1 Kings 9:1-9: Promise and Warning – Part I
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Written on October 24, 2009
The story of the patriarchs is about our relationship with our creator and about the covenant we and this creator share. Yahweh spoke with Abraham to offer him and his descendants a place in which to live, a family with whom he might share life, and the everlasting glory of the creator’s constant presence. These Old Testament promises or covenants brought with them not only blessings – like the ones that Yahweh gives to Abraham – but also curses. Today we reflect on the fulfillment of the promise God gives to Solomon, and the attendant warning. There are gifts to receive from our attendance to our relationship with God, consequences that flow from our own actions; and these consequences may be positive or negative depending on our own willingness to accept the promise and heed the warning.
Although Christ is not physically present to the Old Testament people, he walks with them just as he walks with us today. When we read the entire story of King Solomon we see him as an intelligent young man who asks not for wealth or power but for wisdom. We admire his sagacity in asking for this permanent gift of insight, thinking that his request shows maturity beyond his years. As we wind though the chapters that follow we watch as this clever man unravels, overwhelmed by the pressures of the day, by the always present human desire to be self-reliant, and by the forces of darkness that constantly nibble at the souls of the faithful. In last night’s MAGNIFICAT, we turned to Matthew 6:20-21: Store up your treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. The mini-reflection is: Where we invest our trust and hope, we invest our lives. Let us choose to invest in the true source of life, Jesus Christ.
Image from: https://calvaryga.com/i-pinky-promise/
Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Evening.” MAGNIFICAT. 23.10 (2009). Print.
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