1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14; Ephesians 5:15-20

In 1 Kings 2:10 we come to the climax of a long narrative with the death of David, King over Israel, and in 1 Kings 2:12 we are told that Solomon ascended to the throne and that his kingdom was firmly established. But was it, really? Maybe it seemed that way at the time: it is true that northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) tribes had acknowledged Solomon as king after David; and yes, all rival claimants for the throne had been defeated and/or destroyed such that none were left to challenge Solomon by this point. But how well established was the kingdom itself, in how secure a state was “the State”? After all, the people at Stawell have heard some pretty epic stuffing up by David over the last two weeks, (I hope you have heard about that too). Well, all of that stuffing up began with David and Bathsheba, Solomon’s natural parents, and the infant death of his oldest brother. Then there’s the civil war launched by Absalom over Amnon’s disgracing Tamar, and all that followed that. So, Solomon has inherited a bin-fire of a kingdom; the hot mess of his parents’ reputation; and he has had to fight off several older brothers, each of whom thought that the crown should have been his. Those of Solomon’s half-brothers who had not been killed in insurrections have now stepped aside for Solomon’s ascension: but is that really all that is at stake at this point? Hold that thought.

In the very next verse suggested by the lectionary, (and we’re jumping a whole chapter of the story to get here), we reconnect at 1 Kings 3:3 and read that Solomon loved The LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David; only he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places. Throughout the early history of the Hebrews (as recorded in Deuteronomy 12) the high places were supposed to be off-limits to God’s people because they were the sacred sites of the indigenous people, the places used for worship by the Canaanites for their gods. Israelites were not supposed to worship the baals, and they were not even supposed to worship The LORD anywhere except in Jerusalem. But what can the new king who loved The LORD, and walked in the statutes of his father David do in the absence of a centralised space for worship in Jerusalem? After all, there was as yet no temple; David had left that job for Solomon, and Solomon hadn’t got to that part of his reign yet. So, it seems that this imperfect worship was okay with The LORD, even if the writers of 1 Kings say “only he” as if they are less than impressed by Solomon. God has chosen Solomon to end the mess of David’s reign, and in 1 Kings 3:4-10 we read how Solomon met with The LORD in worship and how The LORD’s choice was vindicated by Solomon’s piety and humility.

Solomon’s throne is established not because of dynastic promises, although that is there, he is a son of David after all; and not by his being the last son standing, although that is also true because he has doused every rebellious brother or military leader plotting coups d’état. Solomon is sealed as God’s choice of king because Solomon chooses The LORD and the gift of wisdom over himself and the trappings of office. Solomon shows himself to be a man like David had been at the start of David’s reign, a man who desired the things of God; and not like Saul nor the Israelites who supported him as king, desiring power and fame and to have what every other nation is having. Solomon has all of those things too, he has inherited wealth and relative stability along with the actual kingship, and you can read in 1 Kings 3:1 that he’s beginning to form alliances with other nations in his choosing foreign princesses as wives. The LORD is gifting Solomon all of things The LORD had warned Samuel about kingship, because The LORD knows that that’s not what Solomon is about. Solomon is about wise governance, compassion in his dealings with God’s peasantry (as you’d see if you read on to the story of “cut the baby in half”) and keeping Israel on The LORD’s better path.  In asking what he did, Solomon isn’t even asking for a higher IQ, or EQ, or SQ, or any other meritorious quotient; he’s asking for the wisdom of God to always speak to him, he’s asking for openness and for God to fill Solomon’s emptiness and his immaturity with Godself. That is security, and that is security not just for the kingdom of such a king, but for the king himself as a man and as a disciple of God.

Imagine if our leaders practiced such discipleship. Now to some extent some of our leaders do, but there is always room for improvement. I say that with humility and not cynicism because I am one of your leaders as a white-collar worker employed by The Church and a man of Christian faith in his own right: I could do with going deeper in discipleship. But for you as the local people of God I wonder how confident you are in this.  I am not being cynical, I am genuinely asking “how good is Australia?”, as Scomo asked us a few years ago. (He was Australia’s most overt Christian PM ever). Australia is good, but how much gooder could Australia be if everyone who exercised governance in this land, from local, to state, to federal, to monarch, sought God in the way that Solomon sought God?

