1 Kings 11:1-13 Solomon: Tempted by Other Gods

When I was praying over, and putting this series on Jars of Clay together, I knew from the beginning that this story of King Solomon needed to be part of it, but because it’s such a hard story, I left it to the end of the series. There are such deep cracks here in Solomon’s soul, and it seems so hard to understand how these cracks were able to become so deep. The great King Solomon ends up bowing down to gods made of wood and stone, how can that be?

King Solomon becomes known for his wisdom around the world. He received this wisdom from God when he first became king. When God tells Solomon to ask for whatever he wants, Solomon replies, “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” Solomon chooses wisdom to help him lead Israel well and becomes so wise that people like the Queen of Sheba travels a long way to come see this incredibly wise king. God also gives Solomon wealth and power because he’s so pleased with Solomon’s choice.

Solomon begins as a wise king, caring deeply for his people, working hard to make wise decisions to complicated disputes that leads to the people marveling at his wisdom and compassion. An example of Solomon’s wisdom is shown when 2 mothers are fighting over the same child. Solomon proposes to cut the child in half, but then chooses the woman willing to give the child to the other woman in order to save its life even though she had to give the child away. People are struck by Solomon’s wisdom. Things are going well in Solomon’s life and kingship.

Question: what impresses you most about Solomon’s wisdom?

The historian who wrote 1 Kings describes how Solomon slowly turned away from God, from being a young king fiercely committed to following God’s will and being a good wise king, to becoming a foolish king worshipping idols made of stone and wood who demanded Solomon’s loyalty and worship even though they weren’t even alive. Rabbi Telushkin describes how Solomon declined in his faith. Solomon enters into a number of ‘diplomatic marriages’ with the daughters of other kings and princes, beginning with Pharaoh’s daughter. The world’s wisdom says these are wise marriages but God’s wisdom says different, Deuteronomy 17:17, “He, the king, must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” Paul approaches it slightly differently, 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?”

Marriage is a key relationship in our lives and shapes us deeply. Too many Christians approach marriage too lightly, believing that “true love conquers all” and if the person you love doesn’t follow Jesus, it will work out in the end because of love. These marriages more often end up with both of them not belonging to a church drifting further and further away from Jesus.

The world’s wisdom says to gain lots of wealth for security. God’s wisdom says that the king is not to accumulate large amounts of silver and gold; Jesus teaches us to be aware of where we put our trust in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Solomon grows in love with wealth; his goblets and utensils all made of gold to show off his wealth. Solomon begins raising taxes and institutes forced labour even though Israel’s history is rooted in being slaves in Egypt. This does not make Solomon a beloved king. Solomon begins to trust in the same things other kings did; large armies, lots of horses, wealth and strategic marriages, all against what God’s wisdom says is wise.

Rabbi Telushkin describes this part of Solomon’s life as the “unwisdom” of Solomon. Solomon “loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not marry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” God knows our hearts, how quickly we can turn away from him. Solomon’s wives lead him away from serving and loving God alone.

Question: what are some things that pull you from God?

Solomon has no excuses; God has met him twice in his life time. Most of us can say we’ve experienced God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit at some time or another, but God actually met with Solomon twice. God is angry! God wants what’s best for us; to be the people he’s created us to be. This is why he gives us his commands, this is why Jesus came to teach us how to live: love God and our neighbour, showing us his love by taking our place on the cross for our sin and rising from the grave three days later to give us new life washed clean of our sin. So often we think that Jesus’ way of living is for others; that we don’t really need them. We get so easily distracted from God; worshipping the blessings he’s given us, making them the center of our lives instead of him. We’re just setting ourselves up to fail and fall.

Solomon puts God’s wisdom aside and builds pagan temples so his wives can worship their own gods and then, over time, Solomon actually begins to worship and bow down before his wives’ gods. Idolatry is the worst kind of foolishness! Solomon joins his wives in following some of the cruelest gods at that time, gods that demanded human and child worship, gods that reveled in all kinds of immoral behaviour. “Solomon did ‘the evil’ in the eyes of the Lord.” Solomon doesn’t just do evil, the writer calls it “the evil,” which is lost in the NIV. Solomon does the worst kind of evil, the worst foolishness; he turns his back on God for idols.

