Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost 1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14 August 19, 2018 “Why These Texts?”

Last updated on: August 13, 2018 at 5:45 pm by John C Holbert

Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost 1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14 August 19, 2018 “Why These Texts?” 2018-08-13T17:45:07-05:00 John C Holbert

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As any of you know who have been following my lectionary blog this summer, I have been retelling in fictional form some of the great stories from Samuel. As the summer is winding down, I was anticipating a rousing rendition of the end of David’s life, his inability any longer to get warm, even with the help of a nubile woman, his manipulation by his wife, Bathsheba, who forces him to make her son, Solomon, the heir to the throne, and finally his dying words that are a contract on a helpless old man who rebuked the king many years ago. It is a deliciously sordid tale of intrigue and nastiness perhaps unmatched in any literature until the time of Shakespeare. Who would not want to have a crack at all that, given our present world of, well, nasty sordidness?

But what the lectionary gives us instead is a cleaned-up, pious mess of religious claptrap that leads us away from the raw truth of things. In the first brief bit, we learn that “David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David” (1 Kings 2:10). But what we do not learn is that the last words out of his mouth is nothing but a contract for the murder of Shemei, an aged member of the house of Saul whose curse against the king as he was fleeing from his traitorous son Absalom David has never forgotten. Listen to the dying David urge his son toward the killing. “Do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; you will know what you ought to do to him. You must bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol (1 Kings 2:9)! And then the Mafioso Don dies! It literally sends trembling shocks to the system to hear the greatest king in Israel’s history utter such maleficent commands to the next king of the land. Note especially David’s use of that adjective by which Solomon shall best be known, a “wise man.” What sort of wisdom is this, the wisdom of the killer, the sly actions of a monarchial murderer?

The fact is that the wise Solomon becomes the king of Israel on a river of blood. One after another, his rivals are dispatched, especially those who followed his older brother as the would-be king, Adonijah. One by one, Adonijah, Joab, and, yes, Shemei are all murdered; only the priest Abiathar is spared but suffers banishment to the village of Anathoth. The grim tales of those extra-judicial killings give a horrifying backdrop to the innocuous sounding sentence that ends the first part of today’s lection: “So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established” (1 Kings 2:12). Indeed, its firm establishment occurred over the corpses of Solomon’s siblings and rivals.

In addition, the monstrous stories of mayhem and death equally serve as dark context for the pious little text that ensues in 1 Kings 3. “Solomon loves YHWH,” the account begins, and one may only surmise in the light of Solomon’s blood-thirstiness of what exactly that “love of YHWH” consists. I am reminded of the absolutely gripping scene in the movie “Godfather 3” where the son of the new Godfather of the mob is being baptized while old rivals and former friends of the new leader are being systematically butchered one by one. It is very difficult to take with full seriousness the public acts of piety after the stories that have just been told about the cruelty and callousness of the supposedly pious one. The tale of Solomon’s great religious devotion to YHWH proceeds as follows.

He heads for Gibeon to his favorite altar of public sacrifice; indeed, we are told that “Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar” (1 Kings 3:4). After this latest sacrifice, YHWH appears to the king in a night dream, and asks the new king “what should I give you?” (1Kings 3:5). Solomon proceeds with grand deference and humility not to ask for money or power, claiming that he is merely a “little child,” one who “does not know how to go out or come in” (1 Kings 3:7). All that Solomon wants from his God is to be given a “listening heart (NRSV “understanding mind”) to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9). YHWH is said to be well pleased with such pious humility, and quickly gives the king what he asked for, but since the plea was so humble, YHWH decides to give him all that he did not ask for, namely “riches and honor all your life; no other king will compare with you” (1 Kings 3:12-13). What can this be but pro-Solomonic propaganda?

Yet, I hear irony here nevertheless. Solomon’s request for a “listening heart” in order that he may be able to “discern between good and evil” reminds the careful reader of the previous actions of this heir of David. Perhaps he should have asked for such a listening heart before he went on his killing spree to consolidate kingly power? Or perhaps such a listening heart would have prevented him from fulfilling the murderous design of David and the apparent demands of RealPolitik when power must be kept in the face of those who would snatch it away? I am very glad that Solomon asked his God for a listening heart, but that request seems to have come about one chapter too late.

The issue here is decidedly current. In a day when raw power regularly rules the public space, when US presidents threaten horrific demonstrations of nuclear assault against North Korea and Iran, and then attend a prayer breakfast to celebrate a man, Jesus, who called for peace among all people, such cries of piety seem, not to put too fine a point on it, inconsequential and trivial at best and downright blasphemous at worst. A preacher simply cannot use the texts assigned for today apart from the terrible contexts in which those texts are found. Know the whole story, preacher! Do not be led into a sweet pile of religious goo without looking always at just where that goo is to be found.

The lectionary’s choice for today is dangerous apart from the full story of these characters that populate the superb and demanding tales of the books of Samuel. Take and read! But read it all!

(Images from Wikimedia Commons)

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 7, 2018

The Peripatetic Preacher Visits Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks

Next Post

August 14, 2018 The Peripatetic Preacher Visits the Redwoods

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz