As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha’s whole family. He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. – 1 Kings 16:11

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 17, 2016): 1 Kings 16

George Villiers, Second Duke of Buckingham, was born on January 30, 1628. From the moment of his birth, the potential of the young Duke seemed endless. His father, George Villiers, First Duke of Buckingham, was a favorite of both King James I and King Charles I. But George Sr. was assassinated when George Jr. was just seven months old. From that time, the junior Villiers was brought up in the Royal household alongside the future Kings of England, Charles II, and James II. George was well educated and given all of the possible advantages available for a person in 17^th century England. 

But George Villiers Jr. did not seem to have the character to build on the gifts that life had handed him. Italian philosopher Lorenzo Magalotti wrote of George that he was "Courteous, affable, generous, magnanimous...he is adored by the people...On the other hand, he is an atheist, blasphemer, violent, cruel and infamous for his licentiousness, in which he is so wrapped up that there is no sex, nor age, nor condition of persons who are spared from it." The Second Duke of Buckingham frittered away his life, sometimes fighting for the crown that was so instrumental in his early life, and sometimes betraying it. Villiers’ went in and out of the Kings graces. He spent time locked up in the Tower of London because of his betrayal. In the end, he could he just could not be counted on in any matter of importance. John Dryden, in his poem “Absalom and Achitophel” remembers the Second Duke of Buckingham as he writes his description of Zimri:

               In the first rank of these did Zimri stand:

A man so various, that he seem'd to be

Not one, but all Mankind's Epitome.

Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong;

Was everything by starts, and nothing long:

But in the course of one revolving moon,

Was chemist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon.

Zimri’s murder of King Elah and the entire clan of King Baasha may have been prophesied as a penalty for Baasha’s sin, but that did not make Zimri’s action right. Zimri was a privileged member of the inner circle, and his name has become a byword for treachery and the idea of servant murdering his master for personal gain. But more than that, Zimri was a man without a plan. Beyond the assassination of the family of Baasha, Zimri had no idea how to hold onto his newfound position of king or how to keep the kingdom together. His reign lasted all of seven days, and it ended with Zimri setting fire to the palace and killing himself, making him not only one who murders his master but one who wastes his potential - much like the Second Duke of Buckingham.

   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 15