OUTCOME OF WORSHIP (2 Chronicles 2)

He placed the pillars in front  of The Temple, one on the right, and the other on the left. The right pillar he named Jakin (Security) and the left pillar he named Boaz (Stability). 2 Chronicles 2:16-17, MSG

My mother loved to tell me that the sign over the door to the chapel at her college read, "Enter to worship, leave prepared to serve."

The pillars at the front of Solomon's temple said, "Enter to worship, leave in security and stability."

Reading the description of Solomon's temple, trying to really imagine it, boggles my mind. The interior was gold-plated? Coated with precious stones? An entire building, 30'x90'? What was worship like for those few generations  of Israelites who worshipped there in all its glory, before kings stripped more and more gold for other purposes?

Even stripped, it was built of the finest cedar from Lebanon.  Fragrant, shining, amazing.

At the front of the Temple stood two pillars, seen upon entering and upon leaving. Solomon named them "Security" and "Stability."

If I asked 100 Christians what they expect to receive from worship, I would probably receive 100 different answers.  Somehow, though, I suspect few if any would mention security and stability.

I remind myself that this was a house of worship for an entire people, not a place for a local group of believers, such as the synagogue in the New Testament.  That political Israel and God's people Israel were one of the same.  Praying for our nation, security and stability would rank high on our list, especially after the recent horrors in Boston.

But although the Temple was for the entire nation, they worshipped as individuals. While I might not associate security and stability with worship, they are things I crave. In faith I reach for security in Christ, for stability that I can finish the books God has called me to write even when each project becomes a challenge to complete because my health is iffy.

Security and stability might not be the emotional highs I associate with worship, but they are what I need. And after worship, I should be more prepared than ever to depend on the God who is my sure foundation.


P.S. I am on bedrest, trying to get some pressure sores to heal. From one day to the next I am unsure of my availability to write, or my own strength.  So I will write as I can, and crave your prayers when I can't!

LIKE FATHER, NOT LIKE SON (1 Chronicles 22)

You are not the one to honor me by building a sanctuary--you've been responsible for too much killing, too much bloodshed. But you are going to have a son and he will be a quiet and peaceful man. (1 Chronicles 22:7-10)

David wanted to build a temple for God, but God said no, his son would build it instead.

Today's verses led me to think about how different David and Solomon were.  Oh, they had some major traits in common. They both had a heart for God, an almost unhealthy interest in women, and musical/writing ability.

David was a man of bloodshed, and Solomon lived in a time of peace. But the difference relies on more than military conflict. It's also a matter of their personalities.\\

David wore his heart on his sleeve. He danced before the Lord with abandon. He bought the threshing floor where the plague ended with his hand over his heart, "I won't offer something to God that cost me nothing." He grieved his son's death and his friend Jonathan's death deeply.  Whatever David felt, the kingdom knew--that included the times he went to war.

In that sense, Adonijah and Absalom were probably a lot more like David than Solomon ever was. Absalom was furious about what  happened to his sister and let it color his judgment. Perhaps David secretly favored Absalom as his favorite son, because he reminded David of himself. Adonijah had the gumption to make himself king when David was close to death.

While young Solomon waited, not acting--probably realizing the time wasn't right, like David when he was in the caves so many years before.

Instead God chose the son the least like David as the next king. Quiet, peaceful Solomon, the son who would rather negotiate a settlement than fight it ought, who could listen to all sides of an argument and come up with a solution that was fair and best for all. Part of his wisdom was supernaturally, God-enhanced. But by nature he was a lover and not a fighter.

And Solomon knew how to be tough. He followed through on his father's final wishes to get rid of threats. When his son become king, people complained to him on the high taxes and work force required by Solomon. But he didn't usually do the dirty deeds himself.

Of course God's choice of Solomon as king shows His mercy--as He included Tamar and Rahab in Jesus's ancestry, now Bathsheba joins those other shady women. God chose the offspring of the union between David and his one-time-mistress-now-wife as a king.

God chose two wildly different men as the kings of Israel's golden age. Both leaders, both committed to God--but very different.

News flash: God doesn't use a single type of individual to lead or for any needed tasks. Certainly He calls a wide variety of people to write!.

Question: Are you  more of a David or a Solomon? Or someone else?

THE OTHER GIANT KILLERS (1 Chronicles 20)

Goliath wasn't the only giant in ancient Canaan.

