Elisha answered, “Go and say to him, ‘You will certainly recover.’ Nevertheless, the LORD has revealed to me that he will in fact die.” – 2 Kings 8:10

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 14, 2019): 2 Kings 8

Do you have time for a holiday riddle? Try this one around the Christmas dinner table. “You will find me in December, but not in any other month.” The answers to the riddle seem endless. It can’t be snow, at least not where I live. We have recorded snow at some point in history in every calendar month of the year, although the most common times for accumulation of the cold white stuff is between October and March or early April. The Holidays of Christmas and Hanukkah are only found during December, but neither of these are the answer to the riddle. My favorite Christmas movie, “Die Hard,” takes place in December, but once we get past Die Hard II the franchise moves on to other seasons.  December has thirty-one days. But so does January, March, May, July, August, and October. There are just as many months that possess a thirty-first day as there are months that lack it.  So what is it that December has that no other month possesses.

Riddles can be fun, and often the answer is relatively simple. And Elisha has one for Hazael. The servant of Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, is sick, and he sends Hazael to Elisha to discover if this sickness will end in death. Elisha’s response is in the form of a riddle. “Tell the king that he will live, and yet he will die.” Assuming that Elisha is being truthful, that is a hard thing to understand. How can the king both live and die? But Hazael understands the answer to the riddle. Ben-Hadad is not sick enough for the illness to mean his death, but he is not well enough to fend off an attack by a deceitful servant. Ben-Hadad was going to die, but not because of disease. Ben-Hadad would be murdered by the one that he trusts, Hazael. Ben-Hadad’s focus was on the wrong danger that was threatening his life. It was not the illness that was the threat; it was Hazael. 

So, you have had a moment to think about our December riddle. What is it that December has that no other month possesses? The letter “D” of course. You will not find that letter in any other month's name on the English Calendar. Only December has a “D.”

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 9