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.
This passage starts by telling us that Solomon showed his love for the Lord by obeying the instructions that David had given him, except for the fact that he offered sacrifices at the high places. When I was younger I believed that these were sacrifices to idols. My recollection is that I was taught that, but that may be a faulty memory. In fact if one reads closely one realizes that Solomon was offering sacrifices to God on those high places. It is after Solomon offered sacrifices to God at one of these high places that God tells Solomon in a dream to ask for whatever he wants God to give him. I had never noticed before, but most translations say that God told Solomon to tell Him what Solomon wanted God to give him without actually saying that He would give it to him. This is consistent with God’s answer to Solomon’s request. After Solomon tells God that he would like God to give him wisdom, God tells Solomon that because he asked for wisdom, He will grant Solomon’s request. The implication is that if Solomon had asked for something else, God may not have granted his request.
Next we have the story where Solomon was asked to decide which of two women was the mother of a child. Both women claimed that the child was born to them and that the child born to the other woman had died. There were no other witnesses. Solomon has a sword brought and proposes that the child be cut in half and that each woman receive half. The account tells us that the child’s real mother objected, saying that rather than kill the child give it to the other woman to raise. While the other woman was content that the child be killed. Solomon then ordered that the child not be killed but be given to the woman who was willing to give up her claim that the child might live. The biblical account tells us that the woman who wanted the child to live was the child’s real mother and I believe that it means that she was the child’s biological mother. However, in this story, even if she was not the child’s biological mother, the woman who would give up her claim in order to save the child’s life was indeed the child’s real mother.
In earlier passages we had been told that wealthy believers sold their property and brought the money to the apostles to be distributed to those in need. Now we are told that as the number of believers increased there was strife among the believers between the Greek-speaking believers and the Hebrew-speaking believers. The Greek-speaking believers felt that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution. From the remedy that the apostles chose it is clear that there complaint was not without some basis. The apostles asked the believers to choose seven well respected men to take over the distribution of food to those in need. While these men were chosen to handle the distribution of food to those in need and free up the apostles to preach and pray, it quickly becomes apparent that these men did not limit themselves to overseeing the provision to the needy.
We are told that Stephen got into a debate with some men from the Synagogue of the Freed Slaves. I was unable to find any definitive information about this group. However, some of them were from Alexandria and Cyrene, both of which were noted centers of learning in the Roman empire. This suggests to me that these were Jews who were practiced in Greek philosophy and debate. In addition, the passage tells us that some of them were from Cilicia. Tarsus, the birth place of Saul, later Paul, was in Cilicia. All of this suggests to me that Stephen got into a debate with a group of men who were proud of their debating skills. Men who were sure they had the answers that proved that Jesus was not the Messiah. When they were unable to counter Stephen’s arguments they became angry and claimed that he had committed blasphemy. I suspect that before their encounter with Stephen they had claimed that in order to believe that Jesus was the Messiah one needed to also believe some blasphemous creed. When Stephen was unswayed by their arguments and further defeated their arguments, they concluded that he must be blaspheming because they had decided before ever engaging Stephen in discussion that anyone who believed what he did must also believe certain blasphemous things. When Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin on these charges, some kind of transformation came over him so that those who looked at him felt that they were in the presence of someone extraordinarily holy.
The psalmist tells us here that suffering is only temporary for those who love the Lord. That those who sever the Lord will experience joy and laughter.
This proverb tells us that those who have unsatisfied desires will work harder than those whose every want has been met.