King Solomon is best known for being wise. As our first Bible reading we read the prayer that he makes near the beginning of his reign. However, I’ve always questioned his wisdom… According to the Bible he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. From my perspective, anyone trying to keep 1000 women on the go at the same time is anything but wise! I love this little poem:
King Solomon the Wise
Had over a thousand wives
But don't you forget
For every wife he saw
He also gained
A mother-in-law
The number of women was certainly an exaggeration. However it does get at a point. The Message Bible simply translates it as Solomon was obsessed with women. Indeed they would be one of Solomon’s numerous downfalls.
Solomon’s most famous display of wisdom comes in the verses immediately following our reading. You probably remember well the story of the two women who both laid claim to the same child. Solomon resolved the issue by ordering the child to be cut in half with a half given to each woman. One woman said go ahead and divide it. The other woman, who was the true mother, cried out and immediately renounced the child to save it’s life. Solomon saw the compassion of the woman for her child and granted him to her.
There’s a bit of that sort of wisdom in this story of a bus driver. Two women in a bus were fighting bitterly over the last seat available. The conductor already tried to intervene but to no avail. So the driver shouted, "Let the ugly one take the seat!" Both women stood for the rest of the journey.
Solomon’s famous prayer for wisdom has its obvious good teachings. We’ll get to that in a minute. First though, we want to look at the strange circumstances behind it.
This prayer isn’t at the very beginning of Solomon’s reign. You may remember from last week that Solomon’s first acts as he took power was to “take care of” everyone who didn’t back him or was a potential threat. Second Solomon gets into international diplomacy. He makes a marriage alliance with the Pharaoh f Egypt for his daughter. Later in the text of 1 Kings we learn that Solomon was given a city as a dowry. From one perspective it looks like Solomon is making Israel a regional power. On the other hand, maybe it was the Egyptians who were actually gaining territory. When Pharaoh, leader of the Egyptian empire, has his daughter married to the king of a little neighboring country you wonder who’s actually gaining on who.
It is worth noting that part of 1 Kings contains something of an archive of Israel’s governing structure. If you make comparisons with the records of other nations of the time you discover that the Israeli government is modeled on the one from Egypt. So while our text makes it seem like Solomon has become an international power broker and is marrying for power, the reverse may actually be true.
Anyway, we are at least some years into Solomon’s reign when we get to this famous dream and prayer of his. The text tells us plainly that even though the Ark of the Covenant is housed in Jerusalem, Solomon is not using it as a center of worship. He is still sacrificing on the “high places” like the rest of the population. These “high places” were often sites originally used (and maybe still being used) by competeing religions. They are clearly forbidden in Deuteronomy 12. Solomon has also married a foreign woman, similarly forbidden by religious law. He is not off to a good start!
Despite being in the act of doing what God has strictly forbidden, God comes to him kindly in a dream in that very place. Here again is the message we saw with David. God calls and works through people who are seriously flawed. He works through people who are disobedient. He chooses people who are not faithful to religious expectations.
Why does God work this way? Why does God not choose those people who have better morals and more obedient? Why does God meet people when they are worshipping in places they should not? Why don’t books of the Bible like 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings read like stories of brilliant, upright, faith-filled people who were examples of righteousness for the nation?
You’ve heard me say before that the ancient Israelite authors are not afraid to show the ugly truth of things. Inspired by God they show how God is willing to stay true to promises and God is willing to enter into the messiness, and even vileness, of the world.
So God comes to Solomon in a dream while Solomon is where he should not be, doing what he should not do. Interestingly when God comes to him in a dream and asks Solomon for what he wants Solomon’s request is very faith-filled. Rather than asking for wealth or power or the destruction of his enemies he asks for an understanding mind.
Be sure to note this about the prayer. Solomon says that he is only a little child. That is not to be taken literally! Solomon is not a little boy. He’s fully a man. It is simply a statement of humility before God.
In the midst of many chapters of scheming and deception Solomon’s prayer is a wonderful model of faith. The prayer shows Solomon at his best. And we can learn a lot from his best.
Read it again sometime and notice several things. He starts off acknowledging God’s grace for him. That’s verse 6. Then he recognizes that he is not deserving of a special favor from God. That’s verse 7. Then he asks for God’s gift of wisdom so that he can carry out the work that God has called him to do as the king of the people.
All in all the prayer is remarkable and simple. But simple as it is many people struggle with it.
Many people seem to think that their very existence deserves God to be kind and loving towards them. While we can all claim to be made in the image of God and that therefore gives us value, that understanding is to be gained through humility, not demand.
