May 31

Ecclesiastes (Continued) Life's True Meaning - Ecclesiastes 3:1-17, 11:7-12:8, 12:13-14; End of Solomon's Reign - 1 Kings 11:41-43; 2 Chronicles 9:29-31

"Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. Then he rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father." 2 Chronicles 9:30-31

That's it.  All scripture has to say about the death of Solomon, the wisest guy who ever walked on the earth, the writer/contributor to four books of the Bible, the son of David, the King of Israel, the builder of the temple.  And that's it.  No summary of how wonderful his rule was or the great things he did.  No walking with God in the mountains.  No fiery chariots.  No record of national mourning.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  Nil.  He seemed to live out his wisdom - everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.  I'd add only this to that thought:  When you worship Moloch and Ashtoreth.  Lord knows. 

May 30

Ecclesiastes (Continued) Value of Wisdom - Ecclesiastes 12:9-10, 7:7-12, 7:19-26, 10:1-11:6, 12:11-12, 7:1-6, 7:15-18, 7:27-29

"Do not pay attention to every word people say,

     or you may hear your servant cursing you -- 

for you know in your heart

     that many times you yourself have cursed others."

Ecclesiastes 7:21-22

This passage is actually part of my management philosophy.  There are managers who want to know everything their employees are saying about them.  I'd rather not know everything.  I only want to hear the things serious enough to bubble up to the surface.  And I'll take care of those.  So much of the rest is people dealing with stress, blowing off steam, venting.  I don't need to be overly sensitive to that.  Let people get it out while I stay above it.

May 29

Ecclesiastes (Continued) Meaninglessness of Human Pursuits - Ecclesiastes 1:12-18, 2:1-11, 2:17-26, 4:1-16, 5:1-20, 6:1-9, 7:13-14, 8:2-15, 9:13-18

I'm amused by the number of inspirational and motivational posters that draw from Ecclesiastes.  Sure, the wisest man in the world penned it.  Yes, there are a number of poetic, memorable and seemingly inspirational quotes to pick from like those pictured above.  But there are also these warm-and-fuzzy nuggets:

"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;

the more knowledge, the more grief."

Ecclesiastes 1:18

"And I declared that the dead,

     who had already died,

are happier than the living,

     who are still alive.

But better than both

     is he who has not yet been,

who has not seen the evil

     that is done under the sun."

Ecclesiastes 4:2-3

"And I saw that all labor and achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor."

Ecclesiastes 4:4

"If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things...."

Ecclesiastes 5:8 [And this from a wise king who, you'd think, had the power to do about it!]

"I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men:  God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys the instead.  This is meaningless, a grievous evil."

Ecclesiastes 6:1-2

"There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth:  righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve.  This too, I say is meaningless.  So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad."

Ecclesiastes 8:14-15

"A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a still born child is better off than he.  It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded.  Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man -- even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity.  Do not all go to the same place?"

Ecclesiastes 6:3-6 [Way to go Mister Positive.]

"I found one upright man among a thousand,

     but not one upright woman among them all."

Ecclesiastes 7:28 [Is Solomon sexist?  A humorist?  A better husband with a house full of contentious foreign wives?  All of the above?]

So what do we do?  Which Solomon, which passages, which "truths" do we listen to?  Well, I think most of us (and I include myself in this) do what we do with most of the Bible - we pick and choose what we want to listen to, right?

I'm not entirely sure what I can believe coming out of Solomon's mouth.  This is a man who at the writing of this book might be worshipping the "detestable Molech."  Molech or Moloch was a god whose worship, some feel, involved the sacrificing of children.  At any rate it was a god "detestable" to the Lord.  This is a man who took many wives and some from cultures considered forbidden to the Jews.  This is a man and a book that says everything is meaningless, that you can't know the future, that there is no justice, that the dead are better off than the living and all achievement comes from corrupt inspiration.  

So what are we to think?  

Just gaze loving at the lovely blooms on a body-strewn battlefield?  What would Solomon do?  I think he would have condemned such a selective, overly positive and optimistic view of his writing.  

I don't trust the flowery, poetic gems punctuating the muddy field of nihilism presented by Solomon.  In the end, all I walk away trusting Solomon on is what he says in the end and in his estimation the end of things:

"Now all has been heard;

     here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments, 

     for that is the whole duty of man."

Ecclesiastes 12:13

That's it.  Lord knows.

