Category Archives: People of the Bible

Counting Pronouns

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The sermon this Sunday morning was from Genesis 28:10-22. This is the first interaction between God and Jacob; 13-15 is God making promises and in 20-22 is Jacob making a deal. At first, I was only counting pronouns in God’s side of the narrative, but a small Voice urged me to contrast with Jacob.

Translators had to take ancient Hebrew and convert it into something we can read with ease. I started in the NIV, used Bible Hub’s text analysis, the KJV, NASB, and EVS versions to get a good count ratio. At first, I counted I (God speaking), you, and your. (KJV was thy, thee, and thou.) Jacob used pronouns but did use names and titles of God; his favorite was “me”. Translations vary, a little, but the ratio was what caught my attention in both sections. Some translations capitalize God’s pronouns.

Verses 13-15

God was focused on Jacob. He referred to Himself six times and to Jacob fourteen times. More than twice as many. The Father loves His children. He loves us so much He sent Jesus to die for our sins. He includes “all people” in these three verses.

Verses 20-22

Jacob referred to himself ten times and to God six times.

What I see is our righteous God taking the lead and showing us His heart. Jacob is acting as he did when he was dealing with his brother.

An Op-ed

The worldly obsession with pronouns is an extension of woke post-modernism bullying us into changing our thinking by changing and redefining our language. I fear for the cosmic balance, because of the number of people on earth claiming to be the center of the universe. If matter starts revolving around these random points the vortexes will destroy the solar system and bring about the end of all things.

Assyria, Our Forgotten Enemy and Ahaz

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References for King Ahaz are: 2 Chronicles 28, 2 Kings 16, and Isaiah 7:1-12. Isaiah 14:28 is the year he died, and Isa 57:3 – 13 describe the actions of Ahaz. To get a good portrait of him you need to consider all of the references together, as each adds something special to the study.

Who He Was

Ahaz is the son of Jotham and the grandson of Uzziah, and the father of Hezekiah. He is also the king who made many bad choices. In a time of trouble, he turned to the gods of Damascus and then to Assyria for help. Because of the king of Assyria, he changed the temple and the worship of God.

The Enemies Ahaz Dealt With

  • Edom – 2 Chronicles 28:16-18 and 2 Kings 16:6 speak of troubles with Edom/Esau/Amalekites. (Boundaries changed over the years and so did population sizes.) They were joined by the Philistines and Aram/Samaria in reducing Judah because Ahaz did not choose the Lord. The Book of Amos has things to say about Edom in this time period. This unrest started in the womb and can still be seen in the Book of Esther, and in King Herod’s rule. See Hosea 11:12-12:6.
  • Assyria – This enemy had been around for a while, as King Ahab was the first Hebrew king to fight them, at Qarqar. They deported Israel, twice, and took part of Judah into captivity. The important note with Ahaz is he wanted help from Assyria. See Hosea 5:13.
  • Samaria – Pekah son of Remaliah (Israel) and Aram/Damascus – Rezin. Their conflicts is Ahaz’s story in 2 Chronicles 28 and 2 Kings 16. Isaiah 7 through 10 adds the final note to them and Assyria. Remaliah | The amazing name Remaliah: meaning and etymology
  • Ahaz – He had a battle with his history and chose the wrong side. I wonder when Isaiah 7:10 happened? Was it before he followed his non-David side and threw off all of the things of God?  

2 Kings 16:2 Ahaz was 25 when he started to rule for 16 years, that makes him 41 at his death.  2 Kings 18:2 Hezekiah was 25 when he started ruling. 41-25 = 16 years old when Ahaz fathered Hezekiah, he had been a father for 9 years when he became king. Customs, social norms, and political pressures may account for this, or he may have just been an out-of-control royal.  

A Contrast – Kings and Chronicles verses Isaiah. History verses God’s prospective. Isaiah, Hosea, and the minor prophets through Zephaniah covers the years of Assyria’s assault and the moral decline of Israel and Judah. In those Books during that time, judgment is pronounced but in all of that is also the Lord offering a better way and promises of His righteousness and redemption. An example is Isaiah 7 – 10, in these chapters is promises of the Messiah.

Ahaz let Assyria direct his spiritual life. It seems Abijah, Hezekiah’s mother, a daughter of Zion, was better and directed Hezekiah to the Lord.  