Solomon no longer believes he needs God. Solomon has become so used to doing his own thing, relying on his own wisdom, that he no longer feels like he needs God any more. Solomon no longer uses the wisdom God has given him to distinguish between good and evil. Solomon made me think all week about the things in my life, the blessings and gifts God’s given me. I read through Ecclesiastes and heard Solomon’s lament that everything is meaningless; he has everything and yet life has become dull. Solomon’s biggest problem is that he let all the good stuff of life disconnect him from God. Over the past three weeks I took a course called Embodied Discipleship in a World That Has Gone Virtual. I’ve discovered how easily we can become disconnected from each other and God, especially when technology is our main means of connecting with each other. The main thing I’ve learned is that it takes effort to keep connection, and discipline to keep healthy relationships and not fall into the trap of mindlessly scrolling through my phone or tablet. God demands more from us, an intentional worship of him.

Question: how much work do you think you need to put into a healthy friendship or relationship? Is it worth it to you?

Solomon’s problem was that he stopped putting effort into his relationship with God and got drawn into the sin of worshipping his wives’ gods because it’s easier. We have so much and sometimes it becomes a barrier to God. Our days are so filled with God’s blessings that life is easy and we don’t see God anymore or how much we need him. We begin to worship the blessings instead of the one who blesses us, commit the evil Solomon did, though we would never call it that.

Life’s not meaningless. God wants our entire hearts and lives. Jesus has called us to build his kingdom here, to help our world catch a glimpse of what Jesus’ kingdom is like, shaped by healthy relationships, justice, peace and grace, forgiveness, of blessing others so that everyone is able to develop the potential God has placed in them.

Giving yourself totally to God as he demands means we need to stay connected to God and we have the ability right at our fingertips. I was introduced to the Pray as You Go app this week, it helps me to slow down and simply spend 5-10 minutes a day to pray, the Bridge app has an audio Bible that you can have reading the Bible to you while you are in your craft room, in your workshop, while sitting on the deck or while walking. As we enter into summer, take time to reconnect with God, with members of our Bethel church family, and with yourself after a stressful ever-changing time: connect to our God who never changes his commitment to us.

Matthew 26:69-75 Cowardly Peter

Brave, broken Peter; strong and weak, bold and cowardly all at the same time. Mathew’s telling of Peter’s story is a hard one, a story where Peter is left broken and weak, weeping bitterly. Earlier in the evening, Jesus told Peter that he would disown him three times, and we know Peter’s answer, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.” But Peter can’t live up to his bold words, just a couple of hours later, Peter can’t even stay awake while Jesus prays, even though Jesus asked him and James and John to stand watch for him. Then Peter cuts off the ear of the servant of the high priest when Jesus is arrested in the garden. Now, in this morning’s passage, Peter disowns Jesus three times, just as Jesus had said.

There are so many questions in this story, how did Peter turn from being so bold and brave to being so cowardly so quickly? Was he afraid that once they know he is one of Jesus’ followers that they would also remember that he was the one who cut off the servant’s ear? Is Peter afraid that he will be tried alongside Jesus, does seeing Jesus in front of the Sanhedrin, the religious court suddenly make all Jesus’ predictions of his death real to Peter? There’s so much we don’t know about what is going on inside Peter’s head. In Matthew’s telling of the story, this is the last time in his gospel that Peter’s name is mentioned; we don’t hear any words of forgiveness, we’re left hanging about Peter’s standing with Jesus.

The last we hear of Peter by name in Matthew’s gospel is, “Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.” Let’s sit with the rejection of Jesus by Peter for a moment. It became so much more than just, “I don’t what you’re talking about,” Peter even called down curses to emphasize that he’s not connected to Jesus at all. Now Peter’s devastated; it’s sinking in exactly what he’s done. To emphasize Peter’s disowning of Jesus, Matthew follows Peter’s story with Judas hanging himself out of his sense of deep guilt and sorrow.

Question: have there been times when you denied knowing someone because you were embarrassed of them? How did that make you feel?

Is there forgiveness for Peter, is God’s grace and the forgiveness that Jesus prays to the Father for on the cross when he asks, “Forgive them because they don’t know what they are doing,” for Peter too? There are so many people, so many followers of Jesus who live with this kind of question still today. We know the cross, we know Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sin, we sing about amazing grace, we know Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is about new life for us, but still our hearts ask, “Can I really be forgiven, is God’s grace for me too, why would Jesus forgiven me, does he really know me, do I deserve it?” These are heart breaking questions that come out of hurt and doubt, out of brokenness, which is why they are so hard.

Most people don’t plan to fail, they don’t set out to fail or fall, to hurt others, God or themselves, and yet it happens so often. Often it happens because we think we’re stronger, wiser or cleverer than we really are. Many of us don’t have a good sense of our own weaknesses in some of these areas of our lives, or we may not have a willingness to admit any weaknesses. It’s amazing to me how easily we find excuses for our sins or failings, or how quickly we minimize our sin until it rises up and slaps us in the face with its seriousness and consequences.

