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