Today's Readings and Stuff -- Sunday, 04 May 2014

weary, I am.
Had one of those "family obligation" things today.  L-O-N-G way from here.
background:  wife's half-brother (by the mom) is, um, a "free spirit".  Result of that is nine marriages (4 to the same person, don't ask) and the kids therefrom, and numerous results of "meaningful overnight relationships".  Had some people showing up an mother-in-law's funeral that no one knew, or knew of the kinship at least.  Anyway, yesterday, one of the products of b-i-l's dalliances had a birthday party for HER daughter, turning 16 I believe.  Wife knows her and so does sis-in-law, and Wife hadn't seen her in 25 years or so, and got invite via an aunt or something.
So we went.  It's a 2 hour drive and began at 1:00 p.m., which meant leaving after Sunday School and then a long drive.  Brother-in-law drove, which was nice.  And we showed up unannounced, to quite a reception.  They were glad to see her, and s-i-l, and had quite a get-together.  Dear Wife had taken in digital form some photos of the family tree going back several generations.  Les had never seen them, nor even known of them.  Turns out that she and her hubby are living just about 10 miles from the family's U.S. stomping grounds and she'd never even known it.  Which is just sad.  Glad they were able to do this, but this sort of thing should not have been necessary. 
Incidentally, b-i-l, the original "sperm donor" was not there, he's still hiding out of the country somewhere, no one is sure where.  Something about several federal warrants that are hanging over him should he ever cross the border and be found.  And if I see him, I'll make the call to the marshal's in a heartbeat.  No questions.
So we got back late, dredged up something to eat.  Dear Wife is off to bed and I'll be there shortly.  Long day, as I said.

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Old Testament reading is chapters 8 and 9 of 1st Kings.  This begins with the dedication of the Temple.  A very important matter, and one that echoes to this very day.The location of that temple is pretty well known, and it is in Jerusalem.

I Kings 8

1	Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
2	And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
3	And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
4	And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.
5	And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.
6	And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.
7	For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
8	And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.
9	There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
10	And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
11	So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
12	Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
13	I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.
14	And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)
15	And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,
16	Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.
17	And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
18	And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.
19	Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.
20	And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
21	And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
22	And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
23	And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
24	Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
25	Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
26	And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.
27	But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
28	Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:
29	That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.
30	And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
31	If any man trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:
32	Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
33	When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:
34	Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.
35	When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:
36	Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
37	If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
38	What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:
39	Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)
40	That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
41	Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;
42	(For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;
43	Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.
44	If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:
45	Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
46	If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
47	Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
48	And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:
49	Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,
50	And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:
51	For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:
52	That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.
53	For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O LORD God.
54	And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
55	And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56	Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
57	The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:
58	That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.
59	And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:
60	That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.
61	Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.
62	And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD.
63	And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD.
64	The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
65	And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.
66	On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

I Kings 9

1	And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,
2	That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
3	And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
4	And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
5	Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
6	But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
7	Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
8	And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?
9	And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.
10	And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house,
11	(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12	And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.
13	And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.
14	And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.
15	And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
16	For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.
17	And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether,
18	And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,
19	And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20	And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,
21	Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.
22	But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.
23	These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.
24	But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.
25	And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.
26	And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.
27	And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
28	And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

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The New Testament reading is verses 39-56 in Luke 23.  Jesus is crucified, dies, and is buried.  Lots there in just a few words.  And, as above, a matter that echoes to this day and throughout all Eternity.

Luke 23:39-56

39	And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40	But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41	And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42	And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43	And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
44	And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
45	And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
46	And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
47	Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
48	And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.
49	And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.
50	And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:
51	(The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.
52	This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
53	And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
54	And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
55	And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
56	And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.