Archive for the ‘1 Kings 4’ Category
Above: Icon of Jeremiah
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
READING JEREMIAH, PART X
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jeremiah 14:1-15:9
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The title for this post comes from The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VI (2001).
God, we read, will not listen to intercessions for the people of the Kingdom of Judah any longer. That is why certain prayers do not work in Jeremiah 14:1-15:9. We return to a theme from earlier in the Hebrew prophetic tradition: repentance is no longer an option. The Book of Jeremiah, like other Hebrew prophetic books, is inconsistent about whether repentance is no longer an option. I, having finished rereading the Book of Jeremiah and having read earlier Hebrew prophetic books as of the time I type these words, make that statement with authority and without fear of being objectively inaccurate.
Some aspects of this block of scripture beg for explanation.
Translations of 14:18 vary, for the Hebrew text is difficult. The priest and the prophet
roam the land,
They do not know where,
in TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985). However, the priest and the prophet
ply their trade in a land they do not know,
in The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011). In The Revised English Bible (1989), they
wander without rest in the land.
Other translations offer variations on those renderings.
15:4 tells us:
I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, on account of King Manasseh son of Hezekiah of Judah, and of what he did in Jerusalem.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
King Manasseh of Judah (r. 698/687-642 B.C.E.) was one of the monarchs certain Biblical authors loved to despise. 2 Kings 21:1-18 unloaded on the idolatrous monarch. 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 softened that blow by adding material about the monarch’s supposed repentance. 2 Kings 21:1-18 knew nothing about this alleged repentance, however. Later, an anonymous author, drawing from 2 Chronicles 33:1-20, composed The Prayer of Manasseh, an apocryphal text which enriches The Book of Common Prayer (1979).
Idolatry offers the theological clue to the interpretation of the drought in Jeremiah 14:1-15:9. The author wants people to recall the famine and drought in 1 Kings 17:1-18:46, meant to prove the ineffectiveness of Baal Peor, the Canaanite storm and fertility god.
The promise (15:8) that:
Their widows shall be more numerous
Than the sands of the seas.”
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
calls back ironically to the divine promise regarding the number of descendants of Abraham (Genesis 22:17) and Jacob (Genesis 32:13; cf. 1 Kings 4:20; Isaiah 10:22; Hosea 2:1).
She who bore seven is forlorn,
Utterly disconsolate;
Her sun has set while it is still day,
She is shamed and humiliated.
The remnant of them I will deliver to the sword,
To the power of their enemies
–declares the LORD.
–Jeremiah 15:9, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
This forlorn, disconsolate mother is Jerusalem personified. Themes, being what they are, occur in different and subsequent contexts, though. The stories of the mother and her seven sons, all martyrs during the Seleucid period, fill 2 Maccabees 7 and 4 Maccabees 8-18.
One should read scripture in various contexts, including literary genres and the historical record. Another context in which to read scripture is other scripture. We who have read the Bible know the rest of the story with regard to the final years of the Kingdom of the Judah. We know that matters got worse before they improved. We know that repentance was still an option.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES OF NISIBIS, BISHOP; AND SAINT EPHREM OF EDESSA, “THE HARP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK C. GRANT, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND NEW TESTAMENT SCHOLAR; AND HIS SON, ROBERT M. GRANT, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND PATRISTICS SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINTS OF GETULIUS, AMANTIUS, CAERAELIS, AND PRIMITIVUS, MARTYRS AT TIVOLI, 120; AND SAINT SYMPHROSA OF TIVOLI, MARTYR, 120
THE FEAST OF SAINT LANDERICUS OF PARIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF THOR MARTIN JOHNSON, U.S. MORAVIAN CONDUCTOR AND MUSIC DIRECTOR
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Jeremiah
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
READING JEREMIAH, PART I
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jeremiah 1:1-3
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The first three verses of the Book of Jeremiah identify the prophet, his father, the prophet’s hometown, and the timeframe of his prophetic ministry.
Jeremiah (“YHWH will exalt”) ben Hilkiah hailed from Anathoth, about three and a half miles northeast of Jerusalem. The father, Hilkiah, was a priest. Hilkiah and Jeremiah were outside of the priestly establishment in Jerusalem. Therefore, this Hilkiah was not the high priest Hilkiah (2 Kings 22:3-23:37) who found the scroll of Deuteronomy in the Temple, brought that scroll to King Josiah (r. 640-609 B.C.E.), and participated in Josiah’s religious reformation.
Hailing from Anathoth was significant. Anathoth was one of the cities assigned to Levitical priests in Joshua 21:18. After the death of King David, King Solomon had exiled the priest Abiathar (1 Samuel 22:20-22; 1 Samuel 23:6, 9; 1 Samuel 30:7; 2 Samuel 8:17; 2 Samuel 15:24, 27, 29, 35; 2 Samuel 17:15; 2 Samuel 19:11; 2 Samuel 20:25; 1 Kings 1:7, 19, 25, 42; 1 Kings 2:35; 1 Kings 4:4; 1 Chronicles 15:11; 1 Chronicles 18:16; 1 Chronicles 24:6; 1 Chronicles 27:34; Mark 2:26) to Anathoth for supporting Adonijah in the struggle for succession (1 Kings 2:26-27). Jeremiah, therefore, was also a member of a priestly family. He understood the ancient traditions of Israel, as well as the foundational character of the covenant in the life of Israel.
The superscription also defines the period during which Jeremiah prophesied: from the thirteenth year (627 B.C.E.) of the reign (640-609 B.C.E.) of King Josiah of Judah through “the eleventh year of King Zedekiah,” “when Jerusalem went into exile in the fifth month” (586 B.C.E.). We read in Chapters 39-44 that Jeremiah prophesied after the Fall of Jerusalem, too. The list of kings names Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah. That list omits Jehoahaz/Jeconiah/Shallum and Jehoiachin/Jeconiah/Coniah. Yet, as the germane note in The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014), points out, few of the prophecies in the Book of Jeremiah date to the reign of King Josiah.
Jeremiah prophesied during a turbulent and difficult period of decline–mostly after the fall of the Assyrian Empire (612 B.C.E. and before the Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.E.). In the wake of King Josiah’s death, Judah had become a vassal state of Egypt. Pharaoh Neco II had chosen the next two Kings of Judah. Jehoahaz/Jeconiah/Shallum (2 Kings 23:31-35; 2 Chronicles 36:1-4; 1 Esdras 1:34-38) had reigned for about three months before becoming a prisoner in Egypt. Then Neco II had appointed Eliakim and renamed him Jehoiakim (r. 608-598 B.C.E.; 2 Kings 23:36-24:7; 2 Chronicles 36:5-8; 1 Esdras 1:39-42). Jehoiakim was always a vassal while King of Judah. After being the vassal of Neco II of Egypt for about three years, he became a vassal of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire in 605 B.C.E. He died a prisoner in that empire.
Two more Kings of Judah reigned; both were vassals of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. Jehoiachin/Jeconiah/Coniah (2 Kings 24:8-17; 2 Kings 25:27-30; 2 Chronicles 36:9-10; 1 Esdras 1:43-46) reigned for about three months before going into exile in that empire. The last King of Judah was Zedekiah, born Mattaniah (2 Kings 24:18-25:26; 2 Chronicles 36:11-21; 1 Esdras 1:47-58). He reigned from 597 to 586 B.C.E. The last events he saw before Chaldean soldiers blinded him were the executions of his sons.
The Book of Jeremiah is one of the longest books in the Hebrew Bible; it contains 52 chapters. The final draft is the product of augmentation and editing subsequent to the time of Jeremiah himself. In fact, Jeremiah 52 is mostly verbatim from 2 Kings 24:18-25:30. Also Jeremiah 52:4-16 occur also in Jeremiah 39:1-2, 4-10. Chronology is not the organizing principle of material in the Book of Jeremiah; jumping around the timeline is commonplace. For example, the Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.E.) occurs between Chapters 32 and 33, as well as in Chapters 39 and 52. Some ancient copies are longer than other ancient copies. None of the subsequent augmentation and editing, complete with some material being absent from certain ancient copies of the book surprises me, based on my reading about the development of certain Biblical texts. I do not pretend that divinely-inspired authors were mere secretaries for God.
Rabbi Abraham J. Heschel made a germane and wonderful point in The Prophets, Volume I (1962), viii:
The prophet is a person, not a microphone. He is endowed with a mission, with the power of a word not his own that accounts for his greatness–but also with temperament, concern, character, and individuality. As there was no resisting the impact of divine inspiration, so at times there was no resisting the vortex of his own temperament. The word of God reverberated in the voice of man.
The prophet’s task is to convey a divine view, yet as a person he is a point of view. He speaks from the perspective of God as perceived from the perspective of his own situation. We must seek to understand not only the views he expounded but also the attitudes he embodied: his own position, feeling response–not only what he said but also what he lived; the private, the intimate dimension of the word, the subjective side of the message.
Those paragraphs applied to all the Hebrew prophets. They applied to Jeremiah with greater poignancy than to the others, though.
I invite you, O reader, to remain with me as I blog my way through the book of the “weeping prophet.”
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 6, 2021 COMMON ERA
PROPER 5: THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF FRANKLIN CLARK FRY, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA AND THE LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CLAUDE OF BESANÇON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MONK, ABBOT, AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF HENRY JAMES BUCKOLL, AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
THE FEAST OF JOHANN FRIEDRICH HERTZOG, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM KETHE, PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Hosea and Gomer
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
READING HOSEA, PART II
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hosea 1:2-2:1 (Anglican, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox)
Hosea 1:2-2:3 (Jewish and Roman Catholic)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When I began my preparation for writing this post, I read the text aloud. While doing so, I got theological whiplash. Late in the reading, I also detected evidence of subsequent, Judean editing of the text, as in 1:7 and 1:10-2:1/2:3. (I wrote about reasons for subsequent, Judean editing in the original text of the Book of Hosea in the previous post.)
Adultery and prostitution, in the Bible, are sometimes simply adultery and prostitution. On other occasions, they are not literal references, but metaphors for idolatry. And, on other occasions, they are both literal and metaphorical. Regarding Gomer, the third option is germane.
Idolatry was widespread in ancient Israel. Polytheism was ubiquitous in the ancient world, so monotheism was an outlying theological position. Canaanite religion was popular in ancient Israel, much to the consternation of God, God’s prophets, and pious priests. Pious priestly religion and folk religion were quite different from each other. The cult of Baal Peor, the Canaanite storm and fertility god, entailed shrine prostitution, to ensure continued fertility and productivity of the soil, officially. Gomer (“to complete,” literally) was probably one of these prostitutes.
A competing scholarly opinion in commentaries holds that Gomer was a different type of prostitute. Some books I consulted suggested that she may have resorted to prostitution out of economic necessity, that her alternatives may have been starvation and homelessness. These scholars write accurately that many women in patriarchal societies have found themselves in this predicament, and that, in Gomer’s society, women lacked property rights.
Gomer being a shrine prostitute fits the metaphor in the Book of Hosea better.
Metaphorically, God’s covenant with the Jews was a marriage. Worship of Baal Peor, therefore, constituted infidelity. God was, metaphorically, her husband, and the Jewish people were God’s wife.
The marriage of Hosea and Gomer dramatized the divine indictment of Israel. The prophet played the role of God, and Gomer took the role of Israel. The children of Hosea ben Beeri and Gomer bath Didlaim bore names that revealed God’s terse messages.
- The first son was Jezreel, literally “God sows.” Jezreel was a city (as in Joshua 15:56) and a valley (as in Judges 6:33). Apart from the Book of Hosea, this place name occurred in Joshua 15, 17, and 19; Judges 6; 1 Samuel 25, 27, 29, and 30; 2 Samuel 2, 3, and 4; 1 Kings 4, 18, and 21; 2 Kings 8, 9, and 10; 1 Chronicles 4; and 2 Chronicles 22. The city of Jezreel had a bloody past. There, for example, Queen Jezebel had plotted the murder of Naboth (1 Kings 21). And, when King Jehu founded the dynasty to which King Jeroboam II belonged, Jehu did so by assassinating the entire royal court at Jezreel. What had come around was coming around, God warned. In 747 B.C.E., King Zechariah, son of Jeroboam II, died after reigning for about six months. His life and the House of Jehu ended violently when King Shallum staged a palace coup. About a month later, King Shallum died in another palace coup (2 Kings 15:11-15). Hosea, by the way, disagreed with the perspective of 2 Kings 9-10, the author of which held that God had authorized Jehu’s revolution.
- Lo-ruhamah was the daughter of Hosea and Gomer. The daughter’s name meant “not accepted” and “not shown mercy.” (Poor girl!) God refused to accept or pardon the House of Israel.
- Lo-ammi was the second son. His name meant “not My people.” (Poor boy!) The House of Israel had ceased to be God’s people.
Pronouncements of divine judgment continued after 1:9. But first, in 1:10-2:1/2:1-3 (depending on versification), came an announcement of divine mercy. Those God had just condemned as not being His people would become the Children of the Living God, shown mercy and lovingly accepted. This passage may have been a subsequent insertion into the Book of Hosea.
