Day 207..."Kings...Remnant and a Pearl"

The evil kings seem to outnumber the good ones about five to one. I did notice today one king who burned his own son, as a sacrifice. In my previous reading, I had not noticed this violence before. Another king, Azariah, reigned for fifty-two years. Is that the longest tenure of a king so far? In reading through the Bible, I notice this history of kings is written fast paced or with just highlights. Isaiah offers a word of hope as a remnant will survive. The temporary setback of exile will be overcome with hope and the restoration of Israel. In the parable of "the Great Pearl," we have a similar story to the treasure found in the field. The Kingdom of God is to be our greatest joy and priority. A merchant sold all he had for the pearl. We are to likewise devote our lives to the Kingdom!

Day 206..."Elisha dies...Wonderful Counselor...Excitement about a treasure"

Elisha dies in today's reading following an unusual story. The shooting of the bow and arrow (as a symbol) for direction instead of a weapon is an interesting story. The striking of the ground three times is considered a moderate and less than enthusiastic response. (NIV study notes) As we continue to read about the many kings, we see the Books of First and Second Kings really lived up the name. Most of the kings are described "as doing evil in the sight of the Lord." Azariah was described well..."And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord." Are there more beautiful words than..."For to us a child is born,to us a son is given;and the government shall be upon his shoulder,and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace"? These four characteristics are associated with Jesus. The "Prince of Peace" is so reassuring! One of my favorite parables is the man who finds the treasure in the field. The seeking of the Kingdom of God does produce exitement! An enthusiasm to devote everything in your life to God!

Day 205..."A seven year old king...New truth and old structures."

II Kings continues with violence in the slaughter of seventy sons of Ahab in Samaria. One King of Judah that really stands out is Jehoash. Why? "(He) was seven years old when he began to reign." This era of Israel seems to be all over the map in regard to a king. Even contemplating not having a king again with the saying of... "We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your eyes.” The time of exile was preceeded with inconsistency of leadership. Isaiah references the coming of a Immanuel..."“Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." This is a beautiful prophecy of hope in a Book which begins with gloom. The parable of the wineskin again illustrates Jesus' truth and teaching is not contained, or limited, to meaningless religious structures. (see day 20 for more detail)

Day 204..."Another food miracle with a twist...Jezebel dies a horrible death...Patches"

Chapter seven tells another amazing food story with the Syrians abandoning their homes. This leaves abundant supplies for hungry lepers and others. As it turns out...the Syrians fled hearing a massive army which was really God making the noise as an army. Chapters eight and nine are filled with several murders of kings and much violence. The story of Jezebel does stand out as one of the most violent deaths in the Bible. She was trampled by horses and mutilated so badly she could not even be recognized. In the Isaiah reading...I had to look up the meaning of the word necromancer which means..."a divine communication with the dead." Isaiah paints a pretty bleak picture in refering to "no dawn." The parable of the of the unshrunk patch on the old garment has the same message as the "New Wine and New Wineskins." The old structures of Israel could not hold the new teachings of Jesus. One of the worst things that can happen is to place structure over the Gospel. This elevation of structure over message blurs the simple "good news" of Jesus Christ. Structure is a means of telling the "good news" and not the message.

Day 203..."Elisha heals leprosy...Great hymns...The Parable of the Sower"

Naaman was admired and army leader but battled leprosy. Elisha gave a healing plan of dipping in the waters seven times. Initially, he refused wanting to make the selection of water an issue. He relented and did as Elisha had instructed. The result was he was healed and even given youthful skin. I cannot imagine anything more disturbing than eating one's own children. II Kings, chapter six, is very difficult to read because of this graphic image.

Isaiah, chapter six, is the foundation of two great hymns. "Holy, Holy, Holy" is the foundation of one of our greatest hymns. Also, we have the foundation of being called by God..."“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” The Hymn "Here I am Lord" comes from this text. This is one of my favorite hymns because of my calling. There is also a reference to hearing and not understanding and seeing but not perceiving. We will also see this as a part of Jesus' teaching on the Parable of the sower. We seek to grow in the good soil of understanding the Kingdom! The message on Sunday will address the four scenarios of the "Parable of the Sower."

Day 202..."Elisha brings water and a child back to life...Parable of the weeds"

Elisha demonstrates his power as water comes from under the ground. A massive army and livestock are parched with thirst and gain relief. Later he brings a child (the Shunammite's Son) back to life as the child laid lifeless the longest and then sneezes seven times! Elisha also can cook as he intervenes in the nick of time with a pot of poison stew. Isaiah speaks with truth when he lays out there to folly of humankind..."Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness,who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!" The parable of the weeds demonstrates the sorting out of good and evil. Also, weeds can set in so quickly and in this case planted in the night by the enemy. God seeks to bring growth. The Evil One seeks to undo God's seeds, planting, and the bearing of fruit.

Day 201..."Elijah does not die on his way to Heaven...Hidden mystery of the Kingdom"

Elijah does not die, as he is taken in a whirlwind to Heaven..."as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he (Elisha) saw him no more." This story offers a beautiful sequence for leadership transfer, as the mantle of leadership is also passed. Elijah and Enoch from Genesis 5 hold the distinctions of never dying. Isaiah, chapter four, is very short and offers insight into the bleak present condition but hope is coming "the Lord creating over the whole city of Zion." We will see more of this in the later chapters of Isaiah. The parable of the leaven of "the yeast" offers the simple truth that the Kingdom is hidden but will become apparent to all, as bread rising...reading the Bible can have this kind of impact!

Day 200..."Ahab killed by random bow...Faith of a mustard seed"

Ahab is killed in battle by random bow. Jehoshaphat's reign over Judah was one that did good in the midst of so many Kings that brought evil...like Ahaziah who brought evil in the sight of the Lord to Israel. Isaiah decribes the consequences of turning away from God..."For Jerusalem has stumbled,and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence." Isaiah can be considered three books within one book. Below is a breakdown.

- Destruction, consequences for sin, despair ( chapters 1-39)
- Hope begins again (chapters 40-55)
- New Heaven and Earth (chapter 56-66)

The parable of the mustard seed remains amazing in both simplicity and power. God does do amazing things beyond what we can conceive! There are many occasions God has brought the mustard seed metaphor alive to me! The living of the Christian life is an exciting adventure. We never know how God will move, transform, unify, raise up, inspire, and build! Faith is more than what we can see...and contrary to conventional belief... requires a deeper commitment! Anyone can believe in what they can see or hold in their hand! Faith, on the other hand, requires something of us until events, resources, and people change and God moves!

Day 199..."Ahab and Naboth...Isaiah begins...Parables"

Today our reading includes a parable a day to go with our Cokesbury Lenten Study of the "Parables Then and Now." Thanks to Betty Hendricks planning back in August we aligned the reading of the parables with "Discovering God's Word a 365 Day Journey." This is why we will take a break from the Book of Acts and resume... when Lent is done. Ahab lives with victory over Ben-hadad but cannot resist Naboth's vineyard. Jezebel plots to kill Naboth similar to a David and Uriah story. Everything goes downhill when Ahab gets greedy. Isaiah is one of my favorite books. We begin with Israel suffering the consequences of sin in chapter one...and the longing for forgiveness..."though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Israel will have gloom and doom in the forecast through chapter thirty-nine. Hang in there...Isaiah will be a wonderful message of hope, when we complete the book. Just like life...we have to endure the hard times first before the hope is evident. I will say more about the structure of Isaiah tomorrow. Our parable is on the "Growing Seed." The parable teaches that growth is sometimes invisible but always in process...and one day the fruit arrives. God does bring the growth. I am reminded of Paul's words..."I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." (I Corinthians 3:6).

Day 198..."Is Elijah bi-polar? Peter leads"

Is Elijah bi-polar? How else could you explain his moving from triumph to wishing he were dead in such a short time. Have we ever had one of those mood swings? The broom tree story is very compatible with life. We have our "ups" and "downs" from Mt. Carmel to the broom tree! The Song of Songs says love is strong in an eloquent way..."Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm,for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised." Peter offers strong leadership to the early Church as evidenced by chapter ten in Acts. After a vision that sounds more like Revalation, he asserts the greater purposes of God as Peter says..."“Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him."

Day 197..."Elijah puts Baal worshipers in their place...Saul/Paul changes sides!

Elijah performs miracles during a drought. (Somewhat like the loaves and fishes with flour and oil) The biggest is a confrontation with Baal worshipers. Elijah says it like this..."And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” Elijah wins the showdown in one of my favorite stories of the Bible. Solomon continues to write in romantic language... "How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights!" In Acts nine, Saul is dramatically converted. He is blinded for three days. The Jews want to kill him as one who persecuted the early church now changes sides. The disciples are reluctant to receive Saul/Paul until they hear of his genuine change. Dorcas known as one of "good works and charity" is raised from the dead by Peter. God's power is pretty awesome in chapter nine to change Paul and raise Dorcas.

