Week 23c--1 Kings 11-17, 2 Chronicles 9-17

This week we begin reading the history of the divided kingdom of Judah (South) and Israel (North). This is the part that I could never keep straight in college. Hopefully reading this in chronological order, along with reading the prophets who were speaking at the appropriate times, will help make the story more clear to us. 

Question before we begin: Do you remember the most important commandment? The one God repeats over and over and OVER again throughout all the history of Israel? “Love the Lord your God, worship Him only, and keep His commands.” Remember all those promises about keeping the kingdom and losing it to invaders? Well, now we begin to see the fulfillment of both sides of that promise.

We begin with Solomon, the last king of the United Kingdom of Israel. He has 700 wives and 300 concubines, which is a really bad idea in the first place, but these women all worship foreign gods and turn Solomon’s heart away from the Lord. God tells him: “Your son will lose almost the whole kingdom.” 

The prophet Ahijah promises 10 tribes to Jeroboam, 1 tribe to Solomon. The math gets confusing for a little bit here while the tribes get settled. The biblical reading also gets confusing. Not only are we bouncing between the books of Kings and Chronicles, we are bouncing between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. It will be okay--we will get through it. 

Solomon’s son Rehoboam becomes king. He is foolish and does not listen to his elders, but listens to his friends who say he needs to be strict and harsh with the people. However, these measures only lead to rebellion. Eventually, only the tribe of Judah follows him. 

Meanwhile, in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, king Jeroboam makes 2 golden calves. (Seriously? He missed how badly this turned out the first time?) He then has false priests offer false incense to a false god in the city of Bethel. The One True God will never bless the kingdom of Israel as long as they continue to follow these false gods--I’ve been reading ahead and so far they aren’t doing too well.

The three tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and the Levites (who really didn’t count as a tribe because they didn’t have land, remember?) form the Southern kingdom of Judah. Rehoboam follows the Lord and has proper sacrifices made by Levites to the one true God. 

Not long after the two kingdoms are formed, there is the incident of the good priest, the bad priest, and the lion, an odd story about a priest who does what God tells him not to do (on accident, but still...) and he is killed by a lion. What is the point? The priest’s death is a sign that the punishment God has ordained for the Northern Kingdom is coming. Yet Jeroboam does not repent--no surprise there--so his house and his line will be destroyed. Idolatry will lead to the downfall of what could have been a great nation.

Rehoboam isn’t much better. He also makes Asherah poles and altars to false gods. So there is an invasion, as is the pattern when God’s chosen people won’t listen, then repentance, and then forgiveness. Rehoboam’s son Abijah/Abijam becomes king in his place (different spellings in Kings and Chronicles). There is war between Abijam and Jeroboam. Then Abijam’s son Asa became king. God remembers the covenant he had made many years before, that a son of David would be on the throne forever. Asa cuts down the Asherah poles, removs pagan idols, and builds new cities. Now Judah is back on the right track, and will stay that way--at least through most of next week’s reading.

Nadab son of Jeroboam becomes king of Israel. Then Baasha takes over. More sin and following idols and building Asherah poles and high places. Sheesh.

Judah’s king Asa conquers and capturs the tribe of Ephraim. Now we see the 2 1/2 tribes that make up the nation of Judah. Asa makes a covenant to seek God and the Lord gives them rest. Good king Asa! Once, though, he slips and makes a treaty with another king instead of trusting God. 

The Northern kingdom is continually politically unstable. Baasha does not follow God, but chases after false idols. So a usurper named Zimri destroys the house of Baasha. But Zimri is only king for a week. He ends his rebellion by burning down the palace on top of himself. King Omri takes over and builds the city of Samaria. According to the Bible, Omri is the most evil of all the kings so far. Then his son Ahab becomes king, and he is even worse than the others! Then, as if it isn’t bad enough to serve idols and lead the country astray, he goes and marries Jezebel. Have you heard of her? Next week’s reading is gonna be ugly. In other news, Jericho is rebuilt at this time.

Asa’s son Jehoshaphat becomes king of Judah. He cuts down more Asherah poles. Jehoshaphat also sends around priests and teachers to instruct the nation in the law of the Lord. This is an idyllic time for the nation of Judah.

