Day 100: 1 Kings 13, 14 and 15

King Rehoboam made bronze shields (1 Kings 14:27).

After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam ascended the throne. In his fifth year, Egypt’s Shishak invaded Judah and carried off the treasures of palace and temple. In spite of everything that was stolen (we can only imagine the list provided to the insurance company), the account focuses on the loss of Solomon’s gold shields. It would seem then, that the shields are a very important part of this story.

We just read 1 Kings 10:16-17 about Solomon having the shields made from hammered gold. Once they were stolen by Egypt, the once wealthy nation of Judah could no longer afford the gold to replace them, so Rehoboam had copies made from bronze.

Every Sabbath, as Rehoboam made his way to the Temple, his Secret Service agents equipped with those bronze shields surrounded him. I imagine, as the sun shone down on that bronze, it must have dazzled the eyes of anyone looking – maybe even giving the appearance of real gold – but it wasn’t.

After church the guards would put the shields away, locked in a cabinet where they would stay until the next Sabbath for their weekly parade to Temple.

It’s probably easy to forecast where I’m going with this. It’s easy to play dress-up on the weekend. Some people head for church wearing their shiny best. They look the part, but there’s no authentic relationship with God. Others fear what might happen if they were to be transparent.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Another opportunity to take honest inventory: Are you authentic gold? …or wannabe bronze?

Day 99: 1 Kings 10, 11 and 12

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women (1 Kings 11:1).

The smartest man in the world lost his head over a pretty woman… actually it was a thousand pretty women. It was not uncommon for one king to marry off his daughter to another king or to another king’s son to solidify an alliance. That’s probably where a lot of Solomon’s wives came from. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase wedding present.

Solomon had inherited a strong and stable kingdom. But even if his military was the strongest in the entire world, Solomon the man still had chinks in his armor, which left him vulnerable. His weakness? His foreign wives and their gods.

These dalliances affected not only Solomon, but brought great hardship on the nation. Today’s passage cites Solomon’s disobedience as the root cause of Israel’s dissolution into two kingdoms – the northern of which would keep the name Israel, and the southern to be called Judah – which would be realized during the reign of his son Rehoboam.

Due to God’s favor and David’s capable leadership, Israel was the premier military strength in the region. It didn’t have to worry about being attacked by any foreign enemy. Though the front door was locked up tight, what no one counted on was the new king leaving the side door wide open to an even more formidable foe.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

In taking inventory of your defenses, where are you most vulnerable? What are you going to do about that this week?

Day 98: 1 Kings 7, 8 and 9

When they sin against you . . . and you . . . give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to his own land… (1 Kings 8:46).

The long awaited temple has finally been completed. Solomon offers a grand dedication prayer with some rather odd elements.

Solomon takes it as a given that Israel will fall away from God and be exiled into a foreign land. It’s awkward to believe the king would be such a wet blanket during Israel’s greatest national celebration to date. In fact, this passage fits better with our premise that this collection of materials (Joshua through 2 Kings – the Deuteronomic History) was gathered into its final form when the people were still stunned from their recent exile. We know chapters 24 and 25 of 2 Kings were written after the fall of Jerusalem. In the end he thrust them from his presence (2 Kings 24:20).

Imagine a nation’s disbelief, having taken for granted that Jerusalem was invincible. The temple in Jerusalem housed the greatest of all gods (they still probably weren’t quite monotheistic – chasing after other gods is what got them in this mess). If Yahweh were the strongest god, how could they have been defeated?

Then we understand Solomon’s odd dedication prayer.

Who’s the audience? Not people standing around listening to Solomon pray, but Israeli exiles 375 years later, wondering what happened and how they ended up in Babylon.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

What does God want you to learn from the hard times in your life?

Day 97: 1 Kings 4, 5 and 6

Solomon had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year (1 Kings 4:7).

The nation of Israel was growing up. During the reign of Saul, Israel was at war, subject to, or at the very least tormented by the Philistines. During the reign of David, Israel conquered its enemies and its borders were expanded. In Solomon’s time, Israel enjoyed a season of peace and prosperity – at least temporarily.