May 28

Solomon's Reflections on Life - The Search for Meaning - Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, 6:10-12; Importance of Finding Meaning - Ecclesiastes 3:18-22, 2:12-16, 9:1-12, 8:16-17

Song of Solomon Word Cloud

Proverbs Word Cloud

Ecclesiastes Word Cloud

I love these word clouds and the whole idea of a word cloud.  I imagine God surrounded by a word cloud of our prayers with the most frequently prayed for items looming large.  According to Wikipedia a word cloud is "a visualization of word frequency in a given text as a weighted list." [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_cloud ] 

I found a site where there are word clouds for all 66 books of the Bible.  It's fascinating and beautiful to me.  But then I'm a word guy.

Do you think there is a book in the Bible written by anyone who won't be in heaven?  What about Solomon?  He writes a psalm, the books of Proverbs, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes.  Ecclesiastes, it appears, is written toward the end of his life, recording what he has learned during the journey.  This is a man whose fall is the reason the kingdom of Israel will be divided.  1 Kings records that:

"As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God....  He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.  So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord...." 1 Kings 11:4-5

Wow, pretty strong stuff.  Would God save a soul that also followed "Molech the detestable god"?  Solomon didn't follow Yahweh fully.  He added others to his wardrobe of deities.  Did Mr. Wise Guy just think - "no harm, no foul" - as long as God was in his personal playlist of divine beings?  I don't know.  But, if my sense of the timing is correct, he goes on to write Ecclesiastes and it's added to the Bible.  So will Solomon, the wisest man of all-time, the Bible author, be in heaven?  

How unlike us is he who worshiped other gods as well as the one true God?  We worship the Lord but don't we have other things we worship?  Chiefly money and material blessings.  But also status, love and being in love?  What about entertainment?  Aren't our loyalties divided, too?  We say God comes first but then our spending habits and our allocation of time might suggest otherwise.  

Solomon gives me hope.  He was punished in this life for his broad, open-minded, even political correct acceptance of many gods.  He was wise but reading Ecclesiastes seems to indicate his life was without real joy.  Proverbs might suggest he had contentious wives to deal with.  But his words are recorded in the Book of Life.  And I find it hard to believe that one of our important Bible authors will not be in heaven.  This, of course, is all my conjecture and not gospel.  And it's not to say we shouldn't work to put away our false idols and foreign gods.  

But I am continually amazed by the grace of our God.  Lord forgive us and save us. 

May 27

Solomon's Glory Fades - 1 Kings 11:1-40

"The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice." 1 Kings 11:9

How sad and how hard to imagine.  A man universally admired for his wisdom and given wisdom from God, a man who the Lord of heaven appeared to twice, not only turns away but turns to other gods.  How does that happen?  How does a man see God...twice...and walk away?  Did he do it out of love for his wives?  I'm sure he did.  And did he rationalize it because he was doing it out of love?  Did the great Solomon fear conflict?  Tried to avoid it and so rationalized his marriage to foreign women.  

Like all of us, perhaps Solomon's greatest strength was also his greatest weakness.  Did he become too sure of his own ability to think and did he begin to use his blessed brain to rationalize and justify what he wanted to do?  There is a point at which I don't think knowledge no longer aids belief.  Because belief requires more than knowledge.  It also requires faith.  It requires things beyond our control and outside of our own mind and, for those who rely totally on their own mind, I don't think they're able to see or understand.  No matter how smart they are.  

I know I've said it before, but I think we tend to over-intellectualize our faith.  Our IQ doesn't save us.  Jesus does.  It's not what we know.  It's who we know.  Lord knows.

May 26

Song of Solomon - Psalms 127; Song of Songs 1:1-17, 2:1-17, 3:1-11, 4:1-16, 5:1-16, 6:1-13, 7:1-13, 8:1-14


Soooooooooo. Does the editor of the Daily Bible pack the entire Song of Solomon into one day and a single reading in order to minimize the "excitement" generated by this most-unquoted book of the Bible? One wonders. But I think it's here for a reason. To say simply - romantic love, desire and sex aren't dirty. They are God given and God approved. Perhaps this book was slipped into the cannon just so even the most conservative of Christian can't ignore sex. Some try to explain away the book as an allegory, Christ and the church. Fine. Ok. But maybe sex is an allegory, too. And we experience it to know a bit of heaven, to know a bit of Christ's love for his church and us and to know God's love for us that he gave us something so good. Because it is good.


Actually, I grew up with a passage from the Song of Solomon quoted to me each spring of my adolescence. Kind of kinky, huh? It was a wonderful moment. Greatly anticipated and longed for each year. It never failed to arouse my passion for a wonderful, sensual pastime: baseball.

