Traps in the Bible
Traps in the Bible – How the Biblical Authors Convict
In this insightful Bible teaching from Founded in Truth Fellowship, community pastor Matthew Vander Els explores the fascinating ways in which the authors of the Bible intentionally crafted their narratives to do more than just tell stories. He suggests that these inspired writers, whom he describes as literary geniuses, embedded "traps" within their texts. These traps are designed to lead readers into certain assumptions and feelings, only to reveal a deeper truth that often requires self-reflection and repentance. Vander Els emphasizes that understanding these nuances, which can sometimes be lost in translation, allows for a richer and more impactful engagement with the biblical text.
The Trap in the Story of Jonah
The first trap discussed centers on the well-known story of Jonah. Vander Els points out that many people are familiar with a simplified version, perhaps even the VeggieTales rendition, which often misses the story's central message. He explains that scholars debate the genre of Jonah, with some suggesting it's a historical narrative, while others, like Walter Bergman, term it a "parable narrative." This means the events and details are intentionally arranged to convey a specific lesson. Professor Tim Mackey even characterizes Jonah as a "dark comedy" due to its ironic and sometimes exaggerated tone.
Vander Els highlights the humor and irony from the beginning of the story. Jonah, whose name means "faithful dove," is commanded to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, a brutal enemy of Israel. This sets up an immediate conflict: a holy man of God being sent to bring a message of repentance to his nation's oppressors. Instead of obeying, Jonah runs in the opposite direction, going down to Joppa and boarding a ship to Tarshish – symbolically moving further and further away from God. The author emphasizes Jonah going "down" repeatedly, even to the lowest parts of the ship, illustrating his desire to distance himself from God's mission.
As the story unfolds, a great storm arises, and the pagan sailors, more spiritually aware than Jonah at this point, question him. When Jonah reveals he is a Hebrew who fears the Lord but is fleeing from Him, the sailors are terrified. Ironically, while Jonah refuses to repent, the pagan sailors offer sacrifices to God. Even while swallowed by a giant fish, Jonah composes a psalm, showcasing a level of comfort in his self-imposed exile.
Eventually, Jonah delivers a remarkably short, five-word sermon to Nineveh: "Forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown." Surprisingly, the entire city, from the king down to the animals, repents. This outcome deeply upsets Jonah, who is furious that his enemies received God's grace instead of His wrath. The story concludes with God questioning Jonah's compassion for a plant that provided him shade versus his lack of compassion for the vast population of Nineveh who were ignorant of God's ways.
The trap, Vander Els argues, is for the reader to righteously condemn Jonah for his disobedience and lack of compassion. The moment we feel superior to Jonah, we miss the point. The question God poses to Jonah – "Should not I pity Nineveh?" – is also directed at us. Are we willing to extend God's love and mercy to our own "enemies"? Are we finding excuses to avoid sharing the good news of God's forgiveness and love? The story, likely written after the Babylonian exile, would have been particularly convicting for the returning Israelites, challenging them to show mercy even to those who had wronged them.
Application for Everyday Life (Jonah):
- Examine your own heart for any resentment or lack of compassion towards those you consider your enemies.
- Reflect on whether you are actively sharing God's message of mercy and love with others, even those you find difficult.
- Be mindful of finding justifications for avoiding God's calling in your life.
The Trap in the Parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee
The second trap discussed is found in Jesus' parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee in Luke chapter 18. Vander Els explains that Jesus uses this story to address those who frequently look down on others, considering themselves more righteous. Pharisees were generally seen as religious leaders who meticulously followed the Torah. In contrast, tax collectors were Jewish individuals who worked for the Roman Empire, often extorting their own people, making them widely despised.
The parable depicts two men going to the temple to pray. The Pharisee stands apart and boasts to God about his righteousness: he is not like other sinners, including the nearby tax collector; he fasts twice a week and tithes diligently. The tax collector, on the other hand, stands at a distance, humbly beating his chest and praying, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Jesus declares that the tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified before God.
Vander Els highlights the trap embedded in this familiar story. As readers, we naturally empathize with the humble tax collector and likely view the Pharisee as self-righteous and arrogant. We might even thank God that we are not like the Pharisee. However, at the very moment we look down on the Pharisee and feel superior, we fall into the same trap of self-righteous judgment. We become the Pharisee in the story by judging the Pharisee. This parable serves as a powerful paradox of self-reflection, urging us to humble ourselves and avoid looking down on others, even those we perceive as sinners or oppressors. True righteousness comes from God's mercy, not from comparing ourselves favorably to others.
