June 13, Reading Notes

1 Kings 11:1-12:19

1 Kings 11

The issue here is not that Solomon fell, it is how he fell and what he fell into. He disobeyed and we all disobey.

V. 3 This is somewhat beyond excess. Of course, it seems limiting to even try to think of a normal marriage in this kind of harem, but if Solomon were to have gone through the wives, spending a day and a night with each, it would have taken him three years to go through the rotation. In reality, Solomon had no wife as we understand a wife and as God planned Eve for Adam. What a lonely guy. You might have thought having so many wives would have tamed his sexual appetite, but actually, I think that appetite might have been all Solomon really had. He certainly did not have a soul mate.

V. 4 So, how old was Solomon when this happened? We know that the Lord spoke to Solomon after he had spent 20 years building. Those were the first 24 years of his reign. Solomon reigned for 40 years and this happened somewhere in the final sixteen years. Now, David reigned for 40 years: Seven in Hebron and then 33 years in Jerusalem. Solomon was born in Jerusalem, but couldn't have been born in the first year David was there. This means that Solomon couldn't have been 33 when he began to reign because then he would have had to have been born the first year that David lived in Jerusalem. Let's say Solomon was 30 when David died and he became king. So, Solomon would have died when he was 69 or 70. If Solomon began the slide toward idolatry in his last 16 years as king, he had to be in his mid to late 50s or 60s. These are the years when you would think a man would be mature and wise.

I would suspect that after Solomon stopped building, he had no more goals in life. The redemptive mission of Israel wasn't a burning passion for him, so what do you do. In the beginning of Ecclesiastes, the reflections of a backslidden, bitter Solomon, there is a progression of Solomon "trying out stuff." I'll bet that was his 50's. If so, his 60's were his ruin. Like his father before him, Solomon's faith was "living" when he was young, but he fell when he was older and stopped building.

Vs. 5-8 When I was younger, I was often very puzzled about what could have made Solomon leave God in such a repulsive way. I don't think it had anything to do with his reason or logic. We are much more emotional/need driven than mind driven. When it says that Solomon "clung to his wives in love," my guy sense tells me, with this kind of harem, it was probably a very hormonal, fantasy driven "love." I think that the more Solomon worked, the further away from God he drifted until he was emotionally empty. Ashtoreth was a fertility goddess and the worship thereof was very "X" rated. These wives had no inhibitions and gave Solomon more than he asked for. Just what a guy in midlife crisis didn't need. Solomon wouldn't be the only man who walked away from God because of his emptiness and his sexual needs. Milcom, Chemosh, and Molech were practically the same demon with different names. These monsters received the babies born from the fertility rites, as the parents sacrificed the unwanted children in fire, basically throwing them into a furnace. Today we've "cleaned it up" and call it abortion.

V. 5 makes it clear that Solomon was involved in the worship himself. It would have been horrible enough to have allowed his wives to do this, but he was part of the proceedings. Solomon bent, and then was broken.

V. 6 This is a place where we can define David's devotion because of its contrast with Solomon. David always followed the Lord, except in the situation with Uriah and Bathsheba. David always worshiped the Lord only. David's heart was undivided. David never flirted with any pursuit that became a god to him or forced him to dishonor God, except in the situation with Uriah and Bathsheba. After this situation now, David's devotion to the Lord will become the godly measure of all of the other kings.

Vs. 9-13 Now, with all we have read, isn't it amazing that God didn't just strike down Solomon? For the sake of the promise God made to David, God showed grace.

Vs. 14-40 Notice that two of these foes that afflicted Solomon during his last years were hidden and helped by Egypt.

V. 29-40 You would think that this would have caused Jeroboam to have considered himself honored by God and that he would have responded to God with devotion and obedience. God made him a pretty amazing promise, but sin is an awful, powerful thing.

V. 31 The math seems off here, but the tribe of Benjamin was within the land of Judah, and by this time, considered as one. It is interesting that both were "royal" tribes, both having had kings of Israel.

V. 41-43 We are not leaving Solomon for good. We'll revisit him in the Song of Solomon and in Ecclesiastes and then again in Chronicles. But before we move on, we need to reflect on this terrible end to his life. Was he a man of God? Yes. Did he stray from God and dishonor Him? Yes. Was Solomon saved? I think so and I think he'll be in heaven. Even today, the field of battle is filled with ruined and broken soldiers, disciples of Christ, who, at one time, served fearlessly and rescued many in the harvest. All of us have something in us, that if we let down our guard long enough and if we live in isolation from the Word and others who love us, that "something" can become dysfunctional and draw us away from our Lord.