As enemies were conquered, they were required to pay tribute to Israel. That partially accounted for its prosperity. Under Solomon, however, the kingdom quit expanding even though its bureaucracies did not. Chapter 4 gives us our first glimpse of Solomon organizing Israel into 12 administrative districts (read: tax districts), coordinating roughly with tribal borders. Each district was responsible to fund the national budget for one month.

No longer were the costs of doing business covered by tribute from other nations (there was still tribute to be sure, but not enough to cover expenses); now Israel’s own people were being taxed to help pay for the many levels of bureaucracy.

We think of the reigns of David and Solomon as the golden age of Israel. We would be wise to consider how their decisions affected future generations.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Are you living within your means? How will your decisions this week affect your great grandchildren? Pray for wisdom.

Day 96: 1 Kings 1, 2 and 3

Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar (1 Kings 3:4).

Upon entering the Promised Land, the tabernacle found a temporary home at Shiloh. There it remained from the time of the judges through Samuel’s childhood. At some point, probably soon after the Battle of Shiloh (1 Samuel 4), the tabernacle was moved to Gibeon. But what’s a tabernacle without the Ark of the Covenant? After the ark was captured by the Philistines, and then returned, it would never again be housed in Moses’ Tabernacle. For years (throughout the reign of Saul and beyond) it was sheltered at the house of Abinadab. When David conquered Jerusalem, he set up a new tent for the ark called Zion, but Moses’ tabernacle remained at Gibeon.

The Zion tabernacle had no altar for burnt offerings so, after Solomon’s coronation, he went to Gibeon, where he offered up a thousand sacrifices. Can you imagine how long it would take to sacrifice a thousand burnt offerings? In return for this act of worship, or more likely because of Solomon’s heart behind the worship, God appeared to him in a dream and offered the new king anything he asked. Solomon could have asked for wealth or power, but asked instead for wisdom. So in addition to wisdom, God promised Solomon all the wealth and power he could have asked for.

Extravagant worship. Extravagant blessing. Could there be a connection?

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Now why was it you wanted to keep your worship safe and respectable? Pray for the courage to worship God the way he deserves to be worshiped.

Day 95: 2 Samuel 22, 23 and 24

Enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are (2 Samuel 24:2).

This is one of those times when the writer neglects to share with us the details that must have been obvious to him. Why was it a problem for David to count his fighting men?

When we read the account of David, we can only be amazed at his win-loss record. I haven’t counted up his wins, but I can tell you how many fights he lost. None.

Why did he always win? Was it because his vast army outnumbered his foes? No. There are plenty of occasions when David led the smaller fighting force, but still managed to pull out a victory. Was it because he was better equipped? No. Many of his enemies had chariots. Fighting primarily in the hill country, David didn’t see their value. For the most part, his men were foot soldiers.

David always won. Why? It wasn’t because of numbers; it wasn’t because of weaponry; it was because God was on his side.

So what was the problem?

David counted his soldiers because he wanted to know if he had enough men to defeat any enemy that might rear its head. For the first time in his life, David was putting his faith in his own strength, and his own resources, rather than in the presence of God.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Do you count your money and take inventory of your bills before deciding whether or not you can trust God? Reflect on God’s faithfulness.

Day 94: 2 Samuel 19, 20 and 21

Whoever is for David, let him follow Joab! (2 Samuel 20:11).

Maybe he felt bad for sending Absalom away when he avenged his sister by killing her rapist (his half-brother Amnon), but when it came to his favorite son, David was loyal to a fault.

Absalom had finessed the kingdom away from his father, causing David and those loyal to him to run for their lives. Joab had the opportunity so, out of loyalty to David, he killed Absalom. Joab knew it had to be done if the king were ever to regain the throne. And how does David reward him? He spitefully replaces him with none other than Amasa, the general who had supported Absalom’s coup.

But being in trouble is a good way to find out who your friends are. Amasa, sensing David’s vulnerability, drags his feet allowing David’s enemies more time to strengthen their position. Joab, still loyal to David, sees what Amasa is up to and executes him. He then chases down his king’s other enemies, reuniting the kingdom under David.

Those seeking an advantage constantly scrutinize us to find where we are weak. And once they discern a chink in our armor, they use it against us. A friend loves us in spite of our shortcomings. A friend sticks by us when the chips are down.

A friend loves at all time, and a brother is born for adversity (NIV 1984, Proverbs 17:17).

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Who do you know that needs a friend? How could you be that friend?