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Daily Bible Study

May 20, 2019 Bible Study — King Solomon’s Reign

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 8-10.

King Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter.  Then rather than insist that she give up her idolatry, he built her a palace because he understood it would be wrong to have her live in the same palace where the Ark of the Covenant was housed for a period of time.  (Side note: nowhere does the Bible mention that the Ark was in David’s palace except here, I would interpret this to mean that it was kept on the grounds of David’s palace. )   Reading between the lines, this suggests to me that the writer is telling us that Pharoah’s daughter was practicing her idolatrous religious practices in the palace where she lived, and rather than make her stop, Solomon relocated her away from the center of Jerusalame.  This is the only hint of the idolatry which 1 Kings says led to the Northern Tribes revolting against Solomon’s son, Rehoboam.  The passage tells us that after doing so Solomon offered sacrifices on the altar he had built in front of the entrance to the Temple.  To a degree, Solomon was trying to have it both ways, worshiping God while taking part, even if only passively, in his wife’s religious practices.  Something we can take as a warning against marrying someone who does not share our religious convictions (although I do not believe that is any part of the writer’s intention).

From time to time I see people write about the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon as a romantic liaison.  There is nothing in the passage to lead us to that conclusion.  The only biblical basis for reaching such a conclusion is the fact that elsewhere we are told that King Solomon was a prolific womanizer (in 1 Kings we are told that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, which pretty much sounds like a womanizer to me).  However, I read the Queen of Sheba’s visit as a diplomatic/trade mission.  The account of the Queen of Sheba comes after the writer describes the trade routes King Solomon setup and before describing the great wealth he accumulated from that trade.  Sheba was a trade kingdom.  To me this seems as if the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon to figure out how he had developed such a large trade network in such a short time.

Daily Bible Study

May 19, 2019 Bible Study — Prayer and Becoming One Of God’s People

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 5-7.

I commented yesterday how before this year it had never registered to me that the Tabernacle was not in Jerusalem with the Ark of the Covenant.  As a result, when I read how Solomon had the ‘special tent” brought into the Temple along with the Ark I thought it meant the Tabernacle.  Now I realize that this “special tent” was one which King David had had made when he brought the Ark to Jerusalem.  Another interesting detail mentioned here is that the only thing in the Ark when it was brought into the Temple were the stone tablets which Moses had placed in the Ark at Mount Sinai.  This is noteworthy for two reasons.  First, Moses had also placed a jar of manna and Aaron’s staff in the Ark.  The writer tells us that they were gone when the Ark was moved to the Temple.  Second, this means that someone looked into the Ark. The only previous account where someone looked into the Ark was 1 Samuel 6:19, where 70 men died because they looked into the Ark. 

Once the Ark had been moved into the Temple, Solomon dedicated the Temple to God.  Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the Temple and God’s reply provide us with several lessons about prayer and whose prayer God will answer.  Actually there is more than even that. 

Solomon begins his prayer by acknowledging that God is unique among gods and that He cannot be contained in any temple, city, or geographical location.  He goes on to ask God to nevertheless treat the Temple and Jerusalem as special.  Further Solomon asks God to always respond to prayers prayed towards the Temple.  God responds to Solomon’s prayer by saying that the Temple is dear to His heart and He will always watch over it.  However, before He said that God replied that if His people (we will come back to who they are in a moment) will humble themselves, pray and seek His face, and turn from wickedness, He will hear, forgive, and restore.  Notice that while God places special significance on the Temple, praying towards it is not one of the conditions on Him hearing and answering our prayers.

Now I want to touch on who God’s people are.  Solomon asked God to hear and answer the prayers of those foreigners who hear of God and pray to Him.  In His reply to Solomon God tells Solomon, and us, that His people are those who are called by His name.  Not just the descendants of Jacob, or Isaac, or Abraham, but everyone who chooses to be called by His name.  That sounds simple and inclusive, and it is every bit as simple and inclusive as it sounds.  In fact it is as universal as Universalist and Unitarians often make it out to be.  But there is a catch, if God’s people do not obey His commands, or if they worship other gods (which right there is a failure to obey His commands), they will suffer, God will bring disasters upon them. 

 

Daily Bible Study

May 18, 2019 Bible Study — Seeking God’s Aid So That We Can Help Others

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 1-4.

