The Dangers of a Divided Heart

I always thought of Solomon as a mostly good, obedient man who went astray at the end of his life. In a sense this is true, but in reading through Solomon's story this time, I have come to realize that his divided heart early on in his reign is what let to his eventual turning away from the Lord.

Solomon was blessed. His dad was David. He inherited the throne of Israel in a time of peace and prosperity. He was given all the supplies to build the first ever temple for Yaweh. He asked God for wisdom and it was granted to him in abundance, along with riches. He had the respect of other nations. He had a close relationship with the Lord, and God would come speak to him. It doesn't get much better than that.

However, in the midst of all this goodness, there are subtle hints that Solomon's heart was at times divided and not in accordance with his dying father's request that Solomon and his offspring  "walk before me in all faithfulness with their heart and with all their soul " (I Kings 2:4). Even though Solomon was obedient in building a beautiful temple for the Lord, he actually spent more time, money, and effort in building his own palace next door. It took him seven years to build the temple, and Solomon took thirteen years to complete his own house (I Kings 6:38 - 7:1) Even though, at first, Solomon had only one wife, he made "a marriage alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brough her into the City of David" (I Kings 3:1). This is dangerous for two reasons. First, Moses commanded the Israelites not to "return to Egypt" (Deut. 17:16) for any reason, after their God-granted escape from slavery. Taking a wife from Egypt is, in a sense, returning to that land. And of course, this also relates to the second reason, that Israel was warned from their arrival in the Promised Land not to take foreign wives, as they would inevitably lead Israelite men into paganism and idolatory. Solomon, although faithful in building the temple, was unfaithful in other small ways that would have big consequences later on.

Even after the temple was built and Solomon was still receiving God's blessing, living in a time of prosperity, being admired by the world, and expanding his kingdom, he was still seeking after things with a divided heart. Even though Israelite did not yet have a king at the time, God speaks to Moses in Deuteronomy and gives some simple guidelines that future Israelite kings should follow. These commands encourage moderation, even for kings, so that their possessions will  not replace God in their hearts and lives. Among the commands, God specifically tells future kings not to acquire "many horses," "many wives," nor "excessive silver and gold" (Deut. 17:16-17). Even as he is experiencing the Lord's blessing, Solomon begins to specifically break these three commands, but it happens slowly over time. Eventually though, Solomon has "12, 000 horesemen" and so much silver that "silver was not considered anything in the days of Solomon" (I Kings 10:21). All these signs of a divided heart occur long before Solomon even takes his 1000 wives and concubines, which reveals a heart turned away from the Lord.

While the human heart must always battle with the flesh, and while we will always be tempted by idols as we live on this earth, Solomon's story paints a very vivid warning for me. Are there subtle areas of my life where I am not being obedient? Are there tiny idols trying to work their way in, which, although small, can lead to great sin and destruction? Are there small ways where I am refusing to trust or obey the Lord, which I cover up by obeying in the "big ways" and by doing "big works?" Am I building a temple, but also building my own palace somewhere else in my life? I don't necessarily have all the answers to these questions, but they are definitely worth pondering as I attempt to live a life of faithfulness with ALL my heart and ALL my soul.

God's Story: Psalm 78

One thing God has been teaching me lately is the importance of story - especially my own story within his greater story. As sinful humans, it's easy to get caught up in our own story, our own gifts, relationships, personal triumphs, and our future goals, as if we would have gifts, healthy relationships, victory, or hope for the future apart from Jesus Christ. It's also easy to become self-absorbed with our own troubles - to focus on our struggle, our sin, our pain, the injustice done to us, or the hardship we are experiencing, as if God is absent or removed from our hardship, as if his purpose is thwarted by our sin or as if he is rendered powerless by our current struggles. When reflecting on my own life, it's easy to think about me. My story, my victories, my struggles, when in reality, it's all about God. I am just one of many of people within God's great story of love, salvation, and redemption.

The Psalmist in Psalm 78 also reflects on God's story...

Asaph expresses his thankfulness for God's story throughout Psalm 78.
First he praises "the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done," and reminds the Israelites that God's story needs to be passed down to the "coming generation" (vs. 4).

Asaph remind the people that God "established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel" (vs. 5). He then goes on to recount many, but in reality only a fraction, of God's glorious deeds and goodness toward Israel...

God "made streams come out of the rock..." (vs. 16).
God "rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven" (vs. 24).
God "rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas" (vs. 27).
And although the people continued to sin in their mistrust, grumbling, and ingratitude,
God "being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them" (vs. 38).

The Psalmist also reflects back to the Israelites' enslavement in Egypt and the day when God "redeemed them from the foe, when he performed his signs in Egypt" (vs. 42-43), and when he "led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock...and he brought them to his holy land" (vs. 52, 54).
God's faithfulness to his people continued through the generations, despite their sin and rebellion. Asaph rejoices that God "chose David his servant...to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance" (vs. 70-71).

I know that the story above is bascially one long direct quote, but that's because it's God's story. It's taken directly from his book, and his story is not finished yet...although we know the ending! Just as the Israelites' part in the story is a mix of sin, suffering, redemption, glory and obedience, so is my own story one small scene of sin, suffering, redemption, glory, and obedience. God is so good. He sent Jesus who is the author and prefector of my own small story of faith. And my little tiny story fits beautifully within God's story of salvation for the whole world.