Each spring at the beginning of the baseball season, I'd tune the dial of my dented transistor radio toward Detroit to WJR and to Tiger baseball and announcer Ernie Harwell. And evey season of my childhood, Ernie would quote from the Song of Solomon before the first ball was thrown out. I didn't know anything about the book, just that it greeted the spring and the game I loved. Ernie was a wise and wonderful man, a religious man, but daring enough to quote from a book most chose to ignore.

I can still hear his voice tinged with just the slightest wisp of an Atlanta accent, reciting:

"For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land...."
Song of Solomon 2:11-12, KJV

Ah, when baseball was all I knew of love and Ernie Harwell was all I knew of the Song of Solomon. It was a good time, an innocent time and I was more like Adam in the Garden then than I have ever been in my life. Lord knows.

Play Ball!

May 25

Proverbs of Solomon (Continued) Various Observations, Joy and grief - Proverbs 14:10, 14:13, 15:13, 17:22, 18:14, 25:20, 27:11, 29:6; Good news - Proverbs 15:30, 25:25; Curiosity - Proverbs 27:20; Sayings of Agur - Proverbs 30:1-33; Saying of King Lemuel - Proverbs 31:1-9; The Wife of Noble Character - Proverbs 31:10-31

Robin Williams as Patch Adams

And the real Patch Adams.

"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart,

     and good news gives health to the bones."

Proverbs 15:30

I'm a great believer in the power of being positive.  It changes your perspective on life.  It contributes to your happiness and the happiness of those around you.  It reduces stress.  It's been proven to make you healthier and prolong your life.  All three of my children are great laughers.  I love to see and hear them laugh.  John, especially abandons himself in laughter and is a joy to hear laugh.  I think their laughter will be a great blessing to them in life.

This proverb reminds me of two movies - one with Robin Williams called Patch Adams, about a doctor who used humor in his treatment of patients, and then another called Anatomy of an Illness about Norman Cousins, a writer and editor who was given a 1 in 500 chance of surviving a degenerative disease and who used humor as part of his successful treatment.  

God made us to laugh and feel good.  Not because the circumstances around us are positive and inspire laugh but because he loves us and so we always have a reason to laugh.

The humorist has a high calling because humor has a holy purpose.  Lord knows.  

May 24

Proverbs of Solomon (Continued) Persons and Attributes, Parents and children - Proverbs 1:8-9, 10:1, 11:29, 15:20, 17:2, 17:6, 17:21, 17:25, 19:26, 20:20, 23:22-25, 28:24; The elderly - Proverbs 16:31, 20:29; Women and wives - Proverbs 11:22, 12:4, 14:1, 18:22, 19:13-14, 21:9, 25:24, 21:19, 27:15-16; Kings and rulers - Proverbs 14:28, 14:35, 16:10, 16:12-15, 17:7, 17:11, 19:12, 20:2, 20:8, 20:26, 20:28, 21:1, 22:11, 23:1-3, 24:21-22, 25:2-7, 28:2-3, 28:15-16, 29:12, 29:14; Messengers - Proverbs 13:17, 25:13; Companions - Proverbs 12:26, 13:20, 14:7, 17:17, 18:24, 24:1-2, 27:8-10, 29:24; Various Concerns, Caution - Proverbs 16:17, 22:3, 27:12, 22:5; Reputation - Proverbs 22:1, 25:9-10; Courage - Proverbs 3:25-26, 14:32, 22:13, 24:10, 26:13, 28:1; Hope - Proverbs 13:12, 13:19, 23:17-18

"Gray hair is a crown of splendor;

     It is attained by righteous life."

Proverbs 16:31

"The glory of young men is their strength,

     gray hair is the splendor of the old."

Proverbs 20:29

I know there are times the old point to the dress, mid-drift revealing fashions, purple spiked hair and pierced belly buttons of the young.  But we only have ourselves to blame.  They learned it from us.  They, like we, have bought into what the world would have them believe about their own self-worth.  It might not be purple and spiked, but we dye our hair.  We hide the gray so that we appear younger than we are, to sacrifice self-respect at the altar of popular culture.  When really we should think of it as a crown and as our splendor.  Who wants to dip a golden crown in black paint?

"A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping...." 

Proverbs 19:13

"Better to live on a corner of the roof

     than share a house with a quarrelsome wife."

