06-14-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 14, 2025
In rereading my last post (June 11), I realize that I probably should be a bit more cautious about posting while medicated. I believe the post made sense, though it sort of had a rambling and free spirit to it. Pain medication after knee replacement is necessary, but writing a blog while taking heavy-duty drugs (prescribed by a doctor) is probably not wise. With that said, I’m a bit more lucid in this moment (you can be the judge) as I ponder one of my favorite Bible passages of subversion. In Psalm 20, we read:

Some take pride in chariots and some in horses,
    but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
They will collapse and fall,
    but we shall rise and stand upright (7-8).

In the Book of 1 Kings, King Solomon, who was known for his wisdom, was building Israel’s first permanent temple, and most of Scripture honors him as he desired to put a place of worship in the center of Jerusalem, focusing attention on the God who had liberated the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. At the very same time, Solomon was purchasing chariots from Egypt (10:28-29). This undermines the very essence of who Israel was called to be. And sadly, Solomon would use those very weapons to force slaves to build the temple to honor the God who heard the cries of the enslaved. Yet who wants to be the person who calls out the King, yet in the poetry of Psalm 20, there is a subversive statement about trusting God instead of trusting the ways of other nations, especially when those other ways undermine the very purpose of one’s existence.

Too often, people approach the Bible as some uniform document of homogeneous thought, yet there are arguments and seditious comments alongside what appears to be sweet poetry that is, in fact, attempting to undermine foundational structures. I absolutely love the Bible!

For your Living Word that continues to bring life while cutting like a sword, we cautiously approach Scripture with an open mind to the depth and complexity found within. Amen.