I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
The passage tells us that Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter out of the palace David had built. It goes on to tell us that he built a fleet of trade ships which sailed out of ports on the Red Sea. These ships were manned by crews provided to Solomon by King Hiram of Tyre. Solomon’s trading fleet spread his fame such that the Queen of Sheba came to see him for herself. She brought Solomon many gifts of great value and Solomon gave her gifts of great value to take home with her. The passage goes on to describe the great wealth which Solomon amassed.
I had said in one of these blogs about King David that David appeared to have gained his power and wealth by acting to protect merchant caravans from bandits. It even appears that part of his reason for conquest was to eliminate kingdoms which provided a safe haven for bandits which raided the merchant caravans. I came to this conclusion largely by reading between the lines and would not want to argue the point with someone who disagreed (there is insufficient evidence to prove this). However, this passage makes it clear that Solomon gained his great wealth by sponsoring trade missions. He sent out trading fleets which returned with large amounts of wealth. It would seem likely that he sent out trading caravans as well.
The passage concludes with the account of how Rehoboam lost control of the Northern Tribes upon Solomon’s death. When Rehoboam went to Shechem to be crowned king, the people of Israel requested that he promise to the forced labor and heavy taxes that his father, Solomon, had imposed on the people. Rehoboam first asked the advice those men who had been his father’s advisers. They told him that he should honor the request of the people of Israel and that if he did so, the people would be his faithful servants. Rehoboam rejected this advice and turned to the young men he had grown up with for advice more to his liking. They told him to tell the people of Israel that not only would he not reduce the burdens his father had imposed, but he would increase them.
Rehoboam took this bad advice and told the people of Israel that he would increase the burdens that his father had laid on them. As a result the peoples of the Northern Tribes refused to accept Rehoboam as their king and returned to their homes. Shortly after this Rehoboam sent out the official in charge of the forced labor to restore his control. However, the people of the Northern Tribes stoned that official to death. When the news of this reached Rehoboam, he fled back to Jerusalem.
Paul tells us that if we have the Spirit of God living within us we are no longer controlled by our sinful nature. Rather we are controlled by the Spirit. He further points out that everyone who belongs to Christ has the Spirit of Christ living within him, or her. Sin has brought death to our bodies, but if the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives within us He will raise us to life as well.
As a result, we are no longer obligated to obey our sinful nature. If we allow it to dictate our actions, we will follow it into death for eternity. On the other hand if we allow the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the sinful nature we will experience life eternal. The Spirit does not make us fearful slaves, rather it makes us the adopted children of a loving Father. As a result of this adoption, we are heirs with Christ to the glory of God. Paul then says something that is a bit scary. He tells us that while we will share in Christ’s glory, we will also share in His suffering.
Paul tells us that the suffering we experience now is as nothing to the glory that God will reveal to us in His time. He goes on to tell us that all of creation is suffering because of the consequences of sin. The day will come when creation will be freed from death and decay along with God’s children. We are suffering as we wait for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. But we await that day with eagerness, when we will experience our adoption to sonship and the redemption, not only of our souls, but of our bodies.
This passage talks about the other side of the fear of God. While the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, once we learn to know Christ we discover that God is a loving father. These two aspects of our relationship with God is something that is hard to understand. God does not want us to fear Him. It is just the natural reaction that we will have when we come to truly understand who and what God is. God wants us to know that He loves us. As we come to know Him we see that He does and that He cares for our every need, just as a loving father does for his children. In the same manner, God will discipline us when we do wrong, because He knows that when we do wrong we endanger ourselves and others.
The psalmist says the following about God:
to those with integrity you show integrity.
To the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the wicked you show yourself hostile.
You rescue the humble,
but you humiliate the proud.
I have found this to be true. There are two sides to this. On the one hand those with the positive qualities of faithfulness, integrity and purity perceive others as having those same qualities, while the wicked perceive those who are good and powerful as hostile. On the other hand, God actually will be faithful, behave with integrity, and show purity to those who have those same qualities, while showing hostility to those who are wicked. Going on, those who are humble will find “chance”(I do not believe in chance, chance is generally the hand of God) coming to their rescue time and again, while those who are proud will find humiliation where others would find nothing of note.
Then the psalmist tells us something that should be self-evident, but too often is not for us.
All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
If we follow the way that God has laid out for us, we will find that everything comes together for us. He will fulfill His promises, every last one of them. I will trust in the Lord and strive to follow the way that He has laid out for me.
I can think of nothing to add to today’s proverb: “Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother are an embarrassment and a public disgrace.”