60IN60 Day 37 - Tues Apr 6

It's Day 37 and we're in 1 Kings 2.

We'll be reading a few of the early stories of Solomon's reign.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 46 - There is very much a "Game of Thrones" quality to this chapter: people being killed because they're a threat to the king.  I know that's the reality of power and politics, but it's still uncomfortable reading for me.

Help:
- Verses 5-9 - This is not the magnanimous ending that you might hope for, but it's a few final things to be taken care of.
- Verses 17, 22 - The Bible doesn't indicate whether his motive in asking for this wife was innocent or conniving.  It could have been either.  Given the deadly politics of a newly-established reign, we can definitely say that it wasn't a smart choice.
- Verse 29 - In the Old Testament Law, there were provisions for fleeing to the tent of the Lord under certain circumstances and no one could immediately bring revenge upon you.  There would have to be a trial before a judge.  Joab's situation is not one of those situations, but he's trying to avail himself of it anyway.  Just a move of desperation.
- Verse 37 - Presumably going with the proverb: "keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.

Your Questions and Comments:

- "I always found it weird that he has to have a signal to show the people who Jesus was even though him being out in public preaching for everyone to see is why they wanna kill him. I guess my question is why does he need to give a sign?" - Good question.  You're right that Jesus was well-known to many who had heard Him teach in the Temple. The Bible doesn't give a definitive answer to your question, but my guess that it was a combination of two things.  First, the arrest was going to happen at night back during a time when there were no street lights, so it may have been to make sure they got the right person in the shadows.  A second factor (and probably the bigger one) is that while many of the Jews had heard Jesus teach, it's probable that many of the soldiers accompanying Judas that night had not seen Jesus, so having Judas kiss Jesus on the cheek made sure everyone was on the same page during the arrest.