us the importance of friends.  It isn’t David who saves the kingdom, it is Nathan the priest among a few others.  The kingdom is saved because there are people looking out for David.  Everyone needs people in their life who can help out.

However, this isn’t really a story like Absalom’s rebellion.  When Adonijah and his guests hear that Solomon has been chosen to be the next king, Adonijah goes to the altar and pleads for mercy.  Absalom stood up in revolt and forced the issue.  War broke out and it cost Absalom his life.  In this story, Adonijah sees his error and seeks – at least publicly – to be forgiven and granted grace.

We can learn something from this part of the story as well.  Sometimes mistakes happen.  We must be prepared to wrestle against those who would force themselves upon us.  We must also be prepared to accept when others make a mistake and ask for grace or mercy.  We should be quick with grace and mercy when we see repentance as Absalom is here with his own brother.

<><

Year 7, Day 341: 2 Samuel 24

Theological Commentary: Click Here

2 Samuel is such an odd story upon which to end the story of David.  Granted, we do nominally continue the story in 1 Kings for a little bit, but it is really only to transition to Solomon.  As far as the genuine story of David goes, this is just about how the story ends.

There’s something cool about this.  We end with a sin of David.  We end on a bit of a sour note.  David sins and 70,000 people end up dead because of it.  Granted, there is nothing cool about people dying.  What is cool is that in this story I see proof of the truth and genuineness of God’s Word.  What human author, especially from a population of people who idolize David, would put this as the climax of David’s story?  Human beings just don’t do it this way.  History is always written by the victors.  People who idolize David wouldn’t have naturally made this the end of his story unless it was God who wanted truth to be told!

There’s another cool part to this story.  The reason that this is a neat ending to David’s story is because David’s life ends on a note of repentance.  David makes a poor decision and people die.  David could have been angry.  He could have accused God of being unrighteous.  He could have denied involvement.  He could have transferred responsibility to something or someone else.  He could have done a myriad of other things. What does David do?  David owns his action and repents of it.

As I’ve been saying all along, this is why David is a man after God’s own heart.  He’s certainly not perfect.  His mistakes, when he makes them, tend to be rather huge.  But he’s a man after God’s own heart because he acknowledges his faults and repents.  That’s what makes David great in the eyes of God.  That’s why this is an awesome concluding story.  The story is awful and tragic, but  this story is a great story about how God loves a repentant heart.

<><

Year 7, Day 340: 2 Samuel 23

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In today’s blog post, I’m going to expound upon a short teaching that I put in my blog 6 years ago.  It involves the mighty men of David.  It’s time to talk about the warriors.

Keep in mind that these are some of David’s permanent soldier corps.  The ancient armies were largely made up of regular people who farmed the land during spring and fall and who came out to fight in the summer when there was little to do on the farm.  That vast army or irregulars had a backbone of military regulars who provided direction and training to the masses when they were assembled.

These regulars are David’s mighty men.  These are the soldiers who stuck with David through thick and thin.  These are the soldiers who did what David needed to be done.  These are the brave of the brave.  These are the ones who rallied to David’s standard.  They were loyal.  When all else fled, they continued to fight on.  There is something to be said about people who are loyal to the cause.

The second thing that we can learn about them is that they stood up against all odds.  These men fought when numbers were not in their favor.  These men fought when the irregulars fled in panic.  These men could do amazing things because of their training.  There is something to be said for being trained and being able to stand up against all odds.

When we are discipled by Christ, we gain both of these traits.  In Christ, we can be loyal.  We can be loyal because we know that God stands with us first.  In Christ, we can be bold.  We can be bold because the Spirit is within us training us and giving us the courage.  These mighty men of David are a spiritual precursor to the ones who are true followers of Christ.

<><

Year 7, Day 339: 2 Samuel 22

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Here in 2 Samuel 22 we begin to feel the end of David’s story.  He lifts up words to God in praise.  There are two ways to take these words.  These words could be words that David wrote at the end of his life in reflection.  These words could also be a cumulative song that David wrote, repeated, and to which he added as events in his life occurred.

In either case, there is one important lesson here: David knows and confesses that God is the main reason that he is where he is.  God is the main reason why David has had this success.  God is the main reason why David has prospered in life.  David has no issue turning to God and placing all of the emphasis upon God and not upon himself.

This is important to remember, especially when we hit the lines in this song about David being blameless in the sight of the Lord.  Of course, David made mistakes!  Of course, David sinned.  David knows this.  It’s not possible for David to know this.  David isn’t claiming to be perfect, he is claiming to be blameless in the sight of the Lord.  David is claiming that he is not guilty of turning away from the Lord.

That’s really the crux of the middle of this song.  I’ve been saying it all along, and I will continue.  David is called a man after the Lord’s own heart because he puts God first, tries to uphold God’s ways, and repents when he is guilty.  God doesn’t expect our perfection, he expects our repentance.

That is what I love about the story of David.  At times he is such a great example.  At other times he is the antithesis to godly living.  Yet in all things he looks to God, repents when necessary, and lifts up God as the supreme reason for being.  That’s a man after God’s own heart.

<><

Year 7, Day 338: 2 Samuel 21

Theological Commentary: Click Here

2 Samuel 21 is a harsh chapter.  It’s hard to read this chapter and not feel some inner angst.  After all, isn’t God a God of grace and mercy?  How can that same God find the revenge murder of seven people pleasing?  For the record, God clearly does find it pleasing because the famine is lifted and God answers the prayer of the Hebrew people after the seven people of Saul’s family are slain.  Like it or not, one of the points of this chapter is that God does accept the death of Saul’s family as atonement.

