Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair whatever damage is found in the temple. – 2 Kings 12:5

Today's Scripture Reading (January 31, 2023): 2 Kings 12

There is something fun about a restoration project. To take something, say a car or a house, and restore it to what it was originally meant to be, or maybe even an upgrade on the original architect's dream, leaves us feeling empowered and a little like an artist. I have said that I grew up in a car family. When I was growing up, my dad always seemed to be working at restoring a car that appeared to be long past its day. The fun came in restoring the beauty and usefulness of the car once again.

During the time that Athaliah held political power in Judah, the temple had fallen into trouble. Many of the temple's vessels and instruments had been removed and repurposed so they could be used to worship other gods. And because of that, these instruments needed to be replaced, and the whole temple needed to be restored. So, the reign of Joash begins with great promise as he orders the restoration of the temple. The King hoped that what was once beautiful and full of God's purpose could become that way again.

Once we fixed things that were broken. I remember my grandfather scolding me because I never learned to darn my socks; instead, I threw the holey socks away and went and bought new ones. According to grandpa, it was a waste. Our current culture would disagree. We have become more of a disposable culture. While not absent, the idea of restoring something in our society seems to be disappearing, except maybe on our reality television shows. When our cars break down, we buy new ones. When our houses no longer fit our lifestyle, we replace them with a different home. But all of this is a current cultural development, but it hasn't always been this way.

It hasn't been a large step from making things disposable in our lives to making the people journeying with us disposable. Our relationships are often easier to throw away than to try to fix. But our problem as Christians is that we have always been about restoring people so that they can make the most of their lives. We are God's love message to the world, and we are the ones that get to tell the world that God loves them and sees value in them. And everyone around us deserves to be restored and not discarded.

Restoration isn't an easy path. Often the item we are restoring tends to bite back. But in the end, there really is no feeling like seeing something, or someone, restored to the beauty they were originally intended to possess.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Joel 1

 

When the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. – 2 Chronicles 24:25

Today's Scripture Reading (January 30, 2023): 2 Chronicles 24

Beginnings often don't reveal the end. Or as Yoda (Star Wars) phrased it, "Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future." The problem with the future is that it is heavily influenced by the actions that we, as well as those around us, take today. The smallest decision, for good, bad, or somewhere in between, can move the future by vast distances. Today sets up tomorrow and pushes it in a way that is either beneficial or detrimental to the rest of our lives. It is why what we do today matters so much.

Joash ascended to the throne of Judah at the age of seven. The reign of Joash began with the cheers of the people. After the violence that took place during the reign of Athaliah, Joash's grandmother, a respite was needed. Early in his reign, Joash possessed the benefit of the wisdom of the Priest Jehoiada, and together they had set the nation on a path that honored God. Between the teachable spirit that the child possessed and the priest's wisdom, Joash's reign began with an abundance of promise.

But then the Priest had died, and the reign of Joash turned. Joash began to listen to the princes and members of the Royal family more than the priests. As a result, Joash descended so far into evil that he even had the high priest Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, executed in the Temple where he served. It might have been this very issue that Jesus was referencing in Matthew 23. Speaking to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, Jesus said: "And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar" (Matthew 23:35). While the name doesn't quite match, scholars wonder if it could be an error in the copying process or if this Zechariah was the grandson of Jehoida. The Hebrew word for son can sometimes be imprecise, and it can mean descendent as well as son. One of Jesus's titles is "The Son of David," even though Jesus was the son of Joseph and a descendant of David and separated from the famous King by around thirty generations. In the same way, Zechariah may have been the son of Berekiah and the grandson of Jehoiada, and it was this Zechariah about whom Jesus was speaking.

But regardless of the question of identity, rabbinical literature says that Zechariah's death caused the palace officials to turn against the King. And a reign that began with the people cheering for the new King ended with his assassination. The future had moved to a point that no one could have predicted in the beginning.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 12

See Also 2 Kings 12:21

Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king's son and put the crown on him; they presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him and shouted, "Long live the king!" – 2 Chronicles 23:11

Today's Scripture Reading (January 29, 2023): 2 Chronicles 23

Maybe one of the most surprising things that have come out of the Sussex's drip-drip of revelations about the Firm, what they call the business aspects of the Royal Family, is that Harry believed into his young adult years that his mother was still alive. She had gone into hiding after the accident and was waiting for the appropriate day to make her return. Or maybe she was captured by forces within the Firm who believed that she was a destabilizing force on the Royal Family. Whatever the reason, it seems that Harry really thought that one day his mother would return, and this fantasy concerning his mother continued long past his childhood.

