Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

It's that time again! During the week, I covered 1 Chronicles and about half of 2 Chronicles. These historical books retrace much of the ground covered in 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings.   The life of Saul is briefly covered, followed by the reigns of David and Solomon. On reflection, David and Moses are clearly the central figures of the Old Testament to this point. Not that others were not great or important (Abraham, Isaac, Noah, Joseph, Jacob, and Solomon, to name just a few). But David and Moses are clearly the key figures: Moses, the recipient of the Law, the embodiment of obedience and trust in God, and David, the paragon not of perfection, but of faithfulness of heart. The importance of faithfulness of heart is a central theme in this week's readings.

So, here you go (in reverse chronological order this week):

• 2 Chronicles 7-16
• 2 Chronicles 1-6
• 1 Chronicles 22-29
• 1 Chronicles 15-21
• 1 Chronicles 11-14
• 1 Chronicles 1-10

And, of course, here is the link to this week's Catholic carnival:

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Enjoy and have a great week!

2 Chronicles 7-16

King Solomon's greatness is widely known and universally acknowledged. He builds the temple of the Lord, a place to house the ark as well as a special place for prayer. The temple serves as an important sign of the greatness of God and the importance of His Law. But it is also a way for God to communicate a profound message: That He listens for and hears the prayers of His people. He promises Solomon that, in a special way, the prayers offered in the temple by the Israelites will be heard and will be responded to. The Lord does not suggest that He will not hear prayers offered elsewhere--for after all He knows the minds and hearts of His people. But there is special about this sacred place, and a singular importance about seeking the Lord there and laying before Him the needs of His people.    

A strong theme in this section is the Lord's hope--His expectation; His demand--that His people come to Him in their need and ask for His help. 

The eyes of the Lord roam over the whole earth, to encourage those who are devoted to him wholeheartedly.

Indeed, God is angry that Asa, king of Judah, does not come to Him when Judah is threatened by enemies, and again when Asa falls ill near the end of his life. Asa's failure in this regard is seen as a sign of infidelity on his part. What an interesting idea--that God not only tolerates our asking Him for help, but He demands it!!  

2 Chronicles 1-6

The early chapters of 2 Chronicles repeat the story of Solomon's early days as king, his fidelity to God, his request for wisdom from God so as to be a good ruler, and, of course, the building of the temple and the holy of holies within to house the ark. God keeps His promises; He honors the covenant. He is good and kind, and His mercy endures forever. There is no other god like Him. He alone knows the hearts of men. Solomon and the Israelites are to honor God by being faithful of heart, seeking to keep the Lord's commands. They also do Him honor by building the temple, and by worshipping God according to the ways revealed to the people through David and Solomon.

I am struck here and elsewhere by the emphasis on the heart. It is inevitable that a man will sin, as David did. Yet the man who is faithful of heart recognizes his sin, has remorse, seeks forgiveness, endures penance, and is made whole in the eyes of God. 

1 Chronicles 22-29

David passes the throne of kingship to his son, Solomon. He prays that God will give Solomon "prudence and discernment" so that Solomon may rule wisely and follow God's law. David counsels Solomon: Be brave and steadfast; do not fear or lose heart. And to the leaders among the people, David exhorts them: Devote your hearts and souls to seeking the  Lord your God.

David assigns responsibilities to various tribes and groups, making them responsible for a variety of religious tasks--the Levites, the priests, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the rest. David then calls to Jerusalem all of the leaders of Israel, and reminds them again to be faithful to God and keep His commands. To Solomon, David speaks these inspiring words:

Know the God of your father and serve him with a perfect heart and a willing soul, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the mind's thoughts. If you seek him, he will let himself be found by you.

This is the most sophisticated formulation of the relationship between God and man we have seen so far in the Old Testament. The relationship th God is about keeping is commands, but with David there is a shift in emphasis toward what is in one's heart.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Jumpin' Jehoshaphat! This week was spent reading through 1 Kings, where we find some of the Old Testament's more memorable characters and stories--including Solomon, Jezebel, Ahab, Elijah, and, yes, Jehoshaphat. We find God everywhere, from the impossibly ornate temple built by Solomon to the whispering wind in Elijah's ear. And a cameo by Michael Corleone (yup, really).

1 Kings 1-5

1 Kings 6-10

1 Kings 11-14

1 Kings 15-19

1 Kings 20-22

Here is the link to the Sunday Snippets:
http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com/2013/05/sunday-snippets-catholic-carnival.html

Enjoy and have a great week.

John

1 Kings 15-19

After Solomon's death, God's people remain split into two kingdoms--Judah and Israel.  The kings that follow in those two kingdoms are, with one notable exception, men who continue to disobey and anger the Lord. Men who keep their people turned away from the true God. The exception is Asa, who reigns 41 years as the king of Judah and who pleases God just as his ancestor David had. "Asa's heart was entirely with the Lord as long as he lived." But even during Asa's reign, and after it, there is continuous warfare between Judah and Israel.

Ahab is one of the kings of Israel who displeases the Lord. He is married to Jezebel, who turns him away from God to the worship of Baal. She is responsible for the murder of many priests of the true God in her quest to keep the people (and her husband, the king) committed to Baal.