Many people also seem to think that they have some sort of bargaining chip they can use with God. They pray, “God if you will do,…” this – whatever “this” is, “Then I will do,…” that -whatever “that” is.
You may remember before me using the example of a guy who was sitting in front of me in the stadium when I was a student at Penn State watching a football game. The game was not going well, we were pretty sure to lose. The guy starts praying that if we win he promises to go to church the next day.
Now God has numerous ways to get people to do things. And what is so inherently valuable about this guy that God would throw the results of a football game to get him to go to church?!? Most likely the guy had too much money riding on the game and couldn’t afford to have us lose!
Think about it. When you try to make a deal with God – whether it’s for a football game, or for health, or winning money, or for anything else… Any time you find yourself saying, “God if you do this for me then I’ll be able to do that for you,” then you’ve put yourself in a pretty high place thinking that you have something essential to offer to God that God can’t get anywhere else.
Better prayer comes from recognizing reality. There is nothing of value to God that any of us can really give God. God can get anything and everything God wants without us. It is only by God’s grace and kindness that God chooses us and empowers us for work.
Solomon prayed a thankfulness for the grace he had already received from God. He prayed a truthful statement that he had nothing essential that he could offer to God in order to deserve a gift. And he prayed that God would equip him to do what God had already called him to do.
Prayer needs to be authentic. Don’t become strategic and think that if you pray according to the model of Solomon’s prayer that you will be in God’s special favor or get more things. That’s not how it works. If you’re mad at God then be mad. If you think you can make a deal with God go ahead and try. But ultimately learn from the humility of Solomon. His prayer is not for quick solutions or easy answers. It is a prayer to be equipped for the struggle. This is an attitude that will suit him well. This is the attitude that leads to wisdom. And this is the attitude that creates truly good leadership.
There’s lots about Solomon you should not incorporate into your life – least of all trying to have 1000 spouses! But there is great learning from him as well; learning that through God leads to true wisdom.
Monday, July 27, 2020
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
July 19, 2020 Solomon Comes to Power 1 Kings 2:13-25
If you’re like me when you read a book or watch a movie or a show you select a character that you like and put yourself into that character’s role. You will not, however, find any such person to like in what we read for our first reading today. They’re all bad. They scheme, they manipulate, they exploit, they lie,… they kill.
These accounts are also like many shows on broadcast TV or Netflix or other streaming services. There is plot after plot going on between all the characters. There are many levels of deception. As an audience it is hard to know who to trust and who not to trust. We know the story, so we know who comes out victorious, but it seems like no one really has the upper hand much of the time.
Biblical scholars dig deep to try to come up with a theological justification or trajectory for the chapters about the rise of Solomon as king. But they really don’t come up with much of anything. God’s will and God’s intentions are rarely mentioned at all.
Let’s spend a few minutes getting a handle on what’s going on. In the chapters before the passage we read King David as chosen Solomon to be king after him. Solomon is an unusual choice. He is at least the eighth son. You’ll remember that David’s first son was murdered. The second son just disappears from the story. The third son is assassinated. The fourth son, Adonijah, we meet today. Adonijah would be the logical choice as successor to the throne. Indeed in the immediately prior chapters he has attempted to do just that. With his father weak and dying Adonijah gets together some of his father’s military leaders, one of the head priests, and other officials and sets out to offer sacrifices and begin the process of becoming king.
Apparently Adonijah has not consulted with his father about doing this. Perhaps there is a lesson here in that we should not take matters into our own hands and manipulate them for our own selfish gain. A close comparison to Solomon’s initial rise to power shows that Solomon did nothing. Solomon was passive while others worked on his behalf.
For some reason we can only speculate about the text tells us that David has chosen Solomon to succeed him. Solomon is recorded as David’s seventh son. David himself was his father’s seventh son. If there is anything that does set Solomon apart it is that he is David’s son to his wife Bathsheba. It is pure speculation on my part, but for some reason it does appear that Bathsheba was David’s favorite wife. She shows up in the story more than any other and she is the only one who seems to actually have any influence over David. I suspect Solomon was the favored son from day one; and that knowing that Adonijah decides to strike when he has the chance.
That does seem to be Adonijah’s strategy. While he gets some of his father’s leading men to back him he fails to get any number of them. He fails to get the backing of the prophet Nathan, one of David’s trusted advisors. He does not get the backing of other warriors. And he does not get the backing of Zadok, one of David’s two chief priests.
