Professor Whiz The Owl

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Professor Whiz the Educated Owl.

Professor Whiz The Educated Owl

"Un-educated owls say "to who" but educated owls say "to whom." Professor Whiz uses a lot of big words and fusses about grammer issues but he's not really a lot of help.  The Wintergreen witch lives near by and the Crazy Quilt dragon who took the silver star has gone into her house. She is away at a witches convention.

Fee Foot the Giant and Frady Cat

Of course Cinnamon Bear and the kids follow. There is nothing much in the witches house except a few pots and a really big picture on the wall. It seems to be a magic picture. Judy and Jimmy and Cinnamon Bear are able to walk right into it. Just inside they find Frady Cat whose terribly afraid of just about everything. Especially the giant that lives in the forest. We'll meet him tomorrow.

Wisdom seems a good topic to continue to delve into a bit more.
1 Kings 4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.

2 Chronicles 1:10-12

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

¹⁰ Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” ¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”

You would think with all that wisdom that Solomon of all people would have managed to live right. He did for a while but as time went on he was enticed away by his many wives into things that God had clearly told him to not take part in. His heart was after women more than it was after  God. 

Take a look at 1 King 11
11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. ² 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. ³ He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. ⁴ As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. ⁵ He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done. ⁷ On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁸ He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
⁹ The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰ Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command.¹¹ 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. ¹² 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" 

I'm pretty convinced that if you don't stay connected to the Lord even if you get gifts like wisdom it will un-ravel around you. Solomon asked for wisdom to lead the people. He was young and is chosen from among Davids sons to be the next king. 

Things seem to unravel for David and Solomon because as kings they have taken on many wives. 
Maybe the pleasures of all these assorted women were how kings chose to un-wind from the pressures of the day. David seems to struggle to lead his own dysfunctional family. Solomon is the child of Bathsheba who David saw bathing on a near by roof. He thru caution and wisdom to the wind and went after another mans wife. Bathsheba becomes pregnant with a child. David freaks out and tries to get her husband home, but the guy won't even sleep in his own bed with his wife because his men are still on the battlefield. Foiled again, so David then had the guy sent to the fiercest part of the battle. Essentially murdering the guy.  David is now free to bring Bathsheba home to the palace as queen. She looses the baby in spite of all Davids prayers. Eventually they become pregnant again and give birth to Solomon and some other sons.  Of course David eventually sees what he's done and does repent.

I saw a documentary once that talked about how Bathsheba was not just another pretty face. She was a shrewd woman who had her sites set on becoming queen. Then of all the wives she made sure her son would become the king and she enjoyed the position of queen mother. I suppose there is always more to the story.   

In All The Women of the Bible it says "After the murder of Uriah, she became the wife of David, and mother of five sons by him. The first died in infancy. The others were Solomon, Shimea, Shobub and Nathan." You don't hear much about the others sons but it is interesting to note that in the geneology of Jesus in Luke you find that the family linage passes from David thru his son Nathan not through Solomon. Also interesting it is Nathan the prophet who comes and brings a strong word of correction to David about the whole Bathsheba incident. He was important enough to David that he would name a son after the man.

"Repentance and forgiveness did not neutralise the natural consequences of his sin. Nor will they do so for us. God often leaves them to be experienced, that the experience may make us hate the sins the more."Alexander Maclaren in David's Appointing Solomon

Both David and Solomon struggle with issues regarding their relationships with many women. They have taken the liberty of kingship and gone beyond God's intentions. The big problem is that they married foreign women and the views and beliefs of those women had a deteriorating effect on the kingdom. All the blessing, favor and wisdom in the world to build a kingdom was given to Solomon because his hearts desire when he was young was for God. Sadly as he grew older his priorities change and his hearts desire becomes more about women and power than about his relationship with God.

I suppose wisdom would give all of us a word of warning from this story. God gives us gifts to work in partnership with him. They were never intended for us to just go off our own way. I think it is important for all of us to check our hearts from time to time. Is our hearts desire for the Lord, his kingdom and his ways or have other things become more important to us. Do you foolishly think you will eventually get back to doing things Gods way. Maybe you are waiting for when you have more of this or that. Waiting for something to change - then you will follow God with greater devotion. Today is the day that matters. Your choices today will have an effect on tomorrow. Take the time during this advent season to prepare and make room in your heart for Jesus. It would be sad if he would come to you, and once again find no room in the inn of your heart.

Prayer:
Lord we come to you and rather than ask for things we come and ask to know you more. You have given us gifts not to decorate our mantle but to make a difference in the world around us. Help us to dust them off and help us to learn how to use them for your glory.