From I Kings 11-14:
1. I wonder why when Solomon found that Jeroboam had fled to Egypt that he did not call his friend the Pharaoh and ask a favor. After all, one of his wives was Egyptian and he even built her a palace. The Pharaoh had even given her land as a gift for her wedding. It would not have been such a big thing to ask that they send Jeroboam back (by force, if necessary) so that Solomon could dispatch him.
2. I am wondering again, as I mentioned earlier, why the Israelites felt that Solomon had put such a heavy burden on them. I mean, it states a couple of chapters earlier that he did not conscript labor from any of the Israelites, but rather from those who were non-Jews in the land. I wonder if this is similar to how the country is today in many areas. Americans enjoy wealth and riches beyond measure, and yet we complain all day long about how hard life is. Life is really quite simple and easy for us, and yet we have spoiled our children and ourselves to where we forget (or perhaps don't even know) what a hard life is.
3. Rehoboam was a typical spoiled, brash young man. He wanted to show that he was somebody, when in reality he found that he was nothing without God. I sure hope that my children don't grow up to be this foolish. Yet I see many kids today that are not properly disciplined that would make these exact mistakes.
4. Jeroboam was not smart either, because he tried to resolve the issue of the people reverting back to the house of David by going against God's will. Making graven images was not something God was going to bless. This should have been obvious.
5. How is it that the man of God spoken of in chapter 13 was fooled? And why was it that God spoke then later through the old man who had lied to get the man of God to go back? I think the old man should have suffered the fate of the prophet, because he lied. Though if the prophet was not sure, he should have inquired of God before going back.
6. I wonder how old Abijah was when God declared he would die. The prophet Ahijah said that he was the only one in the family of Jeroboam in whom the Lord found anything good. I wonder what good he found.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
All you had to do was remain faithful
From I Kings 8-11:
1. When the Israelites gathered together to "commission" the temple, the bible says that so many sheep and cattle were sacrificed that they could not be counted. Wow!
2. The bible records that there was nothing inside the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had brought down from Mount Horeb. I wonder what happened to the jar of manna and the budding staff of Aaron that had been in there before.
3. The fact that the cloud filled the temple, displaying God's presence to such a degree that the priests could not perform their duty is really cool.
4. Perhaps it is my psychoanalytical nature to do this, but I wonder about the comment that Solomon made when he saw the cloud. He said, "I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you,..." If it were me, I think that I would not dare to say this, because obviously heaven has to be much more magnificent. (Though I guess that later in his prayer he kind of redeems himself by saying that nothing can contain God)
5. It sounds a little like the king of Hiram, who had helped build the Lord's temple by providing Solomon with the cedar, pine and gold that was needed, was not happy with the towns he was given as reward for his gift. I wonder why Solomon did not try to mend this relationship (or at least why it is not mentioned here if he did).
6. During the reign of Solomon, all of the other people groups who were in the land promised to the Israelites were forced to be the labor force for the building of the temple and the palace. It says that Solomon did not make any of the Israelites to be slaves; rather, they were his fighting men, officials, officers, and commanders. If this is true, I wonder why the people complained later to Rehoboam about the heavy weight that Solomon had imposed upon them.
7. I wonder how the queen of Sheba knew of the Lord. I mean, she came to Solomon because she "heard about the fame of Solomon AND HIS RELATION TO THE NAME OF THE LORD". I also wonder about the hard questions she was going to ask. According to the account given, he was easily able to answer all that she asked.
8. If only Solomon had been wise in his dealings with women! It is interesting to note that God raised up enemies to contend with the house of David because of Solomon's sin of forsaking God and following after the gods of his many wives. It is also interesting to note that Ahijah stated very clearly to Jeroboam why ten tribes would become followers of him instead of the house of David. Ahijah also gave him a promise from God that he would build him a dynasty as enduring as the one that David had if he would only walk in God's ways. This illustrates that all of mankind struggles with faithfulness to God.
1. When the Israelites gathered together to "commission" the temple, the bible says that so many sheep and cattle were sacrificed that they could not be counted. Wow!
2. The bible records that there was nothing inside the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had brought down from Mount Horeb. I wonder what happened to the jar of manna and the budding staff of Aaron that had been in there before.
3. The fact that the cloud filled the temple, displaying God's presence to such a degree that the priests could not perform their duty is really cool.
