Solomon Slacked Off

King Solomon was supposedly the wisest man who ever lived. The bible says God gave him "a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore." Dude!

The son of King David and Bathsheba (whom David had an affair with while her hubby was off fighting in David's war), Solomon ascended the throne upon David's death. But not before David warned him to follow God if he wanted Israel to continue being blessed and his bloodline on the throne.

While Solomon was green behind the ears, he did just that. He was humble. He followed God with all of his heart, telling God, "...there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below."

In return, God blessed him, making him so rich and so wise that nations from around the globe sought face-time with him. Even the infamous Queen of Sheba.

Then Solomon lost his focus, and with it his foundation. He ultimately brought 700 wives and 300 concubines into his household (good grief, Charlie Brown!) -- many from countries that God specifically told the Israelites not to intermarry with, because their hearts would go stray. 

Solomon did stray. In his old age he willingly worshipped these foreign gods  -- despite having had such an intimate relationship with God for many years. 

The bible says these women led Solomon astray (yeah, yeah, it's always the women's fault!). Maybe Solomon simply just wanted his wives and concubines to shut the heck up!

Solomon's story reminds me not to lose focus. To not get distracted by all the yammering around me. To toe the line until my own toes are five feet under and being gnawed on by worms.

note to self: gross thought about the worms. get cremated! 

Speaking of Locking Eyes With God...

Some of the most interesting stories in the bible have to do with ordinary humans being allowed to converse directly with God. One Old Testament figure who had God's ear was Moses. 

Yeah, the murderer/stutterer/reluctant leader through whom God dished out awful plagues on the Egyptians. All so that the Israelites would break free of their chains, after eons of slavery. 

Because he was pleased with Moses, God granted Moses's demand to "Show me your glory!"

God's reply: "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."

Yowza! That part always gives me goosebumps!

Then the Lord said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

I think I love this passage, in particular, because God is suggesting that He pretty much has the same body parts as you and me: hands, face, legs that walk, even a backside. 

His words of commonality help me to "see" Him as more than a hazy, hovering vapor, or blinding sunray. I like that. Because the times I really need to feel His love, it helps to picture His loving arms encircling me in a bear hug.  ;-)

*Taken from Exodus 33

To Ape or Not to Ape? That is the Question

Okay, so Darwin says we came from apes. The bible says we came from dust.

Having just returned from a week in Portland, OR, I had the opportunity to peruse the August issue of Spirit, the inflight magazine of Southwest Airlines. One of the featured stories was a profile of Patti Ragan, a big-hearted ex-millionaire who has funneled most of her money into establishing an ape refuge (The Center for Great Apes), a place where a lucky handful of orangutans and chimps, some rejected by Hollywood once they moved beyond cute and cuddly, can live out their lives in a safe, supportive environment (albeit behind bars).

The article, by writer Mike Darling, is accompanied by gorgeous, full-color shots of the Center's residents.

Looking deep into their eyes, I see the intelligence, the wariness, the curiosity, the cunning. So taken with this cover shot, I tacked it to my office wall. Where I see it every day.

I often catch myself glancing over at the hairy, orange beast, trying to imagine myself in any way related to the big lug.

Nope. Sorry. I just can't make the leap. Maybe because humans have moved on, while he's still stuck in hairy land.

And yet I find it easy to believe that a mysterious God -- whom I can't smell, touch, or deeply lock eyes with -- spoke humans into being simply because he wanted our company.

Is that crazy or what?!

My Favorite Bible Verse

A friend gave me this verse after I admitted I just couldn't believe that God would love me.

This is what the Lord says:

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will never forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me."

Isaiah 49:15-16

My Favorite Book in the Bible

During a recent media interview for my tooth fairy picture book, the show host asked me to share the name of my favorite book. I took the easy out: I said the bible. Okay, I cheated. Because the bible is a bunch of books, not just one. But that's exactly why I like it.

In truth, I love lots of books, including The Shack, which is burning up the best-seller lists right now. (If you haven't read it, give it a try. It's about a guy who gets invited by God to drop by a desolate shack for a little visit. Only God turns out to be a woman!). But I can't read The Shack, or any other one book over and over again, every single day, like I can the bible.

The show host then tried to stump me by asking, "Really? Which book in the bible?" 

Again I took the easy out, saying "Esther" -- because it is the host's name as well! HA!

Later, reflecting on our exchange, I decided that the book of Esther would actually fall pretty low on my list of favorite bible reading. Yes, it's a great story about God's faithfulness (and the hazards of having a big ego), but I don't like the bloody ending. 

So I officially change my answer to the question of my favorite book to Ruth. 

This Old Testament book starts with a woman named Naomi, who relocates to Moab with her husband because of famine in Judah. To cut to the chase, while in Moab, both Naomi's husband and sons die after about 10 years. When she hears that the Lord is again providing food in Judah, Naomi decides to travel home to Bethlehem. She tells her two daughters-in-law to stay put, as she has no other sons they can marry. 

One easily severs her ties with Naomi, but the other, Ruth, declares, "Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried."

Is that loyalty, or what? Naomi's heart must have soared at realizing the depth of her daughter-in-law's love for her. And she must have been relieved, as an older woman, that she wouldn't have to travel all those long miles home alone. 

When Naomi finally reaches Bethlehem, she is greeted joyfully by her old friends. Naomi's response? "Don't call me Naomi, call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty."

Just like I tend to do, Naomi was viewing life through her tiny sliver of perspective. God hadn't abandoned her. Rather, he was positioning her where he wanted her to be, and was about to step in and bless her. Because Ruth pretty quickly marries one of Naomi's relatives, securing Naomi's financial future. Even better, Ruth births a son, bringing joy again to Naomi's heart. 

The really cool part that Naomi didn't know? That that bambino would become the great-grandfather of King David, the greatest king ever to govern Israel! 

From Naomi's perspective, God had turned his face from her. He'd taken her sons and her husband, leaving her on precarious footing. Like we all do at times, Ruth wallowed in her self-pity. 

But God didn't abandon her. 

Which is why I love the book of Ruth. Because it gives me hope. And it reminds me to stop judging God as being "unfair" or "not there" or even "downright mean" when things don't go as I think they should. 

God sees and knows everything, through the whole of time, while I see only my small bit of being. And I often don't understand even that tiny sliver. 

Naomi learned to trust God, just as I'm learning to do.