{"id":19144,"date":"2022-04-26T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotiontuesday-26-april-2022"},"modified":"2022-04-27T22:39:10","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T21:39:10","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-tuesday-26-april-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-tuesday-26-april-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion\u00a0Tuesday 26 April 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

Song of Songs 3.6-11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

What is that coming up from the wilderness,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0like a column of smoke,<\/span>
\nperfumed with myrrh and frankincense,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0with all the fragrant powders of the merchant?<\/span><\/p>\n

Look, it is the litter of Solomon!<\/span>
\nAround it are sixty mighty men<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0of the mighty men of Israel,<\/span>
\nall equipped with swords<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and expert in war,<\/span>
\neach with his sword at his thigh<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0because of alarms by night.<\/span><\/p>\n

King Solomon made himself a palanquin<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0from the wood of Lebanon.<\/span><\/p>\n

He made its posts of silver,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0its back of gold, its seat of purple;<\/span>
\nits interior was inlaid with love.<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Daughters of Jerusalem,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0come out.<\/span>
\nLook, O daughters of Zion,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0at King Solomon,<\/span>
\nat the crown with which his mother crowned him<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0on the day of his wedding,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0on the day of the gladness of his heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018In the springtime, when kings go to war\u2019 \u2013 so says the narrator at the beginning of the story of how King David came to impregnate and eventually marry Solomon\u2019s mother (2 Samuel 11.1). Spring has arrived and here is the king riding in from the wilderness. We are conditioned to read images of kings returning from battle as signifying prowess, glory, and God\u2019s blessing. But look more closely at Solomon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From what battle are Solomon and his warriors returning? After the civil wars of King David\u2019s reign the kingdom has entered a time of peace. Solomon\u2019s conquests are more famously in the bedroom than the battlefield. The king is not covered in the dust of battle but the local equivalent of \u201cBrut \u2013 for Men\u201d aftershave. He is surrounded by the \u201cmighty men\u201d of Israel, his father\u2019s warband of effective fighters, now reduced to carrying Solomon on a soft furnishing heavy love bed. They seem battle ready, but their swords are strapped to their thighs (see the double-entendre) in case of \u2018alarms by night\u2019. God has given to Solomon wisdom and a time of peace, and he has chosen to use his gifts for self-pleasure. Perhaps Solomon is not being praised\u2026 but parodied?<\/span><\/p>\n

In other Biblical histories we learn that Solomon uses his power and kingly authority to make slaves of tens of thousands of Israelites (see 2 Kings 5). Forced labour builds the Jerusalem temple and Solomon\u2019s splendid palace. Can it really please God to be celebrated by such human sacrifice? The human myth of power, which underpins aggressive ideologies such as old testament monarchies and modern era colonialism, tries to sell the architecture of power as a sign of God\u2019s approval. But the Song of Songs seems to resist that certainty. King Solomon, slave maker and wife taker, is not a good shepherd \u2013 according to the Israelite metaphor of kingship. Nevertheless a Shepherd is still calling from the hills, and the Shulamite is listening out for him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As you prepare to pray, reflect on these lyrics*:<\/span><\/p>\n

I run to the shepherd king<\/span>
\nfor the shepherd king is enough for me.<\/span>
\nI fear no evil, you are with me,<\/span>
\nYour rod and staff are comforting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Good shepherd,\u00a0<\/span>
\nlet me be wise to empty symbols of power<\/span>
\nand leaders without authority.<\/span>
\nInstead let me listen for your voice,<\/span>
\nand walk in your ways,<\/span>
\nfor your sake.<\/span>
\nAmen.<\/span><\/p>\n

*The Shepherd King, Harborside Music (2021)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Song of Songs 3.6-11 What is that coming up from the wilderness, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0with all the fragrant powders of the merchant? Look, it is the litter of Solomon! Around it are sixty mighty men \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0of the mighty men of Israel, all equipped with swords \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and expert … <\/p>\n

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