14. července 1789 byla v Paříži dobyta Bastilla. Francouzský král Ludvík XIV. napsal do svého deníku" "Nic." Nevěděl král snad nic o dobytí státního vězení, kterým začala francouzská revoluce? Pravděpodobně věděl, ale onoho dne se nekonal žádný hon, slavnost ani jiné zábavy, a proto napsal do svého deníku "Nic", Ubohý muž neměl revoluci přežít.
Je nesčetně lidí, kteří se tomuto francouzskému králi podobají. Nejdůležitější události je míjejí. Boží Syn přišel na zem a zemřel na kříži za hříšníky - oni ale píší do svým deníků: "Nic".
(Na každý den, rok XY)
1 Solomon the son of David (established himself in his kingdom,) and the Lord his God was with him byl and made him exceedingly great.
- h.: has established himself over his kingdom;
- He acted decisively. He didn't "fuss" with things, he made decisions. He wasn't afraid of responsibility. He wasn't afraid to make mistakes. He wasn't afraid to take risks. That's manly governance. He wasn't afraid to reward and punish. He wasn't afraid to force his will.
- He must have felt the favor of God. He saw that things were going well for him. You can feel God's hand upon you. You "try it" a few times and find that it "works". He makes a decision and it turns out well. He makes a mistake and nothing happens - God somehow "covers it up". You get used to God's hand on you.
- Jesus experienced something similar. He prayed and it really happened - someone was healed, demons reacted, water turned to wine. Once, twice, a third time. Each time. He tried saying the prayers a little "arbitrarily" and yet it still worked. Gradually, you rest in it. You start to believe it. You stop being afraid. You start to feel more confident. It's beautiful.
- And Solomon's star was rising. The decisions always turned out well. Whatever he touched, it succeeded. The neighborhood saw it and trusted him more and more. The loyalty of the neighborhood grew greater and greater. The respect of his enemies as well.
- The king was strong, asserting his will. He grew rich and his influence grew. He was becoming harder and harder to oppose.
2 Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in all Israel, the heads of fathers' houses. of 3 And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon, for the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there.
- he was about to make a major speech. It was some kind of milestone. A speech to the nation. He organized a big gathering because he wanted to make a major point.
- He didn't summon the whole nation, but all the leaders, all those who had any authority.
- The speech was to be delivered in a place of significance for the nation - in the presence of God.
- The tent of meeting still existed. It was the same tent that Moses had pitched in the wilderness, some three hundred years earlier. Not necessarily the same materials, which may have been continually renewed as they decayed, but the same model, the same sanctuary in principle.
4 (But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.)
- One of the important functions of the Tent of Meeting was to house the ark of God
- The transport of the ark by David succeeded only for the second time - the first time David underestimated the preparations and the attempt did not turn out well
5 Moreover, the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord. tam And Solomon and the assembly sought it out. ..
- They sought out the holiest place that ever existed.
- They wanted to make contact with the Lord.
6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar byl before the Lord, which was at the tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.
- he made sacrifices for himself - he used his own money to buy so many cattle.
- It had to be "big", spectacular. It was a "mega" event in the true sense of the word.
- It raises the question of whether there is any proportion between the number of victims and the Lord's response. Not necessarily. However, at this stage in Solomon's life, there is no reason to suggest anything negative about Solomon.
- After all, what would be appropriate for a billionaire?
- Of course, we know from Jesus that the value of the sacrifice is based on what we have remaining rather than on how much we have given.
- The Lord is not an abusive grandfather who keeps track of what gift a grandchild buys him for his birthday and then distributes his favor to them accordingly.
- On the other hand, I believe that by giving a gift disproportionately small to our financial situation, we may probably offend the Lord.
- Once a brother threw a one single crown into the collection. Then he informed me. I thought it was arrogant, such a spit in God's face - surely it would have been better not to put in the collection anything . After all, the Lord does not care about our gifts (cf. e.g. Isaiah chapters one and 66).
