What Did He Hear?
So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” 1 Kings 3:9 NASB
Understanding – Solomon asks for a heart that hears. He wants to know what God knows. So do we (might I add, unfortunately) because we fail to see that knowing what God knows is too dangerous for human beings. Perhaps it’s necessary to remind ourselves of the meaning of the word šāmaʿ. “šāmaʿ has the basic meaning ‘to hear.’ This is extended in various ways, generally involving an effective hearing or listening: 1) ‘listen to,’ ‘pay attention,’ 2) ‘obey’ (with words such as ‘commandment’ etc.), 3) ‘answer prayer,’ ‘hear,’ 4) ‘understand’ and 5) ‘hear critically,’ ‘examine (in court).’”[1] So when Solomon asks for an understanding heart, he is really asking for a heart that hears and obeys. But this entire dream is suddenly riddled with contradiction. Why? Because the text tells us that Solomon had this dream at Gibeon, and Gibeon was “a great high place,” that is, a place where Solomon made sacrifices to pagan deities (see verses 3-4). The motivation seems pure, that is, to discern between good and evil on behalf of the people, but the execution turns out to be a disaster. Solomon becomes the new Pharaoh, enslaving the people that God set free. The dream fulfills the intention of pagan deities, creating bondage of all who fall victims to it, including most of all, Solomon himself.
Jacques Ellul’s insight tells us why:
“To be like God is to be able to declare that this is good and that is bad. This is what Adam and Eve acquired, and this was the cause of the break, for there is absolutely nothing to guarantee that our declaration will correspond to God’s. Thus to establish morality is necessarily to do wrong. This does not mean that a mere suppression of morality (current, banal, social, etc.) will restore the good. God himself frees us from morality and places us in the only true ethical situation, that of personal choice, of responsibility, of the invention and imagination that we must exercise if we are to find the concrete form of obedience to our Father. Thus all morality is annulled. The Old Testament commandments and Paul’s admonitions are not in any sense morality. On the one side they are the frontier between what brings life and what brings death, on the other side they are examples, metaphors, analogies, or parables that incite us to invention.”[2]
You and I want to know. We want to know everything. We want to know certainty. Why? Because we really want to be the captains of our own destinies. We want to control the world around us, to separate good from evil so that we can create our own protection and our own advantage. But the world, God’s world, doesn’t work like this. There is only one sovereign, one person who is able to judge between good and evil, and we are exhorted to trust His instructions rather than determine our own. Trusting does not require knowing. It requires commitment.
Topical Index: shama, hear, understanding, good and evil, know, Solomon, 1 Kings 3:9
[1] Austel, H. J. (1999). 2412 שָׁמַע. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr. & B. K. Waltke, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (938). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] Jacques Ellul, The Subversion of Christianity, p 15.
During a deep conversation with a brother the other day, He said to me; “Perhaps you need to just be still and wait to hear what God says to you”. This is a saying I had heard many times over all my years in ‘the church’ and had tried to practice, yet I heard nothing.
Then words came into my head and out of my mouth to this brother. “God has been SCREAMING at us for thousands of years! We hold it in our hands, it sits in multiple volumes on our shelves at home, it rests waiting for us in the drawers of our hotel rooms and often appears on billboards in our cities! He doesn’t want us to ‘sit still and listen’ He wants us to get up and do what HE has instructed us to do!”
The masses at Sinai told Moses to take over listening to God for them. The WORD came down in stone for them!
And yet they/we are now waiting to listen for God?
The ‘church’ teaches to wait until you die to live in the ‘world to come’. But the ‘world to come’ is in our hands in Torah and we act like we don’t want to live in it here. And death is to late.
Preach it, brother!
I am thinking of shema (hear and do). The active listening that terrified the Israelites at Sinai still terrifies us today. There was something about that direct connection with that Function that subsumed their wills (at least temporarily) that had to have been awe full for all but terrifying for those who were not already submitted to the will of God.
Perhaps wisdom consists of that active shema, and perhaps Solomon started out in that humility, where his heart was in accord with that will from above, but then his “heart was turned”. Perhaps it wasn’t where he started out that was the problem but where he ended up.
To choose to hear but NOT do is the same as not to hear. More than one precious person in my life cannot ‘hear’ whenever anyone mentions stuff that they SHOULD be taking responsibility for, but they are choosing not to. I think we call that “selective hearing”.
When my mama would pick a switch from the mockorange bush beside the back door she would always explain to us offenders that she was “helping (our) hearing”. I cannot remember a time that we did not know exactly what she meant.
Wait, so you are saying that priorto Solomon’s infamouse prayer, (infamous because it sounded good, holy, and maybe it was, and he MIGHT have come from a right place win him, but …because he was sacrificing in the place where pagans made sacrifices to their PAGAN deities, that YHVH rejected his sacrifice as well as his prayers?
I’m saying rejected because YOU are saying that the answer that came to him was from a pagan deity, and the execution (by following this train of thought) was brought about by those same deities? I’m good for that, but i never actually put it together like that. Except it appears that YHVH answered his prayers, in the dream, but the ‘pagan gods, ha satan’, directed that answer in the carrying out of it, resulting in disaster for Solomon and those he ruled over.
I read the preceding verses that you pointed out, and it jumpedout at me that Solomon married the Egyptian princess and after that stopped building both his home and the house of YHVH and the people sacrificed in the high place because they had no house of their own….Solomon loved the YHVH, but he sacrificed and paid homage to these ‘other gods’ (heh. evils spirits, as it were, or are…or is…) 😉
Is there any guarantee, via the hebrew, that we KNOW that YHVH answered that dream? (I’m looking at YOU Skip! for the answer!, although, who knows, maybe Craig will suddenly appear…) 😉
The text says that the people were sacrificing on the high places because there was no place for them to offer to YHVH, what is the implication to us in that? Does that mean the people should have made their own places (in their homes) does that mean that we are to be personally responsible for our own place of worship when there isn’t one available to us? Because, let’s face it, they lived in the vaunted community and took comfort, strength in the fact that their friends, neighbors and acquaintances were all doing (sacrificing in the sam high places), so SURELY YHVH understood and accepted, right?
The other possibility i that Solomon had a pure heart (not hardly, at this point) sacrificed w/pure intent and desire (just as his people did) YHVH observed and honored that pureness, and yet ha satan was still able to step in and stir the pot.
It’s way more then selective listening (hey! Laurita) it’s that whole thing of mixing the pure w/the profane, i’m thinking. It’s trying to make holy what is NOT holy and reaping the benefits thereof…
Which brings me to the story of Abraham and his only son and the ram. What if it was not YHVH requiring that sacrifice, but YHVH who stepped in and provided a suitable replacement for what Abraham was willing to offer up?
Sorry, i hardly ever post, but this king of brought up a lot of ‘what if’s’ for me.
hee…my fonts worked. #justsayin #lifelessons
Good thoughts btw, here’s some other things to consider s well. Not only did he affiliate with pharaoh through marriage (not supposed to do that according to the covenant) but after the dream it says he went down and stood in front of the ark of the covenant and offered burnt offerings and peace offering. (why were they offering at the high places if there was an ark?) But the term for stand (stood) is a term denoting extension, in a “bad” sense it would be like a spot on your clothing which is an extension of the stuff you were eating. 🙂 but the king isn’t the one who’s supposed to offer sacrifices, that’s the priests job. It’s kinda funny, and mostly not, that what the true motivation that drives us becomes obvious when we begin to put our hands to the task. At the end of the day, he didn’t take the people back to Egypt, he brought Egypt to Israel. The results are the same, enslavement.
NICE! Thanks for the added insights! and we agree.
I would never have picked up on the information that you just pointed about the “bad” sense, how many other ‘me’s’ are there? So, it appears that that our beloved Solomon was actually corrupt from the beginning, and generations preceding ours have not picked up on it.
How many people have long held belief systems, that they would infuse into their beloved ‘community’ that are tainted with Egypt? How many of those individuals hold themselves up as paragons of virtue that can be safely immolated and/or looked up to with admiration.
How many of those people teach a whole truth and walk in a half lie? The numbers are probably staggering.
Henceforth i shall refer to you as ‘skip jr.’ or ‘craig stand in’, exception didn’t give me a dozen references, use every font known to man and stay up half the night doing research for your response. (that’s a joke, by the way…)
LOL LOL LOL!!! My first line should read emUlated! So much for my spelling efforts…
Just one more thing then I’ll shut up. ? There’s a reason the “occult” is so intrigued with Solomon, doing what’s wrong and making it look so right. Beni Elohim!
We agree, totally.
The wisdom that is from above is first of all pure. Pure is defined by God. That which is from below is carnal. False Light is for the entrapment of the flesh. That enlightenment that is not of Truth is but the false light which is the choice of the tree of good AND evil.
uhm,,,can you put that in layman’s terms?
Sorry, I am not the best at expressing thoughts. Pure wisdom is doing what God says (from above). Don’t marry foreign; as in non-believing women in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob wives & don’t create a huge armed force of chariots because God is the defence of the obedient human king of the nation of Israel etc. Solomon chose to do what God said not to choose and began to form himself and his own nation away from God’s intended image. David already had the worship service sorted out by bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to its place amongst Israel but Solomon is taking on his own enlightenment as a garment of wisdom; instead of the white garment of the obedience of the Faithful to Elohim. This door to the wisdom Solomon chose being carnal is ultimately bowing to Satan’s precept and acquiring Satan’s image as an opposer of our Creator. Called sin by God, which in a king determines a nations general decline from the wisdom from above more quickly as he influences for other worship of unfaithfulness. God gives each of us our hearts desires when our heart is not for him as well whether faithful or not….he allows what we sow to reap its destructive ways in the hope of repentance when we realise our failure to trust Him. Just as He allows the faithful person’s hearts desires to lift up in greater faithfulness. Is this helpful?
I got this: he allows what we sow to reap its destructive ways in the hope of repentance when we realise our failure to trust Him
so we are good.
Well said Sir.
They also believe that the gift given Solomon was ALL knowledge and therefore the ability to control spirits. There’s a lot about this in print.
Ya know Skip, that’s an interesting statement and I probably wouldn’t have gone there, but beins that you brought it up. Rulership has never been appointed to any other entity than man, and when it’s said or told that a spirit has the capacity to rule, it’s only a partial truth. They can only “rule” over something if they have an ally in an adam. (the appointed ruler) I guess the question in regards to Solomon is is who controls who?
That rulership of Adam – didn’t he lose it and the second Adam have to redeem it?
I don’t recall anywhere where it says that. If I’m in error please direct me to the correction, but if I’m not mistaken it’s a “rulership” by concession, not by appointment. Another instance of “oh so close to the truth”. ?
Let’s not call it ‘rulership’ which denotes proper “appointment”. Let’s call it a hostile takeover.
John 16:11 “…the prince of this world is judged”.
But that’s exactly what’s occurring. Rulership through influence. Once the man puts his hands to something it remains unless broken by another “ruler”. Try reading Micah 5:5-6 in this light and see what you think. The only question that remains, as said earlier, is who’s influencing the ruler?
I second the question “who’s influencing the ruler?” but the Micah verse I do not feel I have enough background to understand how to lay it over this context. Help this dummy, please, you have my curiosity way up.
Tell you what, if Skip will give me permission, I’ll expound a bit in the morning. It will be a bit lengthy. I don’t want to over extend the grace that’s been given me here.
Thank you to both of you, then. I would like to understand.
And, btw (?) not a dummy! Let us make man in our image and after our likeness….. no room for degradation there!
Thank you. I repent for slandering my Creator,
Ok, the short version. in the temptation of the Messiah, it was said that if he would worship him he would give him all the kingdoms that had been shown him, because they were his. (satans) A coupla things to consider, who’s speaking, and is that true. Yeshua identified him as the father of lies and that when he lies he speaks his native tongue. In other words, he always lies. YHWH owns the kingdoms of this world and He has appointed man as the ruler over His creation. That has never been conceded. Once the lie is believed though, influence can begin. Back in the garden it was the same. It’s similar to the issue of losing the Image of God, we didn’t lose anything we gained something. (pollution) the pollution in this case is the lie that we can determine good and evil. As soon as we believe that lie, we can be influenced accordingly. Think of it as an “end run” around the structure that YHWH has determined. Cain was told that the ground wouldn’t produce for him, and he would be a wanderer, so he built a city and taxed the people for his sustenance. (end run) It’s the same, angels (in whatever form) can’t rule so they end run around.
Ok, that tracks with me.
I was persuaded, in the name of love, mind you, to hand over my sovereignty time and again, that was entrusted to me by YHVH. I put MYSELF into bondage to spiritual “principalities and powers” and the “rulers of darkness of this world”. I did that in response to lies about love. Lies are always coercive (force). It is up to me to choose to submit ONLY to YHVH. Anything less causes disrespect for me by others and myself, too. I can only have positive influence in the world to the extent that I am respect-worthy, but that is up to me. I think I get it.
Now, show me how to read the Micah verses…?
Sorry for the delayed response Laurita, things got real busy real fast. I’ll try to address that in the morning as my day has become quite full.
Thinking more about rulership. Adam was granted vicegerency, but subject to God, which Yeshua reminded the accuser of in the wilderness. We should answer like He did.
I think I hear you say the only ‘rule’ available to wily angels is what we hand over, but God still is the rightful Owner Who is handing it to us, is that right?
I think I am going to take Dan. 4:17 as the definitive verse: “The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will.”
Thank you for ‘tightening’ me up on this one. Is this what the Micah verses are saying, too?
You’re on the right track, this is part of the deception that has been fomented through men who are opposed to the kingdom of God. The Micah verses are about “breaking” that hold with the truth. I’ll write some more here, but because a little history needs to be laid out to understand it fully, I’ll email you the lengthy part. I should have time this afternoon. ??
Well, technically (being as this whole rulership thing is going over my head) man has ALWAYS had awareness of and authority over the spirit world.
See Matthew 12:27-29: “if i by beelzebub cast out devils, then by whom do your children cast the out?”
and, again in Luke 11:15 “But some of them said “he casts out devils through beelzebub, the prince of demons…”
The question was never IF casting out was occurring or IF it was necessary, the question was the SOURCE of the ability to do so.
by implication man, up to the ‘second Adam’ always had the need, the knowledge, and the ability to control spirits.
Even, evidently, holy ones, see 1 Corinth 14:32 “the spirits of the prophet are subject to the prophet”. Remember that the next time someone tells you they didn’t know what they were going to do or say or write (type) because they were being guided by the spirit. #justsayin #again.
robert lafoy,
I find myself in agreement with you (a first?)! Having studied occult material, malevolent spirits adamantly affirm their need for human cooperation. This is exemplified in the works of Alice A. Bailey (whose works form the basis for much of current New Age / New Spirituality teachings), who admits to having written via automatic writing at the control of an entity she deemed benevolent, yet clearly is not. Following is excerpted from the back cover of The Externalisation of the Hierarchy (New York: Lucis, 1957 [1989 paperback ed.]). “Hierarchy” is the collective name referring to these beings; “Externalisation” refers to their desire to ‘externalise on the physical plane’, i.e. possess humans (bodies, or just minds?):
With all this in mind, an interesting passage to analyze is Daniel 10. In the link below, the author refutes the mistaken notion by some ‘Christians’ engaging in a bizarre type of “spiritual warfare” (which claims that “territorial spirits” need to be ‘bound’ in order to ‘free’ that specific territory of demons, thus making it easier to ‘Christianize’ that geographic region), but his analysis regarding the identity of “Prince of Persia” is the important point for our purposes here. One could start at the conclusion on page 16, then decide how much else to read:
biblicalstudies dot org.uk/pdf/daniel10.pdf
WELL!! Craig. Nice of you to drop by, when we have ALL but given up on you! (we being ME).
thanks for the link, i followed that idiocy way back in the day. There was another book out refuting it as well, which i presented to the church i was then attending, and was ostracized for my efforts.
Lessons learned.
Not.
HA! it worked. bold AND italics!!
Given what little you revealed about your former ‘church’, I sorta figured you had some experience with “spiritual mapping”. Your experience of being shunned for exposing it is not unusual. I’d experienced this sort of thing to a lesser degree myself.
Lately, I’ve been researching and writing, though checking here on occasion.
Beatin’ up the font thing! Nice!
I had to giggle a bit over that statement about agreement, but I think that we probably agree over more than we disagree. That God is sovereign over the affairs of men, we agree on, how that works out makes for interesting discussion, but we’ve both much to learn and share. Whether you believe it or not, or affirm it or not, I consider you a brother in Christ (Messiach) all the rest is about hammering out the Kingdom of Heaven.
Well, it was meant to elicit at least a chuckle! I’m constantly learning, and I learn from engaging with others. I may not ultimately be persuaded of a particular view, but at least I come away with a better understanding of the other’s viewpoint. I don’t disbelieve your stance regarding ‘brotherhood’, but, I’d be untruthful if I said I was anything but ambivalent in that regard. But, that’s part of my nature, generally. I’m a born skeptic–to the extent that I’m constantly reevaluating my own beliefs.
To put that in perhaps better perspective, I will not call leaders in what I term hyper-charismaticism [btw knows what I mean] brothers (or sisters) in Christ, as I see this sort of behavior specifically identified in Matthew 7:21-23 (and 2 Thess 2:9-12) as for false believers.
btw
A well known individual that i highly respect has coined the phrase “i reserve the right to be wrong”. I greatly admired him for that.
Until i learned, that in fact, he only truly reserved the right to call everyone ELSE out for being wrong.
And he? He was the paradigm of spiritual correctness, and if we all adhered to him to the letter, only then would we win out. Have either of you read Wade Burleson’s book “Fraudulent Authority”? Small little book, a few chapters demonstrate his lack of Torah, but he so defeats the discussion on the hierarchal teachings.
Mr. LaFoy, thank you for enjoying my little font victory. Notice that i used none in this post. Coffee. Lack thereof.
No ma’am, never read it, but….gen. 3 thru ? is a pretty good study on that stuff. Lack of fonts sometimes is a good thing, more like a birds soft song in the morning.
btw,
No, I’ve never heard of that one.
Well, Craig, now you have. It’s not a very big book, you probably will go through it in less then a day, and then proceed to trash it.
i’d advise against that tho.
sometimes simply is best.
Its interesting that David calls Solomon already “wise” ( From chakam; wise, (i.e. Intelligent, skilful or artful) — cunning (man), subtil, ((un-)), wise((hearted), man), in 2 Kings 2:9.
I wonder just how gifted Solomon was before he asked for more “shama and yada”? David did’nt just give Solomon the usual blessing on his deathbed – as if David knew that Solomon was special.
Then this should be a warning not only to the gifted or wise: you may just get what you ask for, whether you can deal with it or not?
This conversation is why I value this “community ” amazing insights from deep thinkers reflecting a love of truth and reality. This group of clear individuals are holding divergance opinions while yet conversing with the result of illumination ; more light, progressive revelation into the truth revealed through the life of Soloman..good stuff