Week 22 OT:
It begins with Solomon offering praise and blessing the Lord. The king and the entirety of Israel offer sacrifice to God. Solomon and God make a covenant, in which God promises Solomon all the blessings that He had bestowed upon David– “There shall not fail you a man upon the throne of Israel.” Solomon’s part of the deal sounds so simple to me. He *only* has to worship God alone and follow the commandments. That’s it. God tells Solomon VERY EXPLICITLY what will happen if he veers off the path of righteousness. I believe the words mentioned were “heap of ruins” and “evil upon them”. It’s enough to make me shake. As I read it, I wondered how in the world Solomon could have allowed himself to get so far off track.
BUT
But, he does. He marries from the nations which God had warned the sons of Israel about. “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods”. 700 wives, princess, 300 concubines. “And his wives turned away his heart.”
God raises up adversaries to punish Solomon, but not in the way I would expect. God tells Solomon that He will not inflict the punishment on him “for the sake of David your father” but will, instead, tear the kingdom out of the hand of his son.
Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, begins his reign after Solomon dies. He begins his reign with a heavy hand, oppressing his subjects. The ten tribes break away, as the prophet Ahijah had foretold. Jeroboam leads the ten tribes into idolatry, and gets cut off from the Lord. God does not mince words: “I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam…will utterly consume the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone.”
This pattern continues with subsequent kings walking in the ways of Jeroboam. Things seem pretty terrible now, with very little hope that the nation will turn around. Elijah comes and saves the life of the widow and her son, bringing the young child back to life. He then challenges Ahab and the people on their fidelity to God, asking them, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions?” Elijah makes me laugh. His faith is astounding…almost cocky, in a way. He tells the people that there is a very simple way to choose which deity is true: God or Baal. There ensues a burnt offering competition, as my kids like to call it. The prophets of Baal are 450. They take their bull, prepare it, and call upon Baal to consume it. Elijah teases them when Baal doesn’t respond. I laugh every time I hear this story, as Elijah encourages them to yell louder because Baal must be sleeping or whatever. Elijah repairs an altar of the Lord, has the people douse it three times with water, says a prayer filled with trust and “then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up all the water that was in the trench.” Mic drop.
These readings were really interesting to me. As someone who can see this from the outside, it all seems so simple. God has requested that His people love Him first and foremost. His commandments are in place, not because He desires to have robots following him, but because He knows what is best for those He loves. As creator of the universe, He knows what will make humans the happiest and most fulfilled. When they turn from Him, He shows them they are not meeting their full potential and chaos ensues.
NT: John 10 begins with Jesus walking in the portico of Solomon. The Jews try to trap him and ask him, again, to tell them if he is the Christ. Jesus tells them that he has told them plainly before but they will not believe because they are not of his flock, so they will not known his voice and follow. They try to arrest him, accusing him of blasphemy, despite his miracles and supporting Scripture. He escapes and crosses the Jordan to where John was baptized.
Lazarus falls ill. Jesus waits a couple extra days after he receives this news stating, “This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it.” He tells his disciples that they will be going back to Judea for Lazarus and they question him immediately, reminding him that he was almost stoned there! Jesus tells them, “Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” The last sentence in this particular reading took my breath away, as Thomas basically tells the others that he knows Jesus is going to his death by returning to Lazarus… “let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Jesus then raises Lazarus from the dead and the Pharisees gather together to plot his demise. Jesus no longer walks around openly in the midst of the Jews. Jesus is eating at the house of Lazarus, in a very popular story. Martha and Mary are there. Martha is busy serving him. While I assumed that the Mary in this story was different, it appears to be Mary Magdalene, who then anointed his feet with costly oil. Is this Mary one in the same? Is Lazarus’ sister Mary Magdelene? Esther just came to my side and tells me that it is, stating she learned that in first grade. Insert eye roll emoji here.
Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a young donkey and the story of Palm Sunday comes to life. The people cry out, “Hosanna!” and speak of his miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, which further frightens the Pharisees. Jesus tells Andrew and Phillip that “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
At the Passover, Jesus knew his time had come. He washes his disciples feet, in a beautiful example of how leadership truly comes to it’s most exemplary form: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet…a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.”
The psalms this week round out the message of following God’s commands for our own happiness.
Psalm 119: 93 “I will never forget your precepts; for by them you have given me life.”
119:104-105 “Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
119:127 “Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold. Therefore I direct my steps by all your precepts; I hate every false way.”
Disobedience to God must become distasteful, and even abhorrent, to us. When we allow ourselves to “intermarry” with other ideals, thinking we are strong enough to host more than one God in our heart, we become like the Israelites and “go limping with two different opinions”. “Limping” is a really important word here. There isn’t always a huge immediate punishment when we allow other gods to occupy our hearts. Sometimes we are simply uncomfortable and begin limping. Can I notice the times when I hobble, and recognize the need for change and healing in my life? For reprioritization? For checking in and making sure I am keeping the One, True God front and center in my soul?
The Journey Begins 