Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - 1 Kings Part 3, Solomon's Error and the Kingdom Split

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

After the glorious descriptions of life in Israel under King Solomon in 1 Kings 10...1 Kings 11 begins with  a very ominous observation.

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter -- Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods."  Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.  As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. - 1 Kings 11:1 - 4.

Now, the truth is that in that time and place it was not unusual for one king or ruler to give a daughter to another king to marry...read, add to his harem...as a sign of a treaty or alliance.  However, Solomon allowed that to become extreme.  I have always found it incredible that someone with so much wisdom could do something so...stupid...as to go so blatantly against the instructions God gave in more than one place and in more than one way.  But...his heart was led astray.  ('Heart' here, and everywhere else it appears today with two exceptions, is Strong's H 3584, Lebab)  He did not follow God, who had supernaturally spoken with him twice, who had given him wealth and riches and fame and wisdom for ruling,  with his whole heart.  

I have always thought that Solomon, after years of living with all those blessings and wisdom, kind of forgot where it came from.  We will get to the book of Ecclesiastes down the road a bit and see how Solomon's mind was working in his later years, but he had asked for wisdom to govern the people and God gave it to him.  And so, in my humble opinion, Solomon didn't really need God; he could run the country on his own.

So he did.  And he, in his human wisdom, completely forgot the basic instructions God had given them regarding living in that land.  David, in all his screw ups, never forgot that God was the one who gave victory and who guarded the land and led his people. Solomon started doing what made sense to him.  And it cost him.

The LORD became very angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD's command.   -- 1 Kings 11: 9-10.

You can read the story in 1 Kings 11...God told Solomon he would take the bulk of the kingdom away from him, but, for the sake of David, would leave a remnant following the house of David.   Jeroboam, son of Nebat, from the half tribe of Ephraim, was told by the prophet Abijah that God would give him ten of the tribes of Israel and make him king, since Solomon had turned after other gods:

"I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes. I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. However,  as for you, I  will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel." -- 1 Kings 11:35-37 (Heart: Strong's H5315, Nepes...which, interestingly enough, is not translated as 'heart' in other translations.  For instance, NASB skips it altogether, just  rendering 'whatever you desire'; KJV translates it as 'that thy soul desireth'.  Interestingly, this word also carries the connotation of appetite.)

Sure enough, after Solomon died, his son Rehoboam acted arrogantly towards the people and ten tribes rebelled. There was war and Jeroboam became king of the rebelling tribes.  And he, despite the promises and warnings and even seeing the consequences playing out right in front of him with Solomon and Rehoboam, immediately built an alter in Bethel and shrines in high places so his people would NOT go down to Jerusalem to worship God, lest they get the idea that they needed to reunite with the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin.  

Jeroboam was told, through the prophet Ahijah, 

"I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.  You have done more evil than all who lived before you.  You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have provoked me to anger and thrust be behind your back." - 1 Kings 14:8 - 9

After Jeroboam died, he was succeeded by his son Nadab, who was assassinated after just 2 years by Baasha, of the tribe of Issachar.  Baasha's first action was to slaughter the entire family belonging to Jeroboam (1 Kings 15:29) and the dynasty that could have been was completely annihilated. 

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, Rehoboam died and was succeeded by his son, Abijah.

He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully committed to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.  (1 Kings 15:3)

Abijah only reigned 3 years, and then he died, and he was succeeded by his son, Asa.  Asa was king for 41 yeas, so he must have been pretty young when he took the throne.  Asa, however, was different than his dad and granddad:

Although he did not remove the high places, Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. -- 1 Kings 15:14

 In the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Baasha died and his son Elah succeeded him, and was assassinated after two years by Zimri, one of his captains.  Zimri's tribe is not mentioned, but he reigned exactly long enough to slaughter the entire family of Baasha...one week.  The army, led by Omri, laid seige to the city so Zimri set the palace on fire and died there.  A brief power struggle ensued between Omri and Tibni, but Tibni died and Omri emerged as king, ultimately moving the capital to Samaria.  After twelve years, Omri died and was succeeded by his son Ahab...who was married to Jezebel, and had a run-in with a prophet named Elijah, who said it would not rain again until he said so.

Ultimately, the drought lasted three years and culminated with a showdown between the priests of Baal and Elijah on Mount Carmel.  The sacrifice to Baal drew nothing but flies all day, despite the frenzy of the priests, then Elijah stepped up, building the altar, arranging the butchered bull, and, unbelievably, pouring twelve large jars of precious water over the sacrifice and the altar and filling a trench he'd dug around it.

