I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
As David lay dying he instructed Solomon to follow the laws of God. In addition he asked that Solomon see that neither Joab, who had been the commander of David’s armies, nor Shimei, who had cursed David when he fled Absalom, live to die of old age. David also asked Solomon to show honor to the sons of Barzillai, who had stood by him when he fled Absalom. We know that Joab had been the commander of David’s armies and that that may have meant that David could not punish him for his acts that David did not approve of. It might not have been possible for David to have Joab executed (or otherwise punished) and still retain control over his armies. In the previous chapter it mentions that one of David’s advisers who did not support Adonijah’s attempt to claim the throne was named Shimei. Is it possible that this was the same Shimei who cursed David when he fled Absalom? Perhaps the reason that David was so forgiving of Shimei upon reclaiming his throne from Absalom was because Shimei controlled a power base that David needed in order to remain in control of the kingdom, just as Joab did.
As soon as Solomon is established upon the throne, Adonijah goes to Bathsheba and asks her to convince Solomon to allow him to marry Abishag the Shunammite, the woman who was made David’s concubine as a bed warmer in his old age. Bathsheba agrees. Solomon upon hearing this request recognizes it as an attempt by Adonijah to gain a claim upon the throne by marrying David’s final concubine. In response to this attempt by Adonijah, Solomon has him killed. He then removes Abiathar from all claim on the priesthood, but in recognition of his service to David allows him to retire to his estate. When Joab hears of this he goes to the altar and grabs the horns of the altar and refuses to leave. Solomon orders him killed there. Finally, as the last piece of leftover business from his father, Solomon orders Shimei to build a house in Jerusalem and never leave the city again on pain of death. Shimei agrees to this condition. But three years later two of his slaves ran away to Gath and Shimei pursues them to recover them. When Solomon learns of this he has Shimei killed.
What we can see from this is that David had gained and kept his throne by playing various power bases off against one another. He gained the support of enough of the men who controlled various power blocks so that he could crush those who acted against him openly, but he was unable to act against those who offered him support, even when they acted against his wishes. Solomon can be seen as consolidating his power by eliminating men who had a power base outside of his control whose loyalty had been shown to be suspect.
Today’s passage starts with the follow up to yesterday’s passage about the believers sharing everything that they had. It contains some important things to understand what the previous passage is telling us about wealth and the Church. When Ananias brings the money to give to the Church, Peter does not say his sin was in not giving all of it to the Church. Peter asks him two rhetorical questions. The first question tells us that the land which Ananias sold was his to do with as he chose. The second question tells us that even after he sold it the money from the sale was his to do with as he chose. Ananias’ sin was in claiming that he was giving all of the money he had received for selling the land. This tells us that the land was not held in common by the Church and neither was the money. Ananias’ sin was in attempting to gain glory for being more generous than he actually was.
After this we are told that the believers all met at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade. Luke tells us that even though this was a public place, no one who was not a believer joined them there out of fear. We are not told if that fear is because of Ananias and Saphira or because of the authorities. Nevertheless we are told that many more people became believers as time went on and others brought those with infirmities to at least have Peter’s shadow fall on them as he passed.
The Jewish leaders who were Sadducees had the apostles arrested and placed in jail. During the night an angel of the Lord released them and told them to go to the Temple courts and preach. They did so. When the Sanhedrin met they sent for the apostles in jail. The officers who went to get the apostles found the jail securely locked, but the apostles were not inside. Someone who knew that the apostles had been arrested came and told the Sanhedrin that they were preaching in the Temple. The Temple guard went and brought the apostles before the Sanhedrin. The High Priest confronts them with the fact that the Sanhedrin had ordered them not to preach in Jesus’ name. The apostles reply by saying that they must obey God rather than man.
At this point we discover an interesting thing, the Sanhedrin is not united. It is divided into two parties, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. It was the Sadducees who had the apostles arrested. It is a Pharisee who suggests that putting the apostles to death would not be productive. Gamaliel, a Pharisee, points out that several other men had risen up in recent past and claimed to be the Messiah. Those men had gathered a following much as Jesus had. When those men were killed, their followers dispersed. Gamaliel suggests that if Jesus was merely a man, teaching things of human origins, His followers would soon disperse and fade away. If such was the case, there was no point in further persecuting the apostles. On the other hand, If Jesus’ teachings were from God, nothing the Sanhedrin could do would stop them and if they tried to stop them they would find themselves fighting God. The Sanhedrin was swayed by this argument. They had the apostles flogged and released them with instructions not to speak in the name of Jesus.
I think we need to follow the example of the apostles. We need to be sure that we follow the dictates of God rather than the dictates of man. If we do so, those who oppose us will find themselves opposing God.
The psalmist tells us that those who trust the Lord will not be shaken, the Lord will put a defensive barrier around them.
This proverb tells us that, unfortunately, the wrong paths in life do not have signs like the thumbnail I am using for this section. In fact, many of the wrong paths appear to be good. We need to consider each path carefully before embarking down it.