According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)

Above:  Elijah in the Wilderness, by Washington Allston

Image in the Public Domain

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1 Kings 19:4-8

Psalm 34:1-8

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

John 6:41-51

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Almighty and everlasting God,

you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray,

and to give us more than we either desire or deserve. 

Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy,

forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,

and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask,

except through the merit of your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26

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Almighty and everlasting God,

always more ready to hear than we to pray

and always ready to give more than we either desire or deserve,

pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,

forgiving us the good things we are not worthy to ask

but through the merits and mediation

of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 74

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Just as the Kingdom of God is simultaneously present and future in the Synoptic Gospels, eternal life is present for those who follow Jesus.  “Eternal” carries a range of meanings in the Bible, depending upon the author one reads.  In the Johannine tradition, it means “of God,” and eternal life is knowing God via Jesus.  This definition differs from the Pauline tradition of eternal life–a blessed afterlife.   Yet consider, O reader, that the present tense of eternal life in the Gospel of John is consistent with the Realized Eschatology of the Johannine Gospel.

Amen, Amen, I say to you,

one who believes has eternal life.

I am the bread of life.

–John 6:47-48, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible

Ephesians 5:1 tells us–collectively, in context–to “become imitators of God.”  The textual context, flowing from chapter 4, is mutuality under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Forgiveness is a key feature of this model of communal life (4:32).  This is bold living.  In the historical context of the Epistle to the Ephesians, this is bold living amid a hostile culture.  So, amid hostility and persecution, the faith community could pray, in the words of Psalm 34:3:

In the LORD do I glory.

Let the lowly hear and rejoice.

–Robert Alter

Boldness had defined Elijah’s actions as recently as 1 Kings 18.  Yet, not surprisingly, Elijah’s massacre of the prophets of Baal Peor had displeased Queen Jezebel of Israel.  So, Elijah had abandoned all boldness, started hiding out in the wilderness, and commenced a pity party.  The prophet forgot about the one hundred prophets of YHWH safely hidden and supplied with food and drink in two caves (1 Kings 18:4).  If Queen Jezebel had succeeded in having Elijah killed, one hundred prophets of YHWH would have carried on his work.

Fear and ego may blind us to a key fact:  Although each of us has work from God, that work will continue via other people (agents of God) if we move away, chicken out, et cetera.  God’s work does not depend solely on you, O reader, or on me.  Nevertheless, you and I have an obligation to God to fulfill faithfully the work God has assigned us.

I lived in Athens, Georgia, for sixteen years and two months.  While there, I became so active in St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church that I became part of the woodwork, so to speak.  Immediately before I left, I had been teaching a lectionary discussion class, serving as the parish librarian, and scheduling the lectors and the money counters for a few years.  The COVID-19 pandemic had abruptly terminated the sixth year of my parish movie series in March 2020.  The film series had not resumed when I left Athens in October 2021.  Before I left, more than one person asked me how the work I did in the parish would continue.  I reassured them that the work would continue.  After I left, four people replaced me within short order.  Then a fifth person started a new movie series.

God is central.  Also, in faith community, each person is important, yet nobody is irreplaceable.  God grants spiritual gifts as necessary.  So, lest we forget this, we may need to get over ourselves.  Eternal life is her; may we–as faith communities and as individuals–frolic in it and in so doing, become imitators of God, like beloved children.  May we not grieve the Holy Spirit.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 12, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FOURTH DAY OF EASTER

THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND HIS NEPHEW, WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST

THE FEAST OF CARL F. PRICE, U.S. METHODIST HYMNOLOGIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID URIBE-VELASCO, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927

THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME

THE FEAST OF SAINT TERESA OF JESUS OF THE ANDES, CHILEAN ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENO OF VERONA, BISHOP

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Adapted from this post

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Advertisement

READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART XXXIII

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Psalm 45

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Psalm 45 is a royal wedding text.  It is, to be precise, a song for the nuptials of a monarch of the northern Kingdom of Israel.  Ahab is the most likely candidate, given the reference to a “daughter of Tyre” or a “Tyrian lass” (depending on translation) in verse 13 (Jewish versification).  Alternative translations include “people of Tyre” and “a Tyrian robe,” though.  So, if we accept either of these renderings instead, the identification of the monarch becomes more difficult.