I do want to pause a couple minutes and mention David’s two chief priests. They were Zadok and Abiathar. When David dies Zadok backs Solomon. Abiathar backs Adonijah. We didn’t read the whole story, but as Solomon solidifies power he arrests and/or kills everyone who is a potential rival. He does not kill Abiathar, however. This is perhaps he is a priest. But Solomon doesn’t feel it is safe to have anyone around who was opposed to him either. Solomon banishes Abiathar to his hometown and Abiathar goes.
That would be the end of the story if it weren’t for one of Abiathar’s descendants – who shows up hundreds of years later; a guy name Jeremiah… the prophet Jeremiah. It will not surprise you that even though centuries have passes Jeremiah has little good to say about the king’s authority. When you read the Bible and come across the prophets you may notice two competing themes. Some, like Isaiah, hold up the Davidic bloodline as central. They say that God’s promises to David are unconditional and forever and that divine protection will always come. Others, like Jeremiah, downplay the Davidic kingship. They say that adherence to the Law of Moses is the key to being God’s people. Those two competing themes are rooted in Solomon’s rise to power. Zadok and his descendants stay loyal to the king. Abiathar -the banished one- and his descendants are critical.
Ah, the Bible is not a simple straightforward book. It is record of strife and struggle, confusion and failing. In other words, the Bible is quite real.
Anyway, Adonijah fails to gain the throne. While he is out offering sacrifices and performing rituals those loyal to Solomon quickly act to put him in power. Solomon’s backing includes, as I’ve just said, the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and some of David’s military leaders. Solomon has backing from all the power centers.
When Adonijah discovers his plans have failed he knows he is in trouble. He throws himself at Solomon’s mercy. And at first at least, Solomon is content to let him live. He just tells him to go home. But you almost sense Solomon is looking for any excuse to kill him. Just such an excuse came in what we read as our second reading. If you just read our verses Adonijah’s request for a wife seems perfectly innocent. However, the woman he asks for, Abishag, is not an innocent request. Her background is not appropriate for a public sermon but you can read about it in 1 Kings 1:1-4. And if you do actually read that, know that her service to the king would have also given her a lot of insider information.
So, as we read, Solomon has Adonijah killed. Immediately after he banishes the priest Abiathar. He has Joab, his father’s military leader, killed in the actual tent of meeting – what would become the temple. This would be as if someone came to church, clung to the altar, and begged for sanctuary. The king says he could care less, kill him right there anyway. And indeed, before the temple is even built, Solomon is ordering the killing of his opponents in the holy places.
What to make of all this? As I said before, biblical scholars are largely stumped, excepting this: No matter how badly people act, God continues to stick with them and stay true to God’s promises.
It is very significant in these disturbing and faithless stories -and it is concerning how few people pray or ask for God’s guidance- that God does not give up. God does not say, “I’m sick of the lot of you! I quit! I give up! You’re hopeless! All you do is plot and scheme and kill and exploit helpless people. I’m done with you!”
No, while God is effectively sidelined in the story, God stays faithful. God will show up again in Solomon’s reign. We’ll read about that next week. And there are truly good and faith-filled kings to come who will consult with God. They will work for fairness and for faithfulness. But we aren’t there yet. For now we have schemers ruling the storyline. Though sidelined God is still working through them. In time we learn that God comes to these people even as they are in their sin and darkness and God begins to work in them for good.
When people have wronged us deeply, or seem hopelessly corrupt, we are wise to not constantly put blind trust in them. You know the saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” So we do not blindly trust. Yet we can never fully reject someone as beyond God’s grace and beyond God’s ability to save. God can and does create amazing changes in people and can turn them from seeming hopelessness into goodness. It is always wise for us pray for those who hurt us and those who are our enemies. No matter what happens, that puts our relationship with those people within our relationship with God.
Solomon is going to get off on the wrong foot. He will become know for wisdom in time even though he still does a lot of stupid things. And Solomon will do both good things and bad things, just like his father. God will work through him just as God promised.
Monday, July 13, 2020
July 12, 2020 David’s Family Dynamics Samuel 15:1-17, 24-30
Background before the Bible readings in worship:
Our story today is about a coup attempt made by David’s third son, Absalom. The Bible’s account of David’s wives and children is not consistent or complete. From what we do have let’s say that the family dynamics were offensive and disturbing, if not downright disgusting. The Bible records at least eight wives for David. He had children to most. I won’t get into the specific background to today’s text because the content is not appropriate for a public sermon. If you want you can read about it 2 Samuel 13-14 on your own. In summary though, David’s firstborn son and legitimate heir to the throne, Amnon, schemes to (and successfully) rapes his half-sister Tamar. David finds out about it… and does nothing. Time passes. Tamar’s full brother, Absalom, is not satisfied. Sometime later Absalom creates a scheme and murders Amnon. Now David is upset! David decides not to have Absalom killed but he refuses to be around him. Absalom pleads but David says no. Eventually, however, after getting into some criminal activity to get his father’s attention David does see Absalom and forgives him – sort of. And that sets us up for 2 Samuel 15…
Some people have wonderful family lives. Some do not. I certainly hope your family life is not (or was not) like David’s family. However, horrible and disgusting as it was, I’m glad the Bible records some of what went on in this highly dysfunctional family. Remember especially, this is the family God has chosen to be the leader of his people forever. Certainly, God’s choice of a family is not based on that family’s visible merits!