Application for Everyday Life (The Parable of the Tax Collector and the Pharisee):
- Be aware of any tendencies to compare yourself to others and feel superior based on your perceived righteousness or good deeds.
- Cultivate humility and recognize your own need for God's mercy.
- Judge others with righteousness, focusing on biblical standards, rather than with self-righteousness, based on your own perceived superiority.
The Trap in the Reign of King Solomon
The final trap discussed revolves around the seemingly glorious reign of King Solomon, as described in 1 Kings 9 and 10. Initially, the biblical author presents Solomon as the most successful king of Israel, highlighting his secure borders, peace treaties, strong army, and the building of the first temple. This creates a sense of excitement and admiration for Solomon's achievements. However, Vander Els points out that this is the peak before Israel's decline.
The narrative subtly reveals a dark undercurrent to Solomon's success. 1 Kings 9:15 mentions the "forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house." This detail is jarring, as it reveals that the temple to Yahweh, the God who freed Israel from slavery, was built using slave labor. Furthermore, the text specifies that Solomon enslaved the remaining people from weaker nations while exempting the Israelites, turning them into a military force. This contradicts Israel's calling to be a light to all nations, ambassadors of God's kingdom, and bearers of His image.
Application for Everyday Life (The Reign of King Solomon):
- Critically evaluate the sources of success and prosperity, both in your own life and in the wider world.
- Prioritize God's values of justice, mercy, and compassion over worldly measures of success like wealth and power.
- Be mindful of how your actions might contribute to the exploitation or marginalization of others, even unintentionally.
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Automated transcript, lightly edited for readability. Scripture appears as spoken; the video is the authoritative teaching.
A Library of Books
Do you ever find yourself searching for something bigger than you? For a community to be a part of? A place founded on truth and love? A place to worship the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and the Son of God? Welcome to Founded in Truth, where we're more than just a fellowship. We're a family. So welcome home. Shalom everybody, my name is Matthew Vandereels and I'm one of the community pastors at Founded in Truth Fellowship in Fort Mill, South Carolina, just 10 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina. So if you're ever in the area, we'd love to invite you to visit one of our social events or for services.
You can also check out our live stream every Saturday on our YouTube channel at Founded in Truth Ministries, plus new Bible teachings every single week. So today I am excited to have the opportunity to explore one of my favorite topics, and that is the Bible. I am a complete Bible nerd. I love everything about it — not only the stories and the poetry that are contained in its massive library, but also its history and the amazing journey it took to be formed, edited together, and just its general evolution until it became what we have today. And if you take away nothing else today from this message, I want to make sure that you take away the message of hope found in the Gospel of Yeshua.
That this person of Yeshua, Jesus, lived, died, and by the power of God was resurrected in order to birth a new kingdom, a new creation that you are invited into. That you can have forgiveness and peace and can feel the truest love of God by choosing allegiance to Yeshua. Everything else in the Bible is cool. It really is. But that — that is the most important part of the Bible. And it would be shameful for that not to be mentioned anywhere in this message.
So today we're going to talk about traps in the Bible. Traps in the Bible? What traps in the Bible? Well, the Bible was written by amazing, talented authors that were also inspired by God. They were not just a bunch of shepherds in a field scribbling stuff down. No, they were literary geniuses. And it's so unfortunate because many times the Bible is either not presented the way it was meant to be, or these nuances in the biblical text get lost in translation from the Hebrew to the English, or even the Greek to the English. Now, the Bible is made up of many genres in its collective library. That's right.
You're not just carrying around a book. You are literally carrying around a library of many books by many authors, and there are fingerprints of divine or inspired editors that all brought it together so we have it today. The whole process likely took men and women who collected letters and poems and made sure they were safe, passed them down throughout time in order for the editors to actualize them into the collection. And here it is — the Bible we have. And that's just so cool when you start studying the history of the Bible.
