1 Kings 2-3; Psalm 119; John 5

 June 25: Even at the height of Israel’s glory, there was so much carnality. The Pharisees wanted to be seen as a contrast to carnality. They believed the right things and purported to do the right things: yet their bankruptcy was sealed when they rejected Jesus, the embodiment of what their Scriptures declared. How are believers in today’s more morally compromised age to be better prepared to see what God is doing? Only through maintaining an ongoing connection to the Mind of Christ, who loves us and wants to show us what He is doing. The Psalms are worship, so they reveal Him in ideal form. Dwelling on His perfections is one way of avoiding any thought of our own. 1 Corinthians 14:20 tells us, “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.” Although children have their own form of malice, it takes sophisticated pharisaism to rationalize such direct opposition to the Christ of Scripture while utilizing the Scriptures to do so. (John 5:24)

1 Kings 2-3: One way to see these two chapters is that they are the reflections of men far wiser than me. Why is that not more obvious? Because each generation assumes it is wiser than the previous. Nevertheless there’s good, bad and ugly to learn from in both of these chapters.

• The good:
  • David’s charge to Solomon is to link prosperity with submission to God’s Word, to highlight the condition (for his descendants) of the Davidic Covenant’s promise of continued reign as walking with God.
  • David’s remembering the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite for his kindness to David during his exile.
  • Solomon’s thankfulness and humility in his request for the wisdom to rule in such a way.
• The bad:
  • David’s urging Solomon to take care of Joab and Shimei. It may be that this is the shrewdest course of action for Solomon to take; and you can see David’s eagerness to solidify Solomon’s rule. Yet, the question is, if it’s the right course of action to take, then why did David not take action himself?
  • Solomon’s marrying into the family of Pharaoh. This is the first step in making leagues with many pagan nations and becoming tolerant of many idols and idolatrous practices, even stealing the heart of Solomon. (1 Kings 11:4)
• The ugly
  • Adonijah’s asking for Abishag as a wife. What’s going on here? Is it a competition between Adonijah and Solomon for her, as it can seem on the surface, or is it something deeper? Like, is there an ulterior motive on Adonijah’s part, to claim publicly the young woman whose beauty had captivated the nation after she was presented to David, and who was known to have remained a virgin after their (apparent?) marriage ended with his death? Solomon might be the monarch, but Adonijah marries David’s wife(?) There’s court intrigue and a competition I feel I don’t quite understand here, but it’s not good. I’m not quite prepared to say Solomon acted in a evil way in killing Adonijah for this, but it’s how I lean.
  • The great high place at Gibeon. It’s a legacy of Saul’s reign, but it’s a footnote against Solomon and later kings such as Joash, (1 Kings 12:3), Jotham, (2 Kings 15:35), Ahaz, (2 Kings 16:4), and the kings of the Northern Kingdom. (2 Kings 17:32)

The bottom line: once a man’s life has become twisted by straying from the path of righteousness as David had done, there’s often no way to untwist it without significant ugliness. The deaths of Joab, Shimei and Adonijah were probably necessary to solidify Solomon’s rule, but it’s an ugly mess.

Psalm 119:49-64: The Psalms are poetic, and use so many figures of speech. They leap quickly from a scenario to another scenario. Are they meant to be used only in the way we use them? No; they’re meant to be sung. Our only equivalent is congregational worship. God commands Moses to write a song in Deuteronomy 31 to “witness for me”. Exodus 15 commemorated the destruction of Egypt at the Red Sea. The implication is that it would stick with them, be memorized and taught. Slowed down, the lyrics would have time to be broken down and would arise unbidden in their minds for different opportunities. This section speaks of the hope and comfort of God’s Word. How it quickens the Psalmist, and how horrified he is when people forsake it. It gives him promises to claim for God’s favor and mercy; it gives him guidance and keeps him from the delay of indecision. Even in a calamity like being robbed by a band of wicked men, he has reason to thank God. Even when he is awakened at midnight, he has reason to thank God. He feels fellowship with others who fear God; he wants it to be said of him that he remembered the Lord’s name and kept His precepts. This is the great advantage of the man who makes God’s Word his songs while having to live in the “body of this death” (John 7:24) and walk through the valley of the “shadow of death.” (Psalm 23:4)

John 5:1-30: In this amazing chapter, what is Jesus saying about Himself, and what are the religious leaders understanding about Him?

1. The key offense in their eyes was doing something on the sabbath. To them, they had supreme authority to define what was work and what was not work. His healing on the sabbath was something they couldn’t ignore: either He was Lord of the Sabbath, (Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5), and had to be listened to, or He was an offender, and should be put to death under the Old Testament Law.
2. Calling God His Father was equivalent to “making Himself equal with God,” which was the ultimate charge by which He was convicted in the illegal trial. (Matthew 26:63-66)
3. Jesus was saying He sees everything the Father does. (vv. 19-20)
4. Jesus was saying He is the one who will raise the dead. (v. 21, 25, 26, 28, 29)
5. Jesus was saying He is the one who will judge mankind (v. 22, 27)
6. Jesus was saying all should honor Him in the same way they honor the Father, and those who do not honor Him do not honor the Father. (v. 23)
7. Jesus was saying His word is the basis of everlasting life. (v. 24)

Their decision to turn away from Him, after hearing all this, after seeing a corroborated miracle, is hard for us to believe. Yet we see it all the time in our world today.