Maybe, it isn't surprising. I can't imagine what it must have been like for the young Harry to have to deal with the death of his mother, especially in such a horrible disaster. What was it like to believe that the last thing his mother saw with her human eyes was the paparazzi flashbulbs trying to get a picture of her dying body? It is not something that I would wish on anyone. And it should give us all pause on the things we allow our eyes to see. Harry blames the paparazzi, but it is not their fault. Not really. The responsibility really lies with us, you and me. If we didn't buy up everything Royal, there would have been no market for pictures of the Royal Family. And maybe that is actually the change that we need to make. We have to stop buying what the paparazzi and the rest of the gossip mongers are selling. I might be one of the few that has not watched the Harry and Megan's Netflix expose, nor have I read Harry's book "Spare." And I have no plan to read Harry's book and the rumored upcoming sequel. I did not watch the Oprah interview, not because I was not interested, but because sanity has to start somewhere. Suppose a portion of what Harry says is true. In that case, the moral thing is to begin shutting it down and to be content with the moments that the Royals are willing to share with us. We must recognize that we will only ever know a portion of what is true about Britain's Royal Family, just as anyone in our sphere of influence will only ever see a part of our lives. There are juicy things about our lives that people might like to know, but it is none of their business. And what we know about the rich and famous is already too much.

When Athaliah became queen, she executed everyone who had any right to the throne of Judah. It is possible, early on, that the people wondered if there might be someone that they Athaliah had missed. Was there someone that could rescue them from the evil reign of Athaliah? But as time passed, they began to realize that Athaliah was their only reality.

Could you imagine the shock if Harry was right, and Diana had shown up a decade after her death, regardless of why she had disappeared? It must have been a very similar experience on the day that the Priest Jehoiada presented Joash to the people. They thought everyone was dead, but suddenly a seven-year-old boy threw everything the people thought they knew into disarray. There was someone else who had a right to sit on the throne of David, and this person was actually a descendant of David, something that Athaliah never was.

It was a great day, a day when the unlikely dreams of the people came true.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 24

When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah. – 2 Chronicles 22:10

Today's Scripture Reading (January 28, 2023): 2 Chronicles 22

CNN's special documentary series "What Happened to America's Mayor" looks at the life and career of Rudy Giuliani, his ascent to power, and then his, at times, seeming demise during the Trump Years. Maybe the one line of the documentary that we all need to hear is that "power changes you." And the words don't just apply to Rudy, but to all of us. Maybe we all question why our politicians do what they do, and often we think that we would do things differently. We would work with politicians from different parties, so why can't they? We would reward good ideas wherever they might arise, so why can't they? And maybe the answer is the same for all of us. We really don't know what we would do because now we don't have the power, but then we would. And power changes us.

We are tempted to wonder about Athaliah's emotional state, or maybe her mental capacity, that she is willing to kill her grandchildren and anyone else who might be in the line of succession to the throne of Judah. As I read the story of Athaliah, I honestly can't imagine a grandmother who would be willing to kill her grandchildren so that she could be Queen. My grandchildren are precious treasures to me. All I want for any of them is the absolute best this life offers. Yet, that is precisely what Athaliah does. She kills anyone who might have reason to claim that she isn't the Queen.

But the real reason why she is willing to do any of this is that power has the capacity to change us in a very fundamental way. Once we have had power of any kind, the human race seems to be willing to do anything to get it back. What was once unthinkable suddenly becomes not only thinkable but a logical response to the situation. We will do anything to keep the power that we have. The story of Queen Athaliah killing members of the Royal Family, including her own children and grandchildren, and some of the seemingly incomprehensible actions of Rudy Giuliani have the same cause; they are a result of power changing us in ways that we could never imagine in the days when we lived without it. The story of Athaliah, as well as the contemporary tale of Rudy Giuliani, are cautionary tales of which we all need to be aware. Only if we remember these stories will we be able to safeguard ourselves from doing the unthinkable in our lives if we ever gain the kind of power that changes us.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 23

Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops: "Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her." For the priest had said, "She must not be put to death in the temple of the LORD." – 2 Kings 11:15

Today's Scripture Reading (January 27, 2023): 2 Kings 11

The capital punishment argument still rages in our society. Those in favor of the death penalty seem to reside on the political right, while those against capital punishment seem to congregate on the political left. What amazes me is that the argument for and against abortion, or what some would call the murder of unborn children, is actually reversed, which means that those who want to kill criminals are the same people who argue against the killing of children, often arguing that every life matters. Those in favor of abortion, killing unborn children, often stand against the use of the death penalty for even the worst of our criminals. I recently had an interesting conversation with one of these people. For him, abortion, and even suicide, which he defines as not doing whatever is necessary to stay alive, including not taking the appropriate medications, is a sin. He argues that God gives us life, and only he should be able to take it from us. But he also emphatically asserts that the death penalty, which has been abolished in his area of the country, should be reinstated. For me, it is an interesting incongruency.

As for me, I am one of those on the right who is uneasy with the death penalty. I understand the logic behind it, but taking a life is never something I think we should do easily. And with the injustice already existing within our legal structures, maybe it is something we should put in our rear-view mirror. I am not sure how many innocent people we execute in our world every year, but one is too many. There has to be a better way.

Jehoida, the Priest, orders the execution of Athaliah. And maybe there were no other options available other than taking away her life. She had lived a violent life, putting many, including her family members, to death for the crime of simply being in the way of her dream of being the Queen of Judah. One commentator remarked that her death was prudent. And I agree, it likely was. We could assert that Athaliah got what she deserved. But then again, if we all got what we deserved, there would be very little joy in this world.

Athaliah killed her family to get the throne, but Jehoida, the priest, had hidden one grandson away from her evil clutches. And that one grandson was all that was needed to dethrone this usurper queen. Athaliah died just outside the Temple. And while the action might have been prudent, we can't forget that God loved and had a different plan for Athaliah's life than the one she decided to take. And because of that, the prudent death of Athaliah is also a tragedy.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 22

 

 

"Go in and kill them; let no one escape." So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. – 2 Kings 10:25

Today's Scripture Reading (January 26, 2023): 2 Kings 10

One of the enduring horror stories of the Second World War is the image of Jews and those who had opposed the Third Reich being directed into the "showers" where they would be subjected to the poisonous gas that would end their lives. It is an image of all these men, women, and children undressing to go into the showers, believing that it was just for cleansing their bodies before they began their new existence inside the concentration camp. From the Nazi's point of view, it was a way to herd the captives through their final moments without chancing a revolt or a riot that might have put the guards doing the herding in danger. The ruse deferred the panic until the doors were locked and the naked captives had no way to escape as poisonous gas, instead of water, began to fill the room.

However, the Nazi plan for execution was hardly original. Variants of the project have probably been used repeatedly throughout history. And one such event was Jehu's destruction of the prophets of Baal. Jehu began his ruse with an order that required all the prophets, priests, and all who considered themselves worshippers of Baal to come to Samaria and meet with the new King. Jehu convinced them he intended to follow Baal just as the previous Kings of Israel had. In fact, Jehu would put his predecessors to shame by following Baal in an even bigger way than they had. Ahab may have served Baal a little, but Jehu would serve him much.

And so, wanting to be recognized and honored as Baal worshippers, the people came. Jehu had his guards crowd them into the Temple of Baal so that they could see the King make his sacrifice and how much he would love and honor their God. The people entered, and Jehu kept up the sham by making a sacrifice to Baal, but after the sacrifice, he locked the doors and ordered that everyone in the room be killed with a sword. From our vantage point in history, we can imagine the horror and cries that filled the city on this day as the worshippers of Baal began to realize that rather than honored, they were being executed.

