Tag: 1 Kings

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Earnest eagerness of our youth.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Solomon was about twenty years old when he became King of Israel. He followed his father, David, in a stable and flourishing kingdom. Solomon admits he has no idea just how ginormous his kingdom was, but it is estimated at 800 thousand to possibly a million people. Later, it was noted in 1 Kings 4:20, “There were so many people living in Judah and Israel while Solomon was king that they seemed like grains of sand on a beach. Everyone had enough to eat and drink, and they were happy.”

Being young and given the responsibility of ruling over such a vast amount of people humbled Solomon. One of the things Solomon decided to do came right out of David’s playbook – massive and public sacrifices to God in one of the most popular of tabernacles – at Gideon. A thousand sacrifices, in ancient days, were seen as a “King’s” sacrifice, acknowledging his submission to deity – this was an expensive, seven-day example of honoring Solomon’s one true God. He also made those sacrifices, in Gideon, where it had been known for sacrificing to Idols – one of the many “high places.” In one massive demonstration of humility and repentance Solomon showed the people where his heart and financial motives were coming from.

This decision pleased God, which is why it prompted God to ask Solomon what he wanted. “That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you! ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬.” As a young man, a young leader of a large, thriving kingdom, filled with God’s people, he wanted to do what was right above all else. Yet, even with the gift of wisdom from God, Solomon was not able to hold fast to righteousness and to continue to lead the nation in godly ways!

I remember being full of great ideas, technological advancements and more efficient systems to get things done. But I was serving in a culture that was resistant to change! As I have gotten older, I still feel the positive pressure of the future coming towards us faster than ever. However, my lesson, my observation from scripture, especially from the lives of David and his son, Solomon is this; to grow consistently in my spiritual maturity. Systems, cool ideas and flashy programs will not make it to eternity. People are worth investing in, so I want to work to stay humble. I choose to serve others well, praise and promote those around me and give all glory to God. I want to be able to give my own thousand sacrifices well into my elder years.

Prayer

Dad,
It’s not about finishing first, it’s about lasting to the end. It’s a race to the bottom, the end of the line, to see others cross before me. The crown that awaits us is those who have turned their hearts towards you and join with me in heaven praising you! Amen.

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Solving human dilemmas.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. “Please, my Lord,” one of them began, “this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house. “But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Most often, when I think about wisdom, I imagine the problems and situations regarding finances, major life decisions and discerning God’s purpose for my life. You’ll notice that all of those are self focused. Of course we need wisdom to make decisions on who we might marry or stepping up to rent a more accommodating and expensive living situation. Or, even major health decisions over us or our children. These decisions alone are hard and we feel a sense of desperation. I recently spoke with a couple facing a major medical decision. The doctor only presented two options: stop taking these life saving medications or lose a major organ! Both were horrible options. They needed wisdom!

Here in Kings, this story follows the supernatural interaction between God and Solomon. Kings records that Solomon loved the Lord and kept all his father’s (David’s) decrees – plus Solomon gave offerings to the Lord… 1,000 of them! God was pleased with Solomon and offered him anything he wanted. Fame, riches, long life or death to his enemies – just name it and God would give it to him. Solomon asked for wisdom. Can I pause and tell you, every parent wants their child to do better, be better than themselves. Great parents want their child to seek good things, not selfish pursuits. God gave Solomon what he asked for PLUS all the things he didn’t ask for.

This story here is the first recorded story of the results of that wisdom. I see two amazing things in these verses. One: the first cases Solomon would hear as a judge would be from a woman (really both) who was an outlier, a sex worker in ancient times! This tells me that everyone rich or poor, good or bad reputations, had access to justice in this new court. Two: the case tells me that wisdom is not only for personal insight, but can and should be applied when helping others solve their most difficult decisions or resolve their conflicts.

Only one woman was telling the truth, but with no other witnesses available, it would be impossible to know which one. The point that leaps out at me, as a leader and dealing with people problems.; I need Godly wisdom to help resolve human dilemmas! This sad and messy issue would not resolve itself, it required someone outside of the two women’s lives and situation to bring a judgment and allow justice to be served. One child has died and the two mothers are fighting to keep the living one! I also notice there is no mention of a father in this child’s life! So, whatever happens, one woman will be raising the child alone.

As a pastor, I come across these kinds of modern human dilemmas all the time. People asking for prayer, asking for outside help on making difficult decisions. We all need wisdom, but oftentimes the situation calls for the necessity of Godly wisdom. The New Testament is helpful when James writes in 1:5, “If anyone lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously!”

Prayer

Dad,
We get ourselves into such a mess! And, yes, sometimes messes, conflicts and issues just come our way. We find ourselves so desperate to want to make the right decision, even if we have caused our own pain. That’s when we call out to you to ask for wisdom. I have total confidence that you will answer because you have done so in my life many times over. It becomes a really tricky part of faith! Faith to ask, faith to listen and faith to be patience and still while you work things out on our behalf. I am so very grateful for your wisdom. And, that you give it freely to those who ask.

