Today’s Scripture Reading (September 4, 2019):
1 Kings 4
I actually like split or
minority governments because, usually, it forces our political leaders to
acknowledge that they are not only the leaders of people who think like them
but that they are the leaders of all the people. If there are no checks and
balances, it is too easy for a leader to simply do what have it is that he or
she wants to do or to carry out initiatives that serve the purposes of the ones
who elected them. But a good political leader recognizes that they serve all of
the people; both those who elected them and those who did not. And rather than
carrying out the wishes of their political base, they understand that they need
to set themselves at the difficult task of finding the middle ground and
resisting the temptation to rule from the edges of society. Being a centrist
will likely mean that the more extreme supporters, or detractors, will not be
happy with the leader. But ruling from the center is a constant reminder that
the leader recognizes that his or her job is to lead all of the people.
King Solomon ruled over all of
Israel. He would be the third, and last, of the Kings of Israel to be able to
make that claim. After Solomon’s death, the kingdom would divide into the northern
Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah. Judah would be made up of only
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the rest would find themselves under the
authority of the King of Israel. Eventually, Israel would fall to Assyrians and
disappear from the pages of history. And just over a century later, Judah would
fall to the Babylonians and spend time in exile before making an appearance later
in history as a vassal kingdom to other powers. The Israel that we know of
today is essentially just a reincarnation of the Judah of history. Since the
days of Solomon, no one has ruled over all of Israel.
Solomon was a king, with all
that that implies. He was a person of power, and he was not afraid to wield
that power. And part of the blame for the division of the nation that would
follow his reign rests squarely on Solomon’s shoulders. Taxation was high
during Solomon’s reign, mostly to pay for the various building projects that
held the king’s attention, including the Temple that was the dream of Solomon’s
father, David. But more than that, Solomon couldn’t quite figure out how to be
a leader of “all the people.” He ruled over them but was not bothered by the
varied interests and demands of those who served under him. We need to note
that failing to lead “all of the people” was a prevalent weakness among most of
the historical kings and queens. Kings and Queens often believed that they
ruled by the hand of God and that the purpose of their rule was to get their
own way, which they would often phrase as “the way of the gods that they
served.”
In the aftermath of Solomon’s
life, Israel rebelled. The author of Kings records it this way. “When
all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:
‘What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents,
Israel! Look after your own house, David!’ So the Israelites went home” (1
Kings 12:16). A nation, bound together by God, dissolved into two states all
because, while Solomon ruled over all of the people, he and his son could not
figure out how to lead all of the people. And the people could not understand why
they should follow a leader who was committed to leading only a fragment of
their society.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 5
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