We do well to spend time looking at the Bible at this level of authority. I feel that all too many people view the Bible as God’s instruction book for how to live properly. Indeed there are parts like that; certainly the Law, some of Paul’s letters and some of Jesus’ sermons. But those who take it that way end up trying to apply overly simplistic solutions to complex problems.
Most of the time the Bible takes us deep into the real messiness of life and lets us know God’s grace is still at work. That is what we see today.
King David was a very sinful man. In today’s reading we see that he is paying a high price for the consequences of some of his failings as a king and as a father. The raw truth is that he’s a total mess-up. He is guilty. He knows it. Over and over again he’s done bad things. Many of those bad things have to do with women. He’s killed on more than one occasion over getting a woman. He’s manipulated and ignored his first wife. He’s completely ignored the exploitation of his daughter Tamar.
But David is not undone by the realization of his guilt. He is not blind to it, but he is still able to move forward. From him we learn that in the face of sin (and its death-dealing consequences) we must ultimately rely on the power of God’s grace.
In 15:25 we read that David will return if he, “finds favor in the eyes of the Lord”. There’s more. In 16:12 we read if the “Lord will look upon my distress” and “repay me with good.” This is not the “good” he deserves but the “good” that comes only as God’s grace. David trusts that in spite of his overwhelmingly sinful life there can be a good future through God’s gracious providing. If there is anything that makes David a model of faith it is this. He believes God can clean up whatever mess he’s made.
Theologian Bruce Birch notes of this passage that many who come to the realization of their own sin and are faced with its consequences in their lives find themselves mired in guilt – unable to move on from a past that has crumbled and move toward the possibilities of God’s new future.
Sometimes when our own sinful choices have broken relationships and ruined lives, we seem to believe that the broken reality is all that we deserve – and that it is all that can ever be possible.
I’m pretty sure none of you have ever been involved in as many vile things as King David got into on a regular basis. But in this scene David models a bold faith that believes the good news – that new life is available to us through the goodness of God, even when we now we do not deserve it in any way shape or form.
In the midst of the loss of his kingdom – a consequence of his own sin – David trusts that there is still a future for him – a future where God will be with him. Although he does not know that he will regain his kingdom, he trusts boldly in God’s promises that there will be a future. He says of God in 15:26, “Let him do to me what seems good to him.”
David also teaches that piety is not passively waiting around for God to just bring new life and a new future. On David’s retreat from Jerusalem he is actively meeting his own future while trusting that its shape ultimately rests with God. He plans, deploys, gathers information, and makes careful decisions. Faithfulness does not mean ignoring political realism or not having grit or not making shrewd decisions – although please to things ethically! God certainly provides new openings but we must be willing to open doors and find ways to go through them. Faith does not passively wait for God’s wonderful future to just show up. Faith works and boldly claims that God is working for good.
All of that being said, let’s note where David draws the line – for sinfully bad as he could be, he did have boundaries. David refuses to take the Ark of the Covenant with him when he flees Jerusalem. He refuses to manipulate religious symbols of power and God’s presence to further his own interests.
Many of you know I hold both of our country’s major political parties in contempt. And so this next statement is not political. You’ll remember several weeks ago when President Trump staged that photo op in front of a church building holding a Bible. In doing so he crossed a line even King David would not cross! After being appalled and offended, and nearly laughing at the absurdity of what he did, I though the president and his advisors certainly need to read the book he was holding. It prohibits doing exactly what he did. You just don’t do stuff like that! The church so used was appropriately outraged at it.
This does not mean that religious symbols need to be absent from public life. And I certainly hope all our political leaders act with a love and respect of God in their hearts. But King David shows us that religious objects of power are not to be used for promoting a personal agenda… and they are not to be used to promote a religious agenda either; no matter how faith-filled you think you are acting! God will take care of that stuff!
Learn more from David, for here is how God will act. God will act through the substance of our actions and our faith. Those are the values that must be in the public arena – that is the expression of God’s power – never publicly displaying objects of religious authority.