Jehu's killing of the worshippers of Baal was very different from the killing of the prophets of Baal and Asherah a generation earlier by Elijah on Mount Carmel. We can argue whether or not Elijah's action was righteous on that day. Still, it was done in an attempt to remove the worship of Baal and Asherah from the Kingdom of Israel, replacing it with the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jehu's massacre had no such redeeming attribute. It was simply the new King trying to rid the nation of everything the old King believed was important. And in so doing, making sure that the country was ready to follow Jehu unreservedly.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 11

Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, 'This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.' Then open the door and run; don't delay!" – 2 Kings 9:3

Today's Scripture Reading (January 25, 2023): 2 Kings 9

Sue Grafton (1940-2017), an American author of Detective Novels, argued that "Ideas are easy. It's the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats." I couldn't agree more. I have books filled with ideas, but my execution has always been more than a little suspect. I have a list of things I want to do, and yet there are only a few ideas I can declare to be accomplished. And every year, I promise myself that I will complete at least one of the ideas from the past during this revolution around the sun. Maybe this year. I guess we will have to wait to find out.

Ideas are easy, but sometimes they are also hard, especially if it is an idea that is outside the box, about things you have never really considered. As Christians, a significant portion of what we believe is actually not biblical. Somebody has sewn an idea into our lives, and that idea, like a noxious weed, has killed every other thought. We can't seem to imagine Christian life any other way. For instance, why do we believe that the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is about homosexuality when, if we read the text, it seems to be much more about rape and violence than the threatened homosexuality present in the story? In our mind, are they the same thing? The reality is that someone gave us an idea, and we don't seem to be able to shake it or accept any other concept that might challenge the one that we hold. And sometimes we are vessels just waiting for someone to implant an idea.

Elisha has a job for a young prophet. He is to run to Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. We know relatively little about Jehu's ancestry. Some have argued that Nimshi was the son of King Omri, although the biblical text does not support that. But if he were, then Jehu would have been a cousin of the ruling kings.

We know Jehu was a military commander, and God had decided that Jehu would replace the current line of kings. But that is not an idea that Jehu had conceived. And so, Elisha orders the young priest essentially to do a hit-and-run. He tells the prophet to isolate Jehu and anoint him as King over Israel. And then, the prophet is to leave and return to Elisha immediately. There is to be no discussion and no extended question-answer period. And Jehu is not to know who it was that had sent the young prophet. What the prophet was really doing was implanting an idea.

Originally, Jehu thought the man who had anointed him King was a lunatic. But he told his friends about the strange meeting, and the idea began to grow into a plan, one that Jehu and his compatriots wouldn't have likely considered if it were not for the hit-and-run idea drop of Elisha and his young disciple. And although Jehu missed it, his strange meeting with Elisha's protégé indicated that while Israel had turned away from God, God had not turned away from Israel.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 10

To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time. – 2 Kings 8:22

Today's Scripture Reading (January 24, 2023): 2 Kings 8

Sometimes, it is amazing how the role of the arch-rival changes. In the early twentieth century, the nightmare nation was Germany. It was an era when people of German descent hid that reality if they could. The British Royal family, in 1917, gave up the ducal title of the "House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha," a German title that had been passed down from Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. But in 1917, in response to Britain's war with Germany, King George V renounced the name and took up the more English-sounding ducal title, "The House of Windsor." The Royal decree reads,

Now, therefore, We, out of Our Royal Will and Authority, do hereby declare and announce that as from the date of this Our Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor.

And with the decree, the British House of Windsor was born, an attempt to distance themselves from their German cousins.

I also have some German in me. I remember trying to ask my maternal grandfather about our family line, and he repeatedly told me that we were "Pennsylvania Dutch." Being young and without understanding, I was trying to connect to before "Pennsylvania." I knew with names like "Baker" and "Klink," there had to be some German in our background, but grandpa insisted that we were "Pennsylvania Dutch." A little later, I found that "Pennsylvania Dutch" was simply the house name for German immigrants to North America who came to the New World in the 1600 -1800s. "Pennsylvania Dutch," an anglicization of "Deutsch," indicating the German language, was one way of taking another step away from our German past.

In the early twentieth century, the threat to the West was Germany. As a student of history, I am convinced that the German threat could have been destroyed in 1919 as the first World War came to an end. But instead, we set conditions on Germany that were intended to punish the nation, but that actually laid the foundation perfectly for the rise of Adolf Hitler and a second world conflict.

As the Second World War ended, Germany receded as the great rival of the West, replaced by the Soviet Union. Soviet time on the throne lasted for just over forty years until the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of Russia. And Russia has worked hard at their bad boy image, but the reality in our contemporary world is that the West's real adversary is China. And who knows who will be next?