- As we shall see below, the Lord responded very favorably to the whole event. So it is quite possible that the personal offering of a thousand pieces was "just appropriate" from the billionaire.
7 In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I . shall give you.”
- So God's reaction to the whole big "event" was positive. It pleased the Lord.
- It was the culmination of many years of effort begun by David and completed by Solomon.
- It is extremely rare for the Lord to ask someone in this way. It is risky to offer a man a blank cheque in this way. The psychopathic Herod once tried it with the debauched girl Salome, and we know how disastrously it turned out. And we fallen humans are nor far from Salome and Herodias.
- This presupposes a high degree of trust towards the donee. For if Solomon had wished for some foolish thing, "the Lord would have had a problem."
- Jesus said in Jn.15:7 If you abide in me, and if my sayings abide in you, ask what you will, and it shall be done for you. It is similar to writing a blank check, but it is conditional on abiding in Christ, whatever that means.
8 And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, and have made me king in his place.
- Solomon's prayer in response to the Lord's generous offer is "without fault." It shows a considerable degree of spiritual insight, humility, and other positive qualities.
- He begins by recapitulating God's very accommodating attitude toward David and toward him thus far.
- He understands well that it is mercy, that is, unmerited favor.
9 O Lord God, ať let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.
- Solomon has no doubt that becoming king is God's will. Among other things, God promised David this, and Solomon invokes this promise.
- Solomon reminds the magnitude of the task entrusted to him. If he had been entrusted with, say, the administration of a village, he might have been more confident that he could do it on his own. But he's been put in charge of an entire nation. He didn't really feel up to it - let's give him credit for that.
- God often places us in tasks that are clearly beyond our strength. He does this for this very reason - He wants us to realize our inadequacy and seek guidance and wisdom from Him.
10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge to (go out and come in before this people,) for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?”
- or: lead
- or: manage;
- Solomon's request was unequivocal. He did not hesitate, apparently the size of the task really bothered him.
- I understand him very well - the idea of someone putting me in charge of the Ministry of Health, for example, is not appealing at all. I wouldn't know how to untangle the tangle of conflicting problems. Heaven forbid if I were to be in Zelensky's or Netanyahu's shoes (written 4/2024).
- Those who are too clear about how they would act in positions of authority are usually not very trustworthy. The "beer sages" are clear about everything, but having to make real decisions is something else entirely.
- Solomon was obviously highly intelligent at this moment, but even so he did not dare the task, he did not feel worthy or competent enough. This is certainly very much to his credit.
- He did not doubt that it was God's will for him to perform this task. Prayer was therefore logical: I know, God, you want me to do this. But at the same time, I know I can't do it. Those two things are in conflict. I can't think of any other solution than for you to equip me for this job.
- God never asks the impossible of anyone. If He asks us to do something, He gives us everything we need to do it.
The open scissors between responsibility and authority is a big problem in our education system: teachers have a lot to do, a lot is expected of them - but they don't have the practical tools to enforce this on their pupils.
- I like the phrase to go out and come in: I think of it as our life in a double space - a safe home and a public space. Every morning we leave the safety of home and go out into the world, "into the encounter" with the world, where "in the sweat of our face we conquer our bread". In the evening we return.
- In Solomon's case, it may also have been a picture of domestic and foreign policy, or of going to war.
11 God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for dokázal yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king,
- God liked Solomon's approach. He was intrigued.
- It is possible to pleasantly surprise God.
- God lists things that Solomon could have asked for (and surely would have received):
- possessions and wealth - for a king, surely it is always useful. A healthy budget, a full treasury are certainly important for good governance.
- honor - for the king, why not? Who else but the king should be honoured and famous.
- the death of your enemies- necessary for the consolidation of the kingdom.
- long life- who wouldn't want it.
- Obviously, none of these things are of any use if one doesn't know how to use them. What good is a full treasury if I can't make a budget. What good is a long life without meaning, etc.?