Though the reading from James that we had can be easily misinterpreted, and it upsets many a Lutheran thinker, I believe you get the point. We read, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.”
That is where visible religious authority lies.
We’re moving on from David to his son Solomon next week. I invite you to read onward past 2 Samuel 16 to learn of how David returns to power, for indeed he does return to power. You’ll also discover that David continues to make mistakes – and some big ones! But he also leads by faith. Read Chapter 22 and discover how he knows that things are truly and forever in God’s hands.
Our story today is about a coup attempt made by David’s third son, Absalom. The Bible’s account of David’s wives and children is not consistent or complete. From what we do have let’s say that the family dynamics were offensive and disturbing, if not downright disgusting. The Bible records at least eight wives for David. He had children to most. I won’t get into the specific background to today’s text because the content is not appropriate for a public sermon. If you want you can read about it 2 Samuel 13-14 on your own. In summary though, David’s firstborn son and legitimate heir to the throne, Amnon, schemes to (and successfully) rapes his half-sister Tamar. David finds out about it… and does nothing. Time passes. Tamar’s full brother, Absalom, is not satisfied. Sometime later Absalom creates a scheme and murders Amnon. Now David is upset! David decides not to have Absalom killed but he refuses to be around him. Absalom pleads but David says no. Eventually, however, after getting into some criminal activity to get his father’s attention David does see Absalom and forgives him – sort of. And that sets us up for 2 Samuel 15…
Some people have wonderful family lives. Some do not. I certainly hope your family life is not (or was not) like David’s family. However, horrible and disgusting as it was, I’m glad the Bible records some of what went on in this highly dysfunctional family. Remember especially, this is the family God has chosen to be the leader of his people forever. Certainly, God’s choice of a family is not based on that family’s visible merits!
We do well to spend time looking at the Bible at this level of authority. I feel that all too many people view the Bible as God’s instruction book for how to live properly. Indeed there are parts like that; certainly the Law, some of Paul’s letters and some of Jesus’ sermons. But those who take it that way end up trying to apply overly simplistic solutions to complex problems.
Most of the time the Bible takes us deep into the real messiness of life and lets us know God’s grace is still at work. That is what we see today.
King David was a very sinful man. In today’s reading we see that he is paying a high price for the consequences of some of his failings as a king and as a father. The raw truth is that he’s a total mess-up. He is guilty. He knows it. Over and over again he’s done bad things. Many of those bad things have to do with women. He’s killed on more than one occasion over getting a woman. He’s manipulated and ignored his first wife. He’s completely ignored the exploitation of his daughter Tamar.
But David is not undone by the realization of his guilt. He is not blind to it, but he is still able to move forward. From him we learn that in the face of sin (and its death-dealing consequences) we must ultimately rely on the power of God’s grace.
In 15:25 we read that David will return if he, “finds favor in the eyes of the Lord”. There’s more. In 16:12 we read if the “Lord will look upon my distress” and “repay me with good.” This is not the “good” he deserves but the “good” that comes only as God’s grace. David trusts that in spite of his overwhelmingly sinful life there can be a good future through God’s gracious providing. If there is anything that makes David a model of faith it is this. He believes God can clean up whatever mess he’s made.
Theologian Bruce Birch notes of this passage that many who come to the realization of their own sin and are faced with its consequences in their lives find themselves mired in guilt – unable to move on from a past that has crumbled and move toward the possibilities of God’s new future.
Sometimes when our own sinful choices have broken relationships and ruined lives, we seem to believe that the broken reality is all that we deserve – and that it is all that can ever be possible.
I’m pretty sure none of you have ever been involved in as many vile things as King David got into on a regular basis. But in this scene David models a bold faith that believes the good news – that new life is available to us through the goodness of God, even when we now we do not deserve it in any way shape or form.
In the midst of the loss of his kingdom – a consequence of his own sin – David trusts that there is still a future for him – a future where God will be with him. Although he does not know that he will regain his kingdom, he trusts boldly in God’s promises that there will be a future. He says of God in 15:26, “Let him do to me what seems good to him.”
David also teaches that piety is not passively waiting around for God to just bring new life and a new future. On David’s retreat from Jerusalem he is actively meeting his own future while trusting that its shape ultimately rests with God. He plans, deploys, gathers information, and makes careful decisions. Faithfulness does not mean ignoring political realism or not having grit or not making shrewd decisions – although please to things ethically! God certainly provides new openings but we must be willing to open doors and find ways to go through them. Faith does not passively wait for God’s wonderful future to just show up. Faith works and boldly claims that God is working for good.