In the ancient world, there were many problem countries for Israel. Some of them were the grand empires of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. But there were also the smaller players, like Edom. Edom and Israel had warred into the times of Judah's Babylon exile, and the Book of Kings was written at the beginning of that era. When the Book of Kings was written, Edom was still a problem for the Kingdom of Judah. The Edomites even helped plunder Jerusalem when it fell in 586 B.C.E., but that would eventually change. Around 110 B.C.E., many Edomites converted to Judaism; they had been living in Jewish territory since the fall of their own country, but now they were called Idumeans. And as surprising as it might be to the writer of Kings, King Herod of the Jews was actually an Edomite; Herod was an Idumean.

During the First Jewish-Roman War, the Idumeans, supported by the Zealots, takeover the Temple from the Judean Provisional Government and the Pharisees and Sadducees. But following the Roman destruction of the city, the Idumeans disappear from the pages of history. A great foe that was, but is no more.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 9

Then they said to each other, "What we're doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace." – 2 Kings 7:9

Today's Scripture Reading (January 23, 2023): 2 Kings 7

I am convinced that we have become a society of bad news. I seem to hear it all around me, and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it only seems to be getting worse. The network and cable news cycle leads with it and uses it in their teaser ads. Your homepage blares it out with headlines that read "The terrible news about (insert public figure here), and if you bother to click on it to find out what has happened, it is usually something minor or innocuous. Somehow, we seem afraid to admit that things are getting just a little better. We worry about the next wave coming out of China or run around worried about runaway inflation. And yes, these things are problematic. But every day, we are also given the opportunity to rejoice about something. Life is much better for most people around me than we often let on. And we might enjoy it more if we would simply stop looking for the dark side. And of all the things we worry about, only a fraction of what we fear actually becomes a reality. Worrying becomes just another waste of time. Yet, we stand at the ready to spread whatever bad news we think we possess.

Ben-Hadad, the King of Aram, has laid siege to the city of Samaria. Food has run out in the city, and the people are starving. Trapped at the city gate are four lepers. And the lepers have run out of options. The only food seems to be in the Arameans' possession, so they decide to surrender to Israel's enemy in hopes of being fed. The lepers decide that if they are fed, they are better off as prisoners than they had been in the city, and if the Arameans kill them, well, they were going to die anyway. It seems that whatever they choose to do, the outcome of death seems likely.

But when they reach the camp of the Arameans, no one is there. And so, they eat; it is, after all, what hungry people do. But amidst their meal, they realize this is a secret they can't keep to themselves. The empty Aramean camp is good news that must be shared. Keeping this good news a secret would be sin against all of the people in Samaria.

The lepers' actions have been compared to our actions as Christians in contemporary society. We are the lepers. Or, in the language of Paul Tillich, we are beggars whose only job is to tell other beggars where to find bread. The word Gospel literally means "good news." In a world that seems to be dominated by the bad, we possess the good news that the world needs. Or, as Charles Spurgeon pointed out, Christ "came to save us from [our] selfishness." Jesus didn't come to save us so that we could selfishly hold on to what we have been given. And if that is what we decide to do, then punishment should overtake us. Jesus came to give himself for our good, and as Christians, we are called to do the same thing. To be selfish is really anti-Christian.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 8

The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: "Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there." – 2 Kings 6:9

Today's Scripture Reading (January 22, 2023): 2 Kings 6

On Sunday, June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany began its assault on the Soviet Union. The code name of the German invasion was "Operation Barbarossa," named after the twelfth-century Holy Roman Empire and German King Frederick Barbarossa. Operation Barbarossa is the largest land offensive in military history, with over ten million combatants participating in the battle. At the time, the United Kingdom, along with the countries of the British Commonwealth, was unsure what to do with Joseph Stalin and his Soviet Union. There were so many areas where the Allies disagreed with Stalin and his beliefs. But the one thing they had in common was the knowledge that Adolf Hitler and his Nazi war machine had to be stopped. And so, they held an uneasy alliance as the Soviet Union began to defend its territory against the aspirations of the German war machine.