4. Perhaps it is my psychoanalytical nature to do this, but I wonder about the comment that Solomon made when he saw the cloud. He said, "I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you,..." If it were me, I think that I would not dare to say this, because obviously heaven has to be much more magnificent. (Though I guess that later in his prayer he kind of redeems himself by saying that nothing can contain God)
5. It sounds a little like the king of Hiram, who had helped build the Lord's temple by providing Solomon with the cedar, pine and gold that was needed, was not happy with the towns he was given as reward for his gift. I wonder why Solomon did not try to mend this relationship (or at least why it is not mentioned here if he did).
6. During the reign of Solomon, all of the other people groups who were in the land promised to the Israelites were forced to be the labor force for the building of the temple and the palace. It says that Solomon did not make any of the Israelites to be slaves; rather, they were his fighting men, officials, officers, and commanders. If this is true, I wonder why the people complained later to Rehoboam about the heavy weight that Solomon had imposed upon them.
7. I wonder how the queen of Sheba knew of the Lord. I mean, she came to Solomon because she "heard about the fame of Solomon AND HIS RELATION TO THE NAME OF THE LORD". I also wonder about the hard questions she was going to ask. According to the account given, he was easily able to answer all that she asked.
8. If only Solomon had been wise in his dealings with women! It is interesting to note that God raised up enemies to contend with the house of David because of Solomon's sin of forsaking God and following after the gods of his many wives. It is also interesting to note that Ahijah stated very clearly to Jeroboam why ten tribes would become followers of him instead of the house of David. Ahijah also gave him a promise from God that he would build him a dynasty as enduring as the one that David had if he would only walk in God's ways. This illustrates that all of mankind struggles with faithfulness to God.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Just like Carl Linnaeus
I spent a bit of time recently reading about the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot and Security Prison 21. It is really terrible what human beings will do to one another when they are given the chance. I wonder how long it will take before our country votes someone of extremist views into the presidency and we start heading towards this type of situation. As the country is upset with the current president and he has taken all the stops away from the accountability designed into his position, it makes me really worry sometimes for my children and the country that they might live in.
From I Kings 4-7:
1. I noticed that Azariah son of Zadok became the priest. I also noticed that Ahimaaz, who had helped king David (at least I assume it is the same one) was not a priest, but rather was one of the district governors.
2. It is amazing the amount of wealth not only in the country, but also with Solomon himself. Just looking at the list of things that they used for the palace and Solomon's daily provisions, it makes one wonder how they could possibly ever keep up that amount of provision.
3. Solomon's wisdom was very great. I Kings 4 tells that Solomon described plant and animal life. I don't know that many people were clued into this until Carl Linnaeus started classifying plants and animals with names that science now uses to recognize them. It also talks of all of Solomon's proverbs. I wonder how many proverbs or sayings other great philosophers wrote.
4. It is interesting that there was to be no noise of chisels or hammers at the temple building site. It kind of reminds me of build-outs within our building. No one is to make a noise during the day, but they have to keep moving forward on the project.
5. If I were Solomon, I think I would worry about my dedication to the Lord very much after having spent thirteen years on my own palace and only seven years on God's temple. (Not that it was wrong for Solomon to do this, but it should have been a warning to make sure to keep God first.) And one of the clues should have been the fact that a whole lot of the building time probably was spent on the palace that he built for his wife who was Pharaoh's daughter.
From I Kings 4-7:
1. I noticed that Azariah son of Zadok became the priest. I also noticed that Ahimaaz, who had helped king David (at least I assume it is the same one) was not a priest, but rather was one of the district governors.
2. It is amazing the amount of wealth not only in the country, but also with Solomon himself. Just looking at the list of things that they used for the palace and Solomon's daily provisions, it makes one wonder how they could possibly ever keep up that amount of provision.
3. Solomon's wisdom was very great. I Kings 4 tells that Solomon described plant and animal life. I don't know that many people were clued into this until Carl Linnaeus started classifying plants and animals with names that science now uses to recognize them. It also talks of all of Solomon's proverbs. I wonder how many proverbs or sayings other great philosophers wrote.
4. It is interesting that there was to be no noise of chisels or hammers at the temple building site. It kind of reminds me of build-outs within our building. No one is to make a noise during the day, but they have to keep moving forward on the project.
