[the prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam, principal enemy of Solomon] See, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes. One tribe will remain his, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen along with other tribes of Israel. This is because he has forsaken me, worshiped other gods. . . and has not walked in my ways doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statues and my ordinances, as his father David did.
- 1 Kings 11:31-33
From the Archives
How had Solomon fallen so far? He had showed such early promise. He was his father David’s chosen heir to inherit the kingdom of Israel. He sought from the Lord neither earthly wealth or military glory, but rather wisdom and understanding, traits he clearly showed in his response to the two distraught mothers each claiming the newborn child. He built, and there gave bounteous sacrifice, a glorious Temple, containing the Ark of the Covenant, to the Lord God. And then slowly he began to disobey – first with many concubines and wives from foreign lands, then building and worshiping in temples to other gods, and finally squabbling with heir claimants until he was completely entrapped in the ages-old tribal conflicts from which the death of David’s son Absalom had saved his father. Solomon was only spared the grief of seeing his kingdom’s return to its pre-Saul state of warring brothers and military factions into ultimate disintegration of the tribal kingdoms and their peoples sent into foreign captivity. But maybe as Solomon grew older, he had become frightened of his decline, and so he simply fell into spiritual, and moral, collapse.
And how does this tragedy and pain speak to me thousands of years later? Is it simply to find parallel moments of our fallen great leaders in history past and present? Or is there a more personal message here? Is life for each of us merely ebb and flow until the end of time? And are we doomed to each repeat the same mistakes of seeking power over our own lives and too often also those of others? If so, where is the comfort?
The simple yet earth-shattering answer is to be found in our Lord Jesus Christ who came to save us. That profound belief brings enormous comfort during prayer and church moments, but how do I live each day, knowing that I am coming closer with every breath to the End Time? In the hospital as my heart beats more rapidly than normal, how do I withstand the fear? As summer merges into fall, as the leaves wither and die once more, I fear my own life is starting to dwindle down.
Yet unlike Solomon, I have Jesus and the Holy Spirit very close inside and outside me to bring me daily comfort in this unstoppable life process and to hopefully help me focus on others before self. And how do I truly know this? I feel inside me the quick hug of an old (or new) friend; the naturally glorious smile of a grandchild; and the momentary touch of a hand opening a door and beckoning me inside. In these precious moments, I breathe in a prayer and then joy.
Musical Reflection - Handel: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba - Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
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