Bubblical

Talkin’ with God about Kings and Kingdoms 1Kings 11:14-14ffAll hell seems to break loose in these next few chapters. Similar to Duke and Gonzo under the influence of drugs in a wild array of encounters in Las Vegas, Rehoboam and Jeroboam are under the influence of God’s cup of wrath as they stagger through Israel encountering an array of prophets and stupidity. The kingdom is now divided. As God promised, God keeps his promises.

Talkin’ with God about Kings and Kingdoms1Kings 11:14-14ffThe heart wants what it wants. It’s God who tells us the real problem of the world: heart attacks. Solomon’s heart loved God until he had sex with so many women like Wilt Chamberlain. Then Sol gave his heart to his women’s gods. Wilt had the good sense to confess that he wasn’t thinking straight. To do it all over he would make love to one woman 20,000 times not 20,000 one time. The story God gives us is a love story with broken hearts and one faithful hero.

Talkin’ with God about Kings and Kingdoms 1Kings 9-10God talks to Solomon for the second time. This time God speaks to Solomon like a good dad, explaining the great responsibilities behind the wheel of the Kingdom. It’s God kingdom, and His rules. Keep it on the road, and God is delighted to have Solomon behind the wheel. Take it off roading and the keys will be taken away. God sends his favorite black girl up from Sheba to give Solomon his driving test. So far, Solomon passes the test.

Talkin’ with God about Kings and Kingdoms1Kings 8Solomon is the Master of Ceremonies over an 8 day party. What gets the party started? The ark is coming into the temple, and we should all know what that means…we’re gonna get married, as the old bee bop song goes. The 10 commandments are always the vows to a marriage with God, not a legal code.

Talkin’ with God about Kings and Kingdoms 1Kings 5-7Details about the temple being built appear to us ‘ad nauseam’. But this is the reality God gives us and an important piece contemporary with its own times. God permits Solomon to build a temple, but warns what this temple should be. God’s temple is a symbol of his dwelling with his people that he has redeemed, established and given rest to, a people that promise their obedience in love. What seems to be boring is what sets God’s story apart from anything this world has ever seen or heard of. Jesus finalizes the temple and gives it its real name!

Talkin’ with God about Kings and Kingdoms1Kings 4This chapter offers a window into God’s practical guide for wisdom. It starts with loving God and asking for wisdom for other people’s sake. And then, surround yourself with an entourage of other who love God and have wisdom for other people’s sake not your own. That is what the who’s who list in chapter 4 is driving at. Solomon runs a government that benefits people not government, and everyone does well. Happiness and peace are felt by all. With wisdom in hand, Solomon heads into every sphere including nature to figure out how to understand Gods world. A pattern of wisdom for us all.

Talkin’ with God about Kings and Kingdoms1Kings 3The Kingdom may be in Solomon’s hand but what does God have to say? God taps Solomon in a dream to test his heart. You don’t have to be a King to be like Solomon and his answer to God is the key to the Kingdom. Solomon loves God, appreciates God and asks God for his help with good and evil. You don’t have to be a King to follow this script.

Talkin’ with God about Kings and Kingdoms 1Kings 1-2One last look at David. He is old, cold and impotent - even with the most beautiful girl in the land spooning with him at night. This is not a good look, and not surprisingly another son makes a run at the crown. A blast from the past, Nathan and the Prophet and Bathsheba, wake David up from his impotency to pursue a proper succession to the crown. For the first time in a long time David seems like he has his mojo back, and for the first time ever, he actually acts like a father giving his son godly direction. David dies, and Solomon succeeds - but what does God have to say?

Talkin’ with God about Kings and Kingdoms2Samuel 21:15 thru ch 23David has been more than naked about the egregious mistakes he has made and now it’s time to end on David’s heart which is his heart for God. He was a faithful warrior for God along with his fighting men, and he was also the sweetest poet that Israel ever had. God gave us David to learn from both negatively and positively. David gives us words that we too should shout with love and faith. God doesn’t give us unhelpful demigods and unrealistic hero types. He gives us real people because God heart is for real people. We have a lifetime of learning from David - praise God!

Talkin’ with God about Kings and Kingdoms2Samuel 21:1-14, 24Awkward ending and awkward bits all thru these two chapters. Did the author understand how awkward this is? Yes. In the awkward, our attention must be drawn. Our attention then focuses on the endless and exhausting nature of the need for atonement and an atonement that can be once and for all, which is where the story points when it gets to Jesus, who made his mark with a bloody awkward atonement once and for all.