All of that being said, let’s note where David draws the line – for sinfully bad as he could be, he did have boundaries. David refuses to take the Ark of the Covenant with him when he flees Jerusalem. He refuses to manipulate religious symbols of power and God’s presence to further his own interests.
Many of you know I hold both of our country’s major political parties in contempt. And so this next statement is not political. You’ll remember several weeks ago when President Trump staged that photo op in front of a church building holding a Bible. In doing so he crossed a line even King David would not cross! After being appalled and offended, and nearly laughing at the absurdity of what he did, I though the president and his advisors certainly need to read the book he was holding. It prohibits doing exactly what he did. You just don’t do stuff like that! The church so used was appropriately outraged at it.
This does not mean that religious symbols need to be absent from public life. And I certainly hope all our political leaders act with a love and respect of God in their hearts. But King David shows us that religious objects of power are not to be used for promoting a personal agenda… and they are not to be used to promote a religious agenda either; no matter how faith-filled you think you are acting! God will take care of that stuff!
Learn more from David, for here is how God will act. God will act through the substance of our actions and our faith. Those are the values that must be in the public arena – that is the expression of God’s power – never publicly displaying objects of religious authority.
Though the reading from James that we had can be easily misinterpreted, and it upsets many a Lutheran thinker, I believe you get the point. We read, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.”
That is where visible religious authority lies.
We’re moving on from David to his son Solomon next week. I invite you to read onward past 2 Samuel 16 to learn of how David returns to power, for indeed he does return to power. You’ll also discover that David continues to make mistakes – and some big ones! But he also leads by faith. Read Chapter 22 and discover how he knows that things are truly and forever in God’s hands.
Monday, July 6, 2020
July 5, 2020 David’s Ambitions 2 Samuel 7:1-17
Often when people imagine the writing of the books of the Bible they imagine someone sitting down and just writing out a book that is somehow especially inspired by God. Reality is that few of the books of the Bible came about that way. Most of the books of the Old Testament especially shows multiple authors, revisions, and edits. I said a few weeks ago when we started studying the kings of Israel that one of the fascinating things about them is that there is often archaeological evidence to go along with what the Bible says about them. We can get a much richer idea of the world behind the text. The other thing about the kings is that the Bible gives us multiple accounts of them. One cluster is what we are reading: 1st and 2nd Samuel and 1st and 2nd Kings. These books are part of a larger cluster of writings called the Deuteronomistic writings. As the name suggests, all of these books appear to either be written by, edited by, or influenced by Deuteronomy or its author. The Deuteronomistic writings also include the books of Joshua and Judges.
Contrast them with another cluster of writings from a person called the Chronicler. As the name suggests this person wrote 1st and 2nd Chronicles. Some also suggest this person wrote Ezra and Nehemiah. Maybe, all those books appear to be written in the same time period, but maybe not. What is clear, however, is that the Chronicler paints a much cleaner picture of the kings than the Deuteronomist does. The Chronicler includes all the good stuff and ignores or minimizes all the bad. If I had to guess I’d say the Chronicler is on someone’s payroll and is writing to suit his benefactor’s agenda!
I give this long introduction to today because it is fascinating that the Deuteronomist is not afraid to share the bad stuff. The Deuteronomist is also not afraid to let us see inconsistency, confusion, and lack of faith in God’s chosen leaders. The Deuteronomist has a ring of authenticity to his writings. The Deuteronomist himself is not consistent. Our reading from 2nd Samuel starts off by saying that God gave David rest from his enemies all around. If that’s true, it was short lived. All too soon we’re back to hearing about David’s endless wars with neighboring kingdoms.
Another thing the Deuteronomist does is let us question David’s motives. You may remember from last week that David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem after he made it his capital. It sounds like an act of religious devotion but the Deuteronomist also lets us know it was a political strategy to solidify power and because the ark was bringing prosperity to whoever had it. Therefore, David wanted it with him and under his care. So, what are David’s real motives?
We also get to question his priorities. Today we learn that David has built a house for himself – a royal palace. But has he done the same for his God? Has he built God a palace to dwell in, a temple? No. He’s had building his own house be a higher priority. Making a house for God is secondary.
We discover more complexity when we learn that when David inquires of the prophet Nathan about building a temple Nathan first says that it is God’s will that David should do so. But then God reveals to Nathan, and significantly - not David, that he should not build God a house. Instead God would build David a house. The term “house” gets a double meaning as David is talking about building a literal house and God is talking giving David a lineage of kings. What is not included there, but is included elsewhere, is God’s reason. I’ve said before, David was a warrior king who killed – or ordered the killing of - many people. Too many. God says the temple will be built by someone more peaceful.