The Lord sends a prophet, Elijah, to rescue his people. Ahab and Jezebel seek to kill Elijah, but the Lord protects him.  Elijah trusts in the Lord and, does as He commands, finds a widow and her son with whom he lives for some years. His first words to her--Do not be afraid!--are words we later hear Jesus speak often in the New Testament. Words of greeting; words of comfort. The Lord sustains the three of them with water and food. When her son falls sick and stops breathing, Elijah takes the boy's body to the upper room of the house and prays to God to breathe life back into the boy. The Lord hears Elijah's prayer and the boy is restored. This story reminds me of other miracles Jesus performs, including perhaps most obviously the raising of Lazarus.

Elijah meets Obadiah, a servant of Ahab who nevertheless has remained true to God, and instructs him to announce Elijah's return. Although afraid, Obadiah does as Elijah asks him. When they meet, Elijah challenges Ahab and the prophets of Baal to a test to demonstrate whose god is the true God. The God of Elijah prevails, and Elijah has the people of Israel kill the prophets of Baal. There is a great moment describing their fruitless efforts being made by the prophets of Baal to summon their god to show his power: But there was not a sound; no one answered, and no one was listening.

When she learns of this, Jezebel sends a messenger to Elijah promising to kill him; Elijah flees. Elijah becomes discouraged and fearful and hides in a cave. But God comes to Elijah in his distress and calls him from the cave to witness God's power and presence:

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord--but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake--but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire--but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak.

Elijah recognizes the Lord's voice in the soft whisper of the wind, and obeys the Lord's instructions. He takes the road to the desert near Damascus and meets Elisha, the prophet the Lord has selected to succeed Elijah. Upon meeting Elijah, Elisha leaves all that he has behind to follow Elijah.

So often, I wish the Lord would speak to me in a loud, strong, clear voice. I need to listen for Him in the whispers of life--to recognize His voice in the unexpected place, as Elijah did.

1 Kings 11-14

Unlike his father David, Solomon turns away from God and worships false gods. The narrative seems to place some of the blame for this on the many (as in hundreds) of foreign wives and concubines Solomon took in his lifetime.  Wow, when did he have time to rule?! Seriously, though, I am grappling with the difference between David and Solomon. David obviously and spectacularly violated God's commandments--recall, for example, the story of Uriah and Bathsheba, during which David trampled on a least three of the Ten Commandments. Yet even the Lord later identifies him as one who remained faithful, and David is contrasted favorably to Solomon in this regard. I suppose the difference is that David was always devoted to God, did not worship false gods, recognized and was sorry for his failings, sought forgiveness for them, and accepted God's punishment for them. Solomon was not faithful to God in that he worshipped false gods, and caused others to do so as well.

The result of Solomon's lack of faithfulness is rebellion within the kingdom of Israel and, ultimately, its dissolution upon his death. Rehoboam becomes king of the cities of Judah and settles in Jerusalem, while Jeroboam becomes king of ten other tribes of Israel. They remain at war with each other. Both rule badly, ignoring the Lord's commands and leading His people astray. They and the people of Israel are eventually punished.  

1 Kings 6-10

In the 480th year after the Israelites left Egypt under Moses' leadership, the Israelites began construction of the temple to house the ark of the covenant. This signals a conversion of sorts--from a nomadic tribe to a settled people; from a nation surrounded by hostile enemies to a powerful nation at peace. Solomon oversees construction of a glorious temple to honor God, and then supervises the building of an opulent palace to reflect his earthly power. 

God reminds Solomon and the Israelites again and again during this period that what He asks, what He expects and demands is their obedience:

If you observe my statutes, carry out my ordinances, keep and obey all my commands, I will fulfill toward you the promise I made to your father David. I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites and will not forsake my people.

When the temple is completed and appropriately furnished, Solomon leads a grand ceremony to install the ark in the holy of holies, giving it, finally, a resting place. Solomon offers a long, moving prayer to the Lord, which begins:

Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below; you keep your covenant of kindness with your servants who are faithful to you with their whole heart.

Later during the ceremony, Solomon prays:

May [God] draw our hearts to himself, that we may follow him in everything and keep the commands, statutes, and ordinances which he enjoined on our fathers.

I love that imagine of God drawing our hearts to Him. How often I have felt that pull. How many times I have ignored it, tried to escape it. Yet in love, at least, God is relentless. He doesn't give up on us. Thankfully, he doesn't make it easy to walk away from Him.

1 Kings 1-5

The first book of Kings begins with the end of the reign and life of the great King David. Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan team up to thwart the ambition of Adonijah and ensure that David appoints Solomon as his successor. David instructs Solomon that he must seek revenge on those who previously wronged David, but whom David had promised not to personally harm. Solomon therefore orders the deaths of Joab and Shimei. This reminds me of the penultimate scene in that great movie The Godfather, when Michael Corleone "settles all the family business" after his father has died. 

Adonijah brings about his own death as well by asking permission to marry one of Solomon's concubines--a request that apparently signaled his lack of loyalty to King Solomon. I say apparently, as I rely on a note in my Bible, not being familiar with the politics of concubines.

The Lord comes to Solomon in a dream and offers him anything he desires. Solomon chooses "an understanding heart to judge [God's] people and to distinguish right from wrong." God grants his request:

I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you.

Solomon's special gift is wisdom. Yet, contrary to what I had always assumed, the words make it clear that this special gift "resides" in his heart, not his brain. An understanding heart--not merely an elevated judgment or intelligence. Solomon puts his gift to good use in the famous story of the two women who claim to be mother to the same baby. 

Solomon resolves to build a great temple to house the ark. He makes an agreement with Hiram, king of Tyre, for the supplies he needs. Even Hiram recognizes Solomon's greatness, and how it gives glory to God:

Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given David a wise son to rule his numerous people.