The first thing I want to write is something that has been going through my head for a few weeks.  I realized that this blog varies between entries which talk about how the passage I am reading speaks to my faith to what it tells me about the historical context of the Bible to how it influences my biblical interpretation (I was going to use the word hermeneutics there, which would have been an example of me sometimes using more obscure words than necessary).  Basically, this blog is whatever thoughts the passage I am reading that day bring to me.  I would prefer if those thoughts were about ways the passage teaches me to be a better servant of Christ, but sometimes those thoughts go in different directions.  Nevertheless, I think that those thoughts have value and illustrate how reading the Bible over and over again can teach us things we missed previously.  Today’s thoughts are an example of that.

 I am not sure I was ever aware before my reading through the Bible this year that when King David moved the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem he did not move the Tabernacle or the altar which had been built when Moses was alive.  I had not even been aware that they still existed at that time.  I first noticed the fact that the Tabernacle and altar were still at Gibeon when I read the 1 Kings passage about Solomon becoming king but did not comment on it at the time.  However, when I was presented with that understanding again today I realized that it changes my perception about what was going on in passages both before and after this.  I have always viewed the Ark, the Tabernacle, and the Exodus altar in unity.  That unity meant that to me, the Temple was a transformed Tabernacle.  However, this passage shows us that the early Israelites did not view it that way.  In fact, it made me realize that the Ark and the Tabernacle had been in separate locations since the Ark was captured by the Philistines in Eli’s day, and perhaps before that.  All of this suggests that the pre-Davidic Israelites had developed a practice whereby certain priests, Samuel is an example, traveled around and offered sacrifices to God locally for those who were unable to travel to where the Tabernacle or Ark were.  

I may have mentioned this next thought in my discussions about the similar passage in 1 Kings.  When I was growing up I was taught that what made Solomon’s request so wonderful was that he asked for wisdom rather than wealth or fame.  The lesson being taught was that wisdom should be valued more highly than either of those other two.  There is truth to that lesson, but it misses an even more important lesson which Solomon’s request teaches.  Solomon’s request was not for wisdom for himself.  Solomon requested wisdom in order to serve God’s people better.  We should seek how we can better serve God’s people.  So, we should seek wisdom because wisdom will always help us serve others better.  But there may be other things which are just as necessary for us to do the tasks to which God has called us.  Note: one element of any task to which God has called us is serving others.

Daily Bible Study

April 27, 2019 Bible Study — God Works In Israel When Ahab Was King

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 20-22.

King Ben-Hadad of Aram mustered his army and demanded tribute from Ahab. When King Ahab agreed to pay the tribute initially demanded, King Ben-haddad demanded to be allowed to loot the city. This latter demand was too much for King Ahab and his advisers. A prophet of God advised King Ahab on how to take Ben-Hadad’s forces off guard. King Ahab followed the advice and defeated Ben-Hadad. Ben-Hadad’s advisers convinced him that they had lost because God was a god of the hills and if they attacked again but stayed on the plains they would win. On this second occasion the Israelite army was vastly outnumbered, but was still able to gain the victory.. King Ben-Hadad believed that God was limited by geography and paid the price. Our God is not limited to the hills or the plains. Wherever we need His aid He is able to rescue us.

When Naboth refused to sell King Ahab his vineyard, King Ahab threw a temper tantrum until his wife, Jezebel, arranged for Naboth to be killed. Then later, when Jehoshaphat asked that they consult a prophet of God, King Ahab did not want to do so because he did not like what the prophet told him. I want to point out some similarities between these tow incidents. In the first story, despite the fact that King Ahab did not give the orders for Naboth’s death, God held him accountable. When Elijah confronted Ahab with God’s judgement, Ahab humbled himself and begged forgiveness. In the second story, King Ahab initially “misinterpreted” Jehoshaphat’s request and consulted his prophets of Baal. In both stories, when Ahab was pushed he recognized God’s sovereignty. In the first story, when King Ahab did not get his way, he threw a temper tantrum. In the second story, when King Ahab did not want to consult the prophet because he did not like what he told him, King Jehoshaphat called him out on it. In both cases King Ahab acted childishly. In the first stroy Jezebel coddled him and rewarded him for his behavior. In the second story, Jehoshaphat confronted him and made him do what was right. When our friends act like Ahab, we should strive to be like Jehoshaphat and not like Jezebel.

Daily Bible Study

April 21, 2019 Bible Study — Using a Ritual To Worship God

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The Lord is Risen!

Happy Easter.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 8.