The Fingerprints in Psalms
For example, one of my favorite recognizable fingerprints of the editors of the Bible is the book of Psalms. Growing up I just thought this was a randomly collected compilation of songs and poetry that someone crammed together in 150 chapters of denseness, and when it's presented as just that it's not really too interesting. I mean, let's be honest, who wants to crack open 150 chapters of random Psalms and act like they're going to enjoy reading them all? Except — what if they weren't randomly selected? What if the order they were placed in the book of Psalms was not random? What if after the Babylonian exile, the scribes who had kept many of these poems and writings safe in Babylon returned and decided to bring it all together in order to tell a bigger story?
The book of Psalms was intentionally edited and formed with the intention of telling a bigger story. So Psalms is divided into five sections by the authors, or five books. It's meant to mimic the Torah. And within these books you have groupings of different authors and their Psalms. If you've kept up with our recent Psalm series that we're doing at the fellowship, we explore this very deeply. For example, the Davidic collection is very interesting. When I say the Davidic collection, it's the grouping of Davidic Psalms and how they're scattered throughout the book of Psalms. The Davidic Psalms almost sit on the seams of the five books of Psalms, and they tell a story in and of themselves.
They tell the story of David. The first collection of Davidic Psalms, in Psalms 3- 41, tell of David's enthronement. Whereas the second collection of the Davidic Psalms, in Psalm 51-71, in 86, speaks of David's loss of his throne, his downfall — the very thing that sparked the downward spiral of Israel into exile. Psalm 72, which is a psalm of Solomon, actually ends with saying this is the last psalm of David. This is it. But the authors did something. They kept placing groupings of Davidic psalms throughout the book. The third grouping of the Davidic psalms starts in Psalm 101-108, and they picture this new type of David.
As if to say, the old David died in Psalm 72 or 71, now we have a new Davidic king that begins to appear. Psalm 108 through 110 illustrates the evolution of this new king over Israel. And finally, the last Davidic grouping is Psalm 138 through 145, and it speaks of this new messianic society that is formed because of this new king. And in Psalm 145, this new Davidic king that rises up with his new kingdom hands his kingdom over to Yahweh. Spoiler alert: the book of Psalms tells a prophetic story of the fall of the human David, but the rise of a new Davidic king of Israel that will restore all things back to God.
It's talking about Jesus! And that's so cool, because this is not some esoteric Bible code where you need to make up farce definitions of Hebrew letters and then spin them to decipher some code. No — this is how your Bible was written. It's not a secret. This is actually basic stuff that's taught in seminary today. And it's so cool. And as a Bible nerd, much like yourself, I get geeked out over seeing the fingerprints of the authors of the Bible and understanding what they were actually wanting to portray. Isn't the Bible so cool? Yeah, the Bible's so cool. So this is not even the only message being told in Psalms, by the way.
It is multifaceted. And again, this is not some secret code — the authors were just that smart. So what other neat, intentional things can we find in the Bible? Well, there's a ton of them. But today, I want to focus on the traps the biblical authors intentionally set for us to fall into. Oh yeah, this message was inspired by Admiral Ackbar. It's a trap!
It's a Trap
There are many stories in the Bible, and the way that they are told are meant for you to think a certain way and feel a certain way. But at the end of the story, you realize because you interpreted the story the way you did, you actually need to repent now. These stories intentionally expose the issues of our hearts. And so the three examples we're going to cover today are the story of Jonah, the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee, and the reign of King Solomon as illustrated in 1 Kings 9 and 10 — the most successful king of Israel. So watch out. Here we go.
The trap in Jonah. So Jonah is an amazing story that I am sure we're all familiar with, or so we think. Everybody has watched the VeggieTales version of the story, which completely omits the actual point of the story, regardless. So Jonah has a debatable genre behind it, if you want some background. Some treat it as historical narrative, meaning that it is written for the purpose of historical rendering of events while it's being read. Others are not so sure. Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann has termed a genre for Jonah, and he calls it parable narrative, meaning that the author is telling a story but there is an intentional flow.
The series of events are laid out intentionally. The details that are said are intentionally put in there so that the story, the narrative, leads to a lesson. And I agree. Professor Tim Mackie, an ancient languages professor, sums up Jonah as a dark comedy, because it's written like a comic book. And when you actually look at it with those lenses on, you see that clearly — it becomes very entertaining. The story starts off with this prophet whose name, by the way, means the faithful dove, which is supposed to be funny when you read it in the story. So the story starts off with this prophet who's sent where?
