Wow, this is timely. Just yesterday I was on the plane to New York, and was reading over my previous posts. I came across the one from Friday where I mentioned that I had been blind-sided by a temptation. Well, today’s entry in MUFHH looks at that very thing.
Chambers keeps using a phrase in quotes, “retired sphere of the leasts” but I can’t figure out from what he is quoting. But I can understand how he is using it. He is referring to the small things that surprise me after I have endured successfully a dramatic trial or test.
The passage is 1 Kings 2:28 where Joab flees from Solomon because he had followed Adonijah. The interesting comment the Scripture makes is that he had not followed Absalom, meaning that, in the mind of the writer, Absalom and Adonijah are essentially doing the same thing. That is interesting considering the historical context. The succession narrative in 1 Kings is one of my favorite Bible stories. So much is resolved from David’s reign, and I get a sense of David and his household. They are a busted bunch.
But the focus in MUFHH is on Joab. Having rejected Absalom, he follows Adonijah. He was successful in the big attempt to take over by one of David’s sons, but did not see Adonijah in the same way. He missed the sense of who Yahweh wanted as king, and followed sound political sense instead. When he realized that, he fled to the worship tent and hung onto the altar. It did not help him.
I do this very thing. The One Making the Universe all around me has a purpose in the world I live. I often follow good sense. Sure, I am devoted to following Him to another state with no job, and no house. But will I follow Him in the daily grind? Will I follow my Master as I enter the elements of this day? I should work out, it is good for my body, and such discipline honors my Master. Will I, even though it’s not convenient? I should watch what I eat while on this trip. I should to maintain the success I have enjoyed in weight loss. Will I, when the donuts are brought out as breakfast? What about how I treat people, or what I tolerate to hear or discuss? I am in a strange land with people I am barely familiar. What will they see in me of my Master?
These questions are not the only areas where I can be tripped up, but they are some of my favorite lapses. That I blog this morning is a step in the right direction. I know I have more to do, and to watch for. And I‘m burning daylight.
Matt, good thoughts -- I found your blog actually searching for the origin of "retired sphere of the leasts." Chambers (as always) makes a solid point, but it sure does appear he is quoting someone . . . but what? Kathie
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