Proverbs 21:9

And now it's time for the King Solomon Komedy Hour.... I love this.  Humor from Solomon.  Perhaps the first recorded instance of the age-old male pastime of wife jokes.  Some good stuff.  The quarrelsome wife as an annoying and constant drip, drip, drip water torture.  And what a wonderful mental image of a husband sitting alone on the corner of the roof with a content little smile on his face while sounds of his wife's blustering and nagging erupts from the house beneath him.

Solomon had plenty of opportunity to come up with good material on this particular topic.  Lord knows.  

"Have no fear of sudden disaster

     or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

for the Lord will be your confidence...."

Proverbs 3:25-26

Fueled by the immediacy of the media, we seemed to panic over the Swine Flu pandemic... which out of deference to the Pork people was quickly renamed H1N1.  Fortunately the alphabet and number system don't have protection groups.  Our confidence shouldn't be in the news media or CDC or vaccines.  The Lord is our confidence.  In times of panic, we should be the coolest people around.  Our confidence should surprise the world and when they ask, we should be ready to give an answer.  Our faith, our religion, counts for very little if it doesn't make a difference in difficult times.

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick

     but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

Proverbs 13:12

There it is, again.  A symbolic reference to the tree of life.  This proverb about Hope deferred reminds me of poem from my youth and the racial strife of the '60s.

A Dream Deferred

by Langston Huges

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over--

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

May 23

Proverbs of Solomon (Continued) - Economic Well-Being, Wealth and poverty - Proverbs 3:9-10, 10:15, 11:4, 11:28, 13:8, 14:20, 15:16, 17:16, 18:11, 18:23, 19:4, 19:6-7, 22:2, 22:7, 23:4-5, 27:7, 28:6, 28:8, 28:11, 28:20-22; Benevolence and generosity - Proverbs 3:27-28, 11:24-26, 13:22, 14:21, 18:16, 19:17, 21:13, 22:9, 25:14, 28:27; Oppression of the poor - Proverbs 13:23, 14:31, 15:15, 16:8, 22:16, 22:22-23, 29:7, 29:13; Industriousness - Proverbs 6:6-11, 10:4-5, 10:26, 12:11, 12:24, 12:27, 13:4, 14:4, 14:23, 15:19, 16:26, 18:9, 19:15, 19:24, 26:15, 20:4, 20:13, 21:17, 21:25-26, 22:29, 24:27, 24:30-34, 26:14, 27:18, 27:23-27, 28:19; Conservation - Proverbs 21:20; Surety for another - Proverbs 6:1-5, 11:15, 17:18, 20:16, 27:13, 22:26-27

The Lord cares about our heart and so he cares about our attitude about wealth.  Because He knows its hold over us.  Ironic because He holds it all, and us, in His hands.

"Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,

     but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf."

Proverbs 11:28

We need to focus on the real green, the evergreen, the Lord.  I love this image of the righteous as a green leaf.  We don't need to focus on what's gold in life but what is green.  Makes me feel like a Robert Frost poem.

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf,

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day,

Nothing gold can stay.

"A generous man will prosper;

     he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Proverbs 11:25

I can't help but think of Bob Webb when I read this.  Bob Webb, a rich man who is richest in his generosity.  I call him the Mormon coffee merchant because he grew up Mormon and now is a member of the Church of Christ and the owner of a company that provides coffee service to business.  How far he's come from his Mormon roots.  And the name of his company?  Webb Refreshments.

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,

     and He will reward him for what he has done."

Proverbs 19:17

Lending to the Lord?  How is that?  It's all His anyway, right?  We're just doing what He intended us to do with His resources, right?  Or does this proverb point point out how the Lord will return the loan?  I think so.  Imagine how a generous and loving and giving Lord will make good on a loan we've made to Him by giving to one of His children in need.  I'm certain it will be more than we can imagine.  I think about when we're out, say with a sports team from school, and someone else's child that plays on my child's team is short of money for the post-game meal.  I don't think twice when I step up to help out with their bill.  It should be the same for the poor.  I should do it without a second thought because their the Lord's child.  Lord knows.

