Tag: divine goodness

Abundant Life (1 Kings 8:1-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Solomon dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem, by James Tissot (1836-1902)

Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim.

When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!

Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.

When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.

Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”

Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, ‘From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. But I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’”

Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’

“And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. And I have prepared a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant that the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.” (New Living Translation)

Dedication of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, by Johann Georg Platzer (1704-1761)

I admit, at many times, that I am prone to melancholy. I tend to be quick at accepting blame, and rather slow at owning my good work. Another way of putting this is that it is easier to give than to receive.

Those who have endured a lot of hard circumstances, and persevered through many adversities, can sometimes be reticent to accept the good, the abundant, and the beautiful, whenever it comes to us in this life.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop, far too many people hold back themselves from receiving and enjoying the really good things in life. They worry that the goodness will disappear, or be taken away; and so, they withhold gratitude and blessing, whenever they are in the presence of great abundance.

Just so you know, in case there are those of you who need to hear it spelled out plainly: That’s messed up.

People are meant to be abundantly generous, as well as wildly receptive. It’s likely why there are so many spiritually unhealthy persons in the world.

Bless their hearts, they give a lot, without receiving much, and then their spiritual diarrhea makes it so they can’t give anymore. And they oftentimes give to those who are in such a habit of receiving (and not giving) that the receiver’s spiritual constipation becomes a terrible problem.

Let’s avoid both extremes by letting ourselves both give and receive with equal abandon. No one can be spiritually growing, healthy, and mature without the dynamic of giving and receiving.

Solomon knew how to do both. King Solomon was the king of abundance. He accepted and received big; and he gave and blessed big. Nobody before him or after him received and gave more.

The Temple, in all of its glory and grandeur, with the Ark of the Covenant encrusted with gold as the central object in the building, was all for a God who doesn’t live in houses, a God who is invisible.

In Solomon’s dedication of the Temple, he made it clear that the God of Israel is not, and cannot, be restricted to, or located within, a single place. Thus, the Lord is limitless, and not subject to any human manipulation.

God is free to give with great abandon. And God is also free to take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord God. If we continually try and anticipate or predict what God will do, we will likely be a nervous ball of anxiety all of the time, wondering when the unexpected and/or unwanted will visit us.

It is much better to receive the good things the Lord gives us, and enjoy them while we have them.

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Jesus (John 10:10)

Nothing is permanent, with the exception of relationships and love. So, if we can connect the temporal material things of this life in service to the immaterial realities of this universe, then we are in a position to experience peace, joy, and satisfaction.

If and when the material disappears, or is taken away, then it shall neither defeat us, nor destroy us. For our relational connections with God and others exist, and are free flowing, with the energy of gracious receiving and giving as the conduit of abundant life.

Melancholy is important and has its place for us in this present life; yet, so do things like celebration, dedication, joy, exuberance, emotional commitment, and open love. Indeed, to have these in abundance is a reflection of the God of abundance, in whose name we are bold to pray:

God of abundance, you have fed us with the bread of life and cup of salvation; you have united us with Christ and one another; and you have made us one with all your people in heaven and on earth. Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Christ our Savior. Amen.

For the Sake of Beauty (1 Kings 7:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
King Solomon’s throne room, by Edward Poynter, 1890

Solomon’s palace took 13 years to build.

Forest Hall was the largest room in the palace. It was 44 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high, and was lined with cedar from Lebanon. It had 4 rows of cedar pillars, 15 in a row, and they held up 45 cedar beams. The ceiling was covered with cedar. Three rows of windows on each side faced each other, and there were three doors on each side near the front of the hall.

Pillar Hall was 22 meters long and 13.5 meters wide. A covered porch supported by pillars went all the way across the front of the hall.

Solomon’s throne was in Justice Hall, where he judged cases. This hall was completely lined with cedar.

The section of the palace where Solomon lived was behind Justice Hall and looked exactly like it. He had a similar place built for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.

From the foundation all the way to the top, these buildings and the courtyard were made out of the best stones carefully cut to size, then smoothed on every side with saws. The foundation stones were huge, good stones—some of them four and a half meters long and others three and a half meters long. The cedar beams and other stones that had been cut to size were on top of these foundation stones. The walls around the palace courtyard were made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams, just like the front porch and the inner courtyard of the temple. (Contemporary English Version)

By Bible Art

Having secured the throne after his father’s death, King Solomon set himself to the task of following his father David’s ardent desire to build a temple for the Lord. The work took seven years to complete. (1 Kings 5-6)

Then, Solomon turned to building a royal palace with a complex of buildings (or halls). It seems these had the purpose of being both residences and government structures. This architectural achievement took nearly twice as long as constructing the temple of God.

Some commentators are rather hard on Solomon about this fact of taking so much time to build himself a palace. They interpret him as being distracted, almost self-absorbed – that somehow his heart was more into his own buildings than God’s temple.

I don’t really buy into that line of thinking. It seems to me this reads more into the text than what’s there. They could be right. However, it appears such commentary does an anachronistic reading of the text. Taking a standpoint of Solomon’s later devotion to his many wives, and hence their many other gods, a lack of commitment is then superimposed upon the construction projects. It’s as if Solomon finished the temple stuff in order to get his real architectural passions.

I think there’s a more plausible explanation for King Solomon’s dedication to erecting buildings in addition to the temple. The editor of 1 Kings includes the detail and dedication that went into the temple.

Let’s keep in mind that King David had been stockpiling and preparing materials, and planning for the temple, well before he died. Just because the Lord told David that he would not be the one to build it, that Solomon would, did not mean that David kept his thoughts and his hands off of getting as much ready as he could for his son.

What’s more, once Solomon put together such a marvelous and intricate building as the temple, the experience gave him a desire to work on other projects, as well. Solomon had an expansive vision of his kingdom.

As the wisest person on earth, he put his money where his mouth was, by constructing beautiful structures given to justice, and reflecting the abundance of a goodness and justice which comes through living by God’s covenant code.

Did Solomon go overboard? Yes, and no. It depends on the project, and with whom you talk to. The issue of Solomon’s building projects, as I would frame it, has much more to do with demonstrating a particular theology.

The theology I believe Solomon was trying to reflect was that Israel serves a God who is given to beauty, justice, and abundance. And those qualities are also seen in the New Testament. I think of the story when Mary came to Jesus with her expensive and beautiful perfume:

Mary took a very expensive bottle of perfume and poured it on Jesus’ feet. She wiped them with her hair, and the sweet smell of the perfume filled the house.

A disciple named Judas Iscariot was there. He was the one who was going to betray Jesus, and he asked, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for 300 silver coins and the money given to the poor?” Judas did not really care about the poor. He asked this because he carried the moneybag and sometimes would steal from it.

Jesus replied, “Leave her alone! She has kept this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor with you, but you won’t always have me.” (John 12:3-7, CEV)

I would argue that Judas Iscariot was the one distracted – and not Mary. Thus, returning to the story of Solomon’s building the palace complex, I would also argue that perhaps some of the commentators, with an eerily familiar criticism, are actually the ones distracted – and not Solomon.

Anyway, I like my positive reading of today’s Old Testament lesson, rather than the others’ negative reading. What about you?…

O heavenly God, who has filled the world with beauty: Open my eyes to see what is beautiful, to behold your gracious hand in all your works. Open my mind to know what is true. Open my heart to love what is good. May I learn to serve you with gladness, justice, and righteousness. Amen.

Divine Goodness, Despite Human Ingratitude (Psalm 78:23-29)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Quail in the Wilderness, by Caspar Luyken, 1698

Yet he commanded the skies above
    and opened the doors of heaven;
he rained down on them manna to eat
    and gave them the grain of heaven.
Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
    he sent them food in abundance.
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
    and by his power he led out the south wind;
he rained flesh upon them like dust,
    winged birds like the sand of the seas;
he let them fall within their camp,
    all around their dwellings.
And they ate and were well filled,
    for he gave them what they craved. (New Revised Standard Version)

Today’s psalm is the second longest in the psalter (72 verses, with Psalm 119 the longest at a hefty 176 verses). Along with Psalms 105-106, Psalm 78 remembers and rehearses the history of Israel. This is a psalm which is meant for teaching and passing on important lessons.

The upshot of this psalm’s historical recollection is that the people’s ancestors were faithless; therefore, those reading the psalm now should live differently in a positive life of goodness, having observed how the past actors serve as a negative example of ingrates.

The psalmist, Asaph, viewed past events as highly informative for present circumstances. His purpose for crafting the psalm was explicit. He wanted the people:

 to put their hope in God—
        never forgetting God’s deeds,
        but keeping God’s commandments—
    and so that they won’t become like their ancestors:
    a rebellious, stubborn generation,
        a generation whose heart wasn’t set firm
        and whose spirit wasn’t faithful to God. (Psalm 78:7-8, CEB)

The verses for today’s lectionary reading have a unique place within the psalmist’s rehearsal of the past. They connect to the previous section (verses 9-22) which recounts the Lord’s angry response concerning Israel’s unbelief and rebellion.

In many ways, Psalm 78 has a consistent theme of human stubbornness, lack of faith, and wanting to do their own thing apart from God. Bucking God’s covenant code and moral law was ever-present in Israel’s history. And yet…

The Lord remained the same: Faithful and true. Furthermore, God stubbornly showed steadfast divine love and covenant loyalty to the people, despite their herky-jerky commitment and fickle faith.

Manna from heaven

Although the theme of human failure runs throughout the psalm, the dominant idea points to God’s gracious mercy, eternal faithfulness, and steadfast love. Most of all, the psalmist wanted his readers to remember the goodness and grace of God.

The people’s unbelief in no way stymied the promises of God. That’s because salvation and deliverance, faith and hope, do not originate and are not sustained by humans, but by the Lord God almighty who created heaven and earth.

Even though the people were faithless, and thus, had no trust in God’s power; nevertheless, the Lord opened the doors of heaven in order to meet the needs of people who did not deserve divine help.

The verses for today remember the story of God’s provision of manna and quail in the desert (Exodus 16). The Lord was gracious, merciful, and kind to the Israelites, despite their incessant grumbling. God responded to them because of their sheer need, and not because of any righteousness coming from them.

God not only provided food, but gave the manna in abundance, and the quail in superabundance. The contrast could not be any more glaring: Israel murmured, grumbled, complained, and demonstrated a lack of faith; God granted the Israelites a ridiculous amount of food, and evidenced steadfast faithfulness to the covenant.

The supreme goodness of God brings out, in stark relief, the incredible foolishness of Israel’s attitude. In the Exodus account, while the meat was still in their mouths, God’s anger flared because of the people’s recalcitrance.

On the surface, the divine response of judgment may appear out of sorts to the divine grace shown to Israel. Yet, the Lord cares about the holistic needs of people, and not only in giving sustenance.

God wants faithful and obedient people. The Lord desires goodness, righteousness, and justice to be the hallmark of the community.

To have your belly full and your spirit empty is an affront to God – because the Lord is good, right, and just, and does not tolerate impertinence, impudence, and impetuousness. Vice and ingratitude only makes a person an imbecile who is worthless to their fellow humanity.

Divine punishment – anywhere you find it in Holy Scripture – is meant to draw people back into relationship with God. Another way of phrasing this, is that God delivers people and grants them freedom, so that they will have no obstacles toward living a good, right, and just life.

No matter the response of God – whether it is by miraculous provision or by divine punishment – it’s always a response of grace; the Lord consistently acts from a place of compassion and commitment to doing what is best for the community.

Whereas the Israelites repeatedly cycled themselves through spirals of faith and unbelief, gratitude and grumbling, obedience and disobedience; God, however, constantly demonstrated the presence of grace and mercy, righteousness and justice, holiness and love.

The only reason the Israelites (and the entire human race, for that matter) are not wiped out is because God forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. What’s more, the Lord didn’t even let them destroy themselves, unwittingly by their own unawareness and foolishness. (Psalm 78:36-39)

I am profoundly glad that God is the bigger person in the relationship with humanity. The Lord is continually mindful of who we are, as well as God’s own divine essence and power.

Yet he, being compassionate,
    forgave their iniquity
    and did not destroy them;
often he restrained his anger
    and did not stir up all his wrath.
He remembered that they were but flesh,
    a wind that passes and does not come again. (Psalm 78:38-39, NRSV)

As people created in the image and likeness of God, we find our highest joy and greatest fulfillment in receiving the good things from God with gratitude; and of giving goodness to others in a spirit of love – no matter what.

Gracious and almighty God: Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see the good in all things. Grant me today a new vision of your truth. Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness. Make me a cup of strength to suffering souls. Amen.