The wealth and wisdom of Solomon’s Israel is captured in our reading today. Opulence, luxury and excess are words that come to my mind. Most everything referenced enhances the image of the king… golden goblets, gold shields… these are all for display. Honestly, is a gold shield better in battle than an iron one? No, and you can certainly make more than one iron shield for the price of one gold shield!
Yes, Israel was powerful. Yes, Solomon was wise. Yes, Israel had traders scouring the seas. And yes, other countries gave Solomon/Israel tribute. However, nothing in this chapter speaks about the internal condition of Solomon and Israel, which I know from the book of Kings and elsewhere, were not faithful to the Lord.
A couple of weeks ago I taught on the letter to the church at Sardis in Revelation 3. The Lord says to Sardis, I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead (Rev 3:1). that’s the feeling I have of Israel as Solomon’s reign comes to a close. Israel has the appearance of wisdom, wonder and wealth but beneath its opulent exterior lives faithlessness. And since faithfulness to the Lord was to be THE foundation of Israel, things could crumble.
The Spirit shifts my thinking from then to now, from Solomon’s life to mine. How are my faith foundations? Are they strong? Are they solid? Will they last?
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lent is traditionally used by Christians to look inside and examine our faith-life. I invite you to join me and millions of sisters and brothers who will spend the next weeks inspecting our faith foundations for weaknesses.
Lord, what would be good tools for me to use to inspect my faith-foundation? This is important stuff. Show me what would be good for me to do these next few weeks… in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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