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Forget the bread, what about my boy?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭17‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Shocker, I just found out this past year that the widow mentioned in this story was a Gentile, not a Jew. And the Jewish people reading about the life and times of Elijah did not like it! Luke 4:25-26 and Acts 10:34-35.

There was drought and famine going on and widows had it the worse because they had little to no means to provide on their own. Elijah didn’t just ask her for her last meal, but her son’s as well. You can hear the resignation in the widow’s words, “we’ll eat it and then die.” Obviously no hope there.

Hello! Elijah wasn’t being greedy, he was being obedient. Elijah may have tried to ease the bluntness by asking for a drink of water first. Uh… fail. That wasn’t a smooth segue because of the drought. As she walked away, Elijah threw in the request, “…bring me a bite of bread as well.” Just a bite? I hope you hear the sheer awkwardness of being obedient to God in THE worst kinds of circumstances possible. Are we obedient regardless of what we know, see or sense? Woof.

Elijah gives her a promise, “For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” The widow has just enough faith to be obedient. Promise made, promise kept. The widow provides Elijah room and board while he stays in the village of Zarephath. Why did Elijah stay? Because God told him to “live” there – “Go and live in the village of Zarephath. This next scene is disturbing in so many ways.

The widow’s son gets sick, then dies. The widow blames Elijah for her son’s death because he must be judging her sins. What? Wow. You see the ancient world was simple cause and effect. Someone gets sick, who’s to blame? Someone died, who sinned? God or God’s agents were directly held responsible because they obviously weren’t happy with something. It’s Elijah’s prayer to God that verifies this mindset. “Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?” Why why why?

God seemed comfortable putting Elijah on the spot with the health and well being of the widow and her son. That’s doesn’t seem fair. The miracle of long lasting bread and oil supply wasn’t enough of an official credential proving that Elijah is a spokesperson for God? Elijah is bold, if not weird, in his prayer and physical application to make sure that God hears him. Was the “stretching himself” out over the child three times necessary? Apparently, the first time didn’t work, so he went for three (“three” may be a significant brain-bookmark for us in the future). God heard, God answered and raised the boy from death to life. Ah, then the widow says confidently… “yep, now I believe you’re from God and God speaks through you.”

God is really into us having faith! God loves us having faith. It is pleasing to him because it completely says “I trust you more than anything else going on in my life.” Faith doesn’t just make God happy, faith is the critical decisions that saves us and is saving us.

Prayer

Dad,
Wow. Both Elijah and the widow shared in the experience of having faith in you. I never saw that before. You asked Elijah to do and say some really tough things and I get the responsibility, but I did not grasp the level of trust that Elijah was exercising in you. It was important wasn’t it. I want to be obedient so badly, but it is ALWAYS diluted by the thought of what others will think when I follow through with what you’ve asked. It feels so much more risky when it comes to the question of “who do I want to please more?” You or people. I have faith, but need more courage!

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What do YOU want?

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. “Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God asked Solomon in a dream. What a dream that must have been. Just coming off the Christmas Day experience yesterday, that question gets more and more difficult to answer as you get older – at least it does for me.

If God came to me in a dream and asked me what I want, I’m not sure I could answer right away. Solomon was probably 20 to 24 years old and was looking at ruling a population of 5 million people. And, shocker, Israel had become so large and powerful that their previous captors, Egypt, became an ally! The Pharaoh gave his daughter to be married to young Solomon.

In this dream where God asks Solomon a question that had never been asked, Solomon answers God. He humbly and honestly asked God for what he needed the most to carry on the legacy his father had left him. What leader doesn’t grab all that he can get with an offer like this at the outset of his totalitarian rule? Maybe Solomon had a sense, a taste of what ultimate power and wealth brought him. It didn’t look like more of the same would help him be the son, the King that God’s people needed him to be. So he answered, “give me an understanding heart,” so he could govern well. So the nation would be known, and have a culture of knowing the difference between right and wrong. Wow. Anyone who has studied history knows how many wacko leaders have taken the reigns of power and wealth, only to use them for their own selfishly sadistic purposes. We had those kind of rulers then, and we have them scattered throughout the globe even today. You can probably name the mentally-maniacal men ruling and ruining lives as you read this sentence! Solomon, as a young man, wanted to judge and govern well and to do so with God’s wisdom and justice. God, give us leaders that want this today.

Prayer

Dad,
We still have rulers, kings and leaders in every part of the world. And some are responsible for populations as big or much bigger than Israel at the time of Solomon. I live in a country that used to be united as individual states, under a series of balanced power or cooperative leaders. Now, under our nation of Divided States of America, we have deep divisions and distrust with sweeping, reactive grasps of power. We have each cycle of elections and votes trying to wipe out the changes of the other regime. We all ache for justice for our own agendas. I see the end coming. Especially when the world looks for that one person who has all the answers. They search for the one who will give us what we want AND promise peace. Each time I’ve seen this cycle of chaos in our world, I understand the real possibility that THE antichrist (not an antichrist), the imposter of all time will come to power soon. When, where, who – I do not know. But all the signs start showing up again. My longing for the Kingdom of God grows in these turbulent times. Come quickly Jesus – maranatha!