He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother's name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. – 2 Kings 15:33

Today's Scripture Reading (February 7, 2023): 2 Kings 15

Every Christmas, families dig into their family Christmas movies, search the television listings, or the various "On Demand" streaming services to find "It's a Wonderful Life." The film was originally purchased by RKO pictures, who intended it to be a vehicle for Cary Grant. But that movie never materialized, and finally, RKO sold the rights to the film to Liberty Films. Liberty Films produced the movie, but it cost them dearly. The movie was a commercial disaster, mainly because of the high initial cost of making the film and the stiff competition at the Box Office from the eventual Best Picture winner, "The Best Days of Our Lives." And then, "It's a Wonderful Life" fell into movie oblivion with all the other movies that failed during their brief lives in the theaters, most of which have long since been forgotten. "It's a Wonderful Life" faded into obscurity, and nobody bothered to renew its copyright. I mean, why would they? But then, television began to take hold, and television stations began to realize that they could show "It's a Wonderful Life," marketing the film as a Christmas movie, and it wouldn't cost them anything. As a result, we started to watch the film. Since then, it has become a Christmas classic. Few of us have ever seen "The Best Days of Our Lives," but most have seen or at least know the storyline of "It's Wonderful Life."

The story centers around hapless George Bailey, who puts his life on hold in order to fulfill family business obligations. He takes care of the family until it seems that life has passed him by. A series of events leads him to the decision that his life is useless, and George Bailey decides to attempt to end his life, only to be saved by a clumsy angel in training named Clarence. Clarence shows George that his life has meaning, and at the end of the film, George's friends show up to support him and bail him out of one of the worst moments of his life. Clarence sums up the movie's moral in the inscription of a book he gives to George – "Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends."

At first glance, it is hard to see King Jotham in the same light as George Bailey, but there may be a connection. Even though he reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years, we know very little about him as King. And there might be a good reason for that. Jotham's reign was mostly just an extension of the reign of his Father, King Uzziah. Uzziah reigned for fifty-two years, but for the last eleven years of his reign, Uzziah was sick with leprosy. The Bible describes Uzziah's illness as a punishment from God for his sin in the Temple. Leprosy meant he could no longer be the face of the Kingdom, but it didn't stop him from being the power behind the throne. Jotham became a king without real power until his father's death eleven years into his reign. Jotham put his life on hold so that he could lend his face to the reign of his father, Uzziah.

There must have also been a level of frustration inside Jotham. He could no longer live the life he wanted to live. Because he was the king, he had daily responsibilities that had to be carried out. But, at the same time, he didn't have the power to rule because Uzziah was still alive, which may have made him more of a George Bailey than we realize.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 26

See Also 21 Chronicles 27:1