The Old Testament: 1 Kings, II- Ignoring Signs

Posted on April 27, 2013 by virgowriter

Although my mom spent time driving with me when I had my learner’s permit, Dad basically taught me how to drive.  I was petrified behind the wheel, and not just with him.  Dad had high standards for me (and my brother, who took to driving easily).  On the road, Dad made clear, you were responsible for your own safety as much as your fellow drivers.

I feared that I would run something over or get in an accident.  Dad wasn’t hearing it.  So while I was driving, he pointed out things I was doing wrong and what things I should also think about.  Even when I was riding shotgun, he constantly pointed out his driving strategy (like riding in the fast lane of the freeway, that way cars would only come at you from one side, for example).  Remember: always pay attention to your surroundings. When cars in front of your slow, you slow, etc. He was also good (to my then-annoyance) at knocking my arms when I clutched the steering wheel too tightly—loosen up, he’d say.  Too tight and you jerk the car around.

His lessons encouraged me to be an alert driver, and so, every once in a while, while I’m driving on the highway, especially if traffic is heavy, I notice some jerk who tailgates.  I’ll watch this jerk compel other drivers to merge to a different lane so he (it’s usually a guy) can get wherever he is going a minute faster.  This is the type of driver who exceeds the speed limit by at least 15 or 20 miles an hour, even if weather conditions are unfavorable (like rain).  This is the driver who sometimes (though you wish it would happen more often) gets pulled over, and when you see the cop at his rolled-down window, it makes you feel a little warm inside.

1 Kings is populated by people who also do an excellent job ignoring signs—even when they are right in front of their faces.  You’d think that with all of their history, people would know a sign when they saw one.  You’d also think that they wouldn’t ignore the third one in a row.  But in 1 Kings, they do.

After Solomon dies, his son Rehoboam succeeds him.  Soon after, the Israelis—led by a recently returned Jeroboam—ask for a lightened burden (12:4).  Asking for three days to reach a decision, Rehoboam consults an old man for advice.  Be kind, the man says (12:7).  Age is usually a good sign of sound advice, but where’s the fun in what this old guy had to say? So Rehoboam asks a young friend for his opinion.  This friend suggests being a jerk to these people (you know, HIS people).  Since this sounds like a better idea, this is what the king does.  Then Israel rebels (12:18).

The bad decisions continue.

Fearing Rehoboam’s power in Judah, Jeroboam, in charge in Israel, creates some gods for people to worship: gold calf idols.  He also gives them a house of worship (12:28). You’d think he would figure out what a bad idea this decision was when a man of God prophesies bad things to come and then, in a struggle with the man, the altar splits AND the hand he used to reach out to the man shriveled up (13:4).  Given how odd an occurrence this would have been, you’d think he’d rethink this whole dreaming up new gods for his people to follow.  Nope. You can figure out who gets angry next.

This book of Kings (as well as the next one) shows how time after time, people fall over themselves to ignore God’s rule about which god to follow and erect temples and continue to pray to other idols/gods. You’d think they’d have picked up on some of the signs that should have dissuaded them from these bad decisions. But, not everyone makes good decisions.  The real shame is what happens when these individual decisions infect those around them.

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The Old Testament: 1 Kings, I—A Confusing Narrative with Wise King Solomon at its Center

Posted on April 25, 2013 by virgowriter

My parents divorced when I was 14.  My brother and I lived with Mom in the San Fernando Valley, where we were attending high school.  Dad was in Orange County (about an hour drive, for those unfamiliar with southern California).  Mom worked her butt off (for the Department of Water and Power) and basically kept our house running.  Dad did his part (and not just with child support)—he was never more than a phone call away during the week, he’d come up on various weekends and went out of his way to make my brother’s baseball games or my track meets.

From time to time, mom went out of town and my brother and I had more than our fair share of fun.  We got away with a lot—more than our friends; however, we were also responsible enough (we were both employed) and never did anything that would get us arrested. Basically, we knew how far we could push things without getting in trouble.

In 1 Kings, the Israelites also pushed their limits with God, but they never seemed to know when to stop. And when the kingdom eventually splits—into Israel and Judah—they needed all the help they could get.

One of the challenging parts of working through 1 Kings is the structure.  The chapters shift constantly between the rulers of Israel and Judah.  The stories of these kings often overlap, so one’s reign begins at the point of events that make up a previous chapter’s middle section.  Thankfully, my edition contains a flow chart that explains everything.

Out of all the rulers in this first of two books for Kings, Solomon arrives, and he sets the standard for wise rulers. Not only does he show humility, but he also asks for wisdom from God.  Nothing impresses the boss quite like asking which direction to take, and Solomon makes the best of what he is given (3:11-14).

He conceives a Temple for the lord and spares no expense decorating it with lavish riches. His big mistakes, however, include amassing riches unrelated to the temple (10:14-15) and indulging his love of the ladies—he had 700 wives and 300 concubines (11:3). Perhaps he inspired Wilt Chamberlin?

The sex didn’t seem to be the issue, however—although one wonders how he had time for anything else.  No, these ladies exerted influence on whom he worshipped—their gods, basically (11:8).  God is so pissed at this that he plots Israel’s division (11:12). And when Solomon dies at the end of his 40 year reign, things go downhill for Israel.

Of the things that confused me in this book, I was most unclear about what exactly the people knew: presumably they were aware of their past? When the Book of Laws is discovered in 2 Kings, it seems like a revelation. So maybe they didn’t understand the price they’d pay for worshiping Baal, etc.? Hard to hold people accountable to a rule if they’ve never been told it, right?

