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.

    The first part of this passage reminds me, somewhat, of modern Israel. The Arameans (Syrians, more or less) mustered their army and an overwhelming number of allies to attack Israel. When the Israelites agreed to their initial demands, the Arameans increased their demands. When the Israelites refused their increased demands, the Arameans bosted about how they would destroy the city completely. In response the Israelites attacked and the Aramean army was routed. However, the Arameans decided that they had only lost because God was a god of the hills and that He would not be able to aid the Israelites on the plains. So, they rebuilt their army and attacked again the following year. Once again, the Israelite army routed the Arameans. But rather than execute Ben-Hadad, King Ahab ransomed him, thus leaving him to be a threat to the nation of Israel going forward. Except possibly for that last bit, this reminds me of how the Arab nations surrounding the modern nation of Israel attacked Israel and were (are?) convinced that their defeat was just a question of tactics and did not reflect the hand of God protecting His people.

    King Ahab’s actions regarding Naboth’s vineyard and his reaction to the idea of consulting Micaiah the prophet both reflect an unwillingness to take responsibility. When Naboth refused to sell his vineyard to King Ahab, Ahab threw a temper tantrum and sulked until Jezebel promised to make it better. Then when Jehoshaphat asked that they consult a true prophet of God, Ahab said that he hated the only option because he never told Ahab what he wanted to hear. These represent two different, but related failures of leadership. In the first case, Ahab was both unwilling to accept being refused but wanted to avoid responsibility by having someone else do the dirty work. Although it is worth noting that when confronted Ahab behaved repentant. The second example shows an unwillingness to listen to advice from those he knew would not just tell him what he wanted to hear.

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 18-19.

    In yesterday’s passage Elijah told King Ahab that it would not rain in Israel for several years, until he Elijah gave the word. James uses this as an example of the power of prayer. Elijah had prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain for 3 1/2 years. Now God told him that it was time for the rains to resume, so Elijah went to King Ahab to give him the news. But Elijah knew that King Ahab’s prophets to Baal and Asherah would attempt to take credit for the rain returning. So, he set up a show to cement in the minds of the people the power of God vs the power of Baal.

    I want to interrupt the flow of the story here to emphasize the exchange which took place when Elijah appeared before King Ahab. The first thing out of King Ahab’s mouth when they met was the accusation that Elijah was a troublemaker for predicting the drought. However, Elijah immediately responded that King Ahab and his family were the real troublemakers because it was their sin which caused the drought. We will often be called troublemakers and hate-filled when we warn people that their sins will bring them bad consequences. When we see people committing sins which will cause them trouble, we should warn them, but we should not wish those consequences upon them. Further when we see them suffering those consequences we should strive to ameliorate their suffering as best we can. One more point, when we find trouble in our lives, we should look inside ourselves for the cause, not blame others.

    Now, back to the main story. Elijah was clearly a showman with a sense of making an impression on his audience. He had the prophets of Baal go first because he knew that their numbers and rituals would draw the people’s attention. He also knew that if they went after him, their show might eclipse the demonstration of God’s power. Elijah was not disappointed. The prophets of Baal and Asherah put on quite a show. And once again we see Elijah’s skill as a showman. He humorously made sure that the people noticed that for all of the prophets gyrations and flamboyant activity, nothing actually happened. Then when the show started to become boring and the prophets were becoming tired, Elijah called everyone’s attention to himself.
    Again, Elijah demonstrates his flair for the dramatic. He did not put on a flashy show. Rather, as soon as he got everyone’s attention, he mundanely dug a trench around the altar he had built. Then he called for audience participation by having people from the crowd pour water over his altar until the trench he had dug filled with water. Finally, Elijah calmly stood before the altar and prayed a simple prayer. The pyrotechnics which followed that simple prayer would remain stuck in people’s minds. Even more importantly, the way Elijah had done this made it stick in people’s minds that it was God who acted, not Elijah. The fact that the rains returned shortly after this put an exclamation mark on the whole thing.

    I hate to make the entry this long, but there is one more thing in this passage that needs to be touched upon. Elijah fled in fear for his life and when he had fled as far as his strength would take him he begged God to take his life. At which point God showed him a lesson which is important for all of us. First, God caused there to be a mighty windstorm on the mountain to where Elijah had fled, then an earthquake, then a firestorm. Three flashy and adrenaline-inducing events. But God was not within any of them. After these mighty examples of power, God came to Elijah in a gentle whisper. Let us remember, there is a time and a place for the flashy and powerful, but God is in the quiet and calm after the storm.