On the eve of Operation Barbarossa, Winston Churchill made an important confession about Stalin to his personal secretary, John Coville. Churchill told him, "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons." Later, The Soviet Union would become a thorn in the security plans of the United States and Britain, as well as most of the "free" world. But for now, they could play at being friends. It is a good example of the ancient military philosophy that is summed up by the phrase, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Elisha had problems with the corrupt Kings of Israel. He wanted them to repent of their ways and return to the path that God had intended for their Kingdom. But where Ahab had made himself an enemy of Elijah, Jehoram and Elisha had at least an uneasy alliance. Elisha was willing to prove with his actions that God was still on the side of Israel, even if Jehoram and the rest of the kings had rejected him. And Jehoram had learned to trust the information given to him by Elisha. The two were not even close to being friends, but they were allies. And in their own way, both wanted what was best for Israel.

So, Jehoram makes Elisha a welcome visitor to his court. And the King of Aram begins to understand that it is more than just Jehoram against whom he has to fight. His war is also with Elisha and the God who insists on protecting his people, even when they have lost their way.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 7

She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." – 2 Kings 5:3

Today's Scripture Reading (January 21, 2023): 2 Kings 5

William Cowper, probably best known in the Christian Church for his hymns, lived a troubled life. A well-educated man, he suffered from frequent bouts of depression. In 1763, the thirty-two-year-old Cowper was offered a Clerkship of Journals in the House of Lords. But Cowper was unable to withstand the pressure of the upcoming examinations. This crisis began a time of severe depression and insanity. Three times he tried to commit suicide, failing on each attempt. Eventually, he was sent to an asylum to recover from his illness.

And then, in 1773, Cowper again found himself in the grasp of insanity. He had visions of himself condemned to hell and was convinced that God was commanding him to kill himself as a sacrifice for his faith. And once again, Cowper attempted suicide, this time by drowning. But once again, the poet failed in his attempt. It was coming out of this bout of depression and insanity that Cowper would write one of his most famous hymns, "God Moves in a Mysterious Way."

God moves in a mysterious way,
    His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
    And rides upon the storm.  

Maybe the poet realized God had worked even through his depression and insanity. And if he could work through that, he could work through anything.

Raiders from the nation of Aram journeyed into Israel taking captives who would serve as slaves to the rich and powerful of Aram. Slavery is an old custom, and one way to get slaves was to go out into enemy territory and just take them. And that is what happened to a young girl living in Northern Israel. And this young girl was given the task of serving the wife of Naaman, the commander of the army.

It would have been a hard life for the girl. She would mourn the loss of her parents just as her parents would mourn the loss of their daughter, a lament that would last for the rest of their lives. But the girl still decided to make her life count for something. They could take her body away from home, but they couldn't take her faith away from her body. So, she points her master toward someone the girl knows could heal him of his leprosy. The young slave was willing to put her faith in action, even though she was a captive in a foreign land.

Like Joseph, son of Jacob, the girl would probably exclaim, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Genesis 50:19-20). None of this likely made sense to either the slave girl or her master. And yet, this slave girl probably knew from her life back in Northern Israel; God really does move in mysterious ways

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 6

Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. – 2 Kings 4:34

Today's Scripture Reading (January 20, 2023): 2 Kings 4

I am convinced that sometimes we need physical touch. The problem is that in our contemporary society, it seems that all touch has been sexualized. And so, we go without touch, petrified of the contact we require to live healthy lives. It is something that I have tried hard to recognize in the people around me. Some are ready to receive a hand on a shoulder or even an A-Frame hug (one arm, bodies apart.) But for others, even that level of closeness is too much.

Elisha had promised a son to an unnamed woman. And this woman had received the promised son, but a little later, that same child dies. The woman decides to go and meet the Prophet, and Elisha knows something is wrong but cannot discern what until the woman arrives at his side and tells him. As a result of the woman’s news, the Prophet commands his assistant to run to the boy. Elisha impresses upon his assistant the urgency of the task at hand and warns him not to stop to talk to anyone. When the assistant arrived where the boy was laying, he was to place Elisha’s staff on the boy's body. Elijah’s assistant follows the Prophet’s instructions to the letter, but nothing happens. And so, he rushes back to Elisha, who is not far behind as he brings the mother toward his son. The staff hasn’t worked as Elisha believed it would, so Elisha rushes to the boy’s side, who is lying in the room that Elisha had normally occupied on his visits.