Nineveh. Well, where's Nineveh? In Assyria! So right off the bat, you have an Israelite being sent to their enemy. To do what? To tell them to repent. Jonah, the holy man of God, is sent on a holy mission to be the light to other nations. Except this nation is not just another nation. This is a nation that in Israel's history brutally attacked the northern kingdom and literally made them disappear. This is the backdrop of how ancient Israelites and Judeans would have read this story.
Down to Joppa
So what does Jonah do when he receives this mission from God? He runs the complete opposite direction. Jonah 1:3 says — so Jonah is supposed to have a very exaggerated, hyperbolic tone to it. It's supposed to kind of make you chuckle and be filled with irony. And that's just how the book is written. And here's one example. Old boy Jonah is asked to go to Nineveh, right here, and he says, nope. Not only did he say nope, he went down to Joppa. And that's a word the author is going to begin using continuously here. So he goes to Joppa, hops on a boat to sail where? To the other side of the known world. It's equivalent to God asking you to go down the street to your neighbor who beat you up in high school, so instead you decide to go to China. What are you doing, Jonah? And look — not only does he go down to Joppa, he goes down, down into the ship.
The Direction of Disobedience
So notice, what direction is Jonah going in relation to God and the mission God has called him to? It doesn't stop there. Jonah chapter 1 verse 4 says, "But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest of the sea. So the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his God. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them." But Jonah had gone deaf. The author does not have to use this word over and over again. But wow, he's not just hiding from God. This is meant to be kind of funny. Jonah is laying down at the very bottom, the deepest part of the ship, literally as far as he can get away from God. He's just laying flat, just another inch or two lower. And guess what? At one point, he doesn't have to try to run from God anymore. God grants his wish. You want to go down away from God? Okay. God will take you down.
In the Belly of the Fish
After the fish swallows him, in chapter 2 of Jonah, Jonah is sitting comfortably in the belly of a fish in pitch dark. But it's okay. He likely has a candle he lit so he can write this beautiful poem located in Jonah chapter 2. And here's verse 6 of that poem. Again, the story is meant to be a bit hyperbolic. Jonah chapter 2, verse 6. But before this happens, you want to see something that the author meant for you to notice and chuckle at? Okay, it's in verse 8 of chapter 1. The pagan sailors on Jonah's ship are asking him why the storm has come, and this is what happens. Then they said to him, "Tell us whose account this evil has that has come upon us.
What is your occupation? And where do you come from? And what is your country? And what people are you from?" And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land." Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them that." He has to explain to them what a Hebrew is. But then he tries to exalt himself up by saying that he fears God. Now, as the reader, you're supposed to be like, "You do fear God. You fear doing what God asks.
So that's why you're running away." And then this happens in verse 14. So this whole time, Jonah is never humble enough to apologize or repent, but the pagan sailors offer sacrifice to God. Jonah is evangelizing and he doesn't even know it. It's just funny.
The Five-Word Sermon
So the story follows Jonah. We know he gets swallowed up by the fish and then he gets spit up on the shore after three days and three nights within the fish. And as a result of being in the fish this whole time, evangelization happens. He goes to Nineveh finally, and he brings the message of God to them, and they do what? They repent. So I want to take a minute and emphasize the sign of Jonah. The sign of Jonah with the fish is not simply about him being in the fish. It's what happens inside the fish. Jonah is taken from the grave. He's raised to life, and as a result of being raised to life, salvation came to the most vile pagan community in the world.
So, please stop making the sign of Jonah about how many seconds Jesus laid in the grave. It's embarrassing that, as believers, that is the point we think Jesus is trying to drive. And the very fact that, by the power of God, resurrection is going to crash into this broken world isn't. So, this is my soapbox. Jonah gets spit up and he goes to Nineveh. And he finally arrives and Jonah gives the most powerful articulated sermon ever. No, Jonah gives a sermon that is exactly five words long. "Forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown." In Hebrew, five words. Again, you're supposed to smirk. You're supposed to be like, that's it, Jonah?
That's all you got? And then what happens as a result of his five-word sermon? The entire community repents. Everybody's repenting. It even says the cows are repenting. The cows and sheep are fasting and covered with sackcloth too. That's in there. The cows are wearing sackcloth and repenting. Parable narrative. It's a dark comedy with a point.