The juxtaposition of material serves a valuable theological purpose. It reminds us that divine judgment and mercy exist in balance. Therefore, do not abandon all hope or presume on divine mercy; God both judges and forgives. I recognize this balance without knowing where judgment gives way to mercy, and mercy to judgment.
The marriage of Hosea and Gomer also dramatized God’s continued yearning for Israel. R. B. Y. Scott wrote:
Hosea speaks of judgment that cannot be averted by superficial professions of repentance; but he speaks more of love undefeated by evil. The final words remain with mercy.
—The Relevance of the Prophets, 2nd. ed. (1968), 80
History offers a complicating factor. John Adams, while defending the accused British soldiers charged in the so-called Boston Massacre, said,
Facts are stubborn things.
Consider the following stubborn facts, O reader:
- The Assyrian Empire absorbed the (northern) Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C.E. A mass deportation followed. This was not the first mass deportation. A previous one had occured in 733 B.C.E., when that empire had claimed much of the territory of the (northern) Kingdom of Israel.
- Many refugees from the (northern) Kingdom of Israel fled south, to the Kingdom of Judah after these events. These refugees merged into the tribes of Judah and Simeon.
- Many other Israelites remained in their homeland. Many who did this intermarried with Assyrian colonists, producing the Samaritans.
- The Ten Lost Tribes assimilated. Their genetic and cultural heritage spread throughout the Old World, from Afghanistan to South Africa, over time.
- The two kingdoms did not reunited, contrary to Hosea 1:11/2:2.
Nevertheless, I like what R. B. Y. Scott wrote:
The final word remains with mercy.
I hope so.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 13, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
THE FEAST OF HENRI DOMINIQUE LACORDAIRE, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, DOMINICAN, AND ADVOCATE FOR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
THE FEAST OF FRANCES PERKINS, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF LABOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT GEMMA OF GORIANO SICOLI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC ANCHORESS
THE FEAST OF SAINT GLYCERIA OF HERACLEA, MARTYR, CIRCA 177
THE FEAST OF UNITA BLACKWELL, AFRICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: King Solomon, by Simeon Solomon
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33
PART LVI
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Kings 4:1-28 (Protestant)
1 Kings 4:1-5:8 (Jewish and Roman Catholic)
3 Kingdoms 4:1-5:8 (Eastern Orthodox)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
He shall rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
–Psalm 72:8, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The material I read for this post is the type of content that makes many eyes glaze over. Yes, the list of officials is a composite from different periods of King Solomon’s reign. So be it. Yes, the material lacks a narrative structure. This material tells us much about the governance of the united Kingdom of Israel under King Solomon.
King Solomon weakened tribal power and centralized power in Jerusalem. The twelve prefects had authority over jurisdictions defined by economic capacities, not tribes.
King Solomon favored Judeans first. He took care of them and himself before he took care of others.
1 Kings 4:20 tells us that the people were content. If we fast forward to Chapter 11, though, we read that many people, especially in ten of the twelve tribes, were discontent. One who knows the narrative of 1 Kings understands the link of that discontent to the rebellion and secession in Chapter 12.
One should read 1 Kings 4:1-28/4:1-5:8 in the context of later material in 1 Kings. Hindsight is an essential element in the book, after all.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 21, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF GEORGE MCGOVERN, U.S. SENATOR AND STATESMAN; AND HIS WIFE, ELEANOR MCGOVERN, HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF DAVID MORITZ MICHAEL, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JAMES W. C. PENNINGTON, AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, AND ABOLITIONIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT LAURA OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, FOUNDRESS OF THE WORKS OF THE INDIANS AND THE CONGREGATION OF MISSIONARY SISTERS OF IMMACULATE MARY AND OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Judgment of Solomon, by William Blake
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33
PART LV
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Kings 3:1-28
1 Kings 4:29-34 (Protestant)
1 Kings 5:9-14 (Jewish and Roman Catholic)
3 Kingdoms 5:9-14 (Eastern Orthodox)
2 Chronicles 1:2-17
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Give the King your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the King’s Son;
That he may rule your people righteously and the poor with justice;
That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people,
and the little hills bring righteousness.
He shall defend the needy among the people;
he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.
–Psalm 72:1-4, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
One should read scripture in various contexts. The historical record is such a context. Other contexts include geography, cultural anthropology, and human psychology. And other scripture provides essential contextualization, too.