Let’s make some sense of this.  First of all, wee need to be careful that we understand that God is upset at the way that the Gibeonites were treated.  Saul was king of the land when it happened, but it was an act of war.  No doubt Saul and his family were participating in the military excursion.  Therefore, this may not be as clear cut of a case where innocent people are held accountable for the sins of someone else.  This could be punishment doled out to people who were originally involved.

Second, there is a really cool learning to make sure we understand in this chapter. These Gibeonites are the descendants of the Amorites.  The Amorites were part of the original inhabitants of the land.  This shows us that God is not the God of a “people” as much as God is the God of “righteousness.”  God wants injustice atoned for, even if it means His own people have to pay a price.  This is neat because it shows us where God’s priorities lie.  God is on the side of righteousness and justice.  When we place ourselves on the side that opposes righteousness or justice, we should expect to find ourselves in conflict with God. 

God cannot be bought or appeased or coerced into supporting us over righteousness.  We may be His children, but He will punish us and bring us into judgment when we do things to deserve it.

<><

Year 7, Day 337: 2 Samuel 20

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In our chapter for today, we have two unique stories.  I’m going to focus on Joab’s story.  Joab does one thing quite well: he puts down a revolt.  Joab does one thing poorly: he takes matters into his own hand rather than let David deal with the situation with Amasa.

Speaking of Amasa, let’s start there.  Joab kills Amasa.  This story is rather confusing. After all, aren’t Amasa and Joab on the same side?  Aren’t they both leading men loyal to David?

They are.  Joab kills Amasa because he delays in rallying the soldiers for David.  In the ancient world, few places had standing armies.  Most armies were made up of a handful or trained warriors who would be joined by regular people in the summer when they could leave their farms because they weren’t really needed. What this means, then, is that Amasa is demonstrating that he is a poor leader. He is having trouble convincing the regular person to leave their farm and come out to war as is their duty to the king.  For this reason, Joab kills Amasa.  Joab gets rid of Amasa because he is ineffective.

Having explained this, please don’t think that I am justifying Joab’s action.  Murder is murder, and we’ll see in a bit that Joab gets to deal with the consequences of the sin.  Joab should have let David deal with his generals.  Instead, Joab takes matters into his own hands and kills his competition for being inept.

What Joab does well in this chapter is in the siege.  Joab makes plans to take the city hiding the rebel Sheba.  He makes plans to go through the drudgery of a siege.  However, an opportunity presents itself.  The people of the town make an offer to kill Sheba for Joab if he will leave the city alone.  In this, Joab is shrewd.  Why fight a long battle of attrition when an effective solution presents itself?  Here, Joab counts his resources effectively.  Joab let the town alone when they kill Sheba and hand over his head.  Joab’s shrewd leadership keeps himself and his men from person risk.  Joab gets the job accomplished as easily and effectively as possible.

<><

Year 7, Day 336: 2 Samuel 19

Theological Commentary: Click Here

As we continue our study of David, we see another blunder when it comes to David’s personal life.  David chooses to mourn the loss of his son rather than rally around the troops.  Of course, don’t get me wrong.  What parent is going to feel joy when it comes to the death of a child?  I am not saying that David should be elated that Absalom has died.  He’s not going to feel excitement that his son has died.

At the same time, how many thousands of men went out to fight for David’s life and his right to rule?  How many thousands of men went out to protect David and to protect God’s plan?  These men have just won a great victory, a victory for the kingdom!

David should have been able to go out and encourage the men.  He should have been able to go out and thank his men for his service.  He should have been able to go out and make plans for reclaiming the throne.  But instead David mourns.  David shames his warriors by caring more about the loss of his son than the people who actually fought for him.

In the end, Joab his general has the right words.  If David doesn’t go out and be with his men and thank them for their service after risking their life for him, they will desert and leave him.  Joab isn’t saying that David can’t be sad about Absalom internally.  But David must go out and make sure that his men are properly encouraged, appreciated, and shown that their choice to stick with David was a good one.  After all, as it stands David is sending the message that he’d rather have his son alive than be with the people who literally put their lives on the line for him.  David needs to make the right decision and put his personal life aside to do the right thing.

<><

Year 7, Day 335: 2 Samuel 18

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Today we get to see David mix politics with his personal life.  We get to see his brilliance and his folly.  In his brilliance, David organizes his men and sets the experienced in positions of power.  He has generals who will fight well for him.  When the battle rages, his men fight well and win the day.  David shows his brilliance when it comes to being a political leader.

However, David makes an absolutely silly request.  David asks that Absalom be spared.  Absalom has already organized a coup under David’s own nose.  Absalom isn’t to be trusted, even when shown grace!  Didn’t David invite Absalom back to Jerusalem after he killed his half-brother?  How can anyone think they could trust Absalom?

I think this is an inherent flaw in David, and in truth many parents.  The upside of this flaw is that parents naturally love their children unconditionally.  They see opportunities to give their children the best time and time again.  The downside, however, is that parents are often blind to their child’s flaws.  Parents often struggle with times where tough love is necessary.

In the end, what I take away from this story is a personal gratitude that God is above humankind.  God can love perfectly.  God loves to extend grace as needed.  However, God is not afraid to give tough love and force us to deal with our consequences, too.  He is the master of love.  Whereas human beings tend to favor one or the other end of the spectrum, God does both grace and righteous judgment exactly perfectly every time.

<><