Sunday, May 10, 2009

May 11

Solomon Becomes King - 1 Kings 1:1-53; 2 Samuel 23:1-7; 1 Kings 2:1-10, 12; 1 Chronicles 29:28, 29:23-25; 2 Chronicles 1:1

David's charge to Solomon
"'When one rules over men in righteousness,
     when he rules in the fear of God,
he is like the light of morning at sunrise
     on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain
     that brings the grass from the earth.'"
2 Samuel 23:3-4, Part of David's Last Prophecy

This is the measure of righteous leaders.  They rule in the fear of God and their reign is refreshing in contrast to those who rule and are less than righteous.  Their rule is like the long awaited sunrise after the dark of the night.  They are light that chases away the darkness.  They're "like the brightness after rain."  There is a special quality of the air and light after the dreary atmosphere of the rain.  The air smells cleaner and the light has a character all of it's own.  It almost feels hyper-real and electric and alive after the gloomy feel of an overcast, rainy day.  Righteous leaders are refreshing.  They are light the drives out darkness and they bring forth renewed growth like the grass.

And David's son, Solomon, will rule with a special enlightenment from God.  He will be a light that draw others to him, even the Queen of Sheba will be drawn more than 1,200 miles from her kingdom to reveal in Solomon's enlightenment.  The kingdom of Israel will grow and prosper and enjoy peace under Solomon's reign.

Do we have a leader that not only espouses righteousness but also fears God?  Lord knows.

Note to in this reading that the writer points out that the events of King David's reign are written in the records of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer.  It would seem that there is a difference between a seer and a prophet.  I wonder what it would be?  Does a seer just report what he sees, what the future holds, while a prophet interprets it?     

No comments:

Post a Comment