Reflection #3 - The Psalms

One of the challenges in reading through The Psalms over the past few weeks has been having to read them so quickly. I always want to read slowly and reflect on each one, but instead, when I finish one, I often have three or four left to read for the day, sometimes more. While this is sometimes frustrating, as I don't feel I get enough time to meditate on the songs, it is also a great reminder that the Psalms are not just worship, but they are true theology. The Psalms have taught me so much about God's character, about His salvation plan throughout history, they have convicted me to pray for non-believers, help the poor and needy, wait patiently for God in times of injustice and struggle, and so much more. Even though it's overwhelming to read five Psalms in a day, it is a great reminder of God's goodness on so many different levels, toward so many different people, and is so many different situtaions.

The Singing Missionaries

I have some pretty amzing friends that serve as missionaries all over the world... Africa, Europe, Asia. It's awesome. My dear friend Sarah is a person who really opened my eyes to God's heart for the world and the importance of missions and supporting missionaries and praying for missionaries and loving the people all over the world who need Jesus. I could go on and on...

But I never realized that the Psalmists and the people of Israel had a heart for missions as well. In my journey through the Psalms, I have discovered that not all the songs were written with Israel in mind. Yes, many of them are personal laments, prayers of repentance, praises to God for his constant provision for Israel, pleas for help for Israel, but some of the Psalms are actully mission-minded prayers...songs in which Israel asks for and expectantly hopes for the salvation of other peoples and nations.

Take Psalm 67 for example:
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon the earth.
(verses 1-4)

Here Israel is asking for blessing so that they can go out and make God known among the nations. They are acknowledging that God is not just for them, but that Yaweh would be most glorified if people from all nations would praise Him...and that is exactly His plan. Despite the divisions between Jews and Gentiles, and regardless of the many tensions between Israel and their surrounding pagan neighbors in the Promised Land, Israel realized that their God has a heart for the whole world, and, therefore, it was their mission to see Him glorified by Jew and non-Jew alike.... to see their great God praised among the nations!

The Blessing of Worship

I feel incredibly blessed in my reading right now, as I am in the midst of the Psalms. I wake up every morning to read a few of the beautiful Pslams before I start my day, and I end every night in the same way. In the past, I always read the Psalms as simple poems or songs praising God. I found them comforting and encouraging, but I never put a lot of thought into who wrote them and why. Although they are still very beautiful, I am learning a lot about the different purposes behind the Psalms. Basically, David was instrumental (ha - pun!) in adding organized worship to the various duties of the priests and as a part of temple practices. Although there was still no temple in his day, since God said that David's son Solomon would build the temple after him, David prepared the way for the structure to be built and to function properly. He collected most of the materials that were used to build the temple and created new positions within the priesthood to organize worship when the temple was finally built (I Chronicles 25), in order to call the people into corporate praise to the Lord.

I love that David was such a worshipful man, paving the way to modern church worship today. As he brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem after it was stolen, "David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals" ( II Samuel 6:5). The majority of the Psalms were written by David, so clearly he spent a lot of time praising God. I always thought the Psalms were David's personal praises and complaints before the Lord, but I am learning that many of them were written for the whole body of believers. They are meant to express the various feelings a child of God may experience during life and allow the congregation to speak to the Lord in different circumstances...

Psalm 8 is a song of pure praise - worshiping God as the Creator of all things...
"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the Earth!"

Psalm 28 is a group lament, pleading to God for help in the face of evildoers...
"The Lord is the strength of the people; he is the saving refuge of his annointed."

Psalm 34 is an expression of thanksgiving...
"I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears."

Psalm 37 is known as a wisdom Psalm, because it praises God using ideas from the wisdom literature, mainly as a reminder that it is better to remain loyal to the Lord, even when evil people are prospering all around...
"In just a little while, the wicked will be more..."

Psalm 39 is an individual lament where a person who is suffering is able to express their bewilderment to God...
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry..."

Psalm 44 is a group prayer - seeking God's help when the whole congregation is suffering...
"O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days..."

Psalm 52 is a "penitential Psalm" - praising God for his forgiveness of sin. In this case, David is repenting of his sin with Bathsheba, but it sets an example for all believers in how to praise God with the act of repentance...
"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me."

The Psalms have so many individual purposes, but their commanality is that they all encourage the believer to praise God despite circumstances. Whether I am in time of peace or a time of conflict, whether I am thankful for the abundant blessings in my life or suffering through various trials, whether I am being disciplined for my own sin or suffering under the sin of others, I am called to praise the Lord. I have tasted and I "see that Lord is good!" (Psalm 34: 8) no matter what is going on in the world around me.

Reflection #2

I am finishing up the life of David, about to move on to the reign of Solomon, and I thought I would pause for a moment and just reflect on the reading experience thus far. I am roughly halfway done with the Old Testament, and the word that comes to mind is "idols." I think this is a combination of reading about all the idols that have tempted the Israelites so far in the OT stories as well as the realization that idols are all around us today, drawing us away from God and trying to captures our hearts. And idols are so tricky... bad things can become idols... sex, drugs, addictions of all sorts....shopping, sports, gambling, etc. Good things can become idols... church-going, Bible study, writing a blog about the Bible, friendships, relationships, service. Abstract things can become idols... fear, comfort, security. How crazy that so many different things can pull us away from God and His calling for us. It's weird to think that this blog could become an idol - even though its intent is to teach me to reflect on what I read in the Bible. So far, so good, I think. I am pretty sure I error on the side of NOT idolizing it and should become more disciplined. It's strange to think that even my fear could become an idol. If I am afraid of something and I let it control me instead of allowing God to control me, my fear has become my god. This is just a jumble of thoughts I have had from reading the OT, reflecting on my own life, and hearing the stories of other Christians in my community... I just want to live my life according to David's words to Solomon... "set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God" (I Chronicles 22:19).