"At the time of the sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "Oh LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel,  let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." -- 1 Kings 18:37 ('Heart' is Strong's H 3820, Leb, a form of  H3824, above)

The fire fell, the people worshiped God and then slaughtered the pagan priests.  Elijah prayed for rain, sent word to Ahab that a deluge was coming, and ran all the way back to Jezreel, beating Ahab, who presumably got bogged down in the mud.

We have more history recorded in 1 Kings, but that's the last mention of 'heart/ hearts'.

And it's interesting...the heart is the key.  A committed heart...mostly does the right things.  A heart that isn't fully committed...does the wrong things.

I imagine we will see this on repeat as we go through the rest of the History books...

Hodge Podge for Valentine's Day

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi.

It happens, from time to time, when I read the questions for the weekly Hodge-podge meme...one jumps out and grabs me and insists on being answered.

Can you guess which one it was this week? LOL

Click the box to find all the folks participating in this week's exploration of Love...we're all answering the same questions...

1. What does love mean to you? 

Love is one of those weird ambiguous words.  The Greeks have at least four different words for love...eros, phileo, storge, agape...  each one with a different nuanced meaning.  But English has one word - love - for the whole spectrum.  We English speaking Americans love pizza, love chocolate, love our sports team, love our college, love the beach, love our cat (or dog), love our spouse, love our kids, love our parents, love our friends...the list goes on and on.  But, since we're talking about the day honoring St. Valentine...who, according to one tradition, was put to death for breaking the law and performing marriage ceremonies in defiance of the ban intended to keep young men eligible for military service...I believe love is the binding that keeps people connected and working towards one another's good.  It's not a feeling...it's an emotion beyond feeling that borders on compulsion.  One must care for the beloved or break something in one's heart.

2. Is love blind?  

No.  Infatuation is blind.  Obsession is blind.  Love sees all the flaws...and commits the heart anyway.  Love recognizes the differences and finds ways to work with and around them. 

3. How do you remember Valentine's Day as a kid? Do you have any special plans for the day this year? 

I wrote a blog post years ago about my experiences with Valentine's day as a kid...but Valentine's day falls on a Wednesday this year, and Wednesdays are Very Busy Days.  Maybe a card and a bit of chocolate?  Maybe? LOL

4 Are you a fan of the movie genre known as 'rom-com'? What's your favorite (or one of your favorites)?

Generally speaking, I love a movie that makes me laugh.  Some Rom Coms do...and some just seem kinda dumb.  But you can't go wrong with a classic like What's Up, Doc?   I think that counts as a Rom-Com, lol, although I've seen it referred to as  a 'Screwball Comedy'...

5. What's something you recently put your heart into? 

The 30- Day Shred.  Which isn't what you think it is, lol. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

In general, I think Valentine's Day is WAYYYY over hyped. As a day to remind your beloved just how important s/he is to you...great.  As a day to spend $$$$ on big-ticket gifts (a car?  A big screen TV?  Seriously???)...or as a rationalization for extorting diamonds or pearls or whatever from your sweetie...good grief no....

Of Comfort and Sweet Memories

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We've known it was coming for a long time.  And yet...somehow, we had grace for still more years.   

 I remember their 50th anniversary; we didn't think we would gather like that again.  But we did for the 60th.  And the 70th. And even beyond that...most of the family was able to be on hand for the 75th wedding celebration last June.   How amazing.

But time marches on, and my Father-in-law fell back in October and couldn't get back up.  He went in to rehab to try and rebuild his strength but he had problems with hemoglobin counts and other things and just couldn't get back on his feet.  Christmas was a good day, but he began a serious decline right after.  He spent about a week on hospice care and passed away on Jan. 21st at age 98; he would have been 99 in April.

With family coming in from Pennsylvania, California, Florida and Alabama, it took a minute to get everyone organized and travel plans made.  My Sweet Babboo and I drove up to my folk's farm west of Indianapolis on Wednesday, picked up the Florida kids at the Indianapolis airport Thursday evening and drove up to Elkhart; The Artist and his wife arrived at the farm a couple of hours after we left and came to Elkhart on Friday, swinging by West Lafayette and picking up a cousin from Purdue on their way up.  The Princess was on a work trip to Florida (She's a Disney travel agent,  but was learning about Universal Studios), which she cut short, flying back home on Thursday and she and her hubby and the two wee boys made the entire drive up on Friday.  By Friday evening, everyone was in town. Only one granddaughter, who was ill with the flu, was unable to attend; the memorial service was live-streamed so she could see it.

