Ponderings

Devotionals, prayer & insights from my Bible reading

Mocking eyes (Prayer Devotional for the week of June 17, 2012)

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While David ruled in the city of Hebron as King of Judah, he fathered six sons. Then, he reigned in Jerusalem for another 33 years, during which time he fathered 13 more sons (1 Chronicles 3). That’s 19 boys, not including daughters and illegitimate children with his concubines … but that’s not our focus today. You may be familiar with David’s most famous son, Solomon, because he not only went on to succeed David as king, but he also penned several of the proverbs that we’ve been discussing in our current series. However, let’s direct our attention today to a lesser-known son named Adonijah.

Adonijah was a middle child, by every definition of the term. He was the fourth among the sons born in Hebron. Some say that middle children vie for attention because they feel a need to assert their place in the family mix, and Adonijah fit that bill perfectly.

1 Kings 1 picks up the story when David is elderly. David had previously stated that Solomon would become king after him, but apparently, he had never actually relinquished the throne. So, while David was on bedrest, Adonijah decided to seize the opportunity to make a name for himself, and he rallied some friends together for a party and appointed himself king.

Gutsy move, Adonijah! The author of 1 Kings makes a point to let the reader know that “His father had never rebuked him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?’ He was also very handsome …” (v. 6, NIV). Ah, so Adonijah was one of those guys — a sexy-and-he-knows-it spoiled brat. You’ll have to read the story to find out how it ends, but I wonder if the tale would have unfolded at all if David had set boundaries for Adonijah when he was younger.

Proverbs 30:17 (NIV) says, “The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.” Ok, your eyes may not be eaten by vultures literally, but the penalties still could be severe. Don’t be like Adonijah; take instruction to heart and learn from it.

Don’t panic …

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Hearkening to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, one of the most quotable lines in sci-fi fandom is: “Don’t Panic and Carry a Towel.” If you haven’t read the book, then it won’t make much sense (and even if you have read the book, it still takes a bit of imagination!). The premise seems to be: Don’t panic, because there is always a logical solution or a way out.

I’m in the middle of a huge transition that makes me want to grab hold of my figurative towel like a security blanket. Gears are in motion; processes are processing out of my control. I’m along for the ride, hoping and praying that I won’t be left holding the bag (or my towel, as it were) when the dust settles. I feel confident that the pieces will fall into place, though there are still many what-ifs to deal with.

As I get older, I realize more and more that our Almighty God is a God of “what-ifs.” Even when I wonder how things will work out in the end, I know that I need to trust and obey. I’d like to think that I’m getting better at trusting and obeying, but I suppose it depends on the situation … it’s a lot easier to “obey” when the end result seems to be all in your favor. It’s a lot more difficult when sacrifices are involved.

Even still, I trust him. I have to! I can’t do this thing we call “life” all on my own strength and cunning plans … I have to trustingly rely on his will to come to pass. And, if I’m in his will, then it will all work out, in the end.