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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Friday, February 14, 2020
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Story of Solomon (7) — Shimei Bible Verse :1 Kings 2:36-46 "Then the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever. For on the day you go out and cross the brook Kidron, know for certain that you shall die. Your blood shall be on your own head.” And Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days. But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei’s servants ran away to Gath. Shimei arose and saddled a donkey and went to Gath to seek his servants. And when Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned, the king sent and summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die?’” The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your own heart all the harm that you did to David my father. So the Lord will bring back your harm on your own head. But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.” Then the king commanded Benaiah, and he went out and struck him down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. " Message:
Shimei is the last of the people David commanded Solomon to bring to justice, in order to settle David’s personal scores. If you read the story of David and Shimei, it seems rather fantastic that David allowed him to live. (2 Samuel 16:5-14, 19:16-23.) David had taken an oath not to kill Shimei, but the oath did not bind Solomon, and as his father commanded, he devised a scheme that effectively gave Shimei enough rope to hang himself.
Roosters fighting from illuminated Bible
This passage ends with the line, “So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon,” which seems to imply that he was obligated to take care of these matters before his kingship was established. Perhaps Joab and Adonijah had to be killed in order to stabilize his political situation, as they were a threat to overthow him. But Shimei had notably not sided with Adonijah (1 Kings 1:8). So why does Solomon have to kill him before he is accorded the notation that his kingdom was established?
It reminds us that Solomon’s kingship was special and was not established by political power, but by God. There is no record of Solomon taking an oath to carry out David’s wishes, but apparently, David’s words — whether as Solomon’s father or as the King — were binding before God. So before Solomon could be established as the divinely anointed king, he was obligated to effectuate them.
There is another indication to the same effect; the lines about Solomon being blessed by killing Shimei, and the throne of David being established by Shimei’s execution, indicate divine will that Shimei die.
General Note on Kings and Chronicles
We are following the book Christians call 1 and 2 Kings, but the story of Solomon and his successors is actually told twice in the Bible, the other book being 2 Chronicles. (1 Chronicles begins with 11 chapters of genealogy; the rest is a milder and less detailed account of David’s kingship.)
David anointed king
2 Chronicles covers a period of time roughly identical to 1 and 2 Kings. We will look in on 2 Chronicles from time to time, as its viewpoint is quite different from 1 and 2 Kings. Kings is a general political history, with interesting non-historical inclusions; its thematic emphasis is, first, the degree to which the Jews obeyed God’s will and kept the law of Moses; and second, the effect that obedience and disobedience to God had upon the success and failure of the Hebrew nation. It is by far the superior account.
Chronicles, placed immediately after Kings in our Bible, is out of order: it was the last book written in the Old Testament. It is a retrospective look at the events with an eye to improving morale among the Hebrew people. It accordingly leaves out a lot of detail that Jewish leaders of 500 B.C. were not anxious to remember. But it has a different theological focus that more directly feeds into the New Testament, and a few details that Kings omits, so we will visit it on occasion.
Meditation : “We do not segment our lives, giving some time to God, some to our business or schooling, while keeping parts to ourselves. The idea is to live all of our lives in the presence of God, under the authority of God, and for the honor and glory of God. That is what the Christian life is all about. ” Prayer : May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us, wherever He may send us. May He guide us through the wilderness, protect us through the storm. May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown us. May He bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors........Amen |
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