Stepping into God’s Story – Episode Five
Exile and Return
Glenn Garvin • February 18, 2024
What’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom?
Is it deep thinking?
Logical processes and consequences?
Does it tie in with graciousness, gratitude, and courtesy?
Believe it or not, wisdom works! Wisdom is a superpower in our gimme-gimme world.
Let’s dive deeper into what it looks like living and seeking wisdom.
This series gives us a broad brushstroke of a foundation, a beginning and an end to help us see who God is and what His plans are for this world.
Wouldn’t you like to know what God is up to?
BRIEF REVIEW:
• Episode One: CREATION AND FALL – God made everything that exists and did so in perfection, but the first couple, faced with temptation and the promise of self-determined destiny apart from God, failed and broke stuff. Broke our relationship with God, each other and the planet. We still break stuff, but God made a way to fix us and make things right with him.
• Episode Two: PROMISE AND A PEOPLE – God makes an extraordinary promise and contract with humanity, through Abraham. God blesses Abraham as promised.
• Episode Three: RESCUE AND LAW – Abraham’s family becomes a nation, becomes enslaved, rescued and given rules to help them live well and keep their promise.
• Episode Four: LAND AND KINGDOM – God kept His promise, gives them the land and provided the nation with everything they needed. They still weren’t satisfied and worship the gods of the nations surrounding them, God disciplines them through the attacks of surrounding nations. God raises up judges (or rulers) to rescue His people and call them to repentance. They beg for a king to be like other nations, and God gives them a king (Saul), but it doesn’t go well. God raises up another king (David), and the nation becomes super successful, having everything they ever wanted, but they still wanted more.
This week, Episode Five, focuses on Solomon and the nation’s eventual demise that leads to being corrected by God and led into Babylonian captivity. God brings them back home, but nothing is the same. The people make a final attempt to keep God’s rules and their promises, but they just cannot do it.
The story continues with God’s pattern of faithfulness:
- God
Last week we just got to Israel’s first king, Saul. Their second king was David, and he is quite the famous character in the Bible. He was known for being a youngest son shepherd for his father, Jesse. Then became a celebrity by being the Giant Killer, landing Goliath with a one stone hit that embedded into the massive forehead of this 9ft, 9inch Philistine! After a ton of family dysfunctional drama – we get to David’s son, Solomon. What a story this guy has!
Let’s land here on Solomon’s Story for a moment!
Solomon shows his love for God by offering a 1000 burnt offerings in Gibeon. God appears to Solomon in a dream and says, “ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
Solomon admits he is too young to lead and asks God for an
So, God promises Solomon not just
1 Kings 4:29-31 God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore.
Proverbs 4:7-8 Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.
Proverbs 3:19-20 By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens. By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the dew settles beneath the night sky.
In my Devo Blog I wrote about these verses. Wisdom is a personification of Jesus.
Here is the multi-gazillion dollar question!
If Solomon was so wise, why did he cheat on God, living like a hussy, flirting with women and their fake idols and promoting that lifestyle while serving as King?
Solomon was wise, he was super smart, but it could not gain him
The religious leaders in Jesus’ day
Smart in the head, but merciless in the heart!
Solomon, with all his wisdom, power and fame turned away from his creator and followed lies.
And God rebuked him and shredded his legacy.
1 Kings 11:11-12 Then the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this and did not keep my covenant and my statutes, which I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. However, I will not do it during your lifetime for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of your son’s hand.
God brings in other nations to judge the now two kingdoms. The Northern kingdom had ungodly kings the entire time. Their reign lasted 200 years!
The Southern Kingdom goes into captivity with Babylon – they lasted 350 years!
2. God
The prophets, God’s spokespersons, were warning, convicting, consoling and comforting with hope all at the same time. There are four major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
The major prophets covered the era of the kings as well as Babylonia captivity. The twelve minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
The minor prophets covered both the Assyrian invasion, the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, the Babylonian exile, as well as the years after the return from exile. Chronology of the Prophets in the Old Testament.
3. God
It has been said that after the return from Babylon, the Jews lost all desire for idolatry, after 1,000 years of clinging to it tenaciously and enthusiastically. The making of idols and the building of physical places to worship idols had finally come to an end.
There were 3 million people living in Jerusalem previous to the kingdom dividing, but now there were only 50,000 people who returned from Babylon and lived in Jerusalem.
NOTES TO DIG DEEPER