Day 196..."Mostly bad Kings...splintering...more delight...Philip relates Jesus in an invitational way"

This section of I Kings provides a summary of good kings and bad kings...mostly bad kings. These chapters following David and Solomon provide ample reason why Israel would become so fragmented and eventually be exiled. Song of Songs continues with language of delight... even with an image of "a garden of love." The rapid events of Acts tells of Paul persecuting the Christians. This is the chapter eight Saul. Tomorrow we will see a chapter nine Paul. Philip provides a "crash course" on how to relate the good news of Christ-wait until the door is open. The Eunuch asked Philip for help understanding the Scripture. Philip asked...“Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” The occasion led to a baptism and conversion of the Eunuch. This story teaches us God can use us as we are and where we are to lead people to Christ!

Day 195..."Jeroboam does not find favor...Steven does a review and is stoned"

Jeroboam never really found the favor of God and it was of his own undoing. His worship of other gods being the primary reason. An unusual story with a mysterious prophet of God confronting Jeroboam illustrates his struggles as a leader. His wife also goes under cover to find out the fate of her sick son. Her cover is blown and the son dies anyway. His reign is 22 years. Rehoboam, Solomon's son, follows and serves 17 years. More is said about these two later in Chronicles. Is Song of Song 5:8 the origin of being love sick? The words say... "I am sick with love." Stephen does a recap of Israel's history. (Interesting in that he reviewed what we have read so far) His referring to his audience "stiff necked" leads to his stoning. I always thought Stephen was one of the most underated people in the Bible...considering he gave the ultimate price for his discipleship. He also follows his Lord and asks forgiveness for those who stoned him.

Day 194..."Solomon's quick fall...the face of an angel"

As our previous reading could not have been more glorious, we quickly how quickly one can fall. The main cause Solomon began worshipping the gods of his wives. I often have thought how Solomon is a symbolic of humanity as a whole. He had the most of everything as he had wisdom along with being handsome and prosperous. He began splintering in his allegiance to God and this led to his fall. Is this not the story of Israel? After Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam led to an even greater collapse of Israel. How quickly things changed for Israel! The Song of Songs is filled with very romatic images today. Beauty is expressed in many metaphors today. Does anyone still think the Bible is dull upon reading these images? The first Church problem was solved by aligning people with their gifts. This model of problems solving is good today. In every problem is an opportunity. Through the successful solving of the problem regarding the neglected widows...a stronger ministry emerged and the Church kept growing and growing. Stephen is accused of blasphemy and will be stoned to death but notice how innocent he appeared before the council..."And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel."

Day 193..."Solomon's splendor! Wedding Dreams..."Liar Liar, Pants on Fire"

Jesus referred to Solomon's splendor in the Sermon on the Mount. (refering to the lillies of the field) In today's reading we see evidence of the "why". Solomon's wealth, wisdom, and amenities impressed the Queen of Sheba so much she was out of breath. She stated her glowing reports were underestimated. One passage sums up the prosperity of Jerusalem..."And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah." How appropriate that the Song of Songs reading features Solomon's splendor as well...and also a dream of Solomon's wedding...only one day after Valentine's Day. The story of Ananias and Sapphira reads more like an Old Testament story but rather is recorded in the rapid events of the early Church. Their lying flew in the face of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. As a result, they dropped dead. In a setting of such signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit...this was a sign and wonder on the disobedience side of being truthful.

Day 192..."Solomon continues to build and dedicate...A great spirit of sharing".

The readings from I King's today describes the building of Solomon's house which required thirteen years to build. Was this the beginning of the Solomon's splintering in his allegiance. The temple was smaller than Solomon's house and only required seven years to build. Perhaps I am reading too much into this comparison. Solomon does spend significant time with all the intricate detail of the temple. After the Ark is added...there is a glorious time of dedication and prayer. A massive sacrifice is held at the time of dedication. Everyone after seven days went away joyful. The Song of Songs are filled with positive images today..."The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come." The apostles miracle, healing the lame man... causes a stir among the establishment in Acts. There is evident an amazing spirit of sharing and generosity. There is even the sharing of possesions. At the end of chapter four...Barnabas (an encourager) is introduced. Barnabas is one of my favorite persons in the Bible.