Regardless of the identity of the King of Israel in Psalm 45, the text is ironic.  The psalm is more ironic if the king is Ahab, for then the queen is Jezebel.  Stories of Ahab and Jezebel tell us of their unjust governance and her domineering ways.

Nevertheless, Psalm 45 describes the ideal of Israelite kingship:  directed by God, militarily successful, and defined by equity and righteousness.  The text concludes with the assertion that God has blessed the king forevermore.

Psalm 45, unique in the Psalter, praises the king, not God.  Given that monarchs represented the sovereignty of God, we have the ancient rationale for including this text in the Book of Psalms.  I, given my historical proclivities, resist any temptation to read any messianic interpretation into Psalm 45, especially due to this text being from Israel, not Judah.  “Finding” Jesus in the Hebrew Bible can easily become ridiculous and reduce the Old Testament into a Where’s Waldo? book.

Perhaps the ultimate value of Psalm 45 resides in its statement of the ideal of ancient monarchs before the separation of religion and state, and in the reminder of the royal duties to the people.  I favor the strict separation of church and state, a policy that benefits religious institutions.  Religion needs to be separate from the government if religious institutions are to avoid become arms of the state.  I am a product of the Northern Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the First Amendment.  I agree with President James Madison, an Episcopalian and the author of that amendment, that the state should know nothing of religion.

Church-state relations aside, those who wield power have duties to the people and to generations not yet born.  May those in authority never forget this responsibility.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 7, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF FRANÇOIS FÉNELON, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF CAMBRAI

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALDRIC OF LE MANS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF LE MANS

THE FEAST OF JOHN KENYON MACKENZIE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY IN WEST AFRICA

THE FEAST OF LANZA DEL VASTO, FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE ARK

THE FEAST OF SAINT LUCIAN OF ANTIOCH, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 312

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JONES, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND MUSICIAN

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READING REVELATION, PART V

Above:  Ruins of Ancient Thyatira (now Akhisar, Turkey)

Image in the Public Domain

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Revelation 2:18-29

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Apollo, the sun god, was the deity of Thyatira.  His local cult merged with emperor-worship.  The opening of this passage set Jesus against and above Apollo and the emperor, officially, the Son of God.

The positive words for the Thyatiran congregation enduring patiently give way quickly to criticism for tolerating a false prophetess, “Jezebel.”  The reference to the wicked Queen of Israel and wife of King Ahab fits.  The text accuses “Jezebel” of having led members of that congregation into idolatry–figuratively, adultery.

In contrast, Thyatira was a center of commerce.  Business interests encouraged compromises for the sake of profits.  Some of the compromises compromised the Christian witness of the Thyatiran congregation.

Those who remain faithful will reign with Christ, we read.

Knowing when to compromise and when to hold fast can be difficult, in contexts.  Some compromises are necessary.  They are either harmless or proper.  Yet other compromises are detrimental and counter-productive.  They give away the store, so to speak.  Knowing when to compromise and when to hold fast is crucial.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 10, 2021 COMMON ERA

PROPER 23:  THE TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF JOHANN NITSCHMANN, SR., MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND BISHOP; DAVID NITSCHMANN, JR., THE SYNDIC, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND BISHOP; AND DAVID NITSCHMANN, THE MARTYR, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND MARTYR, 1729

THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN LUDWIG BRAU, NORWEGIAN TEACHER AND POET

THE FEAST OF EDWARD WHITE BENSON, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

THE FEAST OF LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMNODIST

THE FEAST OF VIDA DUTTON SCUDDER, EPISCOPAL PROFESSOR, AUTHOR, CHRISTIAN SOCIALIST, AND SOCIAL REFORMER

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READING HOSEA, PART II

Above:  Hosea and Gomer

Image in the Public Domain

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Hosea 1:2-2:1 (Anglican, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox)

Hosea 1:2-2:3 (Jewish and Roman Catholic)

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When I began my preparation for writing this post, I read the text aloud.  While doing so, I got theological whiplash.  Late in the reading, I also detected evidence of subsequent, Judean editing of the text, as in 1:7 and 1:10-2:1/2:3.  (I wrote about reasons for subsequent, Judean editing in the original text of the Book of Hosea in the previous post.)

Adultery and prostitution, in the Bible, are sometimes simply adultery and prostitution.  On other occasions, they are not literal references, but metaphors for idolatry.  And, on other occasions, they are both literal and metaphorical.  Regarding Gomer, the third option is germane.

Idolatry was widespread in ancient Israel.  Polytheism was ubiquitous in the ancient world, so monotheism was an outlying theological position.  Canaanite religion was popular in ancient Israel, much to the consternation of God, God’s prophets, and pious priests.  Pious priestly religion and folk religion were quite different from each other.  The cult of Baal Peor, the Canaanite storm and fertility god, entailed shrine prostitution, to ensure continued fertility and productivity of the soil, officially.  Gomer (“to complete,” literally) was probably one of these prostitutes.

A competing scholarly opinion in commentaries holds that Gomer was a different type of prostitute.  Some books I consulted suggested that she may have resorted to prostitution out of economic necessity, that her alternatives may have been starvation and homelessness.  These scholars write accurately that many women in patriarchal societies have found themselves in this predicament, and that, in Gomer’s society, women lacked property rights.

Gomer being a shrine prostitute fits the metaphor in the Book of Hosea better.

Metaphorically, God’s covenant with the Jews was a marriage.  Worship of Baal Peor, therefore, constituted infidelity.  God was, metaphorically, her husband, and the Jewish people were God’s wife.

The marriage of Hosea and Gomer dramatized the divine indictment of Israel.  The prophet played the role of God, and Gomer took the role of Israel.  The children of Hosea ben Beeri and Gomer bath Didlaim bore names that revealed God’s terse messages.

1. The first son was Jezreel, literally “God sows.”  Jezreel was a city (as in Joshua 15:56) and a valley (as in Judges 6:33).  Apart from the Book of Hosea, this place name occurred in Joshua 15, 17, and 19; Judges 6; 1 Samuel 25, 27, 29, and 30; 2 Samuel 2, 3, and 4; 1 Kings 4, 18, and 21; 2 Kings 8, 9, and 10; 1 Chronicles 4; and 2 Chronicles 22.  The city of Jezreel had a bloody past.  There, for example, Queen Jezebel had plotted the murder of Naboth (1 Kings 21).  And, when King Jehu founded the dynasty to which King Jeroboam II belonged, Jehu did so by assassinating the entire royal court at Jezreel.  What had come around was coming around, God warned.  In 747 B.C.E., King Zechariah, son of Jeroboam II, died after reigning for about six months.  His life and the House of Jehu ended violently when King Shallum staged a palace coup.  About a month later, King Shallum died in another palace coup (2 Kings 15:11-15).  Hosea, by the way, disagreed with the perspective of 2 Kings 9-10, the author of which held that God had authorized Jehu’s revolution.
2. Lo-ruhamah was the daughter of Hosea and Gomer.  The daughter’s name meant “not accepted” and “not shown mercy.”  (Poor girl!)  God refused to accept or pardon the House of Israel.
3. Lo-ammi was the second son.  His name meant “not My people.”  (Poor boy!)  The House of Israel had ceased to be God’s people.

Pronouncements of divine judgment continued after 1:9.  But first, in 1:10-2:1/2:1-3 (depending on versification), came an announcement of divine mercy.  Those God had just condemned as not being His people would become the Children of the Living God, shown mercy and lovingly accepted.  This passage may have been a subsequent insertion into the Book of Hosea.

The juxtaposition of material serves a valuable theological purpose.  It reminds us that divine judgment and mercy exist in balance.  Therefore, do not abandon all hope or presume on divine mercy; God both judges and forgives.  I recognize this balance without knowing where judgment gives way to mercy, and mercy to judgment.

The marriage of Hosea and Gomer also dramatized God’s continued yearning for Israel.  R. B. Y. Scott wrote:

Hosea speaks of judgment that cannot be averted by superficial professions of repentance; but he speaks more of love undefeated by evil.  The final words remain with mercy.

—The Relevance of the Prophets, 2nd. ed. (1968), 80

History offers a complicating factor.  John Adams, while defending the accused British soldiers charged in the so-called Boston Massacre, said,

Facts are stubborn things.