The Prophet must have been frustrated. First, it seemed God had hidden the disaster of the boy’s death from him. And now, his staff had proven powerless to fix the problem. And so, Elisha goes into the room with the boy, closes the door, and begins to pray. Both Elisha and Elijah understood their place in the system. They didn’t perform magic tricks for the masses. They were nothing more than an extension of God. Great things happened in their midst because God willed them. And nothing would happen if God was unwilling to move in their midst. Jesus may have commanded the dead to rise, but all Elisha could do was beg God to change the situation.

I am not sure what message Elisha might have received from God. But the next thing the Prophet does is to crawl on top of the boy's body, mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. No words are needed, just the touch between the boy and the man of God. Elisha feels the body warm to his touch, but the miracle has not yet been accomplished. Elisha gets up and prays again before he assumes his position on top of the boy again. And this time, the touch of the Prophet is life-giving, and the prayed-for miracle becomes a reality in the small room on the roof of the faithful Shunammite woman’s house.

Unwanted sexualized touch is life-taking. But that doesn’t mean that touch isn’t needed in our society. Non-sexual touch is life-giving. We all need the touch of a prophet through whom God is working. I am convinced that some of us need that touch as much as the boy in that room did. And we can all be conduits of that touch if we are willing.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 5

Then he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land. - 2 Kings 3:27

Today's Scripture Reading (January 19, 2023): 2 Kings 3

Some military strategies simply shouldn't work. And because of that, some historians questioned whether the events even happened. The problem is that some of them are so strange that it is hard to believe that anyone would have told the story if it wasn't true. One of those stories is the tale of Zhang Xun (709-757 C.E.) during the middle years of the eighth-century C.E. Zhang Xun found himself in a desperate situation. He was holed up inside a walled city with a few men while an enemy army, led by a rebel general, laid siege outside the city walls. He was outmanned twenty to one, but even that wasn't the worst of his troubles. Zhang Xun had one other major problem; his small army had run out of arrows.

Zhang Xun decided on a strange strategy that shouldn't have worked. He instructed his men to play the war drums in the middle of the night, making the enemy army think that an attack was imminent. At the same time, they were instructed to lower straw men outside the city wall to draw enemy fire. Unbelievably, the trick worked, and the enemy army started to fire arrows at the straw dummies. Zhang Xun then took the straw men back inside the city's walls and used the arrows stuck in the dummies to replenish his supply. It was a fantasy novel strategy, not something we would ever expect in the "real" world.

The next night, Zhang Xun tried the same strategy a second time. I am unsure what he was thinking; it shouldn't have worked the first time, let alone two times on two successive nights. But this time, the sieging army ignored the dummies. And so Zhang Xun decided on a second strategy, attack. The opposing army was unprepared for battle, and Zhang Xun routed his enemy in one of the weirdest turn of events in military history. It would never have happened if the sieging army had sent out a couple of lookouts to keep an eye on Zhang Xun's army. But they were overconfident and, after the trick the night before, believed that Zhang Xun would never leave the city.

Moab has rebelled against Israel, and has now had to face the combined forces of Israel, Judah, and Edom. Everything the King of Moab has tried has failed, so he does something out of desperation that should have never worked the way it did. He took his oldest son up onto the city wall and offered him as a sacrifice to his pagan gods. The move was intended to show his people how deep his commitment was in defending Moab. The King was so committed that he was even willing to offer his heir as a sacrifice to the battle. He hoped that if he were ready to make such a great sacrifice, his people might send their sons into the fight. Maybe they could defeat Israel yet.

But that is not what happened. Anger burned so strongly against Israel, both inside and outside the camp of Israel, that they decided to leave the city alone. Israel was blamed for the death of the King's child. As a result, they would settle for the near victory they had won rather than encouraging more waste of life to useless pagan gods. The King of Moab had no idea that the sacrifice of his son would promote such a reaction in his enemies. But his insane strategy kept the city safe by proving to his enemies and his people how insane and wicked the king of Moab had become.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 4

Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." – 2 Kings 2:2

Today's Scripture Reading (January 18, 2023): 2 Kings 2

When I was young, my grandparents had a dog. The dog was a collie we affectionately called Lassie. And yes, Lassie looked like her namesake. But by the time I was born, Lassie was already getting older. I am strongly allergic to animals, and my parents understood that they couldn't have a pet because of my allergies. Possibly because of that absence, I fell in love with Lassie. I liked nothing more than to be around my grandparent's dog, even if the dog was making me sick. And I have been an animal lover ever since, even if I am forced to befriend them at a distance.

