MORE ON EARLY ISRAEL AND ITS PEOPLE

Directly from the study on the kings: "After Solomon's reign, the people continually turned away from God.  The rest of the kingdom era ends by a vivid fulfillment of Solomon's prayerful description, 'When the people turn back to you, Lord, and when they confess your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple and  turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, then hear them from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants. And when there is no  rain because your people have sinned and they turn from their sin and pray confessing your name and turning from their sin, then hear from heaven and forgive them  Teach them the right way to live.  May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the prayers of your people Israel and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you."  When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling, and turning to the assembly, he said, "Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised.  Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.  May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers.  And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night."'


Both kings, David and Solomon, did what was possible in their human restraints. They failed often to turn to God, yet they tried and when they would fail, they cried out to the Lord for forgiveness. How like all humans they were, and it isn't right to fault them.  It is right, though, to see how their failures hurt them and what they had to do in trying to right their wrongs.  Each time they failed, they had to turn to God for forgiveness, trying once again, then, to do the right thing.  We are blessed that we have their lives to study and to adapt for ourselves in order to use the lesson they learned for our own lives.


Israel was to have been a light for the world around them.  However, it was not always the way it was.  They were to reach out to the world with God's love, but unfortunately, it was left to the time of Jesus and to Him and to his disciples to reach out to others in God's love.  As we read, or write this, let's each one of us know with all certainty that we are now the ones who are left to do the reaching out.


Soon, I hope, a story about a great queen!
Jo INMN