Of course, there is the one lesson, "there but for the grace of God go I," or "let anyone who thinks that he stands, take heed lest he fall." But there is another lesson too. God still loved, reached out to, and restored David; and, if Ecclesiastes is the last thing Solomon wrote, maybe that bitter man too. Later we'll meet a king who trumped both David and Solomon, who was totally evil, who reigned the longest of all the kings, who did utter irreparable damage and whom God redeemed. Where there is true repentance, there must be forgiveness and restoration. We cannot be the army that shoots its own wounded. We all have the same disease, and though there is a volitional element to our sin, there is an aspect that is beyond us, even if we are indwelt by the Spirit.

Our challenge as disciples, working in the harvest, is to shake the stuff off of us that seems to gather in the course of a day, week, month or year. We need to be cleansed in the Word and constantly focused on our love for Christ, keeping our hearts, souls, spirits and desires undividedly fixed on Him.

I found the song in this video years ago on the Willow Creeks webpage, and I've never found it anywhere else. It is a very simple song, put to video, so you can hear it. Years later I figured out why I could never find it and where Willow Creek must have gotten it. I noticed that the girl who sang it had "something" in her voice that made her sound "different." If you're interested you can listen to it here, and then follow the link below, and hear her sing the song again. You'll understand the funkiness in her voice and where WC found the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT2ZVjGIWiQ

1 Kings 12:1-19

Vs. 1-15 Proverbs are written from Solomon to his son. I would think that Solomon had lots of sons, but Rehoboam is the only one mentioned. So knowing how Solomon ranked as a husband, how do you think he ranked as a father? It is interesting to think that we have a book written by a dad to make his son wise, but in the end, neither truly was. The truth of Proverbs stands as inspired by the Spirit, but so do God's words, "As a man sows, so shall he reap."

Acts 9:1-25

Vs. 1-9 One question is why God waited until now to stop Saul. By this time, Saul had been involved in the deaths and beatings of many Christians. In his later testimony in Acts, Paul will claim personal responsibility to these deaths and will say he pushed Christians to try to make them to blaspheme or renounce Christ.

V. 4 Can you imagine Jesus being this gentle with Saul? In Acts 26:14 we learn that Jesus spoke to him in Hebrew and observed that it was hard for Paul to kick against the goads. This means that Saul was under conviction. Deep in his heart he knew something was wrong. I tend to think it was the testimony of the people he was persecuting and beating. These people stood up to Saul with a devotion to Jesus, that more than matched his zeal for the Law. That reality or faith and conviction, in the face of death, as they were beaten and humiliated, and as they died, must have begun to shake him. Now Saul was ready to listen.

V. 9 Everything you do with intense emotion is remembered. Anger is like pressing the "record" button. If you are in an argument, you can replay the audio and video for years, maybe for the rest of your life: every shout, every scream, every slap, every expression. Imagine Paul blind for three days. I'll bet he played back every beating, every crying woman, every man pleading for his wife, and every refusal to renounce the name that Saul hated. At the end of Paul's life, he still calls himself the chief of sinners. Paul was forgiven, but I think he still had all the memories and lived as a man humbled by God's grace to him.

Vs. 10-19 This was a tough assignment for Ananias.

V. 16 The Lord not only selected Paul, but very clearly Paul was actually called to suffer.

V. 18 I wonder if Paul put those in a scrapbook?

Vs. 20-25 Paul's natural passion was immediately redirected. Now that he really knew the truth, he pursued it as deeply as he, thinking he had the truth, fought against it.

Now, Paul's early Christian life is a bit of a riddle. He says some things in Galatians that are hard to fit into Luke's writing. Notice that in v. 25, Paul has disciples. That would take some time. It is usually thought that there is a time gap between verses 22 and 23. In Galatians 1:17 it says, "nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus." So apparently, Paul worked in Damascus and left for three years to pray and study alone. He returned to Damascus, and then they tried to kill him. From Damascus, Paul went to Jerusalem and met and stayed with Peter for 15 days, meeting only James, Jesus' brother, not the other apostles.

What's interesting to see in Paul is that Jesus will always lead him into trouble and suffering. That was the Lord's design. It looks like it happened because Paul was so deeply passionate. The fire in Paul attracted disciples and it inflamed enemies. It wasn't that Paul didn't have social skills, it was that he was so fully convinced of the message and the urgency of the mission, that people didn't respond to him or his message about Jesus with indifference.

Psalm 131

This is a song written by David for those coming to Jerusalem to worship to prepare their hears in humility and quietness to learn from God. I know that isn't always my attitude in walking into a worship service. But even if we mastered that on Sundays, for a disciple, worship is 24/7, in spirit and in truth.

Proverbs 17:4-5

We all know deep inside, that there is a God and that He keeps track of stuff like this. God is not mocked.

If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.” 

I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.

If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.

I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.

Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.