Consider the following stubborn facts, O reader:

1. The Assyrian Empire absorbed the (northern) Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C.E.  A mass deportation followed.  This was not the first mass deportation.  A previous one had occured in 733 B.C.E., when that empire had claimed much of the territory of the (northern) Kingdom of Israel.
2. Many refugees from the (northern) Kingdom of Israel fled south, to the Kingdom of Judah after these events.  These refugees merged into the tribes of Judah and Simeon.
3. Many other Israelites remained in their homeland.  Many who did this intermarried with Assyrian colonists, producing the Samaritans.
4. The Ten Lost Tribes assimilated.  Their genetic and cultural heritage spread throughout the Old World, from Afghanistan to South Africa, over time.
5. The two kingdoms did not reunited, contrary to Hosea 1:11/2:2.

Nevertheless, I like what R. B. Y. Scott wrote:

The final word remains with mercy.

I hope so.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 13, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

THE FEAST OF HENRI DOMINIQUE LACORDAIRE, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, DOMINICAN, AND ADVOCATE FOR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

THE FEAST OF FRANCES PERKINS, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF LABOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT GEMMA OF GORIANO SICOLI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC ANCHORESS

THE FEAST OF SAINT GLYCERIA OF HERACLEA, MARTYR, CIRCA 177

THE FEAST OF UNITA BLACKWELL, AFRICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST

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Your enemies, LORD, your enemies will perish;

Above:  Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, Year 2

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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)

Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)

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Grant, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace,

that they may be cleansed from all their sins,

and serve thee with a quiet mind.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 221

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1 Kings 21:17-25

Psalm 92

Acts 26:1-32

Matthew 21:28-44

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all evildoers will be scattered.

–Psalm 92:9, The Revised English Bible (1989)

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That was cold comfort for Naboth and his family.

We have evildoers in the readings this week.  Those of us who know the stories realize that justice eventually came for King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, that St. Paul the Apostle died as a martyr in Rome, and that the targets of Christ’s justifiably harsh words did not take those words well.

I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you.

–Matthew 21:31b, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)

Those are harsh words to direct at conventionally pious religious leaders.  After reading the four canonical Gospels many times, I conclude that our Lord and Savior, although capable of being very forgiving, had a low tolerance for malarkey.  Good for him!

Anyhow, punishment and reward in the afterlife are emotionally satisfying.  Given the injustice rife in this world, reversal of fortune in the hereafter (perhaps not the sweet hereafter) makes good the divine promise to punish the evil and to reward the righteous.

Evildoers come in three varieties:

1. Those who know what they are doing is wrong,
2. Those who think what they are doing is right, and
3. Those who cannot tell the difference between right and wrong.

Circumstances are not always black-and-white.  Frequently, circumstances are gray.  Sometimes the choices are bad and worse.  In such cases, people need to do the best they can in a fallen world.

Yet evil remains evil, objectively.

May you, O reader, and I, by grace, pursue just and righteous courses in life.  May we do so regardless of the costs to us.  And, when we must choose between bad and worse, may we opt for God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 26, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS TIMOTHY, TITUS, AND SILAS, COWORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

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READING 3 MACCABEES

Above:  King Ptolemy IV Philopator

Image in the Public Domain

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PART I

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3 Maccabees 1:1-2:24

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King Ptolemy IV Philapator of the Ptolemaic Empire (Reigned 221-204 B.C.E.)

High Priest Simon II “the Just” (In Office 219-196 B.C.E.)

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The Third Book of the Maccabees is a misnomer.  Not only does it have no Maccabees, but it also plays out prior to the events of the First, Second, and Fourth Books of the Maccabees.

3 Maccabees, canonical in Orthodoxy, is apocryphal in the Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican churches.

3 Maccabees, composed in Alexandria, Egypt, close to 100 B.C.E., most likely, bears similarities to Greek romances.  The introduction to this book in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible, New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha (2003) mentions 

purple prose and bombastic details that seem designed to elicit an emotional response, rather than to accurately and straightforwardly report history.

–1661

The introduction to 3 Maccabees in The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Revised Standard Version (1977) is less generous:

The author often exaggerates, and when in descriptions he attempts to introduce purple passages of rhetoric, he succeeds only in producing bombast and bathos.