Day 191..."Solomon prospers and the temple rises...The beginning of Song of Songs...A lame man walks"

Solomon's kingdom is abundantly blessed. One line sums up his first years as king..."there is neither adversary nor misfortune." This era is clearly a departure from the trials, plagues, disobience, and battles of Israel. A temple for the Lord is built over a seven year period. The details are glorious. Thousands upon thousands build the temple to exact specifications. I cannot imagine this awesome construction site without the sound of hammer. (because the rocks were quarried) We move into the sensual language of the Song of Songs today. This part of the Bible can make you blush. Who is the writer? Solomon. There is debate whether he wrote the entire book. In Acts 3, we read the story of Peter and John healing a lame man from birth. Remember how the disciples could not perform miracles earlier? Now...the Holy Spirit is evident through the disciples. Peter claims the miracle came not from power or piety but from God. Ironically, in today's reading, Peter speaks from Solomon's portico.

Day 190..."Solomon's wisdom established...The Spirit comes as does the Church"

Solomon prays for wisdom and the Lord grants his request. The controversy of which mother had the living child is a riveting story. Solomon' s wisdom prevails to find the real mother. He also is granted extravagant blessings by the Lord. Ecclesiastes also speaks of the virtue of wisdom..."Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth." Acts 2 contains one of the most eventful chapters in the Bible. First...the coming of the Holy Spirit. Second...the speaking of other languages. Third...the accusation of being drunk in the early morning. Fourth...Peter's sermon that cut people to the heart. Fifth...a response of 3000 people. Sixth...the early Church's formation of breaking bread, praying together, teaching together, and fellowship. This model is still present in the modern day church. The model of Acts is still a great blueprint to design ministy today.

Day 189..."David succession by Solomon...Matthias succeeds Judas"

I Kings begins with the aging David and the need of a successor. Adonijah sets himself up to be the next King but his plans are intercepted. The closest people to David...Bathsheba, Nathan, and others call for Solomon. David gives his blessings and calls for Solomon's kingdom to exceed his own. Solomon begins his reign by confronting and later killing those who have disobeyed. The second chapter concludes by saying Solomon's Kingdom is firmly established. Ecclesiastes speaks about youth and aging as vanity..."for youth and the dawn of life are vanity." Aging gracefully is not easy! The Book of Acts is written by Luke and some refer to these 28 chapters as "the gospel of the Church." Others have referred to Acts as the "the gospel of the Holy Spirit." In the first chapter Jesus ascends, after forty days following the resurrection. The power of the Holy Spirit is promised by Jesus and is recorded in Acts 1:8..."But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” In a matter of restoring the twelve disciples, Mathias is elected by casting lots to follow Judas.

Day 188.."Reading moves out of II Samuel and John"

We have now completed II Samuel, as David confesses sin and Israel averts a worse plague. These themes of sin, plague, confession, restoration are common place in the Old Testament. II Samuel ends with David building an altar to the Lord. I always gave credit to modern day motivational speakers for the "sharpening the saw" concept. I see now the roots are in Ecclesiastes..."If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength." Perhaps this is also a metaphor for taking moments each day to sharpen our focus in seeking God's direction. Today, marks the end of our reading through the Gospels. We have spent 188 days reading through these awesome words. Notice how John closes..."Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John only contain some of what Jesus did...there was much more! According to John...much, much more!

Day 187..."Facing the Giants...Jesus reinstates Peter"

David's people continue to prevail as another giant of Gath was struck down by Jonathon. The giant is so big he has six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot as well. David's song of deliverance in II Samuel 22 is much like a Psalm. The writing tells a story of God's faithfulness over various trials. An example is in 22:32-33...“For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? This God is my strong refuge." I am not sure I fully understand Ecclesiastes 8:11 but it makes me think about the vanity theme of Ecclesiastes...and there is a time for everything under Heaven..."Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all." Jesus reinstates Peter three times after Peter denies Jesus three time. Only the Lord could have that much grace to balance the scales of denial with grace!

Day 186,.."Jealousy over David...Jesus gives fishing tips"

David is an influential king and causes jealousy when he grieves his son Absalom and even absurd things were said..."you love those who hate you and hate those who love you." David was able to persuade..."And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, so that they sent word to the king, “Return, both you and all your servants.” So the king came back to the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring the king over the Jordan." Evidence is also seen of the intensification of the jealousy of Judah and Israel ..."But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel." A very historic statement is made about Jerusalem..."You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord?” This statement by a one known as a wise woman. Ecclesiastes points out the vanity of being an Epicurean..."And I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun." Jesus gave fishing tips and 153 fish were caught reversing the fortunes of the disciples. The 153 could be a symbolic number of nations known on the earth at the time. If so, this would be a great message of seeking all the world for Christ!

