Shade Tree Wisdom 11/10/08

On Luther’s Birthday, and the day president-elect Obama sits down with President Bush in the White House, it seems a ready thing to speak about.

When the King dies, there is always haste to stand ready with advice for his successor. The event that comes to mind is the time when Solomon died. He had ruled Israel for 40 years. They were years of prosperity, peace, and when a man could ‘sit under his own fig tree and rest’. Now the record says it simply, “And Rehoboam, his son, succeeded him as king. 1 Kings 11,43.

Now when this happened, Jeroboam, who was son of Nebat and had been in charge of some of Solomon’s work, came with all Israel and asked, really, how will you run things? They said “Your father sort of taxed us hard, lighten the load, and we will serve you”. Rehoboam asked for three days while He consulted advisors.

The King consulted with the elders who had been serving his father, and their advice was “If you give them a favorable answer – less taxation – they’ll serve you always.”

Then the king consulted younger men, men he had grown up with, and asked their advice. If they had grown up with a king’s son they were probably favored, so they said, “Tell them my father used whips, I’ll use scorpions. My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.”

So Rehoboam’s answer was harsh. The result was to split the Kingdom. Ten tribes said, “To your tents, O Israel. Look to your own house, O David.” Read the entire sorry tale in 1 Kings chapter 11 and 2 Chronicles chapter 10.

Right now the air and the papers and magazines are filled with advice. The President-elect is surrounding himself with advisors, seeking the best he can possibly get, to direct his administration successfully.

Barack Obama in his speech spoke of ‘sacrifice’. He was really addressing the wrong crowd for that. Sacrifice ought to begin with our elected leaders, Senators and Representatives, who are much too quick to add their own pet project to any spending bill, and always end up spending billions more of unnecessary and unaccounted for tax monies. I sometimes have expressed the thought that what we need are some housewives who lived on a strict budget.

But in it all, it is for us to follow St. Paul’s message to Timothy. This was and is, “First of all, requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and honesty, this is good, and pleases God our Savior.” 1 Tim. 2m 1-3.

Then may God give us peace to sit under our own fig tree to rest.

GPD 11/10/08