“You are what your record says you are”

**King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, from a manuscript of Speculum Humanae Salvitionis [c.1430]**

Of course, many, many people are aware of the “Ten Commandments.” But did you know that, in the Old Testament, God also gave “Ten Guidelines” specifically for the king of Israel? It’s true! You can find them in Deut 17:14-20. [And really, it’s not bad advice for anyone, even in modern times!] In the books of Kings in the Old Testament, all of the kings receive an evaluation: either he “did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh” or he “did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh.” Have you ever wondered what the actual “measuring stick” was for these pass/fail judgments?

[The lecture is not accurate in one aspect…there are eight good kings of Judah instead of five. I missed Joash, Amaziah, and Jotham.]

Lecture: Solomon and the Kings [64 mins]

This lecture was recorded in August 2016 for the Zion Evangelical Bible School in Khayelitsha, South Africa.

One Sinner Who Repents

**The Repentance of King David, at The Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid, Macedonia [c.1345]**

Yes, in some ways, King David was worse than King Saul, and he reaped what he sowed. But he repented. And that’s the whole point of being “a man after God’s own heart.”

Confession, not excuses. Repentance, not perfection. Absolution, not judgment. Still, the consequences of all of our actions remain. Because God is perfectly righteous and just, and yet, his nature is always to have mercy…

Lecture: David, the Covenant King [42 mins]

This lecture was recorded in July 2016 for the Zion Evangelical Bible School in Khayelitsha, South Africa.

Prelude to the King

**Samuel Cursing Saul, by Hans Holbein the Younger [c.1525]**

So the Israelites leave Egypt and come to the land they would eventually claim as their own, scratching out a living as a confederation of tribes with no central government. The book of Judges ends with a somber analysis of this state of affairs: “Each person did what was right in their own eyes.” The people bellyache for a king, so God gives them a king; naturally, the guy who is head-and-shoulders taller than everybody else. Things go from bad to worse. God predicts that the king will let his power go to his head, and that’s exactly what happens. So eventually, God says that He will choose a new king…

…except that king does some even worse things than the first one. What ARE you thinking, God?!?

Lecture: Samuel and the Judges [52 mins]

This lecture was recorded in July 2016 for the Zion Evangelical Bible School in Khayelitsha, South Africa.