Solomon said some very wise things when he dedicated the Temple. After his prayer of dedication he turned to the people and reminded them, and us, that in order to serve God we must desire to do so. And in our human frailty the desire to serve God is a gift we must receive from Him. I came to realize as I read today’s passage that each time Solomon referred to someone praying towards the Temple he was using that action as a metaphor for turning away from evil and towards God. We, as human beings, are very influenced by taking physical actions which have symbolic meanings. Many of those who smoke cigarettes are as addicted to the ritual they go through each time they light a cigarette as they are to the nicotine. In the same way, a ritual can help us focus on God and doing His will. Solomon was offering the people of Israel such a ritual. Each one of us needs rituals in their life which turns our attention to God and His will for us. The only downside to this is that we may allow the ritual to take the place of God.

Daily Bible Study

March 23, 2019 Bible Study — A Bad Start Rarely Leads To A Good Ending

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Judges 9-10.

Today’s passage starts with a story which we will want to contrast with the one which begins tomorrow’s passage.  One of Gideon’s sons, Abimelech, who we are told was the son of a concubine, not a wife, makes himself ruler of at least part of Israel.  Abimelech clearly had no fraternal care for his brothers, since his first act was to attempt to kill them all.  Only one got away.  Actually, Abimelech’s first act was to hire a bunch of toughs who agreed to follow him.  Apparently, Abimelexh ruled as he started and after three years the parts of Israel over which he ruled were in open rebellion, even Shechem which had first set him up as ruler.  Scattered throughout the account of Abimelech are references to idolatry on the part of the Israelites.  The passage suggests that their failure to faithfully obey God played a role in the evil which they suffered under Abimelech.

The passage lists two other men who ruled over Israel as judges.  It gives us no real idea how either of these men became judge, nor much of an idea about the quality of their leadership.  However, after the death of the second it tells us that the Israelites fell completely into idolatry, abandoning even the pretense of worshiping God.  As a result they fell under the oppressive dominance of the Ammonites, who continued as a threat to Israel until Saul became king.  The oppression they were under led them to turn back to God.  This was one of the points in their history where they rejected the worship of other gods completely.

Daily Bible Study

March 12, 2019 Bible Study — The Importance Of Being Accountable To Others

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Joshua 5-7.

I find it interesting that none of the children born while the Israelites were in the wilderness were circumcised.  No real explanation is given for why this was the case.  We are just told that all of the men were circumcised after they crossed the Jordan because they had not been while they were in the wilderness.  Perhaps it is unrelated, but Moses’ sons were also not circumcised until he was returning to Egypt.  I do not know why the Israelites did not practice circumcision while they wondered in the wilderness, nor why they resumed when they crossed the Jordan.  The only clue we have is that while the men were recovering from being circumcised they celebrated Passover and the Feast on Unleavened Bread in the Promised Land for the first time.  The last time it was mentioned that they celebrated the Passover was before the 12 spies went out.  Perhaps, they had not celebrated the Passover in the meantime?  That seems like a stretch, since the Passover mentioned here was significant because it was the first in the Promised Land.

The story of the Israelite loss at Ai and Achan’s sin always troubles me because the punishment seems so severe.  It was Achan’s sin, why were his family killed and all of his possessions destroyed as well?  There are two aspects to the answer.  First, his family was aware of his sin, and complicit in it because they did not report it.  When we read the way in which Achan concealed the loot he kept from Jericho in violation of God’s command, a little thought reveals that his family would have had to know about it.  He could not have dug the hole beneath his tent each time they moved camp without his immediate family knowing what he was doing and why.  As for destroying his possessions, by doing this no one can claim that anyone profited from his punishment.  We learn from the story of Ai and Achan’s sin that one person’s sin can undermine the efforts of an entire group.  Our sins may seem to be a private matter between ourselves and God and thus no one else’s business but our own.  However, they may impact the group of which we are part and undermine the efforts of others to do God’s will.  Therefore we must allow ourselves to be held accountable by those with whom we strive to serve God.

 

 

Daily Bible Study

March 4, 2019 Bible Study — Looking Out For Those Who Have Fallen On Hard Times

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 14-17.

When he commanded the Israelites to give a tenth of their produce to God, he told them that, if they lived too far from the central place of worship to transport their tithe there, they could sell their tithe and take the money there.  When they got to the central place of worship they could buy whatever food or drink they wished and celebrate their offering with that.  However, the part which stood out to me was that every three years they were to store their tithe in the nearest town and give it to the Levites, the foreigners living among them, orphans, and widows.  Basically, every third year they were to use their tithe to support those who had no other means of support.