He had four  brothers (or relatives)--the explanation, I've heard, for "Why did David carry five sling shots?"

Killing Goliath earned David national fame and the hearts of the people. That catapulted the unknown shepherd from Bethlehem to a candidate for man of the year.

As is the nature of such things, it didn't take long for giant-killing to become tame. By the time four other men repeated David's feat (although not with a sling shot, mind you), all they earned was a footnote in the Bible, a position of honor but not leadership.

Sibbecai killed Sippai of the "clean of the giants."  We're not even told how, except we know that Sibbecai was one of the mighty 30. He probably fought on the front line. An ordinary day turned into the day he became a giant killer.

Elhanan killed Lahmi, Goliath's brother. Elhanan wasn't one of the 30; that Elhanan was the son of Dodo, but Elhanan the giant-killer was the son of Jair. Not as much was expected of him--any more than they expect any good from the young David--but he came through.

David's nephew Shimea killed an unnamed giant with six fingers and six toes on each hand and foot. Perhaps family expectations played a role, but none of David's other relatives repeated his feat.

Wow, I feel a lot of this myself.

• David's faith inspired faith in others.  Faith gave courage to doubt-filled hearts.
• What is considered a miracle today will be considered ordinary tomorrow. I may repeat someone else's recipe for success and even succeed, but I am unlikely to receive as much recognition.
• Another reminder--since it is a common problem for me--that I shouldn't compare myself to others as a writer. Any area, of course, but I am keenly aware of the temptation as a writer.
• Any day may become a "giant-killing" day.
• Any person may be called upon to kill a giant.
• These men succeeded because--they showed up for work. We never know when those God-created opportunities will arise. They often happen on the days I feel the worst, and God forces me to minister to others--or ignore the clear calling God has placed on me.

Fought any giants lately?  I guess hospitalization and bedrest count for me. 

PRAYER, CORPORATE AND PERSONAL (1 Chronicles 16-17)

I couldn't decide on which verse to write about today and then I realized they're both about the same subject: prayer. 

David gave the job of leading worship to Asaph (who wrote a number of Psalms.) What interested me was the description of worship: to lead in intercession, giving of thanks and praising God.  My mind jumped to the "hand" description I use to teach children about prayer: Praise God for who He is: Thank Him for what He has done; confess your sins; pray for others; pray for yourselves.

Apparently that is at the heart of prayer, especially in corporate worship. And since we know Asaph wrote Psalms along with David, much of the prayer happened in song.

In chapter 17, David is praying a personal prayer in response to God's promise to establish his kingdom. In part, he says, "You looked on as a Somebody, even though You know me as I am."

Here is the meat of prayer. David dialogues with God, responding to God's actions on his behalf, and talks back. Not only thank you, but how he felt about it.  Intensely personal (so how did the writer of Chronicles know what David said?), the words resonate with me.

I feel like I am low on the list of importance. I fight feeling invisible and feel unworthy when attention is showered on me.  I feel like perfection is required to be a Somebody and I know how imperfect I am. In other words, as David said, "You know me as I am."

God knew all about David's weaknesses--and made him a Somebody in spite of them.

News flash: We are all Somebodies in the kingdom of God. Not a one of us in important.

Let's worship the God who made us Somebodies as we worship together this weekend.

DIVINE SYNERGY (1 Chronicles 14)

David was famous all over the place, far and near; and God put the fear of God into all the godless nations. (1 Chronicles 14:17)

David might not have prayed Jabez's exact prayer, but he had a similar experience. He was honored: respected, ethical in his conduct, and famous in far-flung places.  God certainly enlarged his borders; Israel ruled the most ground during David and Solomon's reigns.

If David had remained in Bethlehem, tending to his father's sheep, he probably would never have achieved fame. I complain about writing for 14 years before my first book was published. David waited seventeen years between God's promise and the fulfillment. A man's man--a warrior, strong, ready to even any score--and a woman's man, one who obviously loved women and wrote beautiful poetry. Love him or hate him, everyone knew about King David. Israel showed up on the nightly news on a regular basis.

In other words, David worked to become famous and studied the art of war to become better.

But then God enters the picture.  God put fear into the surrounding godless nations.

Another paradox.   David fought the battles; but God put fear into their hearts.

Whatever God calls us to do, He moves ahead of us, preparing the way. Work is hard. Writing novels is hard and takes training and practice and perseverance.

