May 12

Solomon takes over- Well today's passage has left no doubt about the answer to a question that I had earlier in the reading. Joab. Was he a good guy, or a bad guy. At times it seemed to swing back and forth and it confused me that David never dealt with him. Today, we learn that he was bad and Solomon makes the most of his father's advice to be strong and -so much for Joab.

David, in many ways, did not show the strength that he counseled Solomon to use. In yesterday's reading when Adonijah was trying to become king we find this parenthetical statement in 1 Kings 1:6 (His father had never interfered with him by asking, "Why do you behave as you do?" He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.) It seems that all David's sons (except possibly Solomon) went undisciplined.

The passage that followed about Adonijah and Bathsheba and Solomon was a bit confusing for me. It left me these questions:

• Why would Bathsheba even entertain this request from Adonijah when he had just tried to steal the throne from Solomon, her son?
• Wasn't execution for asking for a woman as his wife (even it it was King David's nurse) a bit much?

Upon doing a little research I found out that to have any of the Kings property (which the 'nurse' would have been considered) would have given Adonijah a legal foothold to try again to claim the throne. (Even though he states to Bathsheba that he knows that it was 'God's will" for Solomon to be king, she apparently sees right through his ploys and takes his request immediately to Solomon, knowing that Solomon will also see right through it and take the appropriate action. That made a lot more sense.

The same website also developed an interesting word picture with David and his nurse Abishag. She was sought to attend the king and her only qualifications were that she a virgin and beautiful. A picture of the church attending/serving Christ. If this word picture were carried a little further, I suppose you could say that Adonijah is a picture of Satan trying to ursurp the throne through deception and cunning. But Solomon quickly puts an end to the problem and defeats him once and for all and everyone who was in on it with him.

This brings up an interesting thought- this was all BEFORE Solomon was 'granted' wisdom. Do you suppose he was thinking, 'wow, I've only been in power a short time, and I've had 4 people executed? I really need wisdom here"?  I suppose to our way of thinking it's all very barbaric. But I'm sure that compared to the rest of the kingdoms around them, that things were done in a much more humane way. That there was any regard for human life at all sets Israel above the rest.

The fact that we have standards that even make us question these executions and some of the things is the OT is because we have been raised in country that although it is now largely secular, it was founded on Christian (New Testament) principals. You don't just go around executing people just because you are the king.

And that brings us to the final story in the reading. Besides being one of the most famous stories of Solomon's wisdom, have you ever stopped to think of how amazing it is that 2 hookers even got an audience with the king? Who would care about 2 hookers babies? God did......and he gave Solomon the wisdom to rule and judge wisely.

And may I just take a moment to marvel at how God let's me write these blogs.  I know what as messed up jumble of thoughts they are in my head when I sit down to type and for them to come out even comprehendable- let alone going together in somewhat of a 'theme' is nothing short of a God-thing.