–Apocrypha 294

The theology of 3 Maccabees is orthodox and Deuteronomistic:  God, who is faithful, rewards those who are faithful and punishes those who are faithless and evil.  This is a hope to which to cling during times of turmoil and oppression.

Apart from the sources I have quoted, I have two other guides through 3 Maccabees:

1. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, New Revised Standard Version (1991); and
2. The Orthodox Study Bible, the St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint and the New King James Version (2008).

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3 Maccabees opens abruptly.  The supposition that an introduction has not survived seems reasonable.

King Ptolemy IV Philopator was the Hellenistic ruler of the Ptolemaic Empire, a successor to the expansive Macedonian Empire of King Alexander III “the Great” (reigned 336-323 B.C.E.).  Ptolemy IV, keeping a dynastic custom that dated to King Ptolemy II Philadelphus (circa 275 B.C.E.), married his sister, Arsinoe, in October 217 B.C.E.  (Ptolemy IV also ordered the murder of Arsinoe.)  Ptolemy IV was a weak ruler; a minister, Sosibius, dominated the monarch.  Ptolemy IV and Seleucid King Antiochus III “the Great” (reigned 223-187 B.C.E.) waged the Fourth Syrian War (221-217 B.C.E.).  During this conflict, Ptolemy IV lost much of the Syrian coast to Antiochus III.  Then, at the Battle of Raphia (217 B.C.E)., Ptolemy IV regained control of much of that coast and of Palestine.

The story of Dositheus, absent from other accounts of that battle, introduces a motif into 3 Maccabees.  That motif–intervention and reversal–runs throughout the book.  

Ptolemy IV survived an assassination attempt because of the intervention of Dositheus, an apostate Jew.  The victorious Ptolemy IV, an admirer of architecture, visited Jerusalem.  While there, he offered a sacrifice to YHWH.  This was easy for the pagan king to do.  As far as Ptolemy IV knew, YHWH was just another deity.  The king’s attempt to enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple was a step too far.  Only the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies; he did this one day per year (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16:2, 11-12, 15, 34; Hebrews 9:7).

The reaction of many Jews in Jerusalem was strong.  High Priest Simon II “the Just” prayed.  His prayer contained certain theological hallmarks–the faithfulness of God, the arrogance of kings, the impiety of many people, the divine punishment of the wicked, and the divine deliverance of the faithful.

Then God prevented Ptolemy IV from entering the Holy of Holies.  He fell to the floor and could not speak.  Courtiers had to remove Ptolemy IV, unable to move on his own, from the Temple.  The king remained arrogant and unrepentant.  Ptolemy IV stood in contrast to Heliodorus (2 Maccabees 3:35-39) and even Antiochus IV Epiphanes (2 Maccabees 9:11-17), who repented immediately after God struck them.  The original audience of 3 Maccabees understood those references and awaited the repentance of Ptolemy IV (3 Maccabees 6:22-7:23).

Ptolemy IV prepared to take his revenge on Jews in Egypt.

The Bible contains stories of arrogant and dangerous kings and queens, some of whom were also weak rulers.  Queen Jezebel of Israel dominated King Ahab of Israel.  King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire was a historical figure.  Yet he functioned as a fictionalized symbol of power run amok in the Books of Daniel and Judith.  The fictional King Ahasuerus from the Book of Esther was a weak monarch who deposed Queen Vashti for refusing to display herself naked to his guests.  Ahasuerus was also willing to sign off onto a genocide of Jews.  At the end of the Book of Esther, the situation was positive because Mordecai and Queen Esther were running the Persian Empire in the king’s name.  Meanwhile, Ahasuerus partied.

Arrogant, impious potentates continue to afflict people, unfortunately.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 14, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF SAINT RADEGUNDA, THURINGIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRINCESS, DEACONESS, AND NUN; AND SAINT VENANTIUS HONORIUS CLEMENTIUS FORTUNATUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF PONTIERS

THE FEAST OF DOROTHY ANN THRUPP, ENGLISH HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF FRED D. GEALY, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER, MISSIONARY, MUSICIAN, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF HENRY ALDRICH, ANGLICAN PRIEST, COMPOSER, THEOLOGIAN, MATHEMATICIAN, AND ARCHITECT

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC AND CARMELITE FRIAR

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READING JONAH

Above:  Israeli Stamp of Jonah

Image in the Public Domain

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PART IV

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Jonah 4:1-11

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Jonah 4 contains an echo of Elijah in 1 Kings 19:4.  One may recall that Elijah, on the run from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel after the events of 1 Kings 18, fled to the wilderness and prayed for death.  One may also recall the tree under which Elijah sat in 1 Kings 19:4.  One may recall, furthermore, that God told Elijah to stop whining and to get back to work.

