Today's Scripture Reading (February 5, 2023): 2 Kings 14
Royal scandal is not a recent
invention, and the scandals of the British House of Windsor seem to keep
mounting, scandals that began with the
abdication of Edward VIII. Then we witnessed the marriage woes of Prince Charles
and Lady Diana, the gossip sheet moments of Prince Edward and the other more
junior royals of that generation, and now the drip-drip revelations and
confessions of Harry and Meghan. The scandal sheet lives of the Royal House continue
to grow. The fear for Royal watchers is that there may come a point when the
people will no longer have any patience for the juvenile behavior that seems to
be taking place within the King's House. Elizabeth II's exemplary life may have
allowed us to dismiss the life of the other Royals. And maybe King Charles will
be able to rehabilitate his image so that he can carry on the more healthy
royal traditions. Still, the patience of the public, which allows themselves to
be ruled by a hereditary Sovereign, seems to be short. And no King can rule
without the support of most of the people, something that Royals sometimes
forget.
Other scandals in the past have
sometimes seriously damaged the ability of a sovereign to rule. Consider the
life and scandal of King George IV (1762-1830). By all reports, George IV was
an intelligent and able monarch. But the problem with George was that he never
lived up to his incredible potential. He was a womanizer who often tempted
women into his bed through promises of power and money or even threats if those
enticements didn't work. At the time, newspapers reported the King would always
prefer "a girl and a bottle to politics and
a sermon." When George IV died, the Times Newspaper recorded, "There
never was an individual less regretted by his fellow creatures than this
deceased King. What eye has wept for him? What heart has heaved one throb of
unmercenary sorrow? ... If he ever had a friend – a devoted friend in any
rank of life – we protest that the name of him or her never reached us." Apparently,
the scandal of his life meant that few citizens bothered to mourn him his
death.
Amaziah had
been foolish and had lost his freedom in a fight with Jehoash of Israel. But
when Jehoash died, Amaziah was likely freed and sent back to Jerusalem, where
he would live for another fifteen years. But it is doubtful that Amaziah
returned to a place of influence. Amaziah existed in a kind of limbo, knowing
that his own subjects hated him and had nothing but contempt for his existence.
He was no longer a King of substance and had become nothing more than a body that
happened to occupy the throne of the Kingdom of Judah by a population that just
seemed to be waiting for the King to die.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
2 Chronicles 25
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