May 22

Proverbs of Solomon (Continued) - Disharmony and Strife, Solicitation to evil - Proverbs 1:10-19, 16:29, 25:26, 27:3, 28:10; Violence - Proverbs 3:31-32, 21:7, 21:29; Murderers - Proverbs 28:17; Causing others harm - Proverbs 3:29-30; Revenge - Proverbs 20:22, 24:28-29; Dissension and strife - Proverbs 6:16-19, 17:1, 18:18-19; Meddling - Proverbs 26:17; Honesty, Truthfulness - Proverbs 12:20, 13:5, 24:26, 26:18-19; Accurate weights - Proverbs 11:1, 16:11, 20:10, 20:23; Boundary stones - Proverbs 22:28, 23:10-11; Wrongfully obtained gains - Proverbs 10:2, 13:11, 20:17, 20:21; Bribery - Proverbs 15:27, 17:8, 17:23, 21:14; Justice, False witnesses - Proverbs 12:17, 14:5, 14:25, 19:9, 19:28, 21:28, 25:18; Open-mindedness - Proverbs 18:17; Judicial justice - 17:15, 17:26, 18:5, 21:15, 24:11-12, 24:23-25, 28:5, 29:26

It's amazing and bit embarrassing the number of common-sensical things the Lord has to caution us about in the interest of helping us maintain peace with one another.  Honesty, justice and handling money correctly seem to be biggies with the Big Guy.  In all, I think what we do at a personal level is so much more important to the Lord than what we do in our corporate worship.  We think religion is what happens in the church building.  What happens in the church building is what empowers us to do what God intended real religion to be.

"An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips." Proverbs 24:26

I wonder if this kiss is the holy kiss we should extend to one another or a more romantic variety?  I think it's suggesting the intimate, romantic man and a woman variety kiss because why would it be so specific to say "like a kiss on the lips"?  So I guess, if we've wired ourselves right by filling our minds with the right stuff, we should find pleasure of a romantic proportions in being honest.  Being honest should make us feel sooooooooo very good.  

I like that.   Lord knows.

May 21

Proverbs of Solomon (Cont.) Control of the Tongue, Wise and foolish talk - Proverbs 14:3, 15:2, 15:7, 16:23, 18:6-7, 19:1, 23:15-16; Righteous and wicked talk - Proverbs 10:20-21, 10:31-32, 11:11, 12:13-14, 13:2, 15:28, 17:4; Appropriate speech - Proverbs 15:23, 16:21, 16:24, 25:11, 27:14; Maintaining silence - Proverbs 10:19, 12:23, 13:3, 17:28, 18:13, 21:23; Controlled speech - Proverbs 15:1, 17:27, 25:15; Flattery - Proverbs 26:28, 28:23, 29:5; Slander and gossip - Proverbs 10:18, 11:13, 16:28, 17:9, 18:8, 26:22, 20:19, 26:20; Hurtful talk - Proverbs 11:12, 12:18, 15:4, 16:27, 25:23, 26:2; Quarreling - Proverbs 17:14, 17:19, 20:3, 22:10, 26:21; Lying - Proverbs 12:19, 12:22, 17:20, 19:5, 19:22, 21:6; Power of the tongue - Proverbs 18:20-21

The Tree of Life standing 14 stories and 145 feet above streams and grass at the heart of Disney's Animal Kingdom.

"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life,

     but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."

Proverbs 15:4

So far, three times in the readings a proverb has used "a tree of life" as allusion.  By my count it will be a total of four times in Proverbs.  I wonder how common and powerful a symbol this phrase was in ancient Hebrew tradition?  Was there some national memory and longing for the tree that had been left behind in the garden because of sin?  They had left this tree behind in the Garden of Eden but will return to it in the garden of heaven.  

The tree of life.  It is the ultimate reward, the ultimate blessing, the ultimate goal of this life -- to eat of the tree of life and so live forever -- and so there are certain things that the wise may do and embrace that bestows on their life the figurative tree of life.

Some imagine the tree of life to be acadia.  The wood used in the Ark of the Covenant and Tabernacle was acadia.  Some thought this was also the Burning Bush was also acadia.  Did the tree exist only in The Garden?  Or did it just cease to bear fruit but continue to grow as a remember of what might have been and what still could be if one kept the law?  

It seems we have ceased to have any memory of this tree.  It may still grow without fruit and we walk past it unaware.  I wonder why there is no record of what it looked like?  Wouldn't it have been something that Adam or Eve enshrined in a crude illustration or poetic word picture or pointed to a similar tree?  Or was the shame of what had been lost just too great?  Lord knows.

I wonder if this association, this abiding memory of what the Tree of Life was capable of, is why we seem to inherently have a love and respect for trees?  

What tree would you nominate as a reminder or distant son of the Tree of Life?  The mighty oak?  The towering red woods?  The angel tree in South Carolina?  The cedars so plentiful in ancient Lebanon?  Did cedars once bear fruit that imparted life but today we're still blessed with the pleasant power of cedar's aroma?  The apple tree?  Or the weeping willow?

What do you think?