Jonah was no Elijah.  Jonah was a petty, resentful character.

Many of us may be more like Jonah that we like to admit.  We may become angry at God for forgiving our enemies, or at least those different from us.  We may want to see those sons of so-and-sos get what they deserve, or at least what we think they deserve.  And we may be sufficiently oblivious to our own faults not to realize what we deserve.  We may identify ourselves primarily by who we are not.  Therefore, when those against whom we constitute our identities repent, we may experience a psychological crisis.

God’s words in Jonah 4:10-11 end the book.  The contents of those two verses challenge us who read the Book of Jonah.  Replace Nineveh with a contemporary reference, O reader.  Ask yourself,

Which group of people would I not want to see repent?”

When you have your answer, you will have identified another reason you need to repent.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 12, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSAPHAT KUNTSEVYCH, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF POLOTSK, AND MARTYR, 1623

THE FEAST OF JOHN TAVENER, ENGLISH PRESBYTERIAN THEN ORTHODOX COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF RAY PALMER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM ARTHUR DUNKERLEY, BRITISH NOVELIST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER

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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33

Above:  King Jehu of Israel

Image in the Public Domain

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PART XC

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2 Kings 9:1-10:30

2 Chronicles 22:5-9

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The Lord has cast down the thrones of rulers,

and has seated the lowly in their place.

The Lord has plucked up the roots of the nations,

and has planted the humble in their place.

–Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 10:14-15, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

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King Jehoram/Joram of Israel (Reigned 851-842 B.C.E.)

King Ahaziah/Jehoahaz of Judah (Reigned 843-842 B.C.E.)

King Jehu of Israel (Reigned 842-814 B.C.E.)

Queen Athaliah of Judah (Reigned 842-836 B.C.E.)

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Above:  The Intermarriage of the House of Omri and the House of David

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Dynasties in the northern Kingdom of Israel rose and fell.  I counted five dynasties, as well as four kings who belonged to no dynasty.  Three of the dynasties consisted of only two monarchs.  The House of Omri supplied four Kings of Israel and one Queen of Judah (Athaliah).  The House of Jehu supplied five Kings of Israel.

In 1 Kings 19:15-16, God had assigned Elijah to anoint Jehu the next King of Israel.  Elijah passed that task to his successor, Elisha.  Elisha, in turn, fulfilled it indirectly; he sent a disciple-prophet to anoint Jehu then to 

flee without delay.

The disciple-prophet of Elijah anointed Jehu then did not 

flee without delay.

Jehu presided over a bloodbath that claimed King Jehoram/Joram of Israel, King Ahaziah/Jehoahaz of Judah, Queen Jezebel of Israel, all members of the House of Omri in reach, many Baalists in Israel, and 42 mourners of King Ahaziah/Jehoahaz from Judah.  However, Queen Mother Athaliah, daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, remained safe in Jerusalem.  She usurped the throne of Judah and purged as many rival claimants to the throne as she could find.  She did not, however, find her grandson, the future King Jehoash/Joash.  The revolution in Israel occurred during a war against King Hazael of Aram.  The threat of King Hazael persisted.

King Jehu received a negative review in 2 Kings.  

Finding someone to cheer for in this story is extremely difficult.  This is frequently the case in revolutions.  Yes, one says, Side A is terrible.  So is Side B, however.  It is lamentable that the population cannot have good government.  Pity the people.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 2, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ALL SOULS/THE COMMEMORATION OF ALL FAITHFUL DEPARTED

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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33

Above:  Queen Athaliah of Judah

Image in the Public Domain

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PART LXXXIX

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2 Kings 11:1-20

2 Chronicles 22:10-23:21

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The children of sinners are abominable children,

and they frequent the haunts of the ungodly.