Not so for Israel, with Ahab and Jezebel in charge. But we also, very briefly, meet Elijah. There is a famine in the land, but God provides for his prophet.

Coming next week: The showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. I LOVE this story!

Week 23b--Ecclesiastes

We have spent the last two posts on two books commonly attributed to Solomon; today we read about the third. Proverbs is about the wisdom that God granted Solomon. Song of Solomon is romantic (and racy!). Ecclesiastes fills out the “Solomon trilogy” with the jaded ramblings of an old man who has tried all those catch phrases from Proverbs to get a better life and used all those lines from Song of Solomon to pick up women and sees now that life is pointless because in the end, we all die anyway.

Depressing? Sure, if you read it that way...but that’s almost the only way to read it.

I like to think of Ecclesiastes as the opposite of Proverbs. Solomon’s most famous book tells how the world should work; Ecclesiastes tells it like it actually is. If the key word of Proverbs is wisdom, the key word of Ecclesiastes is futility. The Teacher writes, in my own words “There is no satisfaction, none at all.” Other verses say, “All pursuit of wisdom is pursuit of the wind.” So much for Proverbs, huh?

There are a few high points scattered throughout the book, like gold nuggets in the mud. For example, Ecc 2:24-25 “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?” 

We also have the famous “For every thing there is a season” passage, Ecc 3:1-8. “A time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, a time to reap, a time to build, a time to tear down...” among other things.

Later in this book we find that God will eventually judge the good and the wicked. Only God, not us, can tell which is which, and the end for both is death. (People in this period in history did not have an understanding of heaven and hell.) 

There are many more morose verses about how things-and striving for them-cannot make you happy. But then, like another gold nugget, we find Ecc 5:18. “Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward.”

More gold:

Ecc 7:14 “In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider--God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be after him.”

Ecc 10:19 (my new favorite verse) “Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything.” (If it’s in the Bible it must be true...)

The book almost ends with these words: Ecc 12:11-12 “The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.” (Anyone who has been to college will agree.)

That would have been a really depressing ending. Basically, “Life stinks, and then you die.” However, these are the last two verses of Ecclesiastes, 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” 

Fear God and keep His commandments! Where have I heard that before?

A lot of things in Ecclesiastes don’t make any sense at all. But I think that’s the point. Lots of things in life just plain don’t make sense. It’s not all cut and dried, cause-and-effect like in Proverbs. Both the wicked and the righteous will perish. Sometimes nice guys really do finish last and it seems like one big game of chance. But we can take this away from Ecclesiastes: follow God, keep His commandments, and enjoy the cards you are dealt.

And a little wine never hurt anyone.

Week 23a--Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon, or Song of Songs, is a poem that can be read aloud by many voices. There is the bride, the groom (Solomon), and the Greek chorus, um, Hebrew chorus, made up of the bride’s brothers and young women. Keep that in mind when reading--it is almost written like a play.

Song of Solomon is also a hot and steamy book, a great summer beach read (or maybe that’s just because I happen to be reading it by the pool during my son’s swim lessons).  

This book is a racy celebration of married love, telling the story of a couple thoroughly enjoying sex and getting to know each other’s bodies, while using bunch of zany metaphors.

Here’s some favorites:

Song of Solomon 4:1-6, (excerpts) “Your eyes are like doves... your hair is like a flock of goats... your teeth are like ewes... your neck is like a tower with a thousand shields hung on it...” 

I’m not really sure how well these lines would work today. They made Solomon’s bride happy, though, because she wasn’t sure she was beautiful and needed reassurance. (Gee, that’s not applicable to today or anything.)

Aside from making fun of the language, what we can gain from reading Song of Solomon is the enjoyment that these two people had in each other. They were completely and totally head-over-heels in love, and we have this beautiful picture of--to be perfectly honest--fabulous sex RIGHT THERE IN THE BIBLE. This is a gift from God to be celebrated and enjoyed.

See you next time!

Week 22--Proverbs

We read last week about God granting Solomon great wisdom; today we get to reap the fruit of his wisdom. Much of the book of Proverbs is a balance between the way of the wise and the way of the foolish. One of the most important verses is Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...” This thought is echoed again in Proverbs, as well as Job, Psalms, and twice in Isaiah.

Wisdom appears as a character in this book, speaking to the foolish and crying for them to listen to her. She wants them to stop their foolishness and follow the way of the Lord.

Some early chapters are the words of a father to his son, sound advice that we would do well to follow. Some of the best advice in the world is found in Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” 

Chapter 10 is when we actually begin what I call the “Pithy Proverbs,” the list of short phrases that fit so well on refrigerator magnets. Most of them are in couplet form, such as “Wise people do this, but foolish do this;” or “As the wise animal does this, so the wise person does that.” Here are some favorites:

Proverbs 11:22 “As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.” 

Proverbs 14:12, 16:25 “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” 

Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” 

Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe.” 

Proverbs 22:1 “A good name is to be more desired than great wealth; favor is better than silver and gold.”

The “Pithy Proverbs” end with 22:16, but that is not the end of the wisdom found in this book. Much is found in the latter part of the book that is similar to the first part.

Proverbs 25:24 “It is better to live in a corner of the roof, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” A similar thought appears 5 times in the book of Proverbs. Maybe Solomon is reaping the pain of having 700 wives!

Chapter 30 records the words of Augur, who we nothing about. He says things we have heard before.

Chapter 31 contains the words of King Lemuel, whose identity is...unclear. His contribution to the Bible is The Woman of Proverbs 31. Lemuel gained a lot of wisdom from his mother; that may be why this model woman is so perfect-he adored his mom.

My favorite verse in the passage about this “perfect woman” is the last verse, because it’s the one piece that is actually attainable. Proverbs 31:30-31 “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she will be praised. Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” 

And that’s a very brief summary of Proverbs, everybody. Thanks for tuning in!

Week 21--1 Kings 2-10, 2 Chronicles 1-9

This is the story of the high points of King Solomon’s reign, before everything went downhill. Solomon’s life like a fairy tale, with God showing up and asking him, “What do you want? Wisdom? Riches? Glory? Just name it, it’s yours.” Solomon asked for wisdom to rule the people God had given him; God gave him immeasurable wealth and honor in addition to the greatest wisdom humankind has ever known.

Too bad he didn’t use it. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Honestly, given the choices of wisdom, riches, or fame, I’m not sure which I would choose. Wisdom is the obvious “right” choice, but it would be fabulous to be debt free and be able to give generously and travel and buy yarn whenever I wanted to, and fame would give me a change to speak to more people about the word of God. Of course, the other gifts would be useless without the wisdom to administer them properly. Oh, to have the choice!

Back to Solomon...God gives him the task of building a permanent temple, as He is ready to dwell in a permanent structure. Solomon begins building the Temple 480 years after the Exodus. Israel has been waiting for this for a long time. The Temple is made of stone, lined with cedar, and then covered with gold. It must have been beautiful to see, and it would have been filled with wonderful fragrances of cedar and incense as well. Solomon has workers make the tools and utensils for the temple, for the priests need wash basins, candlesticks, tables for bread and incense, a new altar for sacrifices; most of these things are made of gold, bronze, or silver. Many times the Bible tells us that so much metal was used that the amount could not be measured.

Finally, it is ready, and Solomon dedicates the Temple with proper pomp, circumstance, and speeches on the grace, mercy and favor of God. There was also a warning. “If Israel ever forgets God and gets sent into exile...” Foreshadowing, anyone?

This is the high point of Solomon’s reign; the glory of God fills the temple and lights the fires for the altar. One of my favorite hymns has the line, “Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.” This describes what has happened to Solomon and the Temple on this day. However...

The double edged-sword of being so greatly blessed is that God will hold him--and the nation of Israel--accountable. It reminds me of something I heard in a movie about great power coming with great responsibility. God appears to Solomon after the dedication of the Temple and says, “Great party! Keep up the good work and I will bless you beyond even your wildest dreams. But if you screw up and lead the people to follow idols, I will wipe you and the kingdom of Israel off the map.” Israel had heard this sort of thing before. 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, 400 years of judges both good and bad, and two kings later, they have a permanent Temple. Maybe now they’ll listen. 

Maybe.