Bible 911 – 1 Kings

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1 Kings 9:11 (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. KJV

Hiram – This man had good relations with David and was willing to continue them with his son. (Contrast this with King Saul, who did not seem to get along with many non-Hebrews.) He made a treaty with Solomon and the two had business dealing with each other (1Kings 5 and 10). As I read 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, it is clear that the grand building projects of Solomon were accomplished because of Hiram. He supplied lumber, gold, Huram-Abi (1Kings 2:13), and other workers for the projects. Yes, he was paid for these, but Solomon certainly used non-Hebrews to build the temple. Solomon also used the aliens in Israel as workers (1Kings 2:17). (Contrast this with the building projects of Nehemiah.) It is important to know that Hiram also gave the God of Israel praise (2Chronicles 2:12). Was he a convert? Who really knows for sure.

Tyre – This kingdom was north of Israel. It was also a city and seaport that had great wealth. Just north of Tyre was Sidon, which was also a seaport city/kingdom. Further up the coast was the city of Byblos (Not Babylon.) At times they are identified separately, and then at times they seem to be one country. The good relations were not maintained and there are many prophecies about Tyre and Sidon, both good and bad.

Solomon – His riches get many peoples attention and they want to claim their share. Others believe they have wisdom that compares to his and push their thoughts onto everyone. In his life these brought him much attention and granted him favor and great privileges. He even wrote parts of the Hebrew Bible. All of these make him someone that is very hard to pin descriptions and characterizations on. Were the riches and attention the reason for his problems? I have tried to highlight his riches in 2 Chronicles 9:11.

He is the second-born son of David with Bathsheba, the first one died. Nehemiah 13:26 sums up Solomon’s life, he was loved by God who made him king, but his foreign women led him astray.

To be clear, Solomon “built” the Temple, but David had the desire, got the plans from God, bought the land, and supplied most of the building materials especially the metals, and he even retained some of the craftsmen. It was a team effort, but Solomon rode to fame with the Temple on what David had done.  

No expense was spared for either project, and Solomon made silver of little value because of all the gold he brought to Jerusalem and Israel. So, was gold and riches the problem? Gold can metaphorically represent many things, but the gold in the Temple and Jerusalem attracted problems. The Temple was stripped and refilled many times before Babylon took what was left and tore the building down. On a different note, which lasted longer, his gold or his writings of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and several Psalms?  

Samuel before he anointed Saul warned Israel about having a king. This leads to an awkward thought, if Solomon was so good why did the people want Rehoboam to “lighten the load” when Solomon died? (1 Kings 12:4)   

Cedar and fir trees – The trees of Lebanon were highly prized and sought after in the ancient world. It is one of the few places in the Levant that trees grew to those heights. In the Temple they were used in many places. The big one was they covered all of the stone inside the Temple, and then the wood was overlaid with gold. (Think the Ark of the Covenant.) 2 Chronicles 2:16 tells of those logs being made into rafts and floated to Joppa. That is very impressive, I had heard that Egypt also got wood from Tyre. Those trees are mentioned in Judges 9 and Isaiah 2:13.  

Gold – Most translations list the amounts of the gold received in talents. If your Bible has footnotes look what those numbers are in pounds and tons. There is a lot of gold associated with Solomon.  

Twenty – The number twenty appears connected to several things in this narrative.

  • Twenty years of building
  • The numbers of towns given as payment
  • Amount of food given to Hiram (20,000)

My studies on Solomon have produced a variety of thoughts/characterizations over the years. This study has clarified some and spawned others, not all of them are about Solomon.

  • Having a lot of money does not make everything you do right or pleasing in the sight of God.
  • Very wise individuals do make mistakes.
  • Solomon and his legacy are a picture of religion. I did not say relationship with God. He took what David started and built something that pleased God. As more money, knowledge, and prestige poured in he left God and went after worldly pursuits and lusts.

Bible 911 – 2 Samuel

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2 Samuel 9:11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons. (KJV)

Ziba

If I was writing a biblical fiction story, Ziba would be the servant that went on the donkey hunt with Saul in 1 Samuel 9. (We are never told if he gave up that little bit of silver.) He is identified in 2 Samuel as the chief steward over Saul’s personal household. He is a main character in 2 Samuel 9, 16, and 19.

I like looking up names and including them in studies, when I can. Ziba is a good example of why you need to study. Meanings for this name varies depending on what website you look at. Many of them seem to focus on “good qualities”, and he is made out to be a great servant. I am giving the link to Abarim Publications, because they actually sight possible root words for the meaning they give. Ziba | The amazing name Ziba: meaning and etymology I may be negative here, but the buttering up of David and the story he tells on Mephibosheth in Chapter 16 cast some serious shade on his loyalty in Chapter 9.

