A Wedding Present

Day 124

OT Reading: 1 Kings 8-9

NT Reading: Luke 23:39-56

There are certainly days when something of great theological significance strikes me in my reading. There are also days when a meaningful detail jumps out at me that I have never noticed before. Today was neither of those, as the most memorable detail from today's reading can be found in 1 Kings 9:16 which reads, "(Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon's wife...)"

So...let me get this straight. Pharaoh was feeling generous and in (seemingly) good spirits for his daughter's wedding. So he had Gezer attacked, burned and all its inhabitants killed...then gave that city to his daughter as a wedding present. Does anyone else find this odd or is it just me? I mean, sure it's one thing to give a city to your daughter, but if the city is burned and all its people dead, and your husband has to rebuild it (verse 17)...is that a "happy" present or a "disappointed" present? Is it like getting the family heirloom China that was owned by your great-grandmother...or being forced to wear her hideous wedding dress?

I'm sure if I actually took time to research it (not happening tonight), I'd have an entirely new understanding of the culture and marital practices. But as I look back at eight-plus years ago on my wedding day, luckily for me, my in-laws helped us get furniture and skipped the whole hassle of mass destruction and death. It made the day a whole lot happier.