Day 185.."David's war tactics...The Preacher...Seeing is believing but believing without seeing is faith"

David is known in the Scripture as a wise tactician of war in one saying to Abasalom..."your father is expert in war." This wisdom would bear itself out in today's reading. David shows the conflictness of being human. When Abasalom slams into a tree and later killed by force, David grieves his passing...even though he is an adversary. A father's love for a son is even greater than being a wartime enemy. The writer of Eccesiastes is referred to as a preacher..."Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher." This preacher is pretty gloom and doom with regular doses of insight and occasional bursts of hope. Thomas wants proof of the resurrection. Jesus offers to the nail prints...Thomas believes. Jesus says..."Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Faith is not faith, if we have proof in hand! The Gospels do not contail all of Jesus' Words, teachings, and miracles as evidenced in John..."Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." The purpose of John's Gospel is to offer life in the Name of Jesus Christ!

Day 184..."Charming at the gate...John's account of the resurrection"

Absalom charms at the gate for a few years but is all the while conspiring to overthrow his father. David is blindsided and flees. What happened to all of the humility in wanting to see his father's face? This story has many twists and turns and is filled with unexpected outcomes. Ecclesiastes continues the many metaphors of vanity...like it better to be stillborn than to live in want. John shares his resurrection account and leaves intrigue with phrase..."So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved"...was this beloved disciple John? The sprint to the tomb by Peter indicates his denial was short lived. Jesus appears to Mary and the disciples. He breathes on them the Holy Spirit. This passage is one reason we associate the Holy Spirit with breath. We will read more of John's unique account tomorrow.

Day 183..."Rape, murder, estrangement...Ecclesiastes key to happiness...Nicodemus appears again"

These chapters in II Samuel have Amnon raping his sister Tamar and Absalom killing his brother Amnon. This action leads to Absalom's estrangement from David for two years. They are renunited after a period in which Absalom is not to look at the King face to face. Eccesiates says about the love of money..."Whoever loves money never has money enough;whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." The key to happiness is also revealed..."Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart." In John's Gospel, we read of Jesus' death. Nicodemus appears for the third time and helps with Jesus' burial. The reader gets the impression that Nicodemus not only grasped the "new birth" concept but was devoted enough to Jesus to love Him in death.

Day 182..."David commits adultery and then even worse...Jesus is mocked"

David had a great kingdom. He wanted Bathsheba. Bathsheba had a husband. David slept with Bathsheba anyway. He then orchestrated Uriah's (Bathsheba's husband) assignment to the front line where he would surely be killed. He was. Nathan called his hand through telling a story of greed. David would repent as we have already read in Psalms 51. Ecclesiastes has two good quotes today..."Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind." Quiet is not all bad. Also about teamwork..."Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!" Jesus is a King but no one prior to the resurrection knows what kind of King...He is sentenced to the cross and mocked about being a King.

Day 181..."David honors Mephibosheth...A time for everything...

David honors the family of Saul by honoring the son with lame feet...Mephibosheth. He is entitled to eat at the Kings table as a son. David continues his string of victories over Ammon and Syria. Ecclesiastes moves from words of vanity to eloquent. Life is somewhat a series of events...ups and downs, joy and sadness, building and tearing down. The ability to keep perspective is a great gift. These beautiful passages help us maintain perspective. A passage I had not noticed before is tucked in the end of chapter three..."So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot." The ability to be fulfilled in work is a good thing. Jesus is challenged about whether or not He is a King (interesting to think about a King in reading about David) and Jesus answers...“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is more than an eartly King!

Day 180..."Instead of a house of prayer a prayer about a house...Peter's loyalty and fickleness"

The Lord tells Nathan to tell David to build a house of cedar. The house is accompanied with a beautiful prayer..." And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.” David proclaims the awesomeness of God..."Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you." David found favor with the Lord as the phrase is repeated..."And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went." David is living a blessed life. Ecclesiastes is a little different to read but the straightforward teaching is similar to the Proverbs..."Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness." John describes the arrest of Jesus including a story of Peter cutting off the soilders ear. Jesus commands him to put his sword down. This is the same Peter who will deny Jesus only a few hours later. We see in Peter a loyalty and fickleness, bravery and cowardness, one who is committed and a defector...all in one person. If one of the Lord's disciples was so fickle...is it any wonder humankind struggles over these same issues?