It is a good assumption that Ziba had done his job for a long time. He had many years where there was no male heir to Saul’s property because Mephibosheth seemed to be in hiding in Lo Debar. Michal was with David, interesting he did not ask his wife about other heirs. Merab had a husband and several sons. So, Ziba was living the good life with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, and all of Saul’s property with no one to watch over him. I may watch to many dramas, but the giving up of Mephibosheth in Chapter 9 seems to me to be a good way of getting rid of the last rightful heir to Saul’s holdings. He may have assumed that Mephibosheth would be killed by David. That seemed to be the way things were done, especially in the Northern Kingdom of Israel; get rid of all of the family and servants. See Judges 9.

I believe Ziba was a loyal servant to King Saul, but would he have been as good to Jonathan and the other children. It looks like he followed his master’s behavior, Saul started out good, but power and wealth changed him. Given his job and possible importance in Benjamin, and the small army of his family he could have had his own thoughts of claiming the throne. So, I will not vote for Ziba to be Servant of the Year, but he did get to the river crossing very fast (both times).

The popular belief that Lo Debar was a dump and Mephibosheth crawled around in the dirt begging are two ideas I do not agree with. This is a good example of names not telling the whole story, you need to check non-concordance Bible reference works. Lo Debar was a guard city for Gilead on the Jordan River valley, and its main industry was pottery. Part of its pastureland would have been the steep side of the valley wall.

Makir was possibly a family member, and he had enough clout to help take care of David and all who fled from Absalom. Because of where Makir lived I will say he was an important person in Lo Debar. See Joshua 17:3 for his possible connection in Gilead. Zelophehad from Numbers 36 may have been a grandfather.

Mephibosheth:

  • Was the grandson of the king and would have been heir to the throne of Israel.
  • Jonathan would have made a plan to take care of his child.
  • He had a wife and a son when David called for him. See 1 Chronicles 8:34 and 9:35 – 44 for his family tree, he will be listed as Merib-Baal in verse 40.
  • Jonathan may not have broadcast the covenant he had with David, because Saul was crazy.
  • Who and where was his mother?
  • David had lost track of his friend and had no idea the Jonathan had a son.

There is no doubt in my mind that Mephibosheth had lived in fear and in the shadows for most of his life; because he did not know the truth about David. To go from fear to feasting is always amazing, but this came with stories of his father and a faithful friend who would protect him.

The relationship of David (the Messiah figure) and Benjamin (Jacob’s only child born in the Land) will get looked at. (This is a study not an answer.) There are “types and shadows” here that have connections into the Christian Church. My bullet points are not put in any order as this is a study.

  • Benjamin is the second born son of Rachel, who was Jacob’s favorite. He would have been given the double blessing if Joseph had not been found.
  • Judah was given the blessing of being the ruler, and Joseph got the double portion blessing. Joshua was the leader after Moses, and Manasseh did get two portions of land (Lo Debar may have been in the East Bank portion). Samuel, an Ephraimite, anointed both Saul (Benjamin) and David (Judah). My personal belief is that Samuel and David are members of the Order of Melchizedek.
  • The tribe of Benjamin stayed with Judah when the nation split in two. If you read 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles you will see that members of the other ten tribes did move south to continue worshipping Yahweh at the Temple. Jerusalem was actual in the portion given to Benjamin. I do wonder about the Tribe of Simeon because its portion was in the middle of Judah. I tend to forget that the Tribe of Levi stayed with the Temple, so many of them had to move also.
  • David and Jonathan’s friendship sets the pattern for what happened in 2 Kings 12.
  • Saul, the king, tried to cleanse Israel of the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21) his grandsons paid for that. Saul, the Pharisee who was from Benjamin, tried to cleanse Israel of Christians. He gave up his life for Jesus (Judah).
  • King Saul did religious things like fasting, seeking God through the priest, and following the food laws. David went further than these by actively bring the Ark to Jerusalem and praising God in song and dance. David also had prophets, seers, and priest on his staff.
  • The appointed feast found in Leviticus 23 are seldom mentioned, and you never see about The Year of Jubilee, Leviticus 25. I know there are lost books that may have told about these events. Hezekiah is noted as one who observed Passover, but it is about 250 years after Solomon.
  • I am reading through 2 Chronicles as I write this post and the attitudes and actions of the people (Judah, Benjamin, Levi, and some from the other ten) in the southern kingdom towards God and David’s family is interesting. They seem to be all over the place but for better or for worst they do keep a descendent of David on the throne.
  • This story is a good picture of Grace.
  • See below for David’s return to Jerusalem and the Tribe of Benjamin.

