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
No comments:
Post a Comment