May 20

Proverbs of Solomon (Cont) Control of Self - Self-control - Proverbs 25:28, 29:11; Rashness - Proverbs 20:25, 21:5, 25:8, 29:20; Temper and patience - Proverbs 12:16, 14:16-17, 14:29, 15:18, 16:32, 19:11, 19:19, 22:24-25, 29:8, 29:22; Drunkenness and gluttony - Proverbs 20:1, 23:19-21, 23:29-35; Adultery - Proverbs 5:1-23, 6:20-35, 7:1-27, 22:14; Prostitution - Proverbs 23:26-28, 29:3

"Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,

     do not associate with one easily angered,

or you may learn his ways

     and get yourself ensnared."

Proverbs 22:24-25

Ouch!  That's me.  I'm not proud of it.  And it's hold on me is a mystery.  The moment just takes me and I say things I don't intend to say.  It doesn't turn violent physically.  It's not out and out yelling, just an underlying, simmering anger and frustration.  With what I'm not sure.  Just an underlying tone to my life an annoying buzz that dampens the beauty of the music that surrounds us.    

So what am I angry about?  Not finishing any of the several novels I've started writing?  Not being farther ahead financially?  My evaporating 401(k)?  Aging past middle age (unless I plan to be 100) and still having so much to do undone?  All of the above?  Maybe.  Or perhaps I just grew up seeing things handled in anger.  And I realize if I don't stop the cycle my children are destined to handle things in the same way. 

That's why there's such a strong warning in this proverb.  Anger is hereditary and contagious and possessive.  It gets into your clothes like cigarette smoke and continues to fill your nostrils and those around you long after the last cigarette ember is extinguished.

Strong warning.  "Do not associate with one easily angered...."  We deny fellowship to the heretic and blatantly evil.  Why not the easily angered?  Do I need to be quarantined?  

Lord knows.  Lord help me.

May 19

Proverbs of Solomon (Continued) - Sincere Motivation - Motive and the heart - Proverbs 15:11, 16:2, 17:3, 20:11, 20:27, 21:2, 27:19; False worship - Proverb 15:8, 15:29, 21:3, 21:27; Duplicity - Proverbs 6:12-15, 10:10-11, 11:3, 16:30, 20:14, 23:6-8, 26:23-26; Concern for Others - Love and faithfulness - Proverbs 3:3-4, 16:6,20:6, 25:19; Love, hatred, and compassion - Proverbs 10:12, 15:17, 17:5, 24:17-18, 25:21-22; Kindness and mercy - Proverbs 11:16-17, 12:10, 12:25, 21:10; Overstaying welcome - Proverbs 25:16-17; Concern for Self - Pride and humility - Proverbs 11:2, 12:9, 13:7, 13:10, 15:25, 16:5, 16:18-19, 18:12, 19:10, 20:9, 21:4, 21:24, 22:4, 25:27, 26:16, 27:2, 27:21, 29:23; Selfishness - Proverbs 18:1; Jealousy - Proverbs 27:4; Envy - Proverbs 14:30, 24:19-20; Greed - Proverbs 28:25

"To do what is right and just

     is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice."

Proverbs 21:3

Wow, I may be taking this one a bit too far, but in my mind it has interesting implications.  Please understand first what I'm not saying.  I'm not saying that this trumps the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb.  But doing is important.  Supremely important it would appear.  Rather than go through the forms set by religion, living it is what God wants.  And, it's the living it that makes the forms and symbolism and religious acts have meaning.

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;

     someone else, and not your own lips."

Proverbs 27:2

Being in pr, I like this proverb.  This is the essence of public relations.  Trying to get someone else, typically the media, to praise a client's product or service or organization because there's more power in a third party endorsement than a self endorsement.  Wow, the Lord endorses spin.  That's good news.  Lord knows.

May 18

Proverbs of Solomon (Continued) - Sharing and Responding to Wisdom, Advice and rebuke - Proverbs 3:1-2, 9:7-9, 10:8, 12:15, 13:1, 13:13, 15:31, 17:10, 19:16, 19:20, 19:25, 19:27, 23:9, 25:12, 27:5-6, 27:17, 29:1; Value of advisers - Proverbs 11:14, 15:22, 20:18, 24:5-6; Discipline - Proverbs 3:11-12, 10:17, 12:1, 13:18, 13:24, 15:5, 15:10, 15:12, 15:32, 19:18, 20:30, 22:6, 22:15, 23:13-14, 29:15, 29:17, 29:19, 29:21; Lawkeeping - Proverbs 28:4, 28:7, 28:9, 29:18; Repentance - Proverbs 14:9, 28:13; Good and Evil, Righteousness and wickedness - Proverbs 10:6-7, 10:16, 10:28-30, 11:5-10, 11:18-20, 11:23, 12:2-3, 12:5-8, 12:12, 12:21, 12:28, 13:9, 13:21, 13:25, 14:11, 14:19, 14:34, 15:6, 15:9, 20:7, 21:18, 24:15-16, 28:12, 28:28, 29:2, 29:16, 29:27; Integrity and perversion - Proverbs 10:9, 13:6, 15:26, 21:8, 24:8-9, 28:18, 29:10; Appropriate consequences - Proverbs 3:33-35, 10:3, 10:22, 10:24-25, 11:21, 11:27, 11:30-31, 14:14, 14:22, 16:7, 17:13, 18:3, 19:29, 21:12, 21:16, 21:21, 22:8, 26:1, 26:3, 27:27