Verse 8

We look at some things very differently than the ancients. Dogs are one of those things. The Bible has many references to dogs; the NIV has about 40. Add in some archology finds and you get a decent picture of dogs in the Iron Age. They were part of the Hebrew society. There are references for them herding and guarding, and they managed to be around the dinner table. Yes, there is a fair amount of distain for them and some of their behavior is used for a very figurative description in Deuteronomy.  Oldest-Ever Evidence of Canines Proves Israel’s Canaan Dogs Roamed Mideast 9,000 Years Ago – Israel365 News

Verse 8 is one of the three times the term “dead dog” is used in the NIV. I found it interesting that David and Benjaminite’s have a connection to all three.

  1. 1 Samuel 24:14 – David compares himself to a dead dog when talking to King Saul.
  2. 2 Samuel 9:8 – Mephibosheth, a Benjaminite and Saul’s grandson uses the phrase when he questions David as to why he was summonsed.
  3. 2 Samuel 16:9 – Shimei, a Benjaminite, is described as that when Abishai (Judah) wants to kill him for cursing David.

Yes, they were an unclean animal, but so was the camel, the horse, and the donkey.

David’s Return and Bemjamin

2 Samuel 19 -21 have several narratives that center on David and the Tribe of Benjamin. In one respect parts of this section are foundation stones for 1 Kings 12 where God moves Benjamin to stay with Judah when the nation divides. There are a few new characters – Sheba son of Bicri (Chapter 20) and Rizpah the daughter of Saul’s concubine. The others are in this list:

  • The people arguing with each other, 19:9.
  • Judah standing with the king.
  • Shimei (Chapter 16), going with Judah, leading 1,000 Benjaminite’s to get David at the Jordan.
  • Ziba
  • Mephibosheth, who is unkept, making accusations against Ziba.
  • Sheba (20:1), who leads a rebellion and separates the kingdom.
  • Gibeonites (Joshua 9:15) who have a problem with the dead King Saul.
  • Rizpah (21:8) and her sons and Merab’s sons who are killed to pay the blood debit to the Gibeonites.

Gilgal at the Jordan is where Joshua and the Children crossed. It is also where many of the men were circumcised. This assembly was no less crazy with all of the arguing and Sheba taking off with most of the people in rebellion.

With Rizpah and Merab son’s being killed, that ended Saul’s family line outside of Mephibosheth who is extended grace because of Jonathan’s covenant with David. The final story with the Tribe of Benjamin is the story of Esther.

Gold of the Temple

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In Matthew 23:16+17 Jesus is giving the leaders of the Jews a lesson on gold and the temple. He is at the end of His forty months of ministry and will be on the cross in a few days. Early in His ministry was The Sermon on the Mount, now He is delivering a sermon on the Temple Mount and will give one on the Mount of Olives. In preparing for this part of the first sermon He has turned over tables of gold coins and answered about paying money to Ceaser. As this teaching unfolds, He gives the Pharisees “seven woes”; in this woe He ask them which is greater the gold in the temple or the temple that makes it holy?

The original thought for this post came as I read through the Books of Kings and Chronicles. David, Solomon, and the people gave tons of gold for building the Temple of God. Like Moses, David had gotten the plans from God. David gave his to Solomon. I believe this Temple, like the Tabernacle are representations of the Temple/Throne Room of God in Heaven. Everything was gold, or covered in gold, even the wall coverings; except the curtain that shielded the Ark. That golden apple proved tempting for many enemies. Several kings of Judah conveniently used the temple’s treasures to buy off those enemies. Maybe that gold was not as important as the Pharisees and Sadducees made it out to be.

The Initial Deposit

 The deposit slips and the final delivers are spread through several chapters in Kings and Chronicles. Between the temple and Solomon’s house the quantities are impressive. Please read 1 Kings 6, 7, and 10; 1 Chronicles 9, 22, 28, and 29; 2 Chronicles 2, 3, and 4 have a glimpse of the final products; that much gold and silver had to get every greedy king’s attention.                                                                                                                                                    The First Withdraw

Rehoboam’s pride and foolishness provided the door for judgment on Solomon’s sin the matters of his wives and their gods. Solomon’s first wife was an Egyptian royal, which he should not have married, he also had business dealings with the country. So, Egypt had a good knowledge of the treasures in Jerusalem.

Shishak king of Egypt, 2 Chronicles 12:9 and 1 Kings 14:26, made a significant withdrawal. I read or heard that an archeologist commented on the amount of gold work done in Egypt around his time of rule.