- Conversely, it is obvious that if one acts wisely, these things can be achieved (except for a long life, which is not fully in our hands - even a wise lifestyle may not be enough).
- What one would wish for if God offered such a blank offer is interesting, perhaps even pleasant to contemplate. It's similar to fantasizing about what I would do if I won a billion, could make myself invisible, immortal, or gained the ability to fly.
- But when one thinks about it, it is probably better to leave it to God and not to "interfere" too much in one's own destiny.
12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches , possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.” we deceive po tobě.
- God responded more than generously to Solomon's request - He gave him what he asked for, and added as a bonus the things that Solomon had omitted in his request (ranked below wisdom in his list of priorities).
- Respectively, neither the death of enemies nor longevity are mentioned by God as "added value" - either He gave them to him "in between speeches" or He decided that He didn't need them. Or he decided that with wisdom he could already deal with his enemies "on his own".
- How long did Solomon live? Exactly how long is not stated in the Bible. He reigned for forty years. He came to the throne young. So maybe around 60 years. That's not a lot of longevity, especially by the standards of the day.
13 So Solomon came from the high place at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel into .
- God "appeared" to Solomon in "that night" (v.7) and spoke to him. Whether it was a dream or something else is not specified.
- What happened in Solomon's mind after the prayer? Did his IQ increase by leaps and bounds? It's possible. Solomon was one of the most intelligent men in history.
- But it is also possible that after this conversation, Solomon "began to trust" himself and began to make rulerial decisions with courage. And last but not least, God seems to have continually advised Solomon on how to proceed. A combination of all of these seems most likely to me:
- God further improved and developed his mental faculties
- Solomon, despite his youth, took up his kingship with gusto and courage. And because he was wise and had learned much from his father David, he did well.
- God continually spoke to him and corrected him.
14 Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
- .Czech Study Translation [the enumeration of Solomon´s riches here is probably meant to point to the fulfillment of God's promise];
- The following is an account of Solomon's wealth and the enterprises he undertook.
- It is certainly impressive. The breadth of his scope was extraordinary. By the standards of the time, but also on a historical and global scale, he was an extraordinarily successful and capable ruler.
- How is the success of a government actually measured? By military success? By the strength of the military? The expansion of the empire? Economic expansion? The ruler's wealth? Building and architectural achievements? The general standard of living? By social security? By the justice and independence of the courts?
- We know that the people weren't too happy about Solomon's grand enterprises - he drained the nation with taxes and forced labor.
- So what could Solomon boast of?
- mighty cavalry
- armored fighting vehicles - all strategically placed around the empire. In today's terms, the vehicles would probably be equivalent to tanks or infantry fighting vehicles .
15 And the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful početné as the sycamore of the Shephelah.
- The state property was huge. So were the investments. Jerusalem became a kind of Wall Street or City, with a lot of money flowing through.
16 And Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders it would buy them from Kue for a price. 17 They imported a chariot from Egypt for 600 . of silver, and a horse for 150. .Likewise through them these were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
- Interestingly, the Israelis did not have the technology or capacity to produce war chariots or to breed horses.
- On the other hand, they successfully traded and resold them from Egypt.
- Jews have always been very capable as traders. Today, Israel is very advanced technologically, too.
- Converting historical prices to today's prices is tricky. However, if we traditionally take the shekel as the value of a day's work, a chariot would cost around a 50 000 USD, a horse a about few tens thousand, which perhaps might roughly correspond?
18 I řekl si Šalomoun, že postaví dům pro Hospodinovo jméno a svůj královský dům.
- As part of his "flight", the king decided to implement a project to build a temple and his palace.
- David had already entrusted him with the building of the temple, and he made numerous preparations in this direction.
- The palace was obviously self-explanatory - an important king could not live in anything insignificant. Residences have always been one of the main signs of prestige for rulers and nobility.
- It was probably Solomon's greatest project.