Looked for a tent of the upright and couldn't find one, but I'm still looking.

Some random thoughts about random proverbs experienced in this reading.

"The house of the wicked will be destroyed,

     but the tent of the upright will flourish."

Proverbs 14:11

The wicked may have more -  a house instead of a tent - but it accounts for nothing in the end.  Better a tent on earth than house on fire.

"The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,

     and He adds no trouble to it."

Proverbs 10:22

Finally, I've wondered for a long time how we could know if wealth is a blessing from God or a curse from Satan.  The difference is the Lord's wealth adds to trouble to our lives.  So it's in how we view wealth and how we use it.

"What the wicked dreads will overtake him;

     what the righteous desire will be granted."

Proverbs 10:24-25

Difference in attitude because of our relationship with the Lord.  Because of Him, we view things differently.  The wicked dread.  The righteous desires and is fulfilled.

"If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it;

     if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him."

Proverbs 26:27

On our own, whatever we do is bound to fail.  And...this may very well be the inspiration and the origin of physical comedy.

May 17

Proverbs of Solomon (Continued) and Sayings of the Wise - Value of Wise Sayings - Proverbs 22:17-21; Purpose of the Proverbs 1:1-7, 25:1; Fear of the Lord - 9:10-12, 10:27, 14:2, 14:26-27, 15:33, 19:23, 28:14; Trust in God or self - 3:5-8,14:12, 16:25, 16:3,16:20, 18:2, 18:4, 18:10, 19:3, 20:24, 21:22, 28:26, 29:25; Divine providence - 15:3, 16:1, 16:4, 16:9, 16:33, 19:21, 21:30-31, 22:12, 27:1; Wisdom and folly - 13:14, 14:24, 15:24, 16:22, 17:12, 24:7, 24:13-14; Dealing with fools - 26:4-11, 27:22, 29:9; Discernment and understanding - 10:13, 10:23, 13:15, 14:6, 14:8, 14:15, 14:33, 15:21, 16:16, 17:24, 19:8, 20:5, 20:12; Knowledge - 10:14, 13:16, 14:18, 15:14, 18:15, 19:2, 20:15, 21:11, 23:12, 24:3-4

"A man's steps are directed by the Lord.
How then can anyone understand his own way?"
Proverbs 20:24

We take great pride and confidence and comfort in thinking we know stuff. But the truths we know today will be proved false by tomorrow's science and common sense. I often wonder what it is that we are so confident in today that 100 years from now they'll find it odd that we ever believed? One hundred years from now will abortion be thought of as slavery is thought of today? Simply a denying of another's basic human rights out of convenience and selfish economic benefit?

I don't think we have any idea where God is going with this story. We like to think we do and thinking we do gives us less angst and worry and gives us an illusion of control and confidence. But, really, in our heart of hearts we know and the only confidence and assurance is trusting in God. All we know about the end of the story is God wins. Lord knows.

May 16

Proverbs of Solomon (Arranged Topically) Introduction to Wisdom - Proverbs 8:1-36, 9:1-6, 2:1-22, 3:13-24, 1:20-33, 9:13-18, 4:1-27

Nowadays we wear our wisdom on our sleeves.

"Does not wisdom call out?

     Does not understanding raise her voice?

On the heights along the way,

     where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

beside the gates leading into the city,

     at the entrances, she crises aloud:

To you, O men, I call out;

     I raise my voice to all mankind."

Proverbs 8:1-4

There are a number of verses in Proverbs that encourage us to seek wisdom and understanding and to want it more than silver or gold.  But I don't think it's saying put your nose in a book.  There's nothing wrong with scholarly research but I think it produces a different kind of knowledge.  I think it's a better way to learn man's wisdom than God's and man's understanding and opinions and biases rather than God's truths.  

