Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, dear ones.

It’s quite nice out this window at present. The overcast gray is being replaced by filtered sunlight. Good. I may need to use these accommodating conditions to do some painting on a big-rig truck cab today. We’ll see.

I’m afraid I couldn’t hide my observations of glaring parallels between Israel’s past and America’s today in the course of today’s reading. I hope that’s not too dangerous. What are your thoughts?

On with the list. Blessings on your day.

Love. Dad/Ray.

Chapter 10 of this reading is nothing short of spectacular. The Queen of Sheba figured that the reports she heard of King Solomon and his wonderful achievements and administration were just too good to be true—so much overstatement. But when she paid Solomon a visit to check him out, “she was overwhelmed” (10:5). She exclaimed that what she had heard was not overstatement at all—if anything, it was understatement!

From that high point, the story line takes a serious dive—a depressing degenerating destructive drop. And, as we shall see, the story line never really recovers. Why? The answer is becoming clearer to me all the time. The answer confirms that SIN (wrong use of God’s gifts and wrong response to His rule) runs deep through the bloodline of the entire human race—creating a spiritual magnetic attraction to the three contaminating “S”s—SIN, SELF, and SATAN. Even though history records some high points where man collectively does some neat stuff, the achievement of anything close to lasting UTOPIA proves to be as futile as chasing and catching rainbows. The only hope for the outside of man is transformation on the inside of man. MAN NEEDS A SAVIOR! What a revolutionary idea!

Here’s a question I can’t avoid: If the most brilliant genius who ever lived, even coming from a background of godliness, proceeds to exercise his God-given wisdom so as to willfully do “evil in the eyes of the LORD” (which sure isn’t very wise) what hope is there for me whose cranial capacity is so much smaller?—and whose access to total freedom is so much more limited? I want to do everything I can to avoid arrogance in my criticism of Solomon, but 1000 wives?!?! Come on, Solomon—can anyone convince me that’s not just plain out-of-control stupid sensuality?! I think the main point that helps me avoid a sense of inferiority next to Solomon is that the logic of Jesus makes a lot of sense to me—which didn’t make sense to Solomon (which was still available even without Jesus speaking it)—“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26, KJV). Please allow me to once again underscore the importance of a HEART AFTER GOD.

Enter Rehoboam, Solomon’s son—another corrupt power-hungry dictator. Then enter Jeroboam—still another corrupt power-hungry dictator. There’s not much hope for corrupt power-hungry dictators to get along. But get this—both were chosen of the LORD. (Hmm. Think careful about that one. Proverbs 21:1) And don’t overlook the corrupting strategy of King Jeroboam. Now that the “Constitution” had been effectively trashed, upon which the nation had been founded, Jeroboam was ready to launch a program of new “hope and change” in order to preserve, protect, and feed his own power hunger. That required a program of national brain-washing. He not only created a new religion with not just one but two “golden calves”, but also went to work to revise history—“Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt” (12:28). He apparently repeated that lie so many times with such compelling rhetoric that the general populace believed him. So there you have it—there is nothing new under the sun!

Please be different.