St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church of Watertown

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

July 21 and 24, 2005 Pentecost 10 1 Kings 3:5f

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice. I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.”

This is God’s Word!

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

If you go to the Museum of Art in Milwaukee—you will find a piece of art that looks just like a janitor—the politically correct “custodian”—just standing there. He is about 5 foot 6 inches tall. He has kind of pasty skin. His hair is kind of mussed up—looking like he needs a hair cut. His shoes are scuffed—with little spots of spattered paint—with a thin layer of dust from sweeping hallways and steps. He has a cheap watch on his wrist—a bunch of keys clipped to his belt loop. This janitor looks so real—at first you don’t stand too close—because you think he might be real—that whole personal space thing. And then—just to be sure he isn’t real—you want to reach out and touch him. That’s when you see the sign beside him that says, “Please don’t touch!” Then there’s another sign that explains the painful consequences if you do touch him. The sign says—the janitor’s fake hair is starting to let go—because so many people have touched it. Pretty soon they are going to have to glue on a whole bunch of new hair. So many people have touched this janitor’s shirt—it is beginning to fray along the top of the pocket. Pretty soon they are going to have to put a new shirt on him. So many people have touched the janitor’s forearm—it’s beginning to take on a sort of deep glow because of the salts and oils in the softest touch of one of your fingers! Don’t touch! Don’t touch because of the destructive results—if 10,000 fingers reach out and touch this statue. God’s Word says, “Don’t touch! Don’t think or say or do what is wrong! See the destructive results—not just on the people and things and stuff of this world. See the destructive results as Jesus dies on the cross because of my sins and your mistakes. Then see the greatness of Jesus’ forgiving love as he rises from the dead. We are forgiven children of God. We are heirs of eternal life. We are called and equipped to live lives dedicated to serving Jesus. Today we pray:

God Grant Us Discerning Hearts!

1. What do you wish for?

2. What has the LORD given you?

To understand the part of God’s Word we are concentrating on today—it’s always good to understand the context—the surrounding circumstances! 1 Kings Chapter 1 says King David had been King for some 40 years. Imagine the same President of the United States for 40 years! King David was growing old and frail. He was cold—all the time—to the point that not all the blankets in the kingdom could keep him warm! So they found a very pretty girl named Abishag—to cuddle with the King to keep him warm. No hugs and kisses—but her closeness to keep David warm. That wasn’t right! The idea that kings could have as many wives as they wanted—and then concubines—pretty girls—just for hugs and kisses was a horrible example, too. Again and again the fundamentals of God’s Word are important! In the very beginning the LORD said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24 This was God’s plan from the very beginning. Kings were not exempt! The LORD said—it was written down in Deuteronomy 17:17 “He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of the laws and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left…” King David had different sons from his different wives. The oldest surviving son was named Adonijah. Adonijah secured the support of Joab—the commander-in-chief of David’s army. Adonijah secured the support of Abiathar—one of the high priests. Abiathar had helped moved the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem. With the support of the army and the Church—Adonijah declared himself the new King—and made a great show of his wealth and authority. He made a great show of sacrificing sheep and oxen and cattle to the LORD. The essential problem is obvious. Adonijah was not the one the LORD had chosen to be King in David’s place.

1^st Kings Chapter 2 is the painful and bloody account of Solomon securing the throne that the LORD had given to him. King David warned his son to remember who his true friends were—and to remember who were the true threats to his throne. The first threat was Adonijah. Adonijah sought to marry Abishag—the woman who kept David warm. To be with the King’s sweetheart—was to again claim to be the new king himself. Solomon gave the order—and Adonijah—his wicked and rebellious half-brother was put to death! Next there was Joab to deal with. Joab—the commander-in-chief of David’s army was a man with a violent temper—a man who had murdered two of his enemies—luring them into a trap—in peace time attacking them as if they were at war—staining his belt and his feet with their innocent blood. When Joab heard that Adonijah had been put to death—he ran to the Tabernacle—for refuge and sanctuary. The King said—come out! Joab said—no, I will die here. And his wish was granted—because he was guilty of shedding innocent blood—he received the death penalty. He was put to death—right there in the Tabernacle! There remained one more piece of unfinished business—a man named Shimei. Remember when Absalom led a rebellion against his father David—and Kind David was forced to flee from Jerusalem? A man named Shimei—literally threw rocks at the retreating David—blasphemed the name of the LORD and cursed King David. Solomon sent for Shimei and said—build for yourself a home in Jerusalem. Stay inside the city. Leave town—cross the Kidron Valley—and you will die—and it will be your fault alone! Fair enough? For three years Shimei stayed in Jerusalem. Then one day a couple of his slaves ran away. Shimei chased them all the way south to Gath. Again the penalty was death! Benahiah—faithful servant of King David—Benahiah—who put to death Adonijah—who put to death Joab—also put to death Shimei. The kingdom was secure! Solomon turned his full attention to personal and spiritual matters.