Another interesting though undeveloped detail was the mention of male temple prostitutes (14:24).  These come up more than once, and earlier books of the Old Testament mention avoiding temple sex because other cultures condone (even encourage?) it; however, who were these guys having sex with? Other men, presumably. Though of course this practice is used as example of a bad king (Rehoboam, for example). Is the problem the gay sex or the location of the gay sex? So again, seems like homosexuality is so present it warrants no detailed discussion.

Though these two details are not as bizarre as the amount of animal sacrifices.  When Solomon—the wise one—dedicates the Temple he built for the lord, he offers up animals to the lord.  The exact amount is hazy though. One mention suggests that he had so many sheep and cattle sacrificed they could not be counted (8:5).  The second mention puts the number at 22,000 cattle and a 120,000 sheep and goats (8:63). Call me crazy but this seemed a bit excessive.

I realize that animal sacrifice was a big thing then, as were a number of behavior patterns explored in the Old Testament thus far.  But that doesn’t mean they make sense.  If the number of sacrifices is meant figuratively, how does one figure this out—because it’s too absurd to be taken literally?  And if this is a gauge, how does one know which other parts of the Bible are to be taken literally and which figuratively? Did God pass out footnotes? Seems like we would then have to choose—it’s all literally or all figurative.  This doesn’t diminish the Bible, but it would affect how the Bible is used to support laws (for society), not as guides to a better way to live (for individuals).

When my parents split, you would have expected the bad blood and fireworks that unfortunately accompany a divorce.  I’d heard stories of parents who divided the family china and then the dad smashed his half in the drive-way.  Still, less extreme examples included all the talking behind the now-ex’s back: your mother is awful; your father is a jerk. My parents did none of that.  Sure, they probably had their share of hurt feelings, but they kept those away from me and my brother.  They were a shining example of good behavior in a potentially bad situation. I don’t know how much effort they expended to maintain this behavior and attitude toward one another, but it demonstrates that it can be done, even if people think it’s strange that my mom and step-mom get together every once in a while, when they happen to be in the same city.

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The Old Testament: 2 Samuel, I: Is it Easy to Judge a Parent’s Choice?

Posted on April 22, 2013 by virgowriter

At the mall, I’ve witnessed some awful kids.  You know the ones, the brats who, when told by their parent to do (or NOT do) something, they ignore the parent or tell them off.  Although I must admit that it’s rather amusing to see a five-year-old tell his or her parent to go you-know-what themselves, you can’t help but notice that something is very wrong with that picture.  For whatever reason, the parent does nothing (in some cases).  These are the times I want to tell these parents: punish this child before he or she grows up to be a nightmare for the rest of us.

Still, there is a part of me that believes I would feel differently were I a parent: after all, it’s easy to say what you would do if the bad kid was yours; it’s another thing to make a hard decision when the kid IS yours.

In the 2 Samuel, King David is a parent that lets things slide when it comes to his children; although the problems he lets fester with his children don’t spill into society—that doesn’t make them any less heinous though.

Bad kids are nothing new in the Old Testament, but these kids take things up a notch.  David’s son Amnon falls for his sister.  This isn’t a case of one sibling really admiring his sister. He WANTS her.  So he concocts a scheme with the help of a friend (13:5).  Feigning sick, he asks his sister to feed him (13:6).  A caring sister, Tamar obliges, and while feeding him, he asks her to have sex (13:11).  Repulsed, she declines (13:12).  So he rapes her (13:14).

And like the scum of the earth that he is, he adds insult to injury by despising his sister post-rape. Given the severity of the action, you would think punishment would be swift.  Yet, when David learns of this heinous act, he does nothing (13:21-22).

That’s right, David does nothing.

But not everyone in the household is content to sit on his hands.  Amnon and Tamar’s brother Absalom is out for blood—Amnon’s action will not go unpunished.  He waits for a moment, and then two years later, while Amnon is drunk, Absalom has his men kill Amnon (13:29).

It’s hard not to see the justice in this, especially in a time of eye-for-an-eye; however, as a father, and as king, you’d think David would step in to at least say something.

Again, David does nothing.

Absalom took no chances, and fled to Ammihud, where he lives in exile until the king sees the wisdom to bring his son home (14:21)… although he will not meet his son. So maybe this is his form of punishment? Seems about as effective as a time out for killing someone.

Once back in Jerusalem, Absalom eventually gets a taste for power and—shockingly—takes back-handed means to assume the throne.  He amasses power through cutting off access to the king (15:3) and in so doing was able to garner favor of the people (15:6). He then plots a scheme where he assumes power in a particular town (15:10) and then moves on Jerusalem, which causes David to flee (15:16).

This action leads to a showdown, with King David’s supporters on one side and Absalom’s on the other.  During a fight between the sides, Absalom is killed (18:14-15). And in grief David calls out his son’s name (Absalom, Absalom! which apparently inspired a Faulkner novel that bears this title).

Although it’s nice to finally see a reaction from the King (and an understandable one); unfortunately, this outpouring of grief for the enemy demoralizes the troops (19:5). True, the man was grieving for his son.  It’s also easy to see that some of this could have been avoided had David handled his children when he had the chance, instead of letting things snowball out of control.

Of course, the message here is that being a parent compels a person to make hard choices in life—for your sake, the child’s sake and for society’s sake (ultimately).  This decision is of course made significantly more difficult when you’re the ruler of a kingdom.  Therefore, one of the interesting lessons in 2 Samuel is asking the reader to look at a challenging character in a challenging situation, see how he reacts, and then ask yourself, not what you think you should do, but rather what you think you would muster the courage to ACTUALLY do.

When the problem is a kid talking back at the mall, the decision is easier.  What happens when the stakes are higher?

Next up: The Book of Kings.  This has got to be confusing, for my Bible edition comes with a flow chart of who’s who before the actual Book.

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