After spending a few weeks away from the Bible, vacationing with my family in Disney World, and hosting everything Christmas, I couldn’t keep my eyes open long enough to read a paragraph, let alone a chapter! I opened my beautiful Bible on New Year’s to begin my next chapter – First Kings. I’m tired of reading about wars, conquests, and all the squabbles over power, but I did find enough golden nuggets of pure God to encourage me to read on. Thank you, Lord, for showing me goodness and hope when I was becoming most discouraged.
The chapter begins late in the reign of King David, an excellent King who, according to the Lor,d only had one misstep when he took another man’s wife – some misstep, but as this was thousands of years ago, I suppose I can look past that damning quality. Solomon, David’s son, is scheduled to inherit the throne when his father passes. Another party, Adonijah, had proclaimed his claim to the throne so strongly, but Solomon’s reign was confirmed legally according to the times. While Adonijah hid from Solomon in fear, he devised a scheme to upset Solomon’s reign, which back-fired. Solomon loved the Lord with all his heart and soul, and I believe his goodness and pure faith protected him.
Perhaps the most famous story from this chapter is the story of two women who were prostitutes and had two babies around the same time. One of the babies dies in the night, and that mother grabbed and claimed the living child as her own. The women went to the King and presented their story. Solomon says to cut the baby in half so each woman could have a piece. The true mother refuses in pure agony to harm the child, while the other agrees to sacrifice the baby in two parts. King Solomon knew that the woman willing to give up the child to save his life was the true mother. While there are many more complex issues if you dig into the story, the wisdom has been used in pop culture and beyond to teach judgment, right down to a simple doughnut to share. When she was around seven, I handed my middle child a plastic knife and said go ahead, you cut the chocolate donut in half, but your big sister gets to pick which piece she wants. The principles of Solomon’s judgment were still applied, and the girls made fairer choices.
This chapter shows that Solomon was the last King of Israel for a long time and didn’t anger the Lord. God even allowed and consecrated an earthly dwelling in His name that Solomon built. But Solomon was not perfect – he was like a modern-day celebrity; everyone wanted him to appear and share his wisdom. He also amassed 1,000 wives, including those the Lord told him not to marry because they worshiped other gods. After all the good, Solomon turned away from the Lord and “did evil in his sight.” Another disappointment for Our Father, and it would not be the last. A host of characters leads or tries to lead Israel with no success until along comes the prophet Elijah. Elijah tells the truth about a drought and a jar of meal that sustained until it rained again, far longer than it ever should have been able to. He brings a widow’s son back to life. Elijah appears to be on a quest to do what is right in Israel, to go against what is happening and what seems easy.
There are so many names and battles between good and evil in this one chapter of the Bible. I confess I have trouble keeping everyone straight, and I find it sad that those mentioned doing the right thing are far fewer than the “villains.” As I tackle Second Kings, I will encounter more of the same, but maybe I will be surprised.
Amanda Renz