5. If I were Solomon, I think I would worry about my dedication to the Lord very much after having spent thirteen years on my own palace and only seven years on God's temple. (Not that it was wrong for Solomon to do this, but it should have been a warning to make sure to keep God first.) And one of the clues should have been the fact that a whole lot of the building time probably was spent on the palace that he built for his wife who was Pharaoh's daughter.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Too many wives = Too many children = Not enough time to care for them properly
From I Kings 1-3:
1. It is interesting to see some of the other fruit of David having this many wives. He has a second son who decides he wants to be king, so he also goes to set himself up as king. It becomes very apparent that David did not really know his sons very well. How could he? After all, I imagine all of his time was taken up caring for his many wives. And I wonder how it came about that he promised Bathsheba that her son would reign as king. Was it because he saw the superior wisdom of Solomon, or because he was really attracted to Bathsheba? It is also very evident from the passage here that Bathsheba was much younger than David. After all, David is in his bed, and she comes and bows low before him, asking if he will make good his promise. If she was as old as him, she would be in bed too.
2. I wonder why David waited and had his son Solomon put to death Joab and Shimei. I mean, David knew about these dissenters and evildoers much earlier. What was his purpose in waiting?
3. I don't know if the entire story of Solomon is in chronological order, but I tend to think it is not. Moreover, if it were in chronological order, it seems to me that Solomon was already gifted with some extraordinary wisdom even before he asked this of God. The way in which he handled Shimei, his brother Adonijah and Joab shows that he knew what he was doing.
4. It is interesting to see that Zadok becomes the priest instead of Abiathar. Not only did it fulfill what had been told about Eli's house, it also was probably in some part due to the extreme attitude of wanting to serve by Zadok and his sons. If you will recall, his son was the one that ran (outran the Cushite) to tell David of his victory in the battle when Absalom was trying to usurp the kingdom. He was also one of the two that risked his life to deliver the message to David of what Absalom was planning to do.
5. I am not sure that I understand I Kings 3:2. It states that Solomon did everything according to the Lord's commands EXCEPT that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. However, when he was at the most important high place (in Gibeon), God asked him for whatever he might want. I am interpreting this to mean that Solomon should have been only offering sacrifices to God where the tent and the ark was. This does not mean that he was worshiping idols or anything. And it almost seems that he gained in wisdom just during that night. The next picture we have of him offering to God, it is at the ark in Jerusalem.
1. It is interesting to see some of the other fruit of David having this many wives. He has a second son who decides he wants to be king, so he also goes to set himself up as king. It becomes very apparent that David did not really know his sons very well. How could he? After all, I imagine all of his time was taken up caring for his many wives. And I wonder how it came about that he promised Bathsheba that her son would reign as king. Was it because he saw the superior wisdom of Solomon, or because he was really attracted to Bathsheba? It is also very evident from the passage here that Bathsheba was much younger than David. After all, David is in his bed, and she comes and bows low before him, asking if he will make good his promise. If she was as old as him, she would be in bed too.
2. I wonder why David waited and had his son Solomon put to death Joab and Shimei. I mean, David knew about these dissenters and evildoers much earlier. What was his purpose in waiting?
3. I don't know if the entire story of Solomon is in chronological order, but I tend to think it is not. Moreover, if it were in chronological order, it seems to me that Solomon was already gifted with some extraordinary wisdom even before he asked this of God. The way in which he handled Shimei, his brother Adonijah and Joab shows that he knew what he was doing.
4. It is interesting to see that Zadok becomes the priest instead of Abiathar. Not only did it fulfill what had been told about Eli's house, it also was probably in some part due to the extreme attitude of wanting to serve by Zadok and his sons. If you will recall, his son was the one that ran (outran the Cushite) to tell David of his victory in the battle when Absalom was trying to usurp the kingdom. He was also one of the two that risked his life to deliver the message to David of what Absalom was planning to do.
5. I am not sure that I understand I Kings 3:2. It states that Solomon did everything according to the Lord's commands EXCEPT that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. However, when he was at the most important high place (in Gibeon), God asked him for whatever he might want. I am interpreting this to mean that Solomon should have been only offering sacrifices to God where the tent and the ark was. This does not mean that he was worshiping idols or anything. And it almost seems that he gained in wisdom just during that night. The next picture we have of him offering to God, it is at the ark in Jerusalem.
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