Saturday 23 March 2013

Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. – 1 Kings 3:16


Today’s Scripture Reading (March 23, 2013): 1 Kings 3

There was once a Thracian king (Ancient Greece) who was known for his great wisdom. People came to him from all over the known world to help them decide wisely in their most difficult situations. During his reign a neighboring Cimmerian king died. And in Crimea there was a struggle for power and the ascension of the dead king’s throne. It became quickly apparent that the dead king’s son and heir had been kept in seclusion, probably out of the desire that he could simply be a child until the time would come when he would have to step up and be the king. Once he became king, the father knew from experience that his life would no longer be his own – so for now he could just live as the son of the father. But a problem arose when the father died. Since no one knew who the son was, there were three sons of a father that stepped forward claiming to be the heir.

It was this situation that was brought before the wise Thracian king. The question was which of these sons of a father was also the heir of the dead king? And the wise king pondered the question. Finally he ordered the corpse of the dead king to be brought before him. Each of the potential heirs was ordered to show their fitness for power by throwing a spear into the body of the dead ruler. Immediately one of men stepped forward and, after grabbing a sword, thrust the sword tip deep into the ruler’s dead body. Then second man quickly followed, berating himself for the momentary hesitation which had stopped him from being the first to show his kingly ability. But the third man just stood there, tears streaming down his face. Finally, he simply turned and walked away. And as he stepped away, the Thracian king pointed at the third man and said “The crown belongs to him. He is the son – and heir - of the dead Cimmerian king.”

It is an ancient story. And one that is very similar to the one that we read in the history of Solomon. But there are some very important differences. One is simply that it is two women that were brought before the king. Women had no voice in the culture, and yet Solomon was willing to hear them. The word that we have translated as prostitute is unclear. As with the story of Rahab, an innkeeper is also a possibility. But what we do know is that neither of the women were married – because if they were it would have been their husbands that would have appeared before Solomon – and that they lived together. If they were prostitutes, they were unusual ones, because in this day it is very unlikely that they would have cared about who it was that was the mother of the child or who it was that would raise the child.

And the second difference is that this is a story about a child. Again, in ancient times children were not valued – primarily because their deaths were not infrequent. So the basis of this story, that a king would take time to decide over the guardian of a child, was almost unimaginable. It brings to mind another unimaginable story in the New Testament where Jesus instructed the disciples to allow little children should be brought before him. And yet the story exists. It focuses us on the reality that the God has never been content to let culture be. He always desires to press us on toward something else – something more – a higher view of all people.            

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 4

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