I still remember the day that Lassie disappeared. No one knew how she got out of my grandparent's fenced yard. All I knew was that the dog I had come to love was gone. Family members searched the neighborhood for Lassie, but no one found the dog. It was then that a family member sat down with me to explain that Lassie was old, and sometimes when a dog senses that life is at an end, they disappear from the ones they love and who love them so that they can end their lives alone. It seemed likely to the adults that that was what happened to Lassie. I never saw my grandparent's dog again, and part of my childhood emotions thought that it was unfair that the pet we all loved had to leave its life alone. I wanted to be there, smoothing Lassie's hair and loving my grandparent's pet, even if that meant that that action would make me very sick.

Apparently, it was common knowledge that Elijah's life was ending. Maybe it had been prophesied at some point in the past. It doesn't seem that Elijah was sick or injured, yet his death was expected. I don't want to call Elijah a dog, but it appears that much like my grandparent's dog, Elijah just wanted to get alone for his final moments on this planet. And I get that. Some don't understand, but often when I am sick, I also prefer to be alone. People whose hospital beds I have sat beside in crisis moments often want to return the favor by sitting by my bed during my times of crisis. But the reality is, under those circumstances, I want to be alone.

Elijah tries to produce a gap between himself and Elisha. But Elisha is having none of it. Knowing that the death of his mentor is coming, he refuses to leave Elijah's side. Elisha has committed that he will be at his mentor's side through every moment of the coming day. Elijah is not going to walk out into the wilderness and die alone.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 3

He told the king, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" – 2 Kings 1:16

Today's Scripture Reading (January 17, 2023): 2 Kings 1

Baal-Zebub. It is a name that reigns as a symbol of evil in English-speaking lands. In Christian thought, Baal-Zebub, often spelled a little differently, Beelzebub, is often used as just another name for Satan. It is that thought that Freddie Mercury picks up in Queen's epic hit song "Bohemian Rhapsody." Mercury sings in the opera section of the song, "Beelzebub has a devil set aside for me." Mercury's words are in keeping with the idea that Beelzebub is the king of demons and is, therefore, the arch-enemy of the creator of the world.

Baal-Zebub actually translates into "Lord (Baal) of the Flies (Zebub)." Baal-Zebub is thought to be a god who protected his worshippers by warding off the flies that were common carriers of disease in the ancient world. But it also seems likely that the way we have come to understand the demon Beelzebub in our contemporary thought might differ from the God that the Canaanites worshiped. Or maybe it isn't.

The reality is that the identity of Baal-Zebub probably doesn't matter in the consideration of this passage. It doesn't matter to which god Ahaziah sends his envoys to enquire about his health and, probably even more importantly, his healing. The point is that Ahaziah, the King of Israel and a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is not inquiring of the God of Israel. And Elijah, the prophet of God, is making sure that Ahaziah realizes his error. Even though Ahaziah is not asking anything of Elijah's God, the God of Israel has an answer to the question that the King of Israel is asking of Baal-Zebub. Yes, this is the end of his life; he will not recover from this injury.

Part of what we need to understand about this passage is that it is not the injury that will kill Ahaziah. Elijah doesn't tell the king that his injuries are too grave for him to recover. He asks Ahaziah if he is going to Baal-Zebub because there is no God in Israel. And the truth is that that is exactly why Ahaziah sends his messengers to Baal-Zebub. The Kingdom of Israel had discarded the God of Israel generations earlier when they had split with the southern Kingdom of Judah. Then, Jeroboam set up two calves as idols and told his people that these calves were the gods of Israel who had brought them out of Egypt. But I think even Israel realized that the idols Israel had set up were empty gods that could not get them help. Because they didn't want to or were not allowed to worship the God of Israel in Jerusalem, Israel's kings and people had chased after the gods of neighboring nations, like Baal-Zebub. And so, it would be that lack of faith in Elijah's God that would cost Ahaziah his life, not the injuries he had sustained in his fall.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 2