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 15-17.

    The passage tells us that Rehoboam’s son, Abijam, committed the same sins which Rehoboam had committed. Further it tells us that Abijam was not faithful to God. However, the passage also tells us that Abijam’s son, Asa, did what was pleasing in God’s sight. Asa banished the shrine prostitutes from the land and destroyed the royal idols, including the one sponsored by his grandmother. However, there is one thing which it says that I have always overlooked, “He brought into the Temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.” So, despite his failings, Abijam had tried to worship God. As a result, Abijam raised a son who did what was pleasing to God. It is important that we note how God blesses even our failed attempts to serve him. Abijam was unable to resist the pressure to idolatrous worship which came from his upbringing and his mother (the passage mentions that she sponsored an Asherah pole), but he raised a son who was.

    Meanwhile, the kings of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) continued to follow the example of Jeroboam and encourage the worship of the gold calves he had constructed. Again I noticed something here which I had not noticed before. Jeroboam had built the calves for the Northern Tribes to worship in order to keep the people from going to Jerusalem to worship God. It seems likely to me that neither he nor the kings who followed his example believed the calves were gods. They encouraged their worship for purely political reasons. However, when Ahab took the throne in Israel, he began worshiping Baal, the god of the Canaanites. Ahab appears to have genuinely worshiped Baal.

    I debated stopping after what I wrote above, but the story of Elijah and the widow is too important not to comment on. When God sent Elijah to the widow, she had barely enough food for one last meal for herself and her son. However, she believed Elijah’s promise that if she used the last of her food to feed Elijah she would not run out of food before the famine ended. If we seek first to do God’s will, all of our other needs will be met.

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 13-14.

    Today’s passage starts with a story about a man of God who was sent to prophesy against Jeroboam because Jeroboam had led the Northern Tribes into idolatry. God had commanded the man of God not to eat or drink until he had returned to Judah. So, the man of God declined Jeroboam’s invitation to dine with him. However, on his way home another prophet overtook him and told the man of God that an angel had appeared to the second prophet instructing him to bring the man of God home with him to dine. The writer tells us that the second prophet was lying, although we do not know what his motives were. I do not know why the man of God took the second prophet’s word for this, but it cost him his life. We must be careful not to accept the guidance of others when it contradicts what God has revealed to us directly, no matter how godly those others may appear to us. This does not mean that God will not sometimes reveal His will to us through others. It just means that we have to not let the words of men override clear instructions we have received directly from God.

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 11-12.

    After completing the building of the Temple, or perhaps even before, Solomon began marrying many women. Certainly some of those marriages were political, but just a little thought suggests that many of those women were merely women he desired. Despite the fact that God had appeared to Solomon on two occasions he chose to partake in the idolatrous worship practices of some of the women he married. The passage tells us that Solomon Ashtoreth and Molech and built shrines for the gods worshiped by the women he slept with. It is noteworthy that in at least some of the societies of the Ancient Middle East, Ashtoreth was the consort of Molech. There is actually a connection between the two which is relevant to our society today. Ashtoreth worship involved promiscuous sex and orgies, while Molech worship involved child sacrifice. This is much like elements of today’s society which behave as if promiscuous sex and abortion are sacraments.

    When Solomon took over from David, a couple of foreign adversaries were able to set themselves up in opposition to him in ways that would not have been possible when David reigned. The writer clearly wants us to connect their rise and success to Solomon’s worship of other gods. Even one of Solomon’s officials, Jeroboam, raised rebellion against Solomon. We do not have much detail on Jeroboam’s rebellion against Solomon except that a prophet told Jeroboam that he would lead 10 of the tribes to independence from Solomon’s son. We also know that Solomon forced Jeroboam to flee to Egypt. Which brings us to the interesting fact that the Pharaoh of Egypt supported at least two enemies of Solomon despite the fact that his daughter was married to Solomon.
    All of this sets up what happened when Solomon died and his son Rehoboam succeeded him. We find that Jeroboam has returned from Egypt and is leading those who request concessions from Rehoboam in return for supporting his coronation. This suggests that perhaps Jeroboam’s rebellion against Solomon was not an attempt to overthrow Solomon, but was instead a series of protest attempting to get the tax burden reduced (with the understanding that in that time tax included forced labor). Rehoboam had seen how his father ruled while satisfying his many desires and instead of listening to his older, wiser advisers took the advice of the friends he had been partying with while those older, wiser men had been doing the work of running the country.

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 9-10.

