Reflections and Sketches
December 2, 2012 | Patrick Preheim | 2nd Chronicles 1-9

The final discussion on Modern Parables in the Adult Education class last Sunday was a good one.  In one of her opening illustrations on the significant way story shapes our actions Edna cited the conflict in the Middle East.  Most of the Jewish residents of the Holy Land are living under the influence of a radically different story than their Palestinian neighbours.  May 15, 1948 is a key date in the differing myths which fuel violent extremists on all sides of the conflict—the date of the founding of modern Israel.  To one group May 15 is “Nakba”—a catastrophic day in which land was stolen, families displaced, and a history annulled.  To another group May 15 represents restoration—a day in which an ancient heritage was being returned.  These differing stories collided again at the UN this past week.  Which story is true??

I am not so foolish as to launch into a debate of this incredibly divisive topic.  I do think, however, that the illustration might help us understand why the compilers of our canon saw fit to include both Kings and Chronicles in our bible.  On the surface they include much that is similar, even large sections that are verbatim.  There are, however, significant differences between the two which point to a different historical perspective.  Kings was authored by the prophetic school.  Maybe it is for this reason that in Kings we read elaborate accounts of Nathan, Elijah and Elisha who are always finding themselves critiquing foreign and domestic leadership.   It is fascinating to consider that Elisha is completely absent from Chronicles while Elijah and Nathan receiving mere passing reference.  Maybe on account of this prophetic perspective we hear about the dark side of the monarchy:  David and Bathsheba’s adultery, the rape of Tamar, Absalom’s disgraceful coup, an ugly struggle for succession of the throne after David’s death.

Chronicles remembers the days past differently.  From the perspective of these royal and loyal scribes those old days were largely the good old days.  Rather than wasting ink on a royal soap opera these scribes gave attention to themes which undergirded a sense of nationhood.  The ark and Temple were a unifying presence for the twelve tribes.  In Chronicles they receive a great deal of attention.  We hear about the Temple Levites, Temple priests, Temple musicians, gatekeepers, judges and so forth.  And this is all before construction begins.  The Temple itself is described in the grandest of terms….  (Patrick adlibs on Temple’s grandeur until interrupted)

Fern & Kelly enter with some excitement from the back of the church, snapping pictures with camera & phone.   Deanna leads them in, moving quickly to the front while they loiter in the middle.

Deanna:  And here we are at the most important destination of Day 17 of the Holy Land Adventure Tours, the Temple of Solomon.   Please enter quietly, because there is a service in….

Fern:  I’m so excited!  We are actually here, in Jerusalem, in the temple that Solomon built!  I hear that there is lots of gold and only the finest cedar.  And someone told me that Solomon himself might even be here…oops!  Looks like we’re interrupting the service – sorry – we’ll be really quiet – you’ll hardly know we’re here.

Kelly:  That would be a change.

Fern:  What did you say?

Kelly:  I wondered if you had any change for the offering.   This place must cost a fortune to heat, renovate and staff.  The least we can do is leave some money to help them out.

Deanna:  Now, as you move further into the church, you’ll notice that only the finest Cedars of Lebanon were used in construction, and….

Fern:  It says in the guidebook that the holy of holies is always closed to the public.  It is supposed to contain the actual spirit of God – isn’t that amazing, Kelly – Kelly?  Where are you?

Kelly: (who has pushed his way through a bench of people to get to an outer wall)  Yup, no way you could get a sheet of paper through here.

Fern:  What?

Kelly:  They claimed that they created a ledge around the outer wall so tight that you couldn’t get a sheet of paper through.  Looks like it’s true.

Fern:  Yes, and we’d never want to trust what some book said when we could inspect it for ourselves.

Kelly: (confusedly)  Well, no….

Deanna:  Sir, could you move away from the wall, now, please.  Remember we are trying not to disturb the service.

Fern:  Look up here.  I bet behind there is the Ark of the Covenant.  You can almost feel the holy presence of God, can’t you….Where are you now?

Kelly: (now lying down somewhere on the stage examining something)  Look at that.  The craftsmanship in this chiseling is amazing.  Did you know that no iron tools were allowed on the temple site?  They did everything off site & then hauled it in & put it in place & it fit perfectly.

Deanna: (Shaking her head with impatience). Yes, it is awesome.  A testament to God’s wisdom & to Solomon’s leadership.  But we’d better be off now, so much more to see in Jerusalem!

As grand as the first Temple was periodically the temples we create must be deconstructed.   In Matthew 24 (24.2) Jesus predicts the end to the Temple era in Judaism.  The accusation against him in Matthew 26 is not precisely what Jesus said but it is enough to get him convicted.  He is accused of saying, “I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days” (26.61).  For the early church Jesus became the new Temple.  In the liturgy of communion Jesus is the host, the presence, that receives faithful pilgrims.  In his spirit we always have access to God for offerings of thanksgiving, restitution, and sin.  He is the new high priest who takes our offerings and places them on the altar before God.  Jesus and God are not housed in any temple or church.  The new temple is anywhere faithful hearts are opened to God in the Spirit of Christ.  This shift from a physical to a spiritual temple has the potential to democratize spirituality in a helpful way.  New Testament writers, however, underscored the on-going importance of people-hood, community, and a shared life of faith.  In Christianity we have this wonderful balancing act between a private faith and a life of faith in community.   The temple has been privatized and yet there are communal demands for worship in the new temple of Christ.