Both 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles tell the story of the dream encounter between Solomon and God. The petition for wisdom, to rule justly, sounds good, does it not? One could forget the bloody purge in 1 Kings 2. One could also ignore the foreshadowing of trouble and idolatry evident in King Solomon’s marriage to an Egyptian princess. Furthermore, 1 Kings 5 and 2 Chronicles 2 refer to the use of forced labor to construct the First Temple. The account in 2 Chronicles 2 minimizes this problem by stating that the burdens of forced labor fell solely on foreigners. However, 1 Kings 5:13/27 (depending on versification) tells us that the monarch imposed forced labor on “all Israel.”
Perhaps we would all feel better if we were to focus on the dream vision and on how King Solomon determined which prostitute was lying to him about being the baby’s mother.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 21, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF GEORGE MCGOVERN, U.S. SENATOR AND STATESMAN; AND HIS WIFE, ELEANOR MCGOVERN, HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF DAVID MORITZ MICHAEL, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JAMES W. C. PENNINGTON, AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, AND ABOLITIONIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT LAURA OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, FOUNDRESS OF THE WORKS OF THE INDIANS AND THE CONGREGATION OF MISSIONARY SISTERS OF IMMACULATE MARY AND OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: King Solomon’s Court
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Beloved and sovereign God,
through the death and resurrection of your Son
you bring us into your kingdom of justice and mercy.
By your Spirit, give us your wisdom,
that we may treasure the life that comes from
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
1 Kings 3:16-28 (Monday)
1 Kings 4:29-34 (Tuesday)
Proverbs 1:1-7, 20-33 (Wednesday)
Psalm 119:121-128 (All Days)
James 3:13-18 (Monday)
Ephesians 6:10-18 (Tuesday)
Mark 4:30-34 (Wednesday)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I am your servant; grant me understanding,
that I may know your decrees.
–Psalm 119:125, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Biblical authors, although usually honest about the faults of heroic or allegedly heroic figures, nevertheless created a tapestry of ancient texts which sometimes overplays the virtues of certain people. If David really was, for example, a man after God’s own heart, I have a major problem with the nature of God. And, although the narrative of 1 Kings turned against Solomon after Chapter 4, Chapter 2 contained troubling information about the methods by which the new monarch consolidated his power and eliminated his rivals. Thus the positive discussion of Solomon’s wisdom in Chapters 3 and 4 rings hollow for me. Nevertheless, the much vaunted wisdom won him such a reputation that tradition has credited him with writing Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, historically dubious claims.
Perhaps nostalgia from a time after the division of the united monarchy–a split due in large part to Solomon’s own domestic policies–accounted primarily for the minimization of the acknowledged faults of David and Solomon. I consider what the Bible tells me of those two kings and ponder Proverbs 1:7 (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989):
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Then I consider incidents from their lives and interpret the verse as a negative commentary on them. I arrive at the same conclusion regarding this passage:
The wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, approachable, full of merciful thoughts and kindly actions, straight forward, with no hint of hypocrisy. And the peacemakers go on quietly sowing for a harvest of righteousness.
–James 3:17-18, J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition, 1972
I think also of the large plant which grows from a mustard seed. (The mustard seed is not actually the smallest seed, but Jesus did not attend school to study horticulture. Besides, there is a rhetorical device called hyperbole, which we find in the Bible.) From that very small seed comes a large, pesky plant–a weed–to which the parable likens the Kingdom of God. The kingdom, like the mustard plant, provides shelter for a variety of creatures and goes where it will. One knows that not everyone in the Kingdom of God gets along well with each other, so this analogy is worth considering with regard to how we think of those who differ from us and are also of God.
David and Solomon presided over a kingdom built on force and compulsion, as political states are by nature. Their Kingdom of Israel also sat on a foundation composed partially of economic injustice, evident partly in artificial scarcity. In the weed-like Kingdom of God, however, there is no scarcity; everybody has enough. The Kingdom of God functioned partially as a negative commentary on political-religious-economic realities within the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus and the early Church, contributing to his crucifixion. The Kingdom of God continues to indict all forms of exploitation and injustice, including those which people have institutionalized.
The purpose of the Gospel, I have heard, is to comfort the afflict the comfortable and to comfort the afflicted. Are we among the comfortable or the afflicted?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 14, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT, FATHER OF EASTERN MONASTICISM
THE FEAST OF DOROTHY FRANCES BLOMFIELD GURNEY, ENGLISH POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT METHODIUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCH
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from This Post:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/devotion-for-monday-tuesday-and-wednesday-after-proper-12-year-a-elca-daily-lectionary/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
You must be logged in to post a comment.