Jesus is about to be executed. Plans are being made to make sure that there’s no way for Jesus to escape the cross. People are even willing to lie to make sure Jesus is convicted. Peter’s disowning of Jesus adds to the weight and pain of Jesus’ journey to the cross for our sin. Peter is a reminder of how quickly we can find ourselves in a position where we might turn our back on Jesus for any number of reasons. This often happens even after hearing Jesus’ warning in Matthew 10, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.”

Question: have you ever lost a friendship because you said something cruel and hurtful? Did you try to make it right again?

These are hard words, words that are likely echoing through Peter’s heart right now. But Jesus isn’t done with Peter yet, Jesus’ love and grace shine through. In the cross we find forgiveness, we find hope. It’s a costly hope and grace, forgiveness comes at a huge cost to Jesus. on the cross he faces Satan’s power while carrying the weight of the sin of the world on his shoulders. The cross is filled with physical, emotional and spiritual pain as our brokenness is taken with Jesus into the grace so that new life might rise up in Jesus’ resurrection!

We move from Matthew’s Gospel to John’s Gospel and John’s account of how Peter is shown forgiveness and grace. “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Peter is given the opportunity to offer three ‘yeses’ to Jesus as a contrast to his three ‘no’s’ the night of Jesus’ trial. Jesus has cooked them all breakfast, they’re eating together, a good feeling. In this moment of hospitality on Jesus’ part, he turns to Peter and offers grace and restoration. Jesus asks Peter if he loves him, using the Greek word for love “agape” the first two times, which is a higher, deeper kind of love and Peter responds by saying that he does love Jesus, but uses the Greek word for love that is “philos,” brotherly love. The third time Jesus also uses “philos” love when he asks Peter if he loves him and Peter tells Jesus, “Of course I philos love you.” Jesus adjusts to who we are and our capabilities and cracks, and then continues to work in us, to go deeper with us and in us to grow our love from philos brotherly love to the deeper committed agape love.

Question: how hard is it to say “I was wrong, I’m sorry” when someone asks you to apologize?

Peter was broken, a cracked jar of clay; now Peter’s restored by Jesus, renewed and forgiven! His cracks are still visible, still there, but they now add to the beauty of his ministry, giving him the strength to be bold for Jesus, filled with Jesus’ strength and boldness rather than his own. It’s no accident that it’s Peter on Pentecost who stands up to the crowd and preaches Jesus Christ, who explains the coming of the Holy Spirit. We’re reminded that Jesus gave Peter his name, “The Rock” before Dwayne Johnson claimed the name, and told Peter that on the rock of his confession that Jesus is the Messiah, the church will be built and the gates of Hades will not over come it! Jesus uses Peter to lead the disciples to begin the church, to change the world with his bold message that Jesus is Lord!

If you’re wrestling with feeling like you don’t love Jesus enough, if you’re wondering if you can be forgiven, if your sin is feeling too large to ever be forgiven, know that Jesus gets it, his grace is big enough for you and your past, his desire is to restore you and have you experience his forgiveness and with it comes the challenge to allow him to use you, cracks and all to grow his kingdom here. Jesus isn’t done with you yet, he loves you with a deep agape love, and he loves you right into forgiveness.

Exodus 4 Moses: Uncertain

Moses is a powerful person in the Bible and called the greatest prophet. Even Moses himself realized that God used him in a powerful way in the history of Israel and the world. In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses points to the coming of Jesus, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” Israel eagerly waited for this great prophet, this Messiah and they thought they found him in John the Baptist, “They asked him, “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” John instead points to Jesus as the great prophet, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Moses points ahead to Jesus in many ways: he’s a prophet and law-giver, like Jesus; Moses leads Israel out of slavery into freedom, Jesus leads out of slavery to sin into freedom; Moses performed miracles such as manna while Jesus feeds 5,000 people and the people right away connect Jesus with Moses, John 6, “After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Yet this amazing prophet started off filled with uncertainty and self-doubt, unsure he could do what God was calling him to do. This same uncertainty filled me this past week as I looked at the world around us with all its brokenness, injustice and violence. As a pastor, as a husband and father of a family with both white and First Nations children who have experienced racism, I asked God, “What do you need from me, who do you want me to be right now, I can’t let this simply go by, but I feel so inadequate right now.”

Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s palace to lead. But Moses led in his own strength when he killed an Egyptian soldier for beating an Israelite and he ends up running away and herding sheep for 40 years. Now God meets him in a burning bush, calling him back to Egypt to lead his people out of oppression and injustice into freedom. God’s calling Moses to stand up against the most powerful nation in the world. Is it any wonder that Moses has doubts?

Question: when have you had times when you have been asked to do something and you thought you did not have the skills required? How did you feel?

Moses’ doubt comes out in his first 4 excuses for not being able to go to the elders of Israel and then the king of Egypt with the message to let God’s people go free. Moses basically says, “I’m nobody really, what if they ask hard questions, nobody will listen to me anyway, and I’m a lousy public speaker.” Moses sees all his faults, all his weaknesses and inabilities to be able to do what God is asking him to do. In Moses’ eyes, his weaknesses are bigger than God’s greatness. God gently and patiently responds, giving Moses powerful signs to show the elders, promising to give Moses the words that he needs to convince the elders and Pharaoh. God gives us what we need to accomplish the call he makes to us to be his witnesses in our communities. “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” He’s not going to send us into these situations and opportunities on our own and without his help. We’re called to join God in his exciting plan of redemption, renewal, and restoration of our world.

But then comes Moses’ fifth excuse, “Please send someone else.” Does this all sound familiar? Have you even used some of these same excuses to give yourself permission to not be God’s servant and embrace Jesus’ call on our lives and his commands to love and to make disciples, to not share your faith with others, or maybe you’ve come up with your own, “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t already know Jesus,” or “I’m so busy, I don’t have time.” Moses moves from uncertainty and being unsure of his ability to plain refusal. There seems to be something in many of us that, even though our self-doubts and feelings of inadequacy are addressed, we still refuse to accept that we are capable.

Question: what are some excuses you’ve used to get out of doing something you we being asked to do? Have you ever given excuses to God to not do something the Bible tells us to do?

I’ve sometimes wondered if that’s because our self-image is often based on what we can’t do rather than what we can do, and this gives us permission to not engage the world as Jesus calls us to. Why are so many Christians so uncertain and filled with so many doubts when it comes to giving Jesus our whole heart and lives, of embracing who Jesus calls us to be, of accepting the challenges of living out God’s kingdom here on earth. In times like this, do you feel a call to stand up and speak out Jesus’ words calling for love, for justice, for healing? What holds you back from speaking out against injustice and standing up alongside those who are oppressed, silenced, rejected and ignored. This past week I heard of some of our young adults wanted to attend the rally in Edmonton or Red Deer to add their voices against the injustice of racism, and I was proud of them because our faith calls us to stand up against injustice. In unity with others, we find what we need to respond to God’s call. Ecclesiastes talks about 2 being better than 1 and 3 being even stronger; talking about how community gives us strength.

It’s not a sin to feel inadequate or have doubts. Jesus told us to count the cost of following him before committing to do so because he knows it will be the biggest commitment of our lives. We’re called to carry our crosses and we look to the cross of Jesus to recognize that this is no small thing. Jesus gave up his life for our sin and he calls us to now give him our entire life in return. Our hope lies in the resurrection, knowing that Jesus is powerful enough to give us whatever we need in any circumstances to follow his call and be the persons and church he has created us to be. Our strength lies in Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit to give us what we need to accomplish Jesus’ call to love God with everything we are, to love our neighbours and to make disciples.

Question: do you really believe that God will give, or has given you what you need to be his church here in Lacombe to follow his call to love our neighbours as ourselves and to make disciples? What do you feel you need?

When Jesus and the Holy Spirit call us, it’s not because we’re so special or have special gifts; what Jesus is looking for is faithfulness and trust that he will give us what we need to do what he’s asking us to. It’s important that Jesus calls us to be part of a community, that we are never called alone. God tells Moses “Your brother Aaron is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to se you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you to speak and will teach you what to do.” Healthy Christians consistently reflect on themselves and look at who they are, their lives and actions, and their relationship with Jesus. You will never be perfect; what Jesus is looking for is a willingness to allow the Spirit to lead you and shape you. Jesus is looking for your openness to keep growing and maturing, to anchor yourself in Jesus. When you look at Jesus’ disciples, none of them were special in any way, but they were willing to trust and obey and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading.

All week I’ve been thinking, reading and praying about how to respond to the unrest and injustice of the time we’re in. I don’t have a lot of answers, I’ve felt Moses’ uncertainty, and yet, as followers of Jesus, we cannot remain silent, nor can we refuse to act. How, I don’t know yet, but this is when we need to really start listening to understand the experiences of our black, First Nations, Korean and other minorities, and then humbly ask how to work towards a just, righteous society that reflects the kingdom of God.