God's Question About Mercy
How does Jonah respond? He gets ticked. He is so disappointed that his enemies repented and experienced God's salvation that he wants to die. It's as if his five-word sermon was intentionally short so that Nineveh wouldn't repent. God said to repent. I told them to repent. And they actually did. Now, the story is about to end with a conversation between Jonah and God. And I say everything I just did to lead up to this point, because that's what the author of Jonah did. Jonah is lamenting outside the city. And in Jonah 4:6, it says, "God made a plant grow over him, and it gave him some shade." This made Jonah happy. Make any of us happy, I suppose.
And Jonah was exceedingly glad because this plant was giving him some shade in the hot sun. But in verse 7, the next day, God sends a worm to attack the plant and kill it. So God asks Jonah, "Are you mad that the plant died?" "Yes, I'm mad that the plant died." And then this is how the book of Jonah ends. Verse 10: "And the Lord said, 'You pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a day. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?'" This is how Jonah ends.
Now, some of you may have missed it. Jonah is mad that his enemies did not experience God's wrath, but his love. And the book of Jonah ends with a question. A question from God: "Should not I give grace to Nineveh, the great city where 120,000 people live, who don't know anything about me? They don't even know the level of evil that they do. Should I not have mercy on them?" And that's the end. The book of Jonah ends with a question: "What's the answer?" What's the answer? Of course God can have mercy on who He wants. Jonah's being a jerk for not being submissive to the calling and mission God has given to him.
What a fool Jonah's being. What a great example of what not to do when you are a servant of the Most High God. Right? That's what most people walk away from the story thinking. But can you say that with a straight face? Because if you can, you have fallen into the trap laid by the author.
The Trap Turns Inward
The moment you think yourself righteous and look down on Jonah is the moment that you should be reminded of the question asked of Jonah, because it's also asked of you. Why have you not delivered the good news of God's mercy, justice, and love to your greatest enemies? Do you really think that God hates your enemies? No. God has already died for your enemies. So, what are you doing? Are you finding ways to justify running from God? "I'm a Hebrew. I fear the Lord. Look, I have a five-word sermon. Hey, technically I obeyed God." All the while, you haven't ministered to a single person since coming into the knowledge of the Word of God. Notice God didn't tell Jonah about the Bible. God told Jonah to tell Nineveh about God's forgiveness and repentance.
So, a Bible nerdy fact that really makes this story interesting is when it was most likely written. See, most Christian, God-believing scholars believe this story was actually written after Judah returned from exile from Babylon. Now, if that's the case, imagine, imagine reading this story back from Babylon, back from hell on earth. And here is Jonah harboring resentment against the evil Ninevites, his enemies, the enemy of his people. Imagine how convicting this story would have been. Okay, you're back from Babylon. Are you ready to actually be a light to all nations? Are you ready to show my love, peace, and mercy, my kingdom, even to the Babylonians? Who are you not willing to show God's love and mercy to? "Bought this book was just about a big fish, huh?" No, it's about you. It's about our vocation. Man, Israel coming back from Babylon, now Persia, guarded for who they're going to minister to next. Who are they going to be a light to next? Who deserves to be shown mercy and grace? Who deserves forgiveness in their eyes? It's very convicting.
Trap Number Two
Trap number two is actually found in the New Testament. Should we continue? Are we ready? Are we ready? Alright, so turn with me to Luke chapter 18 where we will explore the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. Let's just go ahead and read it. Luke 18:9: "Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. And the Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance.
He would not even look up to heaven, but he beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner.'" So, Yeshua, or Jesus, is speaking about a people who find themselves frequently looking down on others, thinking themselves to be more righteous than everyone else. And here, we find this character to be a Pharisee. Now, a Pharisee would have generally been seen as someone who was religious and possibly a leader among the common community in contrast to, say, a Sadducee who would have been seen as more elite in his demographics. So that's the setup of the story. You have someone who keeps Torah, who keeps the Sabbath, who eats kosher, keeps the feast days in the Bible, and as a result of these things they think that they are better than everyone else.
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
And I know we likely don't know anyone like that. And I'm sure we have never met anyone like that. And this parable, this parable is just for them. So you have this guy who loves the Bible and uses his knowledge of the Bible to justify himself and allows his own knowledge of the Bible to equip him with the permission to look down on others. And in the story, you also have a tax collector. This would have triggered the audience in a major way. See, tax collectors in the first century were not great guys. They would have been members of the Judean community that were seen as traitors, collecting taxes from their own people to give to Rome.
