I noticed that I haven't been making as many notes as I'm reading. Perhaps it's because I'm not as appalled as I once was. Sadly, I really haven't seen anything inspiring that would get my highlighter going either. It's like...blah. Words, words, words, but at least not too much gore. PG-13 teen movie. Not bad, but I'm drooling all over myself and didn't learn much.
So what did I highlight. Well, a lot more in Kings I than Kings II. Here goes:
Shimei is told by king Solomon to build a house in Jerusalem and not go anywhere else under pain of death. Years pass and some of his servants ran away. He went after them. Gets killed for leaving Jerusalem. (1 Kings 2:36). Um...K
I have to say that I was impressed at what Solomon chose as his gift from God. He could have picked anything and picked knowledge, "Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?"
In the very next passage we see Solomon's wisdom with perhaps one of the best known passages from Kings. When the two women (of course they are referred to as harlots...the Old Testament is good like that) come before King Solomon fighting over a baby. Both claim it is theirs and to solve the dispute, Solomon orders the baby to be cut in half and each woman gets a piece. Ick...but it worked. The real mother gave up her claim to save her child's life, so Solomon then returned the baby (unharmed) to its rightful mother.
Solomon builds a temple in the Lord's honor, "It is your son whom I will put upon your throne in your place who shall build the temple in my honor" (said to David, about Solomon). Of course, when this promise had previously been made to David (not regurgitated here in Kings I), I thought, maybe this was some Jesus foreshadowing. I was wrong. Not the first time and won't be the last!
As for the whole furnishing of the temple. Wow. Talk about over the top. And people complain about Catholic Churches having ornate interiors and artifacts. We've got nothing on this lot! (1 Kings, 7:13-51).
OK. Now I know I've called "bullshit" on quite a lot in the Old Testament, but I really have to call bullshit on this one. Solomon had 700 wives of "princely rank" and 300 concubines! Um, when did the man sleep? It apparently led to that gift of wisdom to not be used properly, because they got him ignoring the ways of the Lord and making him quite irate. (1 Kings, 11:3).
So in Chapter 13 a "man of God" came from Judah to Bethel. The Lord told him to neither eat nor drink nor to go back the way he came as he passed through Bethel. So an old prophet went out to him, lied by claiming that the Lord sent him to bring him back to his house to eat and drink, so what does the Lord do. Has a lion kill him. These poor dudes. That sucks!
I got a kick out of seeing the succeeding kings almost always having the phrase that so-and-so, "did evil in the Lord's sight beyond any of his predecessors." To become successively worse! I wouldn't have thought it possible. Silly me!
I swear God was bored and enjoyed watching these guys do crazy things. In 1 Kings, 20:35-36 it reads "One of the guild prophets was prompted by the Lord to say to his companion, 'Strike me.' But he refused to strike him. The he said to him, 'Since you did not obey the voice of the Lord, a lion will kill you when you leave me.'" Sweet! You don't hit someone and you're punished. Wouldn't it have been better to warn him ahead of time? "Hey, yo, the Lord said to kick my ass. I'd listen if I were you!"
And a good laugh at the 1 Kings, 20:31 with, "'We have heard that the kings of the land of Israel are merciful kings.'" If they were merciful, I would hate to see the others!
In 2 Kings, 2:23-24 "From there Elisha went up to Bethel. While he was on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him. 'Go up, baldhead,' they shouted, 'go up, baldhead!' The prophet turned and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the children to pieces." Harsh! A very strict no bullying policy.
And the last thing I really highlighted before burning through the rest of 2 Kings was that apparently the multiplication of loaves wasn't a Jesus-only thing. Elisha did it too. I did not know that. I'll be curious to see if there are any others that do. Interesting.
Hopefully, everyone got through their reading. I know I'm posting late, but tomorrow's assignment will still go out on time!