Before we go on to Paul, I want to talk a little about high places. In Solomon’s context we know the high places were the locations of Canaanite worship; even though Solomon repurposed those locations for The LORD this was not the thought to have been the best solution, according to the later historians who wrote the Books of the Kings.  In our day we don’t have that problem, unless you specifically think of visiting a site sacred to First Nations people and worshipping their ancestor spirits, but that is easy enough to avoid. I know how you’d respond if I suggested we all head across to Bunjil’s Cave after church, and worship him there. But let’s not get smug, because there is another side to the story: the high places were also sites of cultural significance to the Canaanites, not only religious. What are the cultural practices of Australia that might take the place of the worship due to God, or at the very least might compromise it?

Think about what our sacred events are as Australians, our sacred days, our sacred ideas, our sacred objects. I’m not saying we can’t pray on Australia Day, or that it is inappropriate to glorify the Creator at Uluru; but do we let the flag or the myths of “Anzac” of “The Aussie Battler” get in the way of God as LORD of Australia?  Don’t we as a nation reserve the highest honour for “the fallen”, and for gold medallists? As with Solomon we must be careful that our honour goes first and always to God, even as we can celebrate being amongst the Second People of this land. God and justice comes first; it is righteousness which exalts a nation, not coloured zinc cream, medals from Paris, or century-old gunshot wounds.

Ultimately Solomon was brought down by “the high places” as we see in Nehemiah 13:26; not that he went off and worshipped the baals (although he did) but that he followed the cultural practices of kingship by obtaining many foreign wives and concubines. Just like his father David, Solomon was ultimately humbled by his inability to keep his mind on The LORD and not on the ladies. Yes, he was an idolator; however, it was more about the “crowns attract the gowns” than the actual kissing-up to idols which followed it. No babes = no baals.

So, be careful how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time writes Paul in Ephesians 5:15-16. Solomon at the outset of his reign, when the task before him seems so great, asked for wisdom and it was granted to him by God, and God was pleased with the asking and the granting. “Wisdom as Thanksgiving” is how one of my commentators for this week, (Pheme Perkins), began her remarks on Ephesians 5:15-21, and she goes on to point out that these verses are a list of “not this…but that…” comparative statements. Not foolishness but understanding, not drunkenness and debauchery but infilling by The Spirit, bringing praise and thanksgiving to God with your talents and not wasting your efforts with things which do not build. But what of our cultural high places: how can I be a Strayan if I can’t sink a few ambers with me mates? We are wise to remember that drinking to excess is a sin which can lead to further sin; it is not a national characteristic worthy of emulation. Have fun and celebrate but keep your senses intact and your trousers fastened; be wise in how you rejoice.

With no agenda for or against any parliament or leader I suggest today that the kingdom which is Australia is not firmly established. Our high places are intact: in the places where God should be honoured God is actually displaced. We do not pursue wisdom, but at times are unwise people who do not make the best of the time and resources offered to us. Ultimately Solomon fell away from God’s close relationship and the kingdom which was divided at his death was never united again: Solomon took his eyes off God, and he ceased to listen to the prophets when his wealth overcame his gratitude. Australia need not collapse in this way, but perhaps we must pause and consider how we might turn to God, and return to God, and seek conciliation and reconciliation with Divine Wisdom and Truth

In Ephesians 5:20 we read that gratitude is one of the answers to our dilemma.  Instead of getting angry and selfish when hardships come, we give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. For everything, even the stuff we don’t feel particularly thankful for we give thanks because we have a Father in God and a Lord in Jesus Christ who are above all things and considerate for our lives. In winter illnesses and the blackness of a recent bushfire we give thanks that we have a Father and Lord, and we ask God for wisdom and resource to go forward in life and in ministry. In Christ we can be confident and generous, and thankful that what we desire will come about. Restoration is at hand; reconciliation is at hand; revival is at hand if we lift our eyes and ask.

So, let’s have at it!  Let us worship God like there’s no tomorrow, confident that there will be a tomorrow (and a lovely one at that) because we have worshipped. Let us seek God for wisdom, and for righteousness. Let us pray that it is that which escalates, and that we would never take our eyes off the prize which is the smile of God.

Amen.