Another interesting practice laid out here was debt forgiveness.  They were to forgive the debts of those to whom they had loaned money every seven years.  In addition, they were to help those among them who had fallen on hard times.  Moses instructed the Israelites to give generously to the poor among them.  I want to make note that there was no suggestion that this giving should be managed by the government.  It was something which each individual Israelite was obligated to do.  Related to that was how they were to treat their slaves.  Every seven years they were to set free any of their fellow Israelites who had become their slaves.  And they were not just to set them free, but to provide them with the means to support themselves.

 

Daily Bible Study

March 3, 2019 Bible Study Responding to God’s Power and Love

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 11-13.

Moses focused his comments to those of us who have seen and experienced God’s power and love.  While I have not experienced anything comparable to the parting of the Red Sea, on numerous occasions I have seen God act in my life when I was desperate for change.  This experience has made me a firm believer that if we are faithful to God He will meet our needs.  However, as Moses said in yesterday’s passage and again in today’s passage, if we begin to believe that our good life is a product of our own worthiness and turn away from God disaster will strike.  If we have seen God’s power and love in our lives we must be strive to obey God’s will with all of our being.

From time to time I encounter someone who claims that Judaism was not monotheistic until relatively late.  They base this upon the biblical accounts which describe how the Israelites often worshiped other gods along with God once they entered the Promised Land (and on some of the stories in Genesis).  However, such an opinion overlooks the repeated focus on monotheism throughout the first five books of the Bible.  It is true that the Israelites tended towards polytheism through most of their history before the Exile.  However, the command in today’s passage for the people of Israel to worship God in a central location was designed to address that.  Sacrifices were only to be offered at that designated central location.

I had intended to stop at that point, but I was struck by a lesson the modern Church could learn from.   If anyone was discovered to be trying to seduce people away from following God’s commands they were to be put to death.  I do not believe that God calls us today to kill those who violate His commands.  However, I have been struck by the number of people who attempt to convince the people of God to stop calling one sin or another a sin who remain in good standing with their Church after their argument has been defeated.  Many of them fail to accept that God has spoken through the Church and continue to strive to change the Church’s teachings after the Body has rejected this change.  Those who reject the teachings of the Church, which have been its teachings since the First Century should be cast out with those who refuse to stop practicing those sins.  I want to make an important distinction here between those who fall into sin and acknowledge that God is calling them to change and those who sin and proclaim that there is no reason to stop doing so.  Even the best of us will fall into the former category but those who fall into the latter category must be exposed as not seeking to follow God’s will.

Daily Bible Study

February 28, 2019 Bible Study — Search For God With All of Your Heart and Soul and You Will Find Him

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I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 3-4.

Moses concludes his summary of the journey which the Children of Israel took from Mt. Sinai to the eastern bank of the Jordan River by telling them what all of those events should mean to them.  There were two elements to the lesson Moses wanted the Israelites to take from the history he recited.    The story of their travels taught them the danger of breaking their covenant with God.  If they failed to keep that covenant they would not live in the land they were about to enter for very long.  The most important part of that covenant was that they should not worship any material thing, whether an object they created as representative of God, or a natural object (such as the sun) which they perceived as representing the magnificence of God. 

The other element of what they, and we, should learn from the story of their travels is that there is only one God.  The choice we make in idolatry is not which god we worship.  The choice is whether we worship God, or something He created.   Logic dictates that this is indeed the case.  If God is the Creator of the universe and everything in it, then there can be no other being which deserves our worship (simplifying the logic slightly to keep things short).  On the other hand, if God is not the Creator of the universe, then He is not deserving of our worship in the first place.  The story of the Israelites’ journey provides evidence that God is indeed the Creator.

Which brings us to something of utmost importance. Moses told the Children of Israel that they WOULD, sooner or later, break God’s covenant with them and be exiled from the land God was giving them. However, he made them a promise, a promise which God makes to every human being. If we seek God with all of our heart and soul, with all of our being, we WILL find Him. This is something I have seen again and again among those I know. An important corollary to this is that we must be willing to accept God when we find Him. I have known people who have sought God with all of their being, only to reject Him when they discovered what He was. They were unwilling, for one reason or another, to accept God when they found Him. This is the source of most, if not all, idolatry. The desire to enter into a relationship with God, but the unwillingness to accept Him for what He truly is.