Another theme in both Kings and Chronicles is Solomon’s wisdom.  No doubt we will discuss wisdom more fully when we get to wisdom literature in the O.T., but given Solomon’s fame as being a wise king we should at least mention it today.  As I have read about Solomon a question kept surfacing, what makes this guy so wise?  It strikes me that part of Solomon’s wisdom is that he recognizes that he needs to ask for wisdom.  James 1:5 reads, “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you”.  As simple as it sounds a first step toward wisdom is asking for direction.  But that isn’t so easy, is it?  It takes great humility, after all, to admit that we might need divine infusion to act wisely.  We appear to be successful people who pastor well, who administrate well, who teach well, who conduct business well, who manage homes / children / property well.  Infrequently do we admit that we don’t have all the answers.  For the sake of our on-going ministry at home and work it might be wise to begin each day with a prayer for wisdom.  So make a big note on your bulletin cover that can be pasted to the fridge alongside that report card, family picture, and child art which states:  Pray for wisdom.   Every time you go for physical nourishment you may just be tempted to also seek spiritual food.  Whether Solomon prayed for wisdom daily is not clarified in Chronicles, but we do have several stories about his wise administration.  One of these happens to be about a visit from the Queen of Sheba.   To illustrate this biblical account I turn things over to our acting troop. 

Queen of Sheba meets Solomon

Narrator:  There once was a very wise King named Solomon.  His wisdom was known in Israel, and even in the far reaches of the world.  (Solomon sits on throne, presiding over the assembly, looking very wise).
The Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s wisdom, and came to check out for herself just how wise Solomon was. (The Queen of Sheba saunters into the room with a servant trailing her, struggling to hold on to luggage.)

The Queen came prepared.  Although she had her doubts about the amazing Solomon, she brought her whole entourage, (servant looks around herself pointedly) and many gifts in case she needed to impress this King.  And like any women who deems herself royalty she also had a few changes of clothes and shoes for every possible event.  (Servant drops some luggage & is melodramatically hard done by).

The Queen of Sheba asked Solomon many questions. Why is the sky blue?  If a cedar falls in the forest of Lebanon, and no one is there, did anyone hear it?  If two women claim to the mother of the same child how do discover the real mother’s identity (let’s not go into details there)!   What do you do with a brother who doesn’t respect you the way he should? –how did that get in here!  As Queen Sheba heard the answers to her questions, her respect for Solomon’s knowledge grew.  As she beheld his mighty brain her affections for Solomon grew.  The Queen & Solomon continued to converse, the Queen gradually looking more impressed, and Solomon looking steadily more pleased with himself.  (King and Queen act flirtatiously) Rumor has it that King Solomon granted the queen every desire that she expressed  (The servant looks rolls eyes, head, raises hands in exhaustion like the whole thing is nonsense) (2nd Chronicles 9.12), but this is another one those biblical inferences that is best not acted out in church.

After some time the Queen of Sheba summoned her servant, and as a token of her admiration for Solomon’s wisdom and hospitality, she presented him with gifts.  (Servant clumsily hands the wrong items to the Queen (flat iron, travel mirror, ballet dress), until finally handing the correct item to her.  The Queen impatiently corrects the servant. The Queen then presents the gift to Solomon with a flourish.)
The Queen of Sheba returned home impressed with Solomon’s knowledge. (Queen and servant exit exhaustedly).  And Solomon continued to reign in Israel for some time.  Despite his wisdom Solomon made a few mistakes.  And apparently wisdom isn’t hereditary because some of his kids and grandkids really made mistakes.  But you can read more about them in Kings and Chronicles.

In 1st Corinthians Paul writes, “Where is the one who is wise?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the debater of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”  Paul maintains that the wisdom of God is Christ crucified—not Christ the cute little baby, not Christ seated on a donkey with palm branches, not Christ glorified at the right hand of God.   No, Paul is specific that it is a crucified Christ which is God’s wisdom.  And why does Paul so heavily link crucifixion and weakness with the wisdom of God?  A lot of reasons I am sure, and here is what makes sense to me in light of 1st Corinthians.

Life is hard.  We make mistakes.  We argue and exclude.  Death, and the decline leading up to it, are difficult at best and tragic at worst.  We need to know that in spite of our frailties, despite our failure, beyond our slow descent to the grave that there is hope.  There is divine wisdom in the crucified Christ because this crucified Christ is also raised up.  This wisdom is for the family member sitting alongside their loved one who no longer remembers.  This wisdom is for the business person being pushed out of the partnership.  This wisdom is for the farmer who witnesses their harvest cut in half by gale force winds out of the northwest.  This wisdom is for those so overcome by their deceit and deception that steps forward seem impossible.  This wisdom is for those who have lost friends to suicide bombers or the bombs of military jets.  Believe it or not it is the wisdom of God in Christ which is the way out of the dreadful conflict in the Middle East.  It is a new story which can defuse the violence caused by the old stories.  The wisdom of God can do this in the Middle East, in our families, in our hearts.   The crucified Christ allows us to set aside our weaknesses, our wounded pride, and our deaths.  In the crucified Christ we and our word have a source of wisdom which will ultimately leads to resurrected life.

So in this Christmas season when so much of our society and culture are glossing over the weaknesses all around, let us revel in the wisdom of God.  Let us take delight that the journey which begins in a crib ends on a cross and the hope that this imparts to our world.  Let us truly give thanks for God’s anointed one, the wisdom he is, and the wisdom discovered in walking his path.  Amen