The inheritance of the children of sinners will perish,

and on their posterity will be a perpetual reproach.

–Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 41:5-6, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

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Queen Athaliah of Judah (Reigned 842-836 B.C.E.)

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Above:  The Intermarriage of the House of Omri and the House of David

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

A refresher:  Princess Athaliah, sister of Princes Ahaziah and Jehoram/Joram of Israel, had married Jehoram/Joram, the Crown Prince of Judah.  The couple’s elder son had become King Ahaziah/Jehoahaz of Judah.  Then he had perished in Jehu’s revolution in Israel, leaving an infant son, Jehoash/Joash, the legitimate heir to the throne.  Meanwhile, King Jehoram/Joram of Israel had also perished in Jehu’s revolution in the northern kingdom.

Got that?

Queen Athaliah was a chip off the old block.  In another verse of an ancient song, she seized power and ordered the deaths of potential rivals.  Yet Princess Jehosheba (whose name should join those of Shiphrah and Puah in honor) helped High Priest Jehoiada hide the young Jehoash/Joash (her nephew) from Queen Athaliah for about six years.  After Queen Athaliah and Baalist priest Mattan died in a coup d’état, Jehoash/Joash, seven years old, came to the throne, and Jehoiada served as the regent.  The High Priest provided a positive influence upon the young monarch.  Meanwhile, the destruction of altars and images of Baal Peor had been another result of the revolution in Judah.

The last vestiges of the House of Omri were gone.  Their sins continued, unfortunately.

Next, I will step back in time and focus on King Jehu of Israel and his revolution.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 2, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ALL SOULS/THE COMMEMORATION OF ALL FAITHFUL DEPARTED

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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33

Above:  King Jehoram/Joram of Judah

Image in the Public Domain

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PART LXXXVIII

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2 Kings 8:16-29

2 Chronicles 21:1-22:9

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Whoever throws a stone straight up throws it on his own head;

and a treacherous blow opens up wounds.

He who digs a pit will fall into it,

and he who sets a snare will be caught in it.

–Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 27:25-27, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

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King Jehoram/Joram of Israel (Reigned 851-842 B.C.E.)

King Jehoram/Joram of Judah (Reigned 851-843 B.C.E.)

King Ahaziah/Jehoahaz of Judah (Reigned 843-842 B.C.E.)

King Hazael of Aram (Reigned 842-806 B.C.E.)

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Above:  The Intermarriage of the House of Omri and the House of David

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

The critiques of King Jehoram/Joram of Judah are negative.  The longer coverage in 2 Chronicles 21 is more devastating than 2 Kings 8:16-24.  The account in 2 Chronicles 21 even mentions a condemnation by Elijah.  Questions of historicity of the prophet’s message aside, a message from Elijah fits the chronology of 2 Kings.  If one pays close attention, one may notice that King Jehoram/Joram of Judah was already on the throne in 2 Kings 1:17, and that the account of the assumption of Elijah is in 2 Kings 2.

King Ahaziah of Judah, son and immediate successor of King Jehoram/Joram of Judah, also received a negative review.  King Ahaziah of Judah allied himself militarily with his uncle, King Jehroam/Joram of Israel.  They had a common foe, King Hazael of Aram.

Both King Jehoram/Joram of Israel and King Jehoram/Joram of Judah died badly.  The King of Judah suffered from an incurable disease of the bowels and died unloved.  The King of Israel perished in a revolution, to Jehu.

King Ahaziah of Judah also fell victim to Jehu’s revolution.

The insidious influence of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel in the Kingdom of Judah was not burned out, unfortunately.  The Queen Mother, Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, was still alive.  And she wanted to wield power.

The reign of Queen Athaliah will be the topic of my next post.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 31, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE REFORMATION

THE FEAST OF DANIEL C. ROBERTS, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF GERHARD VON RAD AND MARTIN NOTH, GERMAN LUTHERAN BIBLICAL SCHOLARS

THE FEAST OF AUL SHINJI SASAKI, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF MID-JAPAN, BISHOP OF TOKYO, AND PRIMATE OF NIPPON SEI KO KEI; AND PHILIP LENDEL TSEN, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF HONAN AND PRESIDING BISHOP OF CHUNG HUA SHENG KUNG HUI

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