Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 2

46 Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck him down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
1 Kings 2:46

The good, the bad, and the ugly. 

The authors of scripture preserved the good, the bad, and the ugly of even their heroes. So it is with Solomon. When considering Solomon, what do we think of first? That he was wise? That he purportedly wrote or at least inspired books like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes? That he was the greatest King of Israel? 

These things are true, but it’s also true that he could be a ruthless ruler who did harm. We see that here. To begin his reign, upon his father David’s death, he kills people. The stories contained in 2 Kings do not shy away from the fact that Solomon would begin his reign upon the graves of people he subdued. 

As we will see later on, Solomon’s reign ends with death, destruction, civil war, and permanent division of his empire. The authors of Kings, the Deuteronomist as we call them in Biblical studies, preserved both the good and the bad when it comes to Solomon. 

In doing so, they keep scripture from glorifying its heroes and vilifying its enemies. Instead, we get a fairer picture of human nature, for aren’t well all, to some extent, heroes and villains? Yes, sometimes simultaneously so! Solomon, while a hero of scripture, was fallible, made bad decisions, and ruled in such a way that he destroyed that which he sought to preserve. 

As the saying goes, failure is a better teacher than success. So it is with these tales of heroes: in preserving their legacy for good and bad, we have the opportunity to learn from both and to see in ourselves how we can be good, bad, and ugly. 

Think
What are the good, bad, and ugly sides of me? How do they exist simultaneously inside of me?

Pray
Use Lectio Divina to pray the focus verse for today’s reading (see a guide here).

Do
It’s easy to be hard on ourselves. Do something to celebrate the good side of your human nature.

Think, Pray, Do. As we respond in faith to scripture, God moves in power through our minds, hearts, and bodies. We are the people of God. Thanks for reading today. Go in peace. Amen.

Think, Pray, Do devotionals by Ted Goshorn follow the suggested bible reading plan from his website and book, Prayer Changes Us. Find this Bible reading plan at tedgoshorn.org/biblereading. If you have found today’s devotion helpful, don’t forget to subscribe for daily emails at tedgoshorn.org and share with others that we may think, pray, and do faithfully.