And the tax collector has come to a place where he realizes the only thing he has in life is God's mercy. So he yields under the weight of God's mercy and humbles himself before it. And he beats his chest asking for forgiveness, proclaiming that he's a sinner. He's undeserving before God. But the Pharisee, the Pharisee looks over and instead of contrasting himself with God's mercy... Instead of contrasting himself with God's justice and holiness, he instead makes a comparison to himself and the tax collector. And then he thanks God for not allowing him to be such a sinner as the tax collector is. He looks at God and he shows off that, hey, I keep Torah.
I tithe. I'm awesome. And what does Jesus say? The tax collector walked away justified before God.
The Paradox We Don't Expect
Now, we know the story and it's a humbling story, but there's a hidden paradox, see? There's a trap that Luke sets here. Because as the reader, we look at these two men and we feel empathy and even sympathy for the tax collector. But after reading the story, how do we honestly feel about the Pharisee? Just like Captain Akbar says, it's a trap. As the reader, we likely look down on the Pharisee, right? I mean, honestly, raise your hand if you thought the Pharisee is a jerk in this story, raise your hand right now. I know, I can see you. Who does this Pharisee think he is? Like, who does he think he is?
He's better than everyone else. Like, gosh. And at the moment, at the moment we engage and support and entertain those types of thoughts, we look down on the Pharisee and thank God that we're not like him. Did you catch it? That's the moment we ourselves become the Pharisee in the story by looking down on the Pharisee. So it's a paradox of self-reflection. We need to humble ourselves in such a way that we do not look down on others, even our enemies or the oppressors in the world. The moment that we think ourselves more righteous than the sinners that we judge, that's the moment we become the ones in the wrong.
That's the moment God sees our heart lacking the very mercy He wants to give us to portray back to the world. We are to judge with righteousness, not self-righteousness. Alright, this is getting bad, right? This is rough. I want to just go back to reading the Bible plainly without all these mirrors that pop up and cause conviction, right?
One More Trap: King Solomon
Well, there's one more trap. Are we ready? King Solomon. King Solomon is praised as the most successful king in the Israelite monarchy. He not only secured the borders of Israel, he made treaties and peace with surrounding countries. He built a successful army, and he also built the first temple to Yahweh, the God of Israel. In 1 Kings 9 and 10, the author intentionally uses a writing style to create excitement. He just spitfires all the great things that Solomon has done and all of his success. Unfortunately, this would be the climax of Israelite success. Let's read about the great temple that King Solomon built in 1 Kings .
And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house, and the millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazar, and Megiddo, and Gezar. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What? This is the account of the forced slave labor Solomon used to build the temple of God, the temple to Yahweh. Isn't that the same Yahweh that freed Israel from slavery? So, Solomon used slave labor to build a temple to the God that frees slaves. Verse 19, "...and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and Lebanon, and all the land of his dominion."
"All the people who were left of the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, whose were not the people of Israel, their descendants were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction. These Solomon drafted to be slaves, and so they are to this day. But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves. They were soldiers. They were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen. So Solomon exploited the fact that all these weaker nations were less equipped to fight, and he turned them into slaves.
Then he made Israelites into a war machine. Wasn't Israel called to be a light to all nations? To be the ambassadors of God's kingdom on earth? To be his image bearers? Hey guys, we need to go into these weaker nations and show them some of this freedom of the blessing of Abraham.
Verse 23, "These were the chief officers who were over Solomon's work. 550 who had charge of the people who carried on the work. But Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to her own house that Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Milo. Pharaoh's daughter?" The next chapter, chapter 10, reviews the splendor of the most powerful, richest queen that came to honor Solomon for his achievements, the Queen of Sheba. She lavishes in the beauty and the wisdom that Solomon gives. It's like the richest CEO in the world showing up and giving you honor because you've become his status—you're part of his club now.
Here's what she says in verse 8. You're supposed to choke a little bit right there. What is she talking about? Is this prosperity built on the backs of weaker people really the blessing from God? That Solomon would execute justice and righteousness? He's not. Later, Amos capitalizes on this fact when he condemns Israel. This is exactly why Judah and Israel were sent into exile to begin with. They enslaved the poor. They became like the nations they were supposed to be set apart from. Oh look, starting in verse 26, it talks about how Solomon is the world's greatest arms dealer. Yeah, he makes friends with all of his neighbors and then he sells them weapons of war to profit off of violence and death.