    Sometime after the dedication of the Temple God appeared to Solomon to give him the answer to his prayer. God told Solomon that He would watch over the Temple because it was dear to His heart, but a bit later He tells Solomon that, if he or his descendants abandon the worship of God, He will reject the Temple and make it an object of mockery. It will become an object lesson to all peoples.
    As I mentioned yesterday, the New Testament tells us that each of us has become a Temple. As such, the promises and warnings which God made to Solomon apply. If we follow God with integrity and godliness, He will establish us for all eternity. But if we abandon God, He will make us objects of scorn and mockery, an example of what goes wrong for those who turn away from God.

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 4-6.

    One of the things which has always struck me when reading this passage, and other descriptions of the large geographic area around Israel in the Bible, is that it describes the Euphrates River as being north of Israel. I always think of the Euphrates River as being east of Israel because I think of it as being in Iraq (which it is). However, when the writers of the Old Testament thought of the Euphrates River, they thought of the area that is now Syria (bordering on what is now Turkey). It is worth mentioning that the various references to Babylon and other empires based in what is now Iraq or Iran as being from the north in the Old Testament has bothered me for years. Now, I understand why that happened. Because almost all travel to and from the capitals of those empires and Israel went through northern Syria, those who lived in Israel thought of them as being to their north.
    In the past when I read that David or Solomon or some other Israelite/Judean king ruled over land extending from Egypt to the Euphrates River, I envisioned a much larger kingdom then the writer meant. I always interpreted that as from Egypt in the east to the Euphrates River (Iraq) in the east. When in fact the writer meant from Egypt in the south to the Euphrates River (Turkey) in the north.

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 2-3.

    David’s final instructions to Solomon are interesting. He took the time to single out three people for special treatment by Solomon. First, he instructed Solomon to bring Joab to justice for the murders of Abner and Amasa, both of whom David had made his army commander in Joab’s place. The basis for the animosity that David had for Joab is unclear, perhaps it was these murders, but they each appear to come after an attempt by David to get rid of him. Second, he asks Solomon to look after the sons of Barzillai (which is technically more than one person, but it is Barzillai who, in the form of his sons, is getting special treatment). This is simple pay back for what Barzillai did for David when he fled Absalom. Finally, David asks Solomon to make Shimei pay for cursing him when he fled Absalom. Even in the way David asks Solomon to arrange Shimei’s death we see that Shimei held some power limiting the king’s ability to kill him.
    Shortly after this, Solomon’s brother Adonijah made another play for the throne by attempting to marry David’s final concubine. As a result, Solomon consolidated his power by having Adonijah and Joab executed while deposing Abiathar from his priesthood. Then Solomon ordered Shimei to build himself a house in Jerusalem and never again leave the city on pain of death. When, after some time, Shimei violates this command, Solomon has him executed. It is interesting that this account of Shimei’s execution is included with the conspirators who tried to usurp the throne since Shimei was listed among those of David’s advisers who refused to support Adonijah’s attempt for the throne.

    As part of his consolidation of power, Solomon went to Gideon to offer sacrifices. While there he experienced a vision in which God offered him his deepest desire. By seeking wisdom rather than wealth, long life, or vengeance against his enemies, Solomon chose wisely. If we do not seek wisdom we will not find it, while wisdom may bring us wealth and long life. It may even grant us vengeance against our enemies. Of course, once we obtain wisdom it may lead us to no desire other things more than those.
    I love the story of Solomon’s decision regarding the child claimed by two women. When he realized that he had no evidence to choose which woman was the child’s mother, he offered to kill the child and split him between them. One woman begged him to instead give the child to the other, while the other was happy that if she could not have the child neither could her rival. Solomon’s ruling was that the former was the child’s real mother and gave her the child. When I was growing up, I was told that by their answers Solomon knew which woman was truly the birth mother and thus gave her the child. As I have gotten older I realized that Solomon’s decision was much wiser than that. Solomon realized that it did not matter which woman was the birth mother of the child. The one which was willing to sacrifice her own interests for those of the child was the one who would provide the better home for him. The child’s real mother was willing to sacrifice herself for her child whether or not she was the child’s birth mother.
    The first part of today’s passage was about Solomon consolidating power, but, in some ways, so was the part about Solomon seeking wisdom and making a wise judgment. Solomon’s judgment between the two women is an example of how he balanced the conflicting interests of his people. Those who were willing to give up what they desired for the greater good were demonstrating that they sought the greater good (suggesting that what they desired was likely for the greater good).