Asa a Revolving Door

Asa was a “good” king, who developed an attitude, it happens. He ruled for forty-one years, the last years of his rule his son, Jehoshaphat ran things. In 1 Kings 15:15 and 2 Chronicles 15:18, Asa is bringing gold and silver into the temple. Baasha, king of Israel, starts to bother Judah; so, Asa takes the gold and silver and sends it to Ben-Hadad of Aram – Kings 15:18 and 2 Chronicles 16:2. God rebukes him for his lack of faith in the power of God. By extension, the gold is what bought Asa relief.

Jehoram

2 Chronicles 21:16 and 17 tell of the Philistines attacking Jerusalem and looting the palace but not the temple. I think they learned their lesson back in the time of Samuel. The other interesting point in the story is Jehoram received a letter from Elijah.

Joash

Joash was another “good” king, who also developed an attitude. He repaired the temple by collecting money from the people – 2 Chronicles 24:14 and 2 Kings 12. Either the priests were just “sitting” on the money or possible misusing it is unclear, but they were not repairing the temple. The accounts of the withdrawal are slightly different but Hazael of Aram attacked and Joash sent the sacred objects to Hazael to leave. 2 Kings 12:18 says a stockpile of objects from Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah, was part of what was sent.

The Northern Kingdom Takes a Share

Jehoash, King of Israel, attacked Judah (Amaziah) broke down the city wall and took treasures from the temple and hostages – 2 Kings 14:14 and 2 Chronicles 25:24. Chronicles mention what was entrusted to Obed-Edom; this is a thought from the time of David and Solomon.

Ahaz and Assyria

Assyria, the enemy we forget about, is coming to power. Ahaz, a bad king, is being attacked by Aram and Israel, so he bribes Pul of Assyria to attack his attackers – 2 Kings 16:8 and 2 Chronicles 28:21. 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28 tell the story of Ahaz but share very different facts. Ahaz goes to see Pul and does things in the temple to please the foreign king.

Hezekiah and Sennacherib

Hezekiah tries to buy peace from Assyria, 2 Kings 18:15 + 16. Sennacherib takes the money and keeps coming, it does not really work out well for him. Hezekiah must have recovered the doors with gold because it mentions he stripped them to get the gold. Sennacherib blasphemed God so, what gold could not do God did with rats. Israel (north) was deported at this time. I am still studying, but the Nineveh that is described by Jonah is the one Sennacherib created. A prophecy comes after Hezekiah’s illness because he has shown envoys from Babylon everything in his treasury.

Babylon Cleans the Bank

Well, before Nebuchadnezzar takes all Neco king of Egypt fines Judah because Josiah fought with him – 2 Kings 23:35. Nebuchadnezzar actually has several times when he takes goods and people from Judah – 2 Kings 24 and 25; Jeremiah 52; and 2 Chronicles 36 tell the story.

Nebuchadnezzar first took Jehoiachin and treasures and people. Later because Zedekiah had not learned he came back to clean house and tore down the temple. Both of these times temple articles were cut up and carried away. He did leave the poor in the land to take care of things.

The Ark with the Mercy Seat

According to John in Revelations the real Ark is in heaven, remember Moses made a copy of what he saw. What happened to the one Moses made? Who knows. The favorite theory is Jeremiah, who was a priest, got some Levities together and hid it. Many things are not mentioned by name, but you think that would have been; it was not returned with the first wave of people who returned to Jerusalem.

In all of those withdrawals it never mentions the Ark. It makes you think that the Philistines experience was well known, and no one wanted any part of it.

Redeposit  

Nebuchadnezzar did something unusual with some of the gold and silver (treasures) they took from the temple. He put it in the temple of their god (Ezra 1:7). David also put some of the things he captured into his treasuries for the temple, but it would seem most nations just used what they took. Was this a way of taunting the Jews? I do not know.

Babylon lost control to the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5:30,31). After the seventy years predicted by Jeremiah, the Persians let Israel go back to the Land and sent the temple treasures back with them (Ezra 1:9-11). That was the first wave of people to return.

Ezra was the second wave of people to return; his king ordered a large amount of goods to be given to him for temple use. See Ezra 7:22. Then in 8:25 – 27, is another load of donated goods for the temple.

A Thought

Shiny things get peoples’ attention, they are nice to look at, and we put a high value on them. Solomon built a temple for the Name of the Lord and put the Ark in it. No expense was spared, and it must have been amazing to look at and worship in. But, when it is all said the treasures were taken, and the stonewalls knocked flat, and the wooden roof and the room panels were burned with fire, twice. That makes me think that the two things that were left was what was really important – the Land and the People.