But lest I ever believe I am published only because of my work, my talent--here is another reminder that God put an open heart in the agents and editors I have worked with.

God takes our human offerings and makes them supernatural.

SUPPORTING CAST (1 Chronicles 12)

Reading Chronicles after finishing the slightly different version in Kings is always interesting. For instance, Chronicles repeats that beautiful verse about David's longer stride and larger embrace, and we learn that Uriah was more than a soldier, he was one of the kings "30 Mighty Men."  Which makes David's sin all the more egregious.

Today's chapters give us lists of which people performed which roles in the David's administration and an account of who rallied to David's support as king. Representatives and soldiers came to him at Hebron from all 12 tribes. The list gives more than numbers, it also brief blurbs about what that tribe offered to David.  Stalwart or loyal, well-equipped or battle ready, fierce and famous. Manasseh elected their representatives.

The description about the men of Issachar differs from any of the others: From Issachar, men who understood both the times and Israel's duties, 200 leaders with their families.  My first reaction was, they were doing what was expedient; time to jump on David's bandwagon since everyone else was. Apparently the translators of The Voice agree with me, since they described the man from Issachar as "politically savvy." Knox offers a kinder interpretation: "men that could give sure advice to Israel as the times demanded."

Hmm, maybe those blurbs were an early case of stereotyping.

Whatever Issachar's reasons, all twelve tribes made David their unanimous choice as king.

Consider the character qualities of the men who made David king.

• Some were chosen because of their character. They were hardworking, dependable, and loyal. The kind of people who makes any business successful.
• Some were chosen because of their skill in combat. They were fierce and battle-ready.
• Some were well-to-do, with the best equipment. 
• Some were chosen because they were famous. 
• Some were chosen because they saw the bigger picture and knew the right time to act. 

Altogether, those leaders made David the greatest king in Israel's history.

Our problem comes when we expect a leader (whether pastor or president) to possess all of those qualities. 

Which qualifications would you choose to describe myself? I can see myself in hardworking, dependable, and loyal. In other ways, I am battle-ready; all the problems I've overcome have made me fierce and capable, even when I feel weak.

The good news is that it takes all of us for the body of Christ to work.

THE MAN BEHIND THE PRAYER: HONORABLE JABEZ (1 Chronicles 4)

Jabez was a better man than his brothers, a man of honor. (1 Chronicles 4:9)

Mention Jabez in any gathering of Christians, and their minds will jump to a verse made familiar in the 2000 best-seller The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkerson: Bless me, O bless me! Give me land, large tracts of land. And provide your personal protection--don't let evil hurt me. Well, that's how the translators of The Message expressed it.

I won't try to restate what we all have heard. Instead, I'm looking at Jabez's history. We don't  know  much about him. He was from the tribe of Judah. The passage doesn't mention his father or sons, in a lengthy section about family genealogies, without establishing his ties to the past or future. Obviously, God wanted us to know his prayer. Although blessed with land and protection, Jabez had no particular importance; he's not one of the smiths, musicians, and artisans mentioned later. No reason to  mention him--except for his exceptional prayer.

The author describes him with a word that is unfortunately uncommon in the chronicles of the two kingdoms: He was "better" than his brothers. He was a man "of honor."

I go on a dictionary search. Honor seems like it should be easy to define. Given the explanation, "better than his brothers,"  I assumed that it was used in the sense of "a keen sense of ethical conduct; integrity." So imagine my surprise when that definition ended up eighth on the list.

The translators couldn't seem to settle on the meaning, either. "Honor" and "honorable" vie with "most respected" in describing Jabez's position in his family. A couple of translation mention the most reknowned, or noble. All of those meanings fall within the definition of the English word, honor.

Jabez was a good man--and he was known for it. Whether his reknown was due to his wealth or his integrity--or both--his community looked up to him.

You might say Jabez was a poster child for wealth indicating God's favor. Except, of course, we all know of wealthy men who are evil and poor men who are good.

How's this for a summary statement?  Jabez was a man who acted honorably who was treated with honor.

What does it say to us today?
We don't have to let our families define us. (Jabez = pain; Jabez was a "better" man than his brothers.)
If we act honorably and ethically, others will respect us.
A relationship with God lies at the heart of honor.
We can influence both present and future even without an influential family or a position of importance.

P.S. This comes after 1 Chronicles 7 because I accidentally scheduled yesterday's post on the wrong date.