Reading 1 Kings: God Loves the 1%

God hates this woman.

Can we all agree that a cornerstone to a free society is that the law should be applied equally to rich and to the poor? And I know that pragmatically speaking this doesn't happen, but at least most people have the idea that in an ideal world justice is blind -- it should be carried out impartially. However, Yahweh does not ascribe to this principle as I'll make clear from my recent reading in 1 Kings. (If you want to look at another post on 1 Kings click here.)


When we last left 1 Kings, Solomon had just solidified his rule over Israel by killing the old enemies of his father, King David, and had built the palace and temple using slave labor. It's the Golden Age of King Solomon's rule. The Queen of Sheba pays a visit to the court and marvels at all the handiwork God and His slave labor has been able to accomplish. Life is good.
And then it all goes bad.
Because of women (after all, this is the Bible).

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 1 Kings 11:1-3

 Yes, this passage of the Bible does contradict the Book of Ruth where a Moabite woman (Ruth)  marries a Jew and it all works out. But I digress.

How did all those women lead Solomon the Wise astray?

On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites.  He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. 1 Kings 11:7-8

Wow. After getting all that great stuff from God, Solomon breaks the covenant with Him. Wouldn't you think God would strike down some divine justice on the king? I mean this is the same God who gave King Saul's kingdom to David, in part because Saul didn't commit genocide well enough!

So the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 1 Kings 11:11

Here comes the pain!

Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 1 Kings 11:12

Huh? Yahweh liked Solomon's dad (David) so He's going to screw over Solomon's son? What about the high places and the incense? What about all the other Jews who must have seen what wise King Solomon did and started worshipping the detestable Chemosh?

Meh, God gives Solomon a free pass.

Solomon dies a happy old theocrat, and Rehoboam, his son, takes over. Unsurprisingly, things go badly, and the northern Jewish tribes decide that they do not want to follow him. Jeroboam takes control of the northern area, leaving Rehoboam in charge of the south. One of the first things Jeroboam does is mess with God's rules. God gets angry and sends some no-name prophet (really, the Bible doesn't give him a name) to warn that Yahweh hates people messing with the rules. And this prophet isn't a lightweight either, he curses Jeroboam and the new king's arm shrivels up. Not to shabby a miracle. The northern king begs for forgiveness and his arm returns to normal. Jeroboam is happy to have avoided a permanent disability and invites the prophet to stay and have a meal. But God doesn't want his prophet to stay for a snack.

For I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” 1 Kings 13:9

The prophet leaves and takes a different way home. However, he gets tricked by an old prophet to come over to his house for a bite to eat, which he does.

This is bad for our nameless prophet. You can't just eat when God tells you not to eat.

When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 1 Kings 13: 23-24

As a review, Yahweh gives Solomon all the riches and wisdom the king could want, and when Solomon turns to other gods Yahweh gives him a free pass. A nameless schmuck stops for a snack and he gets killed by a lion.

God loves the 1%.

This is Purgatory.