Verse 26, "And Solomon gathered together the chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen who he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as sycamore of the Shephelah. And Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Q, and the king's traders received them from Q at a price. A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse 150. And so through the king's traders they were exported to all of the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria."
Now look how the authors almost want you to cheer Solomon on here, like, "Yes! The blessing of the Lord!" Until you get to this verse that speaks of the sheer worldly wealth Solomon brings in due to the strategy of exploiting other people. This verse is 1 Kings : 666. Solomon has become the new Pharaoh in the story of the Exodus. Not only that, he's become the beast in Daniel 7. What does the mark of the beast look like? Well, 1 Kings 9 and 10 give you a pretty good glimpse.
Israel Becomes What It Was Freed From
So, here the trap isn't as in your face as the others. You actually don't even notice it until you continue the story in the Hebrew Bible. From this point in the story of the Old Testament, the story of Israel being slaves in Egypt, freed by God's power, entering into the land, hitting rock bottom in the book of Judges, but climbing their way up in the world with the monarchy, Israel is finally on top of the world. And that's not a good thing. Instead of being a wholly set-apart people, Israel has become the trophy of world domination. They have become what they were freed from. They have become Egypt. From here, Solomon dies and the entire nation splits and crumbles in the reign of his son. And it continues to go down, down, down, down.
The Prophets' Warning
Israel still feels they are a righteous people because at least they have the Torah. But the prophets remind them, petty obedience to God's commandments like a checklist won't gain you righteousness. Isaiah 1 and verse 13 says, "Stop bringing meaningless offerings. Your incense is detestable to me. New moon, Sabbath, and your convocations, I can't bear your worthless assemblies." Here's what Amos says: "For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the poor as the dust on the ground. They deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and Son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garment taken in pledge. In the house of their God they drink wine taken as fines." This peak glory of Solomon was the highest point before Israel fell. They entered this downward spiral, claiming they were God's people but acting like the world, refusing to take up their vocation to be the messengers of God's love, mercy, forgiveness, and peace. Instead, picking and choosing who they would be witnesses to. Instead of understanding their mission to lift others up, they chose to look down on others, providing the weakness and downfall of others as the footstool they stood on in the name of God.
All of this depicted in 1 Kings 9-10 as a shining light to all nations. But it wasn't the light of God. It was the light of their own gold, their own weapons, their own politics, their own pursuit for selfishness, self-seeking gain at the expense of others. 666. That was the amount of gold King Solomon brought in annually based on that pursuit. Israel embodied the beast of Daniel 7. The beast that ravaged the world, tearing apart nations to get what it wanted. This is the beast that kills the Son of Man. Is that mark of that beast the one that you wear? Is that what the world sees? Is that who you're allegiant to?
What are your priorities in life and what would you do to keep them? And do your priorities contrast the message of love and forgiveness and self-sacrifice that Yeshua brought?
Will We Self-Reflect? So, that was a basic overview of some of the traps the biblical authors have set for us. And they're meant to get us to think, self-reflect, and come to our knees before a merciful, just God. But the question is, will we? Or will we simply repeat the same patterns by exalting worldly politics over the message of God's kingdom? By pursuing what we want according to the world instead of what Yeshua left as an example of? And by living at the expense of others instead of showing what the light of Yeshua actually looks like?
Stay Founded in Truth
I'm Matthew Vanderels with Founded in Truth Fellowship. I hope this message was edifying. Don't forget to check out our channel on YouTube on Saturdays at 11 a.m. for our fellowship live stream, or you can find out more information about us at foundedintruth.com. Stay fit, stay founded in truth. We'll see you next time. Shalom. I'm Matthew Vanderels, and I hope you enjoyed this message. Founded in Truth exists to build a community that bears the image of God and lives the redeemed life only Yeshua gives. If this message impacted you or if this ministry has been a blessing to you, we invite you to take part in making sure the message of Yeshua and the truth of God's word continues to reach others. To make sure this happens, you can donate through our online giving portal at foundedintruth.com slash give or by texting any amount to 704-275-0752. Don't forget to like and subscribe for new content every single week. And we thank you for your continued support. And we look forward to seeing you next time. Shalom.