This verse seems to suggest that wisdom is actually looking for us and that's its not difficult to find wisdom and understanding.  They seem to be drawing an extraordinary amount of attention to themselves in the most public of places.  Other Proverbs indicate that we should ask God for wisdom and understanding and that the fear of God is where wisdom and understanding begins.  

Wisdom and understanding are more an attitude and a way of looking at things.  They are a knowledge of God that changes the way we see.  It's not what we know.  It's who we know and how he's known to open our eyes and ears so we can see what's obvious to those who follow Him.  Lord knows.

May 15

Construction of Cities and Royal Palace - 1 Kings 7:1-12; 2 Chronicles 7:11-22, 8:1-11, 8:17-18, 9:21; 1 Kings 9:1-14, 9:17-23, 9:15, 9:24, 9:26-28; Extend of Solomon's Glory - 1 Kings 4:29-34, 10:14-21, 10:27, 23-25, 4:26, 10:26, 28-29, 4:21, 14, 20, 25, 4:1-19, 4:22-28, 10:1-13; 2 Chronicles 1:15, 9:13-20, 27, 22-24, 1:14, 16-17, 9:25, 28, 26, 9:1-12; Psalms 72:1-19

Interesting the riches that Solomon's trading ships bring back:  "[The ship] returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons." 1 Kings 10:22

Baboons?  Ok.  Seems a little bit frivolous but I guess baboons must have been the early Hebrew equivalent of television.  Hey, let's catch another episode of the Royal Baboons, shall we?  We watched the baboons last night.  Can't we go 24 hours without watching the baboons?  I don't think it's healthy for the children to spend so much time watching the baboons.  They should be playing outside.

I'm also curious about the other smart guys the Bible enumerates and measures the wisdom of Solomon against.  These people are the gold standard when it comes to wisdom.  Solomon is just wiser.  Or are these Buds wiser?  [Sorry, couldn't help myself]  "He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite -- wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol." 1 Kings 4:31.  

Who are these guys?  They sound like a Levitical Quiz Bowl team.  I wish we knew more about them.  Also, please note that the text says that Solomon was "wiser than any other man."  Yes, it doesn't mention women.  So I'm sure there were women smarter than Solomon.  Lord knows.

May 14

Dedication of the Temple - 2 Chronicles 5:2-14, 6:1-42, 7:1-10; 1 Kings 8:1-66

From a children's book titled, In God's Name, a story about how after man named all of the animals, he went about searching for God's name.

"But will God really dwell on earth with men?  The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You.  How much less this temple I have built!  Yet give attention to Your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God.  Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in Your presence.  May Your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which You said You would put Your Name there." 2 Chronicles 6:18-20

We call it The Temple or, more specifically, Solomon's Temple.  But over and over again in scripture, it is referred to as the House for My Name.  What does that mean exactly?  I'm sure there are Hebrew and biblical scholars who could certainly give an expert rendering of the meaning of that phrase.  But what does it say to me?  As a writer, I like the fact God appears to be a poet.   And there is so much poetry in His book.  His Son is the Word.  God's name is I am.  His temple, the House for My Name.  

It strikes me that ours is a God who can't be contained in a name nor can his presence be completely contained by the earth, let alone a temple.  He is bigger, in all, through all and above all.  The lack of a more conventional name nags at that little place inside us that wants to simplify, quantify and label things.  But God can't be nailed down.  Think He's something or works some way and He surprises again and again.   

God's poetry in describing the name of His Son, His own name and the name of His temple offers mystery and is imbued for me with the sense that ours is a God that can't be quantified or captured or named anymore than He can be represented in an Idol.  He is the living God.

Certainly God kept more than His name at the temple.  He fills it with His glory at the dedication and His presence is in the Holy of Holies, shielded by the wings of bowed cherubim on the ark.  

So why say the Temple is the House for My Name?

Because our God is bigger and will not be contained and categorized and captured and quantified and labeled and reasoned out and rendered in oil and fresco and idolized and denominationalized and hermeneuticized and put in his place and met face to face and named and shut up in a house and made as small as our own mind.  Our God is awesome and amazing and bigger than word or deed can capture.  

It's like when you try to take a picture of some grand natural wonder, be it the grandest canyon or the simplest of sunsets -- you just can't do.  Oh, you point the camera and take the picture.  Only to disappointed and explain to others, "it just doesn't do it justice."  A picture will never capture the experience or even what your eyes see.  Nor will a name when it comes to God.  Lord knows.