The memorial service was Saturday afternoon, in the 100 + year old Methodist church all the siblings grew up in.

He was a member of the Greatest Generation...a Purple Heart/ Bronze Star WW 2 veteran.  He taught chemistry for years at the local high school, and sang Barbershop, in both quartets and a chorus, and in the church choir, for decades; the memorial service was full of music.  We sang his favorite hymns, and listened to recordings of his barbershop quartet and also of the family, including the special music we sang at church for their 70th Anniversary (I confess to wiping a couple of tears at that point).  But my Mother-in-law was insistent that this was not to be a 'sad affair'; she wanted us to sing and remember good things.  

I was surprised to see some folks I knew; it was good to see distant cousins and old friends we had not been able to contact for a while.

Memorial services are good for that.

My sister-in-law said it well, in a meal blessing on Friday: "We gather to comfort and encourage one another, and to honor the memory of our beloved Dad."

Yes.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - 1 Kings part 2; Solomon's Pinnacle

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Life is crazy, lol, and, well, likely over the next few weeks I'll be posting when I catch the chance. And I thought I'd go back to routine after Christmas ...hahahahaha.... Anyway, we're looking at the words 'Heart/ Hearts' through the Bible and we have reached 1 Kings.

The nation of Israel reached a peak of glory in the early years of Solomon that arguably has not been reached by any kingdom on earth since, allowing for the technology of the day.  One of the first things he did was to build the temple for which his father had been collecting materials.  It took seven years to complete, and chapter 8 records the consecration of the temple, in which Solomon stood before the people and made a short introductory speech, summarizing the events leading to that day, including David's heart for a house for God:

"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.  But the LORD said to my father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart.' "  1 Kings 8:17-18; 'Heart' is Strong's H 3824, lebab,  which we have seen repeatedly as we have gone along.  

After Solomon's words to the people, he stood before the altar and prayed a prayer of praise, dedication, and supplication, in which he mentions 'heart/hearts' in his petition:

"When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel -- each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands towards this temple -- then hear from heaven, our dwelling place.  Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers."  -- 1 Kings 8:38-40; 'Heart/ hearts' is, again, Strong's H 3824.

"When they sin against you -- for there is no one who does not sin-- and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly';  and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause." --  1 Kings 8:46-49; 'Heart'  in verse 47 is Strong's H 3820, leb,  which we have also seen used repeatedly, but 'Heart' in verse 48 is H 3824 again.  I think I have mentioned it before, but 3820 is actually a variant form of 3824, according to the Etymology listed in the link.  The usage and definitions are very, very similar; I simply am not educated enough to see what must be a fine line of distinction between them.

After Solomon's prayer, there were sacrifices and celebrations for a full two weeks. Then

On the following day he [Solomon] sent the people away.  They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the LORD had done for his servant David and his people Israel.  -- 1 Kings 8:66; 'heart' is H 3820 again.

After the temple was completed and dedicated, God appeared to Solomon again, as he had at Gibeon (i.e., in a dream - see 1 Kings 3:5) and renewed the covenant. 

The LORD said to him: "I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever.  My eyes and heart will always be there.  As for you, if you walk before me integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.' " -- 1 Kings 9:3-5 - God's heart, in verse 3, is H 3820;  Solomon's heart, in verse 4, is H 3824.  Again, same word, slightly different form.

The splendor of Solomon's court and the building program he initiated, the income he had, the reputation of his wisdom all spread to cause an African queen to undertake a visit to see for herself if what she had heard was true; she exclaimed that she hadn't heard even half of the truth. 

King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.  The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. -- 1 Kings 10: 23-24; 'Heart' is H 3820.

Over and over again we see 'heart' referring to the seat of feeling, emotion, thought, understanding.  It is the place of pure devotion...or twisted ambition.  When the heart has been dedicated to following God, his deliverance and blessing follow.  If it is turned away from God...to anything else...not so good things follow. But God sees the heart.  He knows what's REALLY there.  We might be able to fool other people, we may even deceive ourselves, but God sees the truth.  The REAL truth.  A heart that messes up and repents is always accepted. 

A heart that is determined to serve oneself...well, that's the next installment.