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
No comments:
Post a Comment