The Plan

The Plan

Learning about God's Plan for Salvation at South Shore Trinity Lutheran Church

Week 20 – The Kingdom Divided

We often hear of the wisdom of Solomon but we rarely hear about his stupidity. For all his wisdom in ruling and governing, he forgot the most basic rule of the covenant that God had made with Israel and her leaders. “You shall have no other God’s before me.”

Solomon not only breaks this commandment, but he breaks it on an epic scale. He begins by being a king who is solely focused on the one true God and constructs a magnificent temple to Him. Then he becomes a king who is distracted by power, money and his wives. His idolatry goes so far that he even builds places of worship to the gods of his wives in Jerusalem. Solomon’s actions will eventually encourage idol worship in Israel and tear a large portion of the nation from David’s descendants.

These accounts give us an important insight into the difference between Godly and worldly wisdom. Solomon would have been wiser if he had not been so worldly smart. We are reminded that it is better to remain in the Lord than to be brilliant in the eyes of the world. In truth, those who focus on false gods will find that the things of this world mean nothing in the end.

This week we also see an all too regular reminder as to why we need Christ. Solomon was considered to be one of the smartest, if not the smartest king who ever lived. However, his intelligence didn’t stop him from falling into greed, temptation and idolatry. Jesus however, the promised Savior who came to take our place, succeeded where Solomon and we have failed.  When Christ was tempted with the things that Solomon and we have failed to resist, he succeeded and kept His heavenly Father first. He was unblemished by sin and that is why he was able to become our Passover lamb, our scapegoat and our sin offering.

Week 19 – David and Solomon

Being a king and an integral part of God’s plan of salvation did not stop David from experiencing betrayal and heartbreak. On the contrary, it seems to have made him a target for both. In the end, God brings David to the other side of Absalom’s rebellion and continues his house through Solomon.

2nd Samuel 13:1-34a

Tamar, Amnon, and Absalom

Today’s text is a hard one for us to read. It shows us that since the fall into sin we have not moved into a more enlightened and loving state but instead have fallen further away from God. To be honest this text was almost left out of the readings, but it was kept in because, without it, Absalom’s rebellion seems to come out of nowhere. If you are reading with little ones I recommend you read or listen to this text before they do so you can make an informed decision about including them in this text or not.

“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”

Episode 071: Skeletons in the Family Closet