The LORD—because he is gracious and good—because God is love—the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream and said—“Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” If the LORD came to you and said—ask for anything and you can have it—what would you ask for? Does your mind go immediately to “things and stuff”? Would the first thing that comes to mind be a bigger house, a big screen TV, a garage full of fast cars, a closet full of fine clothes, a freezer full of steaks and a cellar full of fine wine? Would you immediately think of good looks, good health, good friends, the physical safety of everyone you love? Would you think of ease and comfort for yourself? Or would you think of your faith, your immortal soul, the souls of the people you love? If you could have any gift—any blessing—anything you wanted from your Heavenly Father—what would you ask for? Solomon asked for a discerning heart—a heart that would equip him to serve his God and God’s people!

“Since you have asked for this and not for long life… Long life! Do you think about the blessing of a long life? Are most of your days incredibly average and painfully ordinary? Do you just sort of assume that you will live to be 83—have a week to ten days in the hospital when the doctor tells you to get your papers in order—and then you die? Again this week I was reminded how breakable people are—how any of us could die at any moment. This week I heard about a little child that slipped and fell in the kitchen—by a dishwasher that was being unloaded. You know how the rack in your dishwasher has those little plastic covered posts—to hold up all the dirty plates? This very little person fell—just right—and one of those little posts poked them and they died! Can you believe that? I heard this week about a case of road rage. A man pulled into a parking lot to literally scream at a lady that he thought had cut him off. The man screamed at this lady—and called her all sorts of filthy names. She called her husband with her cell phone. He drove down to the parking lot—and pushed the man calling his wife filthy names—pushed him so hard—he slipped and fell into a bunch of those propane tanks—cracked his head—and died! Can you believe that? He didn’t mean to kill him—but he did! Long life? We have the gift of eternal life—because Jesus died and rose again to save us. Because Jesus lives—we too will live forever! Our physical life—then—is our time of grace—our time to grow in faith and to share our faith with anyone and everyone!

Not for wealth for yourself… We visited Uncle Jimmy the other day by his cottage—actually it’s a house on a chain of lakes. We went for a ride on Uncle Jimmy’s pontoon boat and he showed us some beautiful homes on the lake. Some of these houses were huge—massive—more than a million dollars homes. These homes were built on wooded lots—with towering pine trees—terraced yards with huge field stones—rows of jet skis to be raised and lowered into the water. One massive house shaped like a tall ship with a bow that was a deck. One more than a million dollar home with but one bedroom—the castle for a king who wasn’t big on overnight company. Solomon could have asked for wealth for himself! Is that what we want? When you see conspicuous wealth and conspicuous consumption what do you think? When you see expensive cars—Dodge Vipers hauling past you on the freeway what do you think? When you see people in Nikes that cost more than $100 per shoe—suits that cost $500—jewelry that is encrusted with diamonds what do you think? Do you think that if I had all that money I would be happy? Do you envy relatives that have more things and stuff than you do? Do you say those grapes must be sour if you don’t have them? The fact is—lots and lots of money can be a dangerous trap—leading hearts and souls astray. Great earthly wealth brings pressures and stresses that can literally attack your physical heart. Contentment is a precious gift and blessing from God—to be thankful for what you have and content with what you are. This is not to say you can’t strive to grow and improve. It is to say what is truly precious is in fact priceless. What really matters is not wealth for yourself but treasures stored up on heaven—where moth and rust cannot corrupt—where thieves cannot break in and steal. Where you treasure is—that’s where your heart will be also!

Nor have asked for the death of your enemies… Kings always had to worry about their enemies—whole nations with armies that might go to war to try and destroy you. Kings had cup bearers—people to protect their wine from poison—their food from poison. There was the constant threat of an assassin—who for whatever reason might try to murder you in your sleep. What a relief if all those who hated you were dead! Do you have enemies—people who hate you? Are the people who are angry with us—who are hurt or holding grudges or bitter and not talking to us—are members of our own family—brothers or sisters or in-laws—how sad is that? To have earthly brothers we hate—or who hate us—is no small thing! Remember God’s Word? God is love…We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 1 John 4:16b and following. Only the Christian religion says, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.” Luke 6:35f This is not some simplistic preschool Sunday School share your milk and cookies and get along drivel. This is the Word of the Son of God for God’s people—living in a world of terrorism and urban violence! This is what Jesus both expects and equips his people to do!

I will give you a wise and discerning heart… A wise and discerning heart is more than just being “smart”. If you watch Who Wants To Be A Millionaire you can watch people who have a chance to literally win a million dollars or even 2 or 5 or 10 million dollars. The other day the question that was worth 1 million dollars was from Shakespeare. Remember that famous phrase—there’s something rotten in the state of Denmark? Oh, oh, I know that one’s from Hamlet! That’s right. But the question is—who said it? Was it Hamlet himself or Laertes or Horatio or this guy named Marcellus? Do you know? The next person on the brink of a million dollars—and the question is—what kind of Indians ate that first Thanksgiving feast with the pilgrims? Do you know? Have you ever heard of the Wampanoag Native Americans? If you know lots about history and literature—lots and lots about science and geography you may be able to translate that into literally millions of dollars—into great earthly wealth and great earthly influence. But what is a person profited—how are you ahead if you gain the whole world—but lose your immortal soul? What would you give in exchange for your soul? God grant us discerning hearts that throw away what is worthless, wicked and sinful and treasure what is truly priceless—Jesus’ unconditional forgiving love. Amen!

To God alone all glory!

Rev. Anthony E. Schultz