Wisely David heeds God and does not pursue it. Other times he does not. Another time David wants to take a census of the people. For some unknown reason God does not want him to do it. David does it anyway and the Bible says God sends a plague in displeasure. That’s another place where we end up in a ditch really fast. For today though we stay on David’s desire to build a temple.
It is easy to picture Jerusalem as a great city under king David. The Bible’s stories make it seem like quite a place. But reality was something different. It’s hard to know. Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt so many times the archaeological evidence is unclear. Jerusalem was already about 2500 years old by the time David conquered it and made it his capital. But it wasn’t big.
David worked to enlarge and fortify it, but it was still only about 400 feet wide and 1000 feet long. The picture on the front of today’s worship bulletin is an artist’s guess as to what it may have been like. What it does not depict is that there were certainly dwellings outside the walls. It was not a fortress surrounded by nothing. Even so, Jerusalem was geographically tiny by today’s standards: not a city, not a village, barely even a hamlet. Although its population was crammed inside.
The great house of cedar that David says he has built for himself would certainly not impress us today. I suspect that anyone with a modest three bedroom house probably lives in something bigger than David’s “palace”. And we certainly all live with far more luxuries and conveniences than David had.
Still though, David wants to build a temple to God. I think we can understand David’s motives. It is fun to build things. And it certainly feels good to build something for God. Whether it is an ancient temple or a church building today, when we build something for God it feels important. It feels proper. And it feels permanent.
Anyone who’s ever been in a leadership position in a church knows it’s a lot easier to raise money if you’re going to build something than if you’re just paying operating expenses. And we like to build grand things, impressive things. We want to do them well.
We also work hard to maintain buildings. We want them to look nice. We want them to be a proper place for our God to dwell.
Indeed there is even something to be said for our worship spaces being spaces of grace. Over the door to the sanctuary in Victor is the cute but serious sign that says, “Sinners only. This is a space of grace.”
Just about everywhere else you go in the world you have to earn things. It depends on your wealth, your intelligence, your accomplishments, your connections. We judge each other each and every day.
But, properly speaking, not so in church. A sanctuary is for everyone: rich/poor, old/young, smart/stupid, beautiful/ugly, honorable/shameful, good/bad. All are welcome. All are equal before God because all are sinners in need of grace. And so a sanctuary is an especially set aside physical space for that to be a reality. A house of worship is a truly important building.
But we also need to learn from David. Is God impressed by human architecture? Not one bit. Even when the great Temple of Solomon is built God never comments on its beauty or stature. People do. God doesn’t.
In Jesus’ day when the disciples are oohing and aahing over the rebuilt temple0( and then massively expanded and beautified by construction projects lasting decades) is Jesus impressed? Not one bit.
We have to remember, that important as we think our religious buildings are, in and of themselves they are not to God.
God, the almighty, the creator of the universe, is not to be impressed no matter how grand we humans try to be. God allows the temple in Jerusalem, so central and important to followers, to be built and destroyed, then rebuilt and beautified only to be destroyed again, and it remains unbuilt to this day.
What does God see as a more fitting temple? St. Paul hits the bullseye concisely when he writes to the Corinthians that we – humans – are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in us. He writes, “For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
A grand building attracted David but God said no. God would work through people – David’s ancestors – not a building. And the same goes for us. May we treat our own selves as God’s temples. And may we see that in others as well. May that give us the love and respect for self and others that we need to be faithful strong people who truly do work to build for God’s kingdom. In doing so we are truly God’s master builders.
Contrast them with another cluster of writings from a person called the Chronicler. As the name suggests this person wrote 1st and 2nd Chronicles. Some also suggest this person wrote Ezra and Nehemiah. Maybe, all those books appear to be written in the same time period, but maybe not. What is clear, however, is that the Chronicler paints a much cleaner picture of the kings than the Deuteronomist does. The Chronicler includes all the good stuff and ignores or minimizes all the bad. If I had to guess I’d say the Chronicler is on someone’s payroll and is writing to suit his benefactor’s agenda!
I give this long introduction to today because it is fascinating that the Deuteronomist is not afraid to share the bad stuff. The Deuteronomist is also not afraid to let us see inconsistency, confusion, and lack of faith in God’s chosen leaders. The Deuteronomist has a ring of authenticity to his writings. The Deuteronomist himself is not consistent. Our reading from 2nd Samuel starts off by saying that God gave David rest from his enemies all around. If that’s true, it was short lived. All too soon we’re back to hearing about David’s endless wars with neighboring kingdoms.
Another thing the Deuteronomist does is let us question David’s motives. You may remember from last week that David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem after he made it his capital. It sounds like an act of religious devotion but the Deuteronomist also lets us know it was a political strategy to solidify power and because the ark was bringing prosperity to whoever had it. Therefore, David wanted it with him and under his care. So, what are David’s real motives?
We also get to question his priorities. Today we learn that David has built a house for himself – a royal palace. But has he done the same for his God? Has he built God a palace to dwell in, a temple? No. He’s had building his own house be a higher priority. Making a house for God is secondary.
We discover more complexity when we learn that when David inquires of the prophet Nathan about building a temple Nathan first says that it is God’s will that David should do so. But then God reveals to Nathan, and significantly - not David, that he should not build God a house. Instead God would build David a house. The term “house” gets a double meaning as David is talking about building a literal house and God is talking giving David a lineage of kings. What is not included there, but is included elsewhere, is God’s reason. I’ve said before, David was a warrior king who killed – or ordered the killing of - many people. Too many. God says the temple will be built by someone more peaceful.
Wisely David heeds God and does not pursue it. Other times he does not. Another time David wants to take a census of the people. For some unknown reason God does not want him to do it. David does it anyway and the Bible says God sends a plague in displeasure. That’s another place where we end up in a ditch really fast. For today though we stay on David’s desire to build a temple.
It is easy to picture Jerusalem as a great city under king David. The Bible’s stories make it seem like quite a place. But reality was something different. It’s hard to know. Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt so many times the archaeological evidence is unclear. Jerusalem was already about 2500 years old by the time David conquered it and made it his capital. But it wasn’t big.
David worked to enlarge and fortify it, but it was still only about 400 feet wide and 1000 feet long. The picture on the front of today’s worship bulletin is an artist’s guess as to what it may have been like. What it does not depict is that there were certainly dwellings outside the walls. It was not a fortress surrounded by nothing. Even so, Jerusalem was geographically tiny by today’s standards: not a city, not a village, barely even a hamlet. Although its population was crammed inside.
The great house of cedar that David says he has built for himself would certainly not impress us today. I suspect that anyone with a modest three bedroom house probably lives in something bigger than David’s “palace”. And we certainly all live with far more luxuries and conveniences than David had.
Still though, David wants to build a temple to God. I think we can understand David’s motives. It is fun to build things. And it certainly feels good to build something for God. Whether it is an ancient temple or a church building today, when we build something for God it feels important. It feels proper. And it feels permanent.
Anyone who’s ever been in a leadership position in a church knows it’s a lot easier to raise money if you’re going to build something than if you’re just paying operating expenses. And we like to build grand things, impressive things. We want to do them well.
We also work hard to maintain buildings. We want them to look nice. We want them to be a proper place for our God to dwell.
Indeed there is even something to be said for our worship spaces being spaces of grace. Over the door to the sanctuary in Victor is the cute but serious sign that says, “Sinners only. This is a space of grace.”
Just about everywhere else you go in the world you have to earn things. It depends on your wealth, your intelligence, your accomplishments, your connections. We judge each other each and every day.
But, properly speaking, not so in church. A sanctuary is for everyone: rich/poor, old/young, smart/stupid, beautiful/ugly, honorable/shameful, good/bad. All are welcome. All are equal before God because all are sinners in need of grace. And so a sanctuary is an especially set aside physical space for that to be a reality. A house of worship is a truly important building.
But we also need to learn from David. Is God impressed by human architecture? Not one bit. Even when the great Temple of Solomon is built God never comments on its beauty or stature. People do. God doesn’t.
In Jesus’ day when the disciples are oohing and aahing over the rebuilt temple0( and then massively expanded and beautified by construction projects lasting decades) is Jesus impressed? Not one bit.
We have to remember, that important as we think our religious buildings are, in and of themselves they are not to God.
God, the almighty, the creator of the universe, is not to be impressed no matter how grand we humans try to be. God allows the temple in Jerusalem, so central and important to followers, to be built and destroyed, then rebuilt and beautified only to be destroyed again, and it remains unbuilt to this day.
What does God see as a more fitting temple? St. Paul hits the bullseye concisely when he writes to the Corinthians that we – humans – are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in us. He writes, “For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
A grand building attracted David but God said no. God would work through people – David’s ancestors – not a building. And the same goes for us. May we treat our own selves as God’s temples. And may we see that in others as well. May that give us the love and respect for self and others that we need to be faithful strong people who truly do work to build for God’s kingdom. In doing so we are truly God’s master builders.
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