"Bad things
It's a lot of bad things
That they wishin' and wishin' and wishin' and wishin'
They wishin' on me"
--Drake, "God's Plan"
Take out the odd cuss word here and there and Drake's "God's Plan" could easily be a psalm of David. Heresy, you say? Take some time and read the Psalms that are attributed to David and you'll find that most of them are consumed with David's enemies. Yes there's the famous Psalm 23 and David's beautiful confessional Psalms 51. There's the wonderful comfort to be found in Psalm 139 and my personal favorite, Psalm 40:1-3, which U2 put to modern music. But beyond these and a number of other uplifting Psalms, David is focused on his haters. And even in many of these "positive psalms" David just can't seem to help returning to his favorite theme. Note Psalm 40: 14-15, Psalm 139:19-22, and of course we all know the line from the twenty-third Psalm: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies." He just can't let it go!
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| Well, wait. . .that doesn't seem quite right. Yet, that, more often than not was David's prayer. (Image credit: This comes from the cover of tattoo and graffiti artist Michael Sweater's comic book. I'm not familiar with his work but the image was too good to pass up). |
David's psalms are a window into an internal struggle that we don't see in David's outward behavior. When it came to his conduct, David was all about letting God fight his battles for him. He did not seek vengeance and resisted acting dishonorably even when his enemies weren't playing by those rules. Inside though, it would appear David was seething. He was eager for God to lay waste to all those who were wishing bad things on him.
Other psalmists found in the book of Psalms include Asaph, Solomon, and the "descendants of Korah". Many of the psalms we tend to think of when we think of the psalms--songs of praise and glory to God are among those with no author listed.
Here's some highlights from my summer in the Bible:
The Reign of Solomon and The Kingdom Divided:
The tribes of Israel were only united through the first three monarchs: Saul, David, and Solomon. After that they were divided into two rival kingdoms: Judah (along with Benjamin) headquartered in Jerusalem and Israel, compromised of the remaining ten tribes, and headquartered in what would become known as Samaria. My reading from the remainder of May through June, July and the first few days have August have focused on this period. The readings bounced between the parallel historical accounts found in the 1st & 2nd Kings and Chronicles (check out this helpful article on why both sets of books are included in the Bible even though they seem to tell mostly the same stories). Also included were readings from the Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah and several of the minor prophets including Amos, Micah and Hosea. Also mixed into the period of the reign of Solomon were Ecclesiastes and oft-ignored sensual gem, the Song of Solomon.
"And Joash Lived. . .Miserably ever after and was murdered in his own bed."
My summer readings included the famous stories of Elijah and Elisha as well as other lesser known prophets. Ahab and Jezebel make their appearance as do the good kings Asa and Josiah. One shocking "Did You Know" was the horrible end of Joash. I was familiar with Joash's early life from the Etta B. Degering Bible story of my childhood--the boy king hidden away by his Uncle Jehoida and then placed on the throne at the tender age of seven. I read how as a young adult King Joash crowdfunded the money needed to restore the Temple which had fallen into disrepair under previous wicked kings. What dear Mrs. Degering failed to mention was that Joash would end up becoming one of those wicked kings himself, even going so far as to murder his dear Uncle Jehoida's own son. There was no happy ending for Joash--he was assassinated in his own bed. I suppose I understand why Degering chose to end Joash's story on a high note. The rest of it isn't exactly a good bedtime story.
"I May Destroy You"
This entire period can be summed up as a cycle of God's people (in both Israel and Judah) abandoning God, chasing after the local gods, being dominated by their enemies as a result, and God then coming to their rescue and taking them back. The prophets carry this theme as well, lambasting the people for their idol worship and warning them of the dire consequences of rejecting God. These consequences are not vague, or "spiritual." The nature of their destruction is described in graphic detail--scenes of lurid suffering and agony. I found some of the prophetic passages a bit disturbing--and not because I wanted to have my ears tickled with positive prophecies of "peace and safety" when there was none to be had (Okay, maybe I wanted my ears tickled a little bit). But mainly, the whole dynamic of "Love me or I will destroy you" just feels a little. . .toxic to me. Especially, in the book of Hosea--a book that in past seemed kind of redemptive (especially after Francine Rivers gave it the Old West romance novel update)--the image of God as spurned lover who will torment you if you don't love Him was a bit hard to take. Certainly the lover/destroyer model would not be acceptable at all in a relationship between two humans. But again, it's important to remember that the original authors and audience did not share our modern sensibilities on what constitutes a loving relationship between humans and their Creator.
What Makes God Mad
One thing that is clear from reading the Old Testament prophets is exactly what sins God was angry about. Yes, there's the above mentioned idol worship. But beyond that, God was also infuriated by injustice towards the poor, the widow and the orphan. God was enraged by the shedding of innocent blood especially as a means of selfish gain. God's wrath was unleashed on those who engaged in greedy fraud and deceitful business practices. It's also interesting to note what sins go unaddressed--a lot of the ones modern believers tend to get in a twist about--the sexual "sins" (premarital sex, homosexuality etc) and abortion among them. The OT prophets give these modern hot button issues nary a mention.
I also find it interesting how little reference God makes to the afterlife and eternal punishment in this part of the Bible. All of the punishments (and rewards) God threatens in these Scriptures are very much temporal. God doesn't warn of consequences in the afterlife, but in this life. And the things that anger God? Well, he wouldn't be a very good God if those things didn't make him mad. They should anger us too.
What Stood Out to Me
- Ecclesiastes: This is probably one of my favorite books in the Bible. I love it's contrarian spirit and how it seems to go against all the ways we believers sometimes try to make sense out of what is often the senseless nature of life. Solomon looks back and says, "Listen, most stuff doesn't matter--enjoy your life while you can and don't worry too much." I love it. Perhaps later on, after the end of the year, I'll go back and reread Ecclesiastes and blog on it.
- The Last Third or So of Isaiah (Ch.40 to the end): I had begun to wonder about this whole Bible thing. I was growing so weary of the numbing cycle of "I will destroy you/I will heal you." I'd heard about this or that spiritual seeker (usually the type that becomes an Adventist) sitting down with the Bible, reading for hours and hours for days and days at a time, like a thirsty traveler coming upon water in the desert, and emerging transformed by what they'd read. What are they reading that I am not, I wondered. Are we reading the same Bible? I already knew that you have to "ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance" before reading and all that. I'd faithfully been doing that but I didn't feel I was having the transformative experience that I was supposed to. Was there something in me, some sort of bad attitude on my part that was preventing me from being blessed?
And then I hit Isaiah 40 and it was like water in the desert. Something--Someone--outside of that tiresome cycle of judgement and conditional acceptance enters the scene. There is a change in tone and themes appear that we've never seen before--themes of salvation, of grace, of permanent restoration and heart change. Jesus is present in these chapters, perhaps more than at any time in the Old Testament so far. Through Isaiah, we get a glimpse of what's coming. It's beautiful.
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