Tag: king solomon

Wisdom (1 Kings 4:29-34)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
King Solomon, by Helen Zarin

God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 

He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 

He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls.

He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom. (New International Version)

Talking about King Solomon of old is, in many ways, like talking about any human being. That’s because Solomon was an odd combination of extremely gifted, and yet, deeply flawed.

Solomon’s reign was the greatest that Israel and Judah ever had; and perhaps the wealthiest and most impressive reign that there ever was in the world. Here we are, talking about it nearly 3,000 years later.

Yet, for all the accomplishments of Solomon, he failed to maintain faithfulness to God throughout his lifetime. His wealth and power were so vast that it was his downfall.

Although he died a great king, at his death there were many who were not sorry to see him go. And Jerusalem, the capitol, was occupied with other gods, and not the exclusive worship of Yahweh, as God’s law was so careful to warn against.

However, in today’s Old Testament lesson, we remember the unparalleled wisdom of Solomon. In this regard, there is no one like him in history.

The text of Scripture makes it plain as to where Solomon got his supreme wisdom: God gave it to him (1 Kings 3:1-15). Indeed, God is the source of wisdom, and the fount of knowledge.

Solomon was the son of King David and Bathsheba. He became king of Judah and Israel in 967 BCE, at age twenty, and reigned until his death in 928 BCE. King Solomon’s wisdom was both broad and deep. He was given to wise parables and poetry; sage insights into human nature; and a keen sense to political, social, and economic administration.

The editor of the books of the Kings compares Solomon to the eastern Babylonian sages who were famous in the ancient world; and to the sages of Egypt. Specifically, he is compared to four men: Ethan, Heman, Kalkol, and Darda – the wisest in Israel before Solomon.

Israel had its sages, well before Solomon came along, and possessed a body of wisdom for the people to learn from. The editor tells us that King Solomon surpassed them all in his wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and insight.

Even though there are sages and wise persons, wisdom is for everyone, all humans, without exception. From wisdom we learn to pay attention and observe. This is why Solomon was so wise – his powers of observation were second to none.

He took the time to pay attention to plants, animals, and all creation. He dedicated himself to looking into all the differing affairs of what humanity does. As a result of his efforts at observing humanity, we have the biblical wisdom books of Proverbs (short pithy sayings of experiential truth), Ecclesiastes (issues of ultimate meaning), and Song of Songs (an ode to Love).

King Solomon, by William Pajaub (1925-2015)

In short, Solomon’s wisdom teaches us that those who take the time to learn, listen, and mature have a happy life; and those who don’t, injure themselves and have a sad life.

Through wisdom, we discover the importance of respecting the poor, the value of creative and fulfilling work, helpful speech, handling money well, and virtuous friends. Each person’s wise conduct benefits the wellbeing of the community, whereas foolish conduct destroys a people.

Wisdom is attuned to morality and consequences (and not to moralism and judgmentalism). Our words and actions bring either connection and encouragement, or separation and duress. Good choices bring life and peace; bad decisions lead to death and division.

One might assume that wisdom is a moral code – but it is not. Rather, wisdom is a dynamic force which brings satisfaction and fulfillment to the world. Being a wise person means that one’s conduct and way of life is in sync with unity, harmony, integrity, and peace.

Foolishness, on the other hand, goes against the grain of a moral life. A fool assumes they can do what they want, whenever they want, without restraint. They think they are an autonomous being who answers to no one. A fool lives as if God is non-existent, and other people are no more valuable than insects on a sidewalk.

Solomon became king in Israel and Judah without a vote, and ruled without democracy. Yet, he recognized that wisdom was needed in order to rule. In reality, wisdom is still needed for any and every sort of leadership.

Our present American political campaign has all the markings of a foolishness that mocks wisdom. That’s why we get so much careless, unhelpful, and downright harmful speech. There is indifference to people in debt, and an overlooking of the poor. We have words and actions without any thought to others, and policies based in greed. Most of all, there is no moral coherence at all, even with cheap religious talk.

It appears that a large chunk of Americans have never taken the time to observe, listen, and pay attention. Their faith – if there is any faith at all – is shallow and disconnected from their fellow citizens. They fail to discern that society cannot be divided into classes of rich and poor.

Wisdom is about being connected, not divided. It has an understanding of all creatures, and that we are ethically and morally bound to the rest of creation. The wise person thus builds bridges, not walls; and does everything possible to turn away from violence, both physical and verbal.

There is no political party, no neighborhood association, no corporate board, and no church council who is all wise and immune to being foolish. We must not throw our ultimate allegiance to anything or anyone other than our all-wise Creator God. And we also must keep in mind that human institutions really can be brought into line with wisdom.

Unfortunately, foolishness is alive and well – not only in the United States of America, but also around the world. Foolish political candidates and leaders of all kinds promise us short-term selfish solutions to large communal and national issues.

Yet, the fool will not prevail. Sadly, King Solomon gave into some foolishness toward the end of his life. Yet, even despite that, Solomon could tell you that wisdom has always existed, and pre-dates foolishness.

Lady Wisdom calls to us, and we have the ability and the faculties to respond and learn from her. Please do so, hopefully, before election day.

Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my co-workers. Help me to be aware of the inherent dignity and worth of every person I encounter, and to listen to their voice.

Teach me to listen, O God, to the despair of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten, and the cry of the anguished.

Teach me to listen, O God, to myself. Help me to be less afraid to trust the voice inside — in the deepest part of me.

Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice — in busyness and in boredom, in certainty and doubt, in noise and in silence.

Teach me, Lord, to listen.  Amen.

How Much Is Too Much? (1 Kings 4:20-28)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
King Solomon’s court, by Claude Vignon (1593-1670)

The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.

Solomon’s daily provisions were thirty cors of the finest flour and sixty cors of meal, ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.

Solomon had four thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses.

The district governors, each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses. (New International Version)

Wealth, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad – it just is. The real issue is why any particular person wants to be wealthy, how we view wealth, and what we do with it when we have it.

In ancient Israel, under King Solomon, the Israelites enjoyed a time of prosperity, safety, and abundance. To flourish and thrive in life is good. The ability to meet basic needs, and to enjoy life is good.

King Solomon on his throne, by Frans Francken the Younger (1581-1642)

But what about beyond that? Is there such a thing as too much? And what about others who may not be able to make ends meet?

Solomon certainly had a lot. Yet, we do have warnings in Holy Scripture about exorbitant wealth. Here is what the Deuteronomic law says concerning any future king:

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. (Deuteronomy 17:16-17, NIV)

Whatever standard one may use, I would say 12,000 horses falls into the great-numbers-of-horses category. And likewise, having 1,000 wives is most likely 999 too many for just about every man on the planet.

Indeed, Solomon’s heart was eventually led astray. It’s quite sad. Even the wisest and wealthiest person who ever lived was not able to sustain complete faithfulness to God. The remainder of Deuteronomy’s instruction about a future king is this:

When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:18-20, NIV)

In all fairness, King Solomon started out paying attention to God’s law. In his wisdom, he sought to learn and obey – but it ended up being only a partial obedience.

A dimension of any rule or government is to realize that – with any sort of success, security, and wealth – there is always a dark underbelly to it. That is, there are people within that government who are not enjoying its largess and wealth.

Under the new expanded governmental system, Solomon had his kingdom, and its subject peoples, divided into districts in order to give provisions, as well as laborers for his ambitious building projects. Not everyone was enjoying leisure time under a fig tree.

King Solomon set up an economic system that transferred wealth from nations subservient to Israel, and from subsistence farmers within Israel, to support the massive needs of Jerusalem.

The city, under Solomon, was living off the surplus grain to feed all of the horses, as well as the tribute exacted from surrounding nations. In other words, the wealth was being centralized by Solomon for his many projects and interests.

All of the opulence was meant to impress people with wealth, exhibiting Israel’s and Solomon’s great power and wisdom. Yet, if we are to follow the old adage, “follow the money,” we would discover a governmental system that extracted money from others; and produces a lot of oppression, grievances, and exploitation – hence, the dark underbelly of it all.

This sort of situation is precisely why we have prophetic literature in the Old Testament. The prophets are especially attuned to the cries of injustice amongst the people. Every society needs such persons who are within the system, yet are able to be a voice for those who are voiceless.

Had King Solomon moved beyond his partial obedience to complete and total obedience, I surmise that he likely would have considered the needs of everyone within his empire, before establishing a system of government that depended upon economic exploitation.

Specifically, perhaps Solomon ought to have engaged more vigorously and robustly with the covenant code between God and Israel that he was supposed to know so well.

And perhaps, Christianity and the Church have been too lax on the subject of handling Holy Scripture. Because, for all of our talk of being faithful to scripture, that talk has not translated into a solid social and economic understanding of human need and justice.

It simply will not do to label anything we don’t like as communist or socialist. And it will not do to say King Solomon was wealthy and successful, as if that, in and of itself, is the evidence of God’s favor. In reality, it means little, apart from a complete fidelity to God’s law.

In my judgment, Jesus did better than all of this. He pointed us to an alternative system which considers the common good of all persons, and not just some people. The ethics and morality of his Sermon on the Mount lays out the foundational means upon which any sort of governmental system ought to build upon. (Matthew 5-7)

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Jesus (Matthew 6:33, NIV)

If we are looking for the same sort of wealth and success as Solomon, that means we’ll need to ignore Jesus. Yet, if faithfulness, obedience, humility, righteousness, mercy, purity, and peacemaking matter more than our economic bottom line, then I believe we will discover that the pursuit of these virtues leads to having all of our needs met, as well.

Lord of our lives, teach us how to use our money and our possessions. Deliver us from stinginess and wasteful extravagance; inspire our giving with the spirit of true generosity. Help us always to remember your generous love